What is a Flip Video?  The Flip Video is a simple camcorder for digital video created by Pure Digital Technologies, a company bought by Cisco Systems in March of 2009.

The following comes to us courtesy of SimpleHelp.com.

Mark

How To Import Flip Videos Into iMovie
 
This brief tutorial will show you how to import video’s that you’ve taken with your Flip Video Camera and import them into iMovie. 

1.
Start out by opening iMovie and either create a new project or open an existing one.

2.
Select File from the Main Menu, then Import and finally Movies…

3.
Navigate to the Flip Video that you want to import into iMovie. Select it (or them) – make sure that all of the options you want are set, and then click Import. If you’re having trouble finding the Flip Video you want to import, you can locate them based on how you access your Flip Videos – either by copying them directly from the Camera, or using the FlipShare software. If you’re using the FlipShare software, you can locate your saved Flip Video’s in your Movies -> FlipShare Data -> Videos folder.

iMovie will now process the video(s). The length of time this takes varies, but the larger the video, the longer it will take.

Once the Import has completed, you can edit it in iMovie etc.

That’s it!
Click Her4e for original article complete with illustrations.

Fast becoming my favorite Mac OS X Lion VoiceOver compatible Dashboard widget is one that allows me to quickly search for US businesses via the Yellow Pages. 

WIDGET DESCRIPTION: 
Use this Dex widget to search and find Local Businesses in the Dex Yellow Pages Directory Listings Phone Book. Use the Dex widget to search and find local businesses in the United States, complete with Maps & Reviews. 

Simple to use. Just type a category, business name, keyword or phone number into the “what” box. Then type a city, state, ZIP code or landmark into the “where” box and hit enter or the find button and see the results appear in your browser.

To start using this amazingly powerful search widget:

1.
Click Here to go to the download page for the widget.

2.
Download and install the widget.

3.
After installing the widget, I suggest that you close the web browser.

4.
Now go to the Dashboard and begin using the widget.

Note: 
I suggest using the key combination [Option+LeftArrow] to quickly jump to the Dashboard. 

Enjoy,

Mark

Tired of seeing every single application on your Mac showing up in Apple’s new Launch Pad view on your OS X Lion system?  Use Launch-Pad Control and remove the madness. 

From the developer: 

Already upgraded to Mac OS X Lion? Yes? Well then you certainly know Launchpad, the “home for your apps” like Apple says. 

A huge disadvantage of Launchpad is that every app located in your /Applications folder is shown. That means that you will see little helper programs like uninstallers or updaters, too. These apps can’t be hidden from Launchpad easily because Apple does not provide any preference pane or tool to do so.

Click Here to read more and download the Launch-Pad Control tool.

Mark

One of my favorite features in Microsoft Outlook is the ability to view only upcoming (active) appointments in the calendar. 

Apparently, Apple does not think I need this feature in the latest version of iCal.  (grimace)

While there are certainly some very fine third-party applications that will allow me to see only upcoming appointments, I am of the opinion that less is better; therefore, I resist installing such applications unless absolutely necessary.  Besides, there is no guaranty that said third-party applications, for which I may have to pay a premium, will be VoiceOver (Apple’s software screen reading solution for the blind and low vision) accessible. 

Enter the Mac OS X Lion Dashboard of which I am growing quite fond, and all its marvelous, and for the most part free, widgets.

It is with such a widget that we can view only upcoming or active appointments.

Oh, keep in mind that iCal refers to appointments as events. 

Let’s get started.

1.
Download and install a free Mac OS Dashboard widget called iCal Events.  Its description is as follows: 
iCal Events… Face the day! Always know what’s next on your schedule using iCal Events. iCal Events displays upcoming events from multiple iCal calendars in a beautiful, resizable widget for Dashboard. You can see up to two weeks of upcoming events in the same widget without needing to open iCal.

2.
After installing the widget, I suggest that you close the web browser used to download the widget.

3.
Now go to the Dashboard and see the widget in action.  I suggest using the key combination [Option+LeftArrow] to quickly jump to the Dashboard.  Please note that you can change the number of days shown in the widget by clicking on the Info button.

Enjoy,

Mark

The following instructions from SimpleHelp describes how to add your contact information to the OS X Lion login and lock Screens in case someone finds your lost Macintosh. 

