The Computer User/Videophiler

Check out my Facebook profile

2008-04-13T19:42:00.001+10:00

facebook

Check out my Facebook profile

I set up a Facebook profile where I can post my pictures, videos and events and I want to add you as a friend so you can see it. First, you need to join Facebook! Once you join, you can also create your own profile.

Thanks,
Matt

Here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=1217083153&k=Z415Y5TRU52M5CMHP133UV&r&v=2

This e-mail may contain promotional materials. If you do not wish to receive future commercial mailings from Facebook, please opt out. Facebook's offices are located at 156 University Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301.

Happy Google April Fools Day!

2007-04-02T15:06:00.000+10:00

Ah, April Fools Day; the day where you get the chance to trick an unsuspecting person. Google, this year has made two pranks:

GMail Paper - A service that claims to allow you to, for free, to have sent to you hard copies of your emails. Even photo's get the 'royal treatment'. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, it was too good to be true. I checked my Gmail, and the new button wasn't there. I did some searching on the internet and found it out. And then Google confirms this on this web page.
Also, Google has advertised a 'fake' service where you can get the internet for free, and the connection is run through your toilet. It claims that you drop the fibre optic cable down your toilet and flush it down where the cable will find a node. Thank you CNET for enlightening us on what Google has been up to.

Don't forget, Google's motto is 'Don't be Evil'. Who knows what they are thinking in California...

Potential Flaw in Apple's Code

2006-11-28T17:19:00.000+11:00

BBC News has reported that there may be a bug in Apples DMG packaging software that could trash your mac. Read here

Australia's Ashes Test Victory

2006-11-28T13:35:00.000+11:00

If anyone has been watching the Cricket wherever you are, the Ashes has been the biggest drawcards. Full houses at all five days saw Australia demolish the English. Go the Aussies!

FreeDOS

2006-11-20T17:15:00.000+11:00

Now that Microsoft has finally released their Virtual PC software for free, I have a lot of OSes that I want to run again or haven't run before. This is FreeDOS. The project started when Microsoft halted support for MS-DOS. By now after 10-15 years after it's inception in 1981, it had a sort of cult following. Even today, people have Virtual PC software like I do, or have an old 486 in the garage use dos for many things like games. I had a screenshot, but blogger isn't loading the upload window.

Running Mac OS X on a PC

2006-11-09T20:40:00.000+11:00

Prior to the switchover of the PPC to the x86 (Intel) architecture, hackers were trying to get the cracked software onto their boring old PC's, especially with the popularity of the 'deadmoo' image. But Apple's Tiger OS should still be universal. If any of you have heard of the PearPC concept, it is essentially a PPC emulator for a windows computer, so it covers PPC Linux as well. Read on here.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: Portal of Mac OSX on a PSP w/ Firmware version 2.71

2006-11-09T20:03:00.000+11:00

Here is a video that anyone will be curious about. This guy has managed to have a portal running of Mac OSX on his PSP, which has the firmware version 2.71 on it which in the general hacker world is remarkable due to the fact that really only version 1.5 has been extensively hacked successfully. I hope you enjoy watching this. The website for the software is at http://x5.psp3d.com/

VIDEO OF THE DAY: How holograms are made with lasers

2006-11-07T21:26:00.000+11:00

If you are a sci-fi fanatic, or have a general curiosity about the holograms that are used on set on some of the most famous hollywood movies? Well, this might be for you. Enjoy!

OFF TOPIC: Australia v American Samoa 31-0 Highlights video

2006-11-07T12:26:00.000+11:00

This is quite a funny clip. Goal after goal after goal after goal. You feel sorry for the American Samoan Goalkeeper, he'd probably had to retire after that pitiful performance. 13-goal Archie Tomphson now plays for the Melbourne Victory in the A-League (Australia's top division league), sad ain't it? They even dropped him for the second leg of that tie!

The UMPC

2006-11-07T12:14:00.000+11:00

Anyone heard of UMPC? A UMPC is an Ultra Mobile PC. It is like a tablet PC, but only has a 7in screen or under, and it is fully functional. Pioneer Computers of Australia have released their first UMPC, the Pioneer Computers Dreambook UMPC 700 for the Australian market only. Pioneer Computers plan to release a 5in model in two months. They expect to release. ASUS has released their R2H models but isn't listed on their Australian website. There is a guy that tried running Windows Vista RC1 on the ASUS R2H and pretty successfully. You can read about that by clicking here. I find the UMPC idea a very interesting concept which I would invest in purchasing one. It is highly recommended that you have a look at the UMPC website.

Fwd: Super Cool at Switchpod! from Switchpod

2006-11-06T21:17:00.001+11:00

This is the latest newsletter from the Switchpod website. It has some very interesting information that you might want to read...

