MacMost: Video Podcast

If more than one person uses your Mac, you should set up multiple user accounts so each person has their own space for files and their own application preferences. You can use Fast User Switching to keep multiple accounts logged in at the same time so applications remain running and documents remain open.

You can use Smart Albums in iPhoto 09 to get a list of all photos taken with a single camera, like the iPhone 3GS. You can also use other criteria like camera settings, keywords, descriptions, ratings and dates. Smart Albums update automatically and will sync back to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Take a look at Back to My Mac, a feature of MobileMe that allows you to easily connect to your home Mac while away. You can share files and the screen. Back to My Mac will communicate with MobleMe so you can connect even if you are on a different network and have changing dynamic IP addresses.

Skitch is a free tool that can be used to capture your screen and then draw on the image. You can also start with a blank image, photo or any file. You can export the result or upload it to the Skitch Web site to share.

Web developers creating pages specifically for the iPhone can ask for GPS location data on their Web pages with some simply JavaScript. See a basic example that can be used to get the latitude and longitude of the iPhone viewing the Web page.

A basic look at Energy Saver Preferences. These can be used to reduce the power consumption of your Mac when you are not using it. You can also schedule shut down or sleep patterns, and set how how Mac behaves while it is asleep.

Dropbox creates a folder on your drive that automatically syncs with a remote server. You can then access these files from your other Macs and iPhone, as well as share them with friends or everyone. It is a good way to keep a set of files in sync if you have more than one Mac.

Instead of letting iTunes update podcasts every hour or in the middle of the day, you can schedule iTunes to check at night. Using a simple AppleScript and scheduling it to run with iCal you can have new podcast episodes waiting for you when you get to your Mac in the morning.

If you want to go beyond the default titles built into iMovie 09, you can create your own titles in a graphic editor. You can bring them into iMovie as titles between clips, or as overlays on top of existing video.

You can customize your Safari toolbar by adding a variety of buttons and re-arranging them. You can also revert to the default set. You can specify which buttons stick around when the window shrinks. Interesting additions include a New Tab button, an Add Bookmark button, Mail and Print buttons and Zoom buttons.

The Mac doesn't come with any drawing tools. Fortunately, two free programs give you some basic ability to draw and edit images. Check out Paintbrush and Seashore for Mac in this excerpt from the MacMost.com Guide to Switching to the Mac.

Use iMovie 09 to create custom slideshows from your photographs. You can add titles before and between images, as well as text over photos. You can also add transitions, music and audio narration.

It's holiday shopping time again. Here are some good ideas for what you can get Apple fans in your life. Submit your own ideas to https://macmost.com/apple-gift-guide-2009.html

If you use MobileMe, then you have an iDisk. It is a virtual hard drive on the Internet that you can use to store files and share them with others. Learn the basics of using your iDisk.

You can create tasks in Automator and then have iCal run them at a specific time in the future, or even as a recurring event. This example shows you how to have thumbnails of new photos automatically sent to an email address every week.

Learn how to use Disk Utility to erase and format an external drive. You can also create drives with multiple partitions.

If you have more than one Mac on your home network, you can share files between them by simply turning on file sharing and browsing to another Mac in the Finder. You can also add additional users and set up shared folders.

Learn how to create artistic photo slideshows in iPhoto that can then be exported as video files. You can then email these video files, create a DVD or upload to a video sharing site.

Learn how to use the iPhone's Maps app to search for stores, get directions, plot your current location and more. The iPhone Maps app has been a part of the iPhone since the beginning, but it keeps getting better. Find out what it can do and how easy it is to use.

Learn how to speed up your video clips and use slow motion in iMovie 09. You can also reverse the direction of a clip.