MacMost: Video Podcast

The Enhanced Dictation feature in OS X allows you to dictate text anywhere you find a text cursor, like TextEdit, Pages or Mail. It is an offline version of OS X dictation that allows you to mix typing and speaking for a better experience. It uses context to figure out which words make the most sense in a given situation. You also have a variety of special commands.

In addition to being able to create interesting transitions between slides and other elements, you can also alter the way table cells and pieces of charts appear in Keynote. You can set each piece to appear one-by-one using a variety of animations. You can also group them together to emphasize one or more pieces of information.

You probably know how to use the Calculator on your Mac. But did you know that there are at least eight more ways to perform basic calculations with the basic software you get with your Mac? Some of these allow you to use complex formulas or easily repeat calculations with different values. See if how many of these are new to you.

When you create formulas in Numbers, the references to other cells are relative to the location of the formula. So when you move or copy the formula into another cell, the references follow along. But you can use absolute cell references to force the formula to always refer to the exact same cell, no matter where the formula is placed.

You can use Picture-In-Picture and keyframes to animate object movement in iMovie. Once you add an overlay you can set one or more keyframes and the object will move over time to match each keyframe. You can import transparent graphics to use this feature to highlight a moving element in your video.

Take a look at some of the different ways you can print photos from iPhoto. You can use the standard print function to print one or more photos, group them on pages, and even include titles and other information. You can also use Pages to create more interesting printouts of single photos, groups of photos, or multiple copies of the same photo. Another option is to create a book and print one or more pages from it.

OS X lets you use multiple desktops to make it feel like you have more than one display. With Mission Control, you can move apps and windows between desktops and easily navigate around. You can also make some apps full-screen, giving them their own virtual display. Learning how to use Mission Control can make working on a smaller MacBook screen much easier.

Filters let you view portions of data in your tables based on criteria. You can filter a long table by what is found in a column. You can combine multiple filters to drill down into data.

At the keynote for the Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple announced the next version of Mac OS X and iOS. The new operating systems will come out in the fall for the public and will have a number of new features. They will also work together better than ever before.

In iMovie you can record directly from the microphone to narrate your video. You can start at any point and record your voice, then manipulate the audio track like any other. This comes in handy for regular videos, but also for photo slideshows created in iMovie.

You can easily put the page numbers for you document in the header or footer. You can also control which page number your document starts with, and use sections to skip between page numbers. Learning how to use the header, footer and sections is important if you are creating larger Pages documents.

For episode number 1000, Gary Rosenzweig takes a look back at which shows were the most popular and important.

You have to ability to convert audio files to a variety of formats from iTunes. The conversion leaves a duplicate in your iTunes library, but you can also locate the file. It can be useful, for instance, to convert AAC files to MP3 if you need to play them back in players that only support MP3. You can also convert video to formats supported by iOS devices and Apple TV.

iMovie version 10 uses a new system for storing clips and projects. It is very easy to be able to create and use multiple iMovie libraries and move items between them. You can store archived projects in libraries, and even spread your projects across multiple hard drives.

You can use GarageBand as a basic audio editor. You can import most standard audio formats into a project and then proceed to trim, split or re-arrange the track. You can also use filters and add sound effects and loops. Then you can export the finished product as a new audio file.

The LaunchPad app is a quick way to launch applications on your Mac. You can use keyboard shortcuts and the search function to launch any app in seconds. You can also use LaunchPad to arrange your apps, group them, and even uninstall some apps. Learn for unusual tips and tricks for using LaunchPad.

You can use backgrounds in iMovie in a number of ways. They can be placeholders between clips, or backgrounds to elements like titles. You can also put backgrounds on top of other video as overlays. Backgrounds can be customized somewhat, or you can use your own image or photo.

You can use special cell types like checkboxes, ratings, sliders and pop-up menus to represent values in cells in Numbers. These cells can make it easier to enter data, or they can visually represent the data in a better way. You can use the values of these cells just like regular numbers and other data types.

In Keynote you can record your voice and the timing of slides. This recording can then be used to play back the presentation automatically. You can also use this timing to export the presentation as a video.

Markers are a simple tool in iMovie that allow you to create points in your video where the playback head and other elements will snap. You can use them to mark places to add things later, or to let you easily line up overlays, titles or other elements. You can add markers while the video is playing in the preview pane. They are similar to beat markers in previous versions of iMovie.