Hi,

Switchpod is sizzling this month! We have some great new features for you! Super cool ... Super Awesome! SUPER HOT!

Switchpod Pod Producer!
You can now download Switchpod Pod Producer - a program that will let you record, edit, and then upload your audio files onto Switchpod.com automatically. You can download Switchpod Pod Producer at http://switchpod.com/SP_setup.exe .

Switchpod Pod Producer will let you as a podcaster gain greater control of your podcasts.

Though everyone can use Switchpod Pod Producer, you will need an ftp account at Switchpod to upload your mp3s to Switchpod.com.

You will need a premium account to upload files to Switchpod.com automatically. However, anyone can save episodes to their computer!

To use Switchpod Pod Producer, do the following:
Download the program at http://switchpod.com/SP_setup.exe
Click on the record button to record your episode.
Click on the stop bottom
Click on Save episode
Check the box where it says Upload your Mp3 to Switchpod.com
Click on Save button.

Make sure that that you put your Switchpod username (not ftp username ) as username and ftp password (not Switchpod password) as password.

Your files will be automatically uploaded to the folder named ftp in your user directory, and then automatically added to your feed.

If you need help, please email us at support@switchpod.com

2) We have released Switchpod Colleges - a podcast that lets you learn more about the colleges throughout the United States! Learn more about Emory and other colleges. Visit Switchpod.com to download these podcasts.
3) You can now edit your blog through your Switchpod control panel. You can also rename episodes easily!

Check out Switchpod.com for other new features!

This month at Switchpod will be hot! Stay tuned for more!

Thank you,

Switchpod

VIDEO OF THE DAY: An original preview of Sun Microsystem's Looking Glass

2006-11-06T20:10:00.000+11:00

In this irregular video of the day feature, I will show you the potential future of desktop programs. Sun Microsystems is the pioneer of a technology called Looking Glass. This is essentially a downloadable 3D desktop. It is available as a demo for Windows, can be fully inplemented with a Linux OS, and is available as a Live CD for testing. Enjoy the clip.

HOW-TO: Create your own podcast

2006-11-06T10:13:00.000+11:00

Due to the popularity of iTunes 4.9 and newer, and the iPod; podcasting has become a very popular way of running a radio show without actually working at a radio station. Through the internet, podcasts have the potential to be heard and seen throughout the world. Essentially, a podcast is a radio show put to a sound file (you don't have to use mp3, ogg vorbis has become very popular with a lot of the geeks doing podcasts) which is downloaded to your computer or an mp3 player (such as an iPod) for listening. You can rewind and fast forward through the file and listen to your leisure. Many people like Teachers, Journalists, Hobbyists, Non-for-profit organisations, major TV/radio stations, non-for-profit organisations among others use podcasts to deliver content. It is very easy to start your own podcasts.

Below are some links on how to make an audio only podcast. You will need a microphone to start off.

Podcasting News.com has an article on making a podcast for newbies. All it uses is Audacity, a cross-platform audio editor. You can read this article at http://www.podcastingnews.com/articles/How-to-Podcast.html
Radio.about.com has a good how-to webpage on making a podcast. You can read this article at http://radio.about.com/od/podcastin1/a/aa030805a.htm

Below are some links on how to make a video podcast. All you need is a camera and away you go!

The playlist website shows you how to make a vodcast (Video Podcast) using a mac and the bare prequisitries of Quicktime Pro 7 and your web storage space. You can read their article by clicking onto here: http://playlistmag.com/features/2005/07/howtovodcast/index.php

Macworld.com has a great article on their website whilst only needing the iLife suite to create a vodcast with a mac. You can read their article by clicking onto here: http://www.macworld.com/2006/03/secrets/aprilcreate/index.php

If you are running a PC, do not frown; below is a basic guide on creating a vodcast.

Prequisitries:

A PC running Windows XP with SP2 preferred

2.6 Ghz Pentium 4 Processor (You will need all of this grunt for the rendering stage)

512 MB of Ram

80 GB of HD space minimum

A camcorder
The appropriate firewire or USB 2.0 ports
Video editing software such as Adobe Premiere Elements or other equivalent.
Divx Community Codec
VirtualDub MPEG2
Lame MP3 Codec
A Blog or Website
Web storage space which is publically accessible as a read-only file. (This can be from your website)
Feedburner

Step 1: Planning your shoot.

There are many things to consider when planning to shoot a vodcast episode. This all includes your set, the aspect ratio of your video, and your content. I have listed a camcorder because a webcam will not give you the freedom that a camcorder does. With your aspect ratio, 16:9 is fine, just as long as your focus area of that shot stays within a 4:3 safe area. Essentially, keep your focus point around the middle of your widescreen frame, that way your video can be cropped ready for viewing with a video iPod (this is where Virtual Dub comes in). Be sure to prepare a script detailing what is said, and the camera angles shot.

