MacMost: Video Podcast

QR Codes are barcode-like boxes of dots that you can find in magazines, posters, signs and business cards. They usually represent web page addresses. You can use free apps on your iPhone to easily scan these codes and see where they lead. You can also make your own QR Codes using free web services.

In Final Cut Pro X you can switch back and forth between videos using a variety of methods. The video can shift from one viewpoint to another while the audio stays constant. Learn about mixing multiple video tracks and going back and forth between them.

Learn the basic steps to start backing up your Mac with Time Machine. Every computer user should back up his or her data on a regular basis, and using Time Machine on your Mac makes that easy. Find out how to get started.

You can perform a variety of text transformations and substitutions using standard menu commands. For instance, you can change all of the characters in a selection to upper or lower case. You can also change straight quotes to curly quotes, two dashes to long dashes, and have segments of text automatically change as you type.

It is difficult to change the tempo of an individual track in GarageBand because all tracks will match the tempo of the song by default. But if you copy tracks into new loops, you can hold the speed of those tracks steady as you adjust the tempo of the song.

Learn where to go if your Apple product breaks, or you have a problem you can't figure out. You can use Apple's Genius Bar or call their support line. You can also join a local user group or take your Mac to a local repair shop.

Learn how to use transitions in Final Cut Pro X. There are several ways to apply transitions between clips, and many ways to adjust the end and start points of the two clips. You can also customize each transition.

iMovie limits you to one picture-in-picture effect at a time. But you can cheat by placing multiple pictures in a single image using an image editing tool.

The Resume feature in Lion allows you to quit applications and then run them again with your windows intact. Any documents or windows you had open before will open again the next time you use the application. This can be disorienting at first, but it can also be useful. Find out how to quit applications and have them start fresh next time. Find out how to disable the Resume feature if it is not for you.

The function keys, also called the F-keys, serve two purposes on your Mac. Found at the top of all Apple keyboards, these keys can be used for special functions like volume control, iTunes playback or accessing Mission Control. But they can also be used as F1, F2, F3, etc., keys. Find out how to switch between the two modes.

Performing quick by complex searches in the Finder and in Mail is easier in Lion because of the new search tokens feature. You can build queries using text, dates and file types right in the search field.

Learn about the four Mac keyboard modifier keys: command, option, control and shift. Find out what functions each perform and the printed representations of each. See how they differ from Windows modification keys. Modifier keys allow you to issue commands, type special characters and bring up contextual menus.

Learn how to use multiple layers into Final Cut Pro X. You can place an image on top of a video and reposition, resize and crop the image easily. You can do with same with a second video, and even combine multiple videos and images. This gives you many more options that iMovie's ability to do picture-in-picture and cutaways.

The new Safari Reading List feature allows you to quickly and easily save web pages for future viewing. You can add pages to your Reading List in various ways, and they will be marked as read when you get back to them. They will also sync with iOS 5 devices. They are similar to bookmarks, but could be used in some interesting ways.

The MacBook Air and Mac mini have no optical drives. You can get an external drive for $79, or you can share the optical drive on another Mac on your network. Learn how CD and DVD drive sharing works.

Learn how to use the Censor effect in Final Cut Studio X to pixelate or blur a portion of your video. You can also animate the effect, moving it along a path to follow a moving subject. With this example you will also learn how to use effects and how to animate them, changing their properties gradually over time.

Learn about the basic functions of Final Cut Pro X. This video will help those familiar with iMovie to learn about the general Final Cut Pro X interface, events and projects. See how to import video, add it to the timeline, apply a transition and titles. Then learn how to export your project.

Learn how to use the new Arrange By feature of the Finder in Lion. In addition to sorting your files, you can also group them by kind, size and other attributes. But using Arrange By can conflict with how you want to sort files in list view.

Besides large new features in Lion, there are many small changes. Check out 10 interesting and useful new things in Lion.

Lion Mail's new interface is different from previous versions of Mail. Learn how to use the three-column view. See how you can use the Favorites bar to make the mailbox column unnecessary. Learn about the Archive function and how to use keyboard shortcuts to move messages into mailboxes.