Mark

HOW TO ADD CONTACT INFO TO THE OS X LOGIN AND LOCK SCREENS

1.
Select the “Apple Button” from the Menu Bar. Select System Preferences… from the list.  
 
2.
In the Personal section of the System Preferences, locate Security & Privacy and click it.

3.
Select the General tab, and then, if necessary, click the “Lock” icon in the bottom-left corner of the window so that you can make changes.

4.
From here you’ll have a number of options, and will have to decide which ones you want to enable and which you don’t need/want.

First things first – place a check in the box labeled Show a message when the screen is locked:. Then enter the information you want displayed in the space provided.
Now you may want to enable the Disable automatic login feature. If you do, that means you’ll need to enter your password each time your Mac starts – and of course your custom message will also be displayed. This way if someone finds your Mac, they won’t be able to access your files (as easily…) and your contact info will be displayed.

You may also want to enable the Require password after sleep or screen saver beings. You’ll need to enter your password after your screen saver kicks in (though you can specify the time) – but again, your contact info will be displayed on the screen.

Once you’ve made all the changes that best suit your needs, just close out of the System Preferences.

Now when your Mac starts up (and other scenarios depending on the options you selected) – your contact information (or whatever message you entered) will be displayed.

Click Here for the original article.

The following link will take you to a page that provides the steps on creating a
bootable Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Flash Drive:

Mark

CREATE A BOOTABLE MAC OS X 10.7 LION FLASH DRIVE
Apple has announced that with the release of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, the operating system will be available only via download from the Mac App Store. Past versions of the Mac OS X operating system have always been available for purchase on a bootable DVD and with some systems like the MacBook Air, they’ve been included on a bootable USB drive. To create your own bootable USB device using your own flash drive (note that the device must be at least 4GB or larger), follow the instructions below:
Click Here To Continue

The following link will take you to a page that will provide the steps on creating a Lion boot disk for your Macintosh computer.

Mark

HOW TO BURN A LION BOOT DISC
Mac OS X Lion will debut in July, and this handy set of instructions from Egg Freckles will let you create a boot disc for installation. OS X Lion will be distributed via the Mac App Store, and you can download the installer files to your hard drive. Once you have the installer files, follow these steps to create your very own boot disc:  Click Here To Continue

Click Here to download/view Apple’s iOS User Guide in PDF format.

Mark

Click Here to download/view Apple’s iOS User Guide in an accessible Browser-friendly HTML file format.

Mark

Get what you DON’T pay for: Here are a whopping 196 programs, courtesy of PC Magazine, that cost absolutely nothing, but will make your computing life much richer.

Click Here To Continue …

Mark

Search the web and you will discover that many people who use Apple’s Mail program as an iMap client to a gMail account soon discover that they cannot see their own replies sent to mailing lists such as those hosted on Google Groups.  In fact, if they try to send a message to themselves, they will not see it in the Apple Mail Inbox. 

Maddening, to say the least!!!! 

The following steps, discovered by Yours Truly, will resolve this seemingly inexplicable conundrum. 

1.
On your Mac, open the Mail program.

2.
From the Mail Menu, select Preferences.

3.
Select the Accounts Tab. 

NOTE:
If you have more than one email account setup in Apple Mail, make sure the correct account is highlighted (selected) in the Accounts List. 

4.
Select the Mailbox Behavior Tab.

5.
Finally, remove the Checkmark next to the “Store Sent Messages On The Server” box.  More simply stated, uncheck the “Store Sent Messages On The Server” Checkbox. 

6.
Save your changes.  You can do this by simply closing the Preferences Window and then selecting the Save button at the resulting Dialog Box prompt.

That’s all there is to it.  Now, you will once again, see any messages sent to any mailing lists, assuming the List Moderators allow such a feature, and you will see any test messages sent to yourself. 

Enjoy,

Mark

Just as the title suggests, in this approximately 5 minute episode of the Candle Shore Podcast, I demonstrate how to configure gMail to allow email clients such as Outlook and the MacMail client to undelete messages when using the iMap protocol.

Mark
Episode:  How To Configure Google Mail To Allow Messages To Be Undeleted In Email Clients

Just as the title of this post suggest, the following article, by Tim Bajarin, does indeed demystify the mystery that is Apple.
Click Here to Continue.

