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Aug 10 2010

Flipboard + Twitter Lists

In this video, I’m taking a look at a little known fact within a little known fact about the free media consumption app for the iPad, Flipboard:

1) You can add each of your Twitter Lists to Flipboard as a separate Sections and…

2) You can add people to your Twitter Lists that you don’t actually follow on Twitter

    This means that you can group together dozens of Twitter feeds in a single list that would otherwise bog down your Twitter stream and add the list to Flipboard and read them all in Flipboard’s magazine-style format. It also means that, since most website post links to their latest articles on Twitter, you can read any such website in Flipboard as if it had its own Section simply by giving it its own list in Twitter. This can also come in handy for people who post a lot of content to Twitter, but so much so that it floods your feed and makes it overwhelming—don’t follow them, add them to a list and make them a Section of Flipboard.

    No Flash? No problem—click here!»

    I don’t think I’ll be reading my main Twitter stream on Flipboard as much as I’ll be using it to consume these other sources of content—the ones I don’t actually follow.

    How do you use Flipboard? Found any cool tricks? Leave a comment and let me know!!

    By RickMacMerc • apps, Featured, iPad, macmerc, MacMerc.TV, Mini Video, Social Networking • 4 • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Apr 27 2009

    Quicktime Tools

    To mark this weeks preview release of Quicktime 6, I’ve decided to feature a handful of useful and fun Quicktime tools. Best of all, as always, they’re free!

    This week we’ll take a look at some useful applications that let you do more with your Quicktime movies.

    PresentMovie

    First up is a great little program called “PresentMovie”, and it does just that. For those of you that are Quicktime Pro veterans, you know the “Present Movie” command displays a movie full-screen (and with no menu bar).

    PresentMovie brings this display capability to non-Quicktime Pro users. By dragging a movie to the “PresentMovie” icon, it automatically plays it full screen. To configure settings, launch the app by itself.

    MovieFloat

    If full-screen isn’t you’re style and you prefer to watch movies while you work on your computer, MovieFloat may be a better fit. This little app launches one or more Quicktime movies in floating, always-on-top windows. A visit to the applications preferences gives you a chance to change the settings. Among the playback settings is the ability to change the transparency settings for the movie, allowing you to reveal other windows below the movie. For OS 9 users, check out SteveMovieFloat for similar functionality.

    Save Hollywood

    If activism is your bag, check out SaveHollywood. While you won’t preserve an inch of rain forest, you can let the office know what you care about even while you’re away from your computer.

    SaveHollywood is a screen saver module for OS X. By dropping it into your Screen Saver folder in your Library, you add it to the selection of built-in screen saver modules. In your System Preferences you can configure Save Hollywood to make a screen saver of one or a series of Quicktime movies which can be displayed in order or randomly.

    So, now you can have your Quicktime full screen, on top of your work and even while your Mac is idle. So, after trying out Apple’s new Quicktime 6 preview, you should have plenty of fun with your movies. Yeah, I’m too good to you…

    Until next week, Brian

    (PS, if you find that QT 6 isn’t treating you right, don’t miss the QT 5 re-installer.

    By admin • Articles, Freeloader Friday Download of the Week • Comments Off • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Apr 27 2009

    RetroMac Special– a Look Back at 9

    Steve Jobs may have held the funeral service, but the OS now termed a classic is far from dead.

    Years of Mac OS programming has left us a legacy of great software and freeware for Mac OS 9. This week we’ll take a look at a few of my picks…

    FileCM

    Most of these enhancements mimic what were envied Windows features that have since been incorporated into OS X. The first of which is FileCM by Andy Finnell. This indispensable add-on comes in the form of a Contextual Menu item.

    filecm1 RetroMac Special a Look Back at 9

    When installed, FileCM adds the ability to copy files from one folder and paste them into another with a “right” or control click.

    filecm1 RetroMac Special a Look Back at 9

    Going one step beyond OS X, it also allows you to cut a file from one location to paste elsewhere and allows you to paste items as an alias. Nice.

    Joke Ridge

    This control panel adds the ability to open Windows “Joliet” formatted CDs without file name truncation. This may not seem like a big deal, but when you have to rename a dozen or so GRAPH~01.JPG files, you won’t be laughing.


    Natural Order

    Another quirky little feature of OS 9 was it’s habit of listing numbered files out of order.

    naturalorder1 RetroMac Special a Look Back at 9

    As cute as that was, it’s nice to see things in their “natural order”. This System Extension by Stuart Cheshire fixes the Finder’s and other applications’ dialogue boxes to list numbered files like this:

    naturalorder2 RetroMac Special a Look Back at 9

    Essential? No, but it is a great fix. This is the first and only of today’s utilities that will function in the “classic mode” of OS X.

    Jerry’s Finder Patch

    Before you get scared by the idea of a “patch”, know that Jerry has this down to a science. This self applying patch to your Finder adds useful keyboard shortcuts for things like sleep and shut down along with a slew of other enhancements. Jerry’s redefined Finder also has a larger memory heap and a “quit finder” command.

    jerrysfinder RetroMac Special a Look Back at 9

    Install it for yourself to find its many more features, but remember, should something go wrong and cause you to lose your data (including your 700 megs of ABBA mp3′s) it’s not our fault. I claim no responsibility for your music tastes. Having said that, I have never had a problem with this patch, or ABBA.

    Until next time, keep it real with the Classic OS.

    Brian

    By admin • Articles, Freeloader Friday Download of the Week • Comments Off • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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