Enjoy,

Mark

The following comes to us courtesy of SimpleHelp:

Mark

How To Save Documents Created In Pages As Microsoft Word Documents

This brief tutorial will show you how to save documents that you have created in Apple’s Pages application as Microsoft Word (.doc) files.

1.
Create a (or open an existing) document as you normally would in Pages.

2.
When you’re ready to save it as a .doc file, select Share from the Pages menu bar, and then Export… from the drop-down list.

3.
Select the Word section in the Export window. Click the Next… button to continue.

4.
In the Save As: space, give your document a name. Then navigate to the folder you want to save your document (as a Microsoft Word .doc file) in. Click the Export button. Pages will now ‘convert’ your Pages document (which is a .pages file by default) into a .doc file – which Microsoft Office users can open and edit. Navigate to the folder that you opted to save the file in (from the previous step). There’s your newly-created .doc file! Note the Kind section of the Preview window indicates that this is a Microsoft Word 97 – 2004 document. That doesn’t mean that people using newer version of Microsoft Office will be unable to open it – they will.

This tip comes to us courtesy of Simple Help:

Enjoy,

Mark

HOW TO MOVE ITEMS IN THE OS X TRASH BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL LOCATION
 
Here’s a quick OS X tip – but only works if you’re using OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). You’ve always been able to drag items from the Trash to your Desktop (or any other folder) if you decide not to delete them. Now you can move some (or all) files from your Trash back to their original location on your Mac. Here’s how:

1.
Open the Trash Folder on your Mac.

2.
Select the items you want to move back to their original locations.

3.
Either Right-Mouse Click (or CRTL-Click if you have a single-button mouse) and select “Put Back” from the resulting Shortcut menu.

That’s all there is to it. Now all the files you selected will be relocated back to their previous locations. No need to manually move files around one by one anymore.

Microsoft will enable Exchange ActiveSync for Hotmail users on Monday, August 31, 2010, giving them the ability to receive push email on devices such as iPhone.

Microsoft’s Dharmesh Mehta told CNET that ActiveSync offers a more robust option than IMAP and, when combined with POP access, should give most Hotmail users the syncing capabilities they are looking for.

Mark

Read More

In this approximately 18 minute episode of the Candle Shore Podcast, I demonstrate how to optimize the Macintosh Mail client for use with VoiceOver, Apple’s software screen reading solution for the blind and low vision.

Enjoy,

Mark
Episode 59:  How To Optimize The Macintosh Mail Application for Use With VoiceOver

In this approximately 5 minute podcast, I tell you about a recent misfortune I suffered, remind you to backup any data that you do not wish to lose, and ask you for a little help.

Thank you for listening.

Mark
Episode:  Take It From Mark, Back It Up And A Call For Help

From PC Magazine
NEWS: Microsoft Shows Off ‘Wave 4′ Windows Live Essentials Apps
Windows 7 doesn’t come pre-installed with an iLife-type suite of consumer applications, but you can download the free Windows Live Essentials to fill this role. Microsoft gave early access to the upcoming “Wave 4″ apps to some tech journalists, and PCMag.com was invited for a test spin.
Click Here To Read More.

Mark

As a low vision Windows 7 and Mac Snow Leopard user, I access computers via a screen reader (JAWS) for Windows 7 and (VoiceOver) for Mac Snow Leopard.

I also happen to be a very satisfied user of iPhone 3GS. 

Included with the iPhone 3GS, at the time of purchase, is a very nice set of Apple branded stereo earphones with inline 3-button remote control and microphone.  This included headset can be used to remotely control iPhone 3GS volume level, dialing feature, and iPod App. 

Since the release of iPhone 3GS, I have damaged the microphone on at least three sets of these headsets by various sundry accidents including getting the microphone wet. 

The other day, while opening yet another pair of Apple iPhone 3GS earphones, I decided to attach the older pair to my MacBook Pro. 

What do you think I discovered?  You’re right!  The inline remote control acts just like it does on my iPhone 3GS; that is, the volume buttons work to change the volume level of the MacBook Pro and the middle button will open iTunes. When iTunes is playing media, the headset inline remote control functions to navigate the playback just as it does on the iPhone 3GS. 

As a bonus, even when running Windows 7 in VM Ware’s Fusion, the inline remote volume buttons continue to function normally. 

So, go ahead and shove  that iPhone 3GS 3-button inline remote control headset with Microphone, attached to your MacBook Pro, in your ear.

Enjoy,

Mark