Step 2: Shoot your video.

When you are speaking, it is best not to look over your notes as much. This will help make your video a professional-looking one. Take the inspiration from your nightly news bulletin, and one of those women's talk shows but your script will be about your chosen topic. Try to use a tripod in most cases as this will help stabilize the image. If you need to have a moving camera, you could use a very basic wheelchair for that, but please do not take off the disabled! Try and do two to three takes of the episode and choose the best one; this will help make sure that you have the best delivered content available. Remember that you will be putting this onto a potential worldwide audience so aim to do their best. Do not make a very long episode because you need to be space conscious.

Step 3: Upload video to your video editing software.

This is a fairly simple process. If you are using Adobe Premiere Elements 2, follow these steps:

Open Premiere Elements and select setup.
You will see the settings window for your projects. Now, I have selected PAL mode, but if you are shooting in NTSC, select the NTSC templates. Choose whether if you want to edit in 16:9 widescreen or in 4:3 Academic mode. This should be content dependent. Once you are happy with your choice, select 'Save as Default'. If you have any 16:9 content, there will be black bars on the top and bottom affectionately known as the letterbox effect. It is advisable to use the Standard templates, for vodcasts, use widescreen in exceptioinal circumstances only.
You will now return to the main menu. Now select new project and then enter a name for the project. Press OK.
Click the capture button, and connect your camcorder to firewire if you are using MiniDV tapes, then hit the capture button in the preview and wait for it to finish, then click on the edit button. This video will appear in the Media Pane.
If you have any video from your hard drive (not removable media), click 'Add Media' on the edit pane and select 'Files and Folders. Then open the file like you would for a word document when using the open function. The video's that you select will appear in the Media Pane
If you have any video files from a DVD (no copy protected vob files) or on a flash drive on some sort, these will need to be downloaded to a folder on your hard drive as Premiere Elements refuses to work using a flash drive directly. To help, Adobe has included what they call a Media Downloader. Click on 'Add Media', then select 'DVD Camera or Removable Drive'. This will open up the Media Downloader window. On the right hand side, there are two steps there. At the first step, select your source; and at the second step, select the location of the folder that you wanted to upload your files to. Use the Browse button to do so, but the default folder should be fine. All of the media will appear on the left hand side. Use the check boxes to deselect any media that you don't want, and you can filter the findings by video's, photo's and music files. Once you are done, click on the 'Get Media' button. These will be placed in the Media Pane for you to use.

Step 4: Editing your video.
(This Step is directed at Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 users, but any general information stays the same)
Place your main video into the timeline by dragging it from the Media Pane. If you have other media that you want to place in the middle of your focus video, use the razor tool to select the mark where it goes (this does both audio and video too. Drag the video to the right to fit it in, drag the video from the media pane onto the timeliene, and close the gap up. Do this for every video. Now if you are using clips from the internet, you have to display the source to avoid legal trouble. Select titles, choose a title (one that uses a third of the screen is good) and type in (Source: (the website name)) in the main heading. You may want to lower the background image. This should be placed in the second video track. If you want starting and ending titles, the titles pane is useful too. Just select the template and insert it in, it is that easy. If you want to delete some of the video, this is where you also use the handy razor tool. Click on the beginning and the ending point of the section of what you want to delete, select it using the mouse tool, press delete on your keyboard and close the gap. If you want to add music, that is easy. Drag it from the media pane onto the second audio track and crop it if you wish using the razor tool. You may want to mute the audio from the main video. Select that video at the beginning and the end using the razor tool and lower the volume using the volume bar, it should not affect the rest of the clip. Only use royalty-free music to keep the lawyers away. Once you are done, select Export and then MPEG. Save the file to a folder and let it render, you might want to go for a coffee break, you deserve it.

Step 5: Rendering for a PC file with Virtual Dub MPEG2

Once you have downloaded the zip file, unzip it into it's own folder. Open the execution file, then open the file using Ctrl+O. Once it has loaded, select Filters, add filter, select resize and click ok. Here is a basic guide to what you need to resize the pixel size:

PAL 4:3 - 720x576
NTSC 4:3 - 720x480
576i (if you were editing in widescreen) - 720x404

Click OK twice. Now select Video, Compression, and the DivX Codec. Use the bitrate calculator to calculate your bitrate according to the length of your vodcast, and how big you want the file. Your video file shouldn't be more than 500MB-1GB for people with disc space issues. Once you are done, click ok twice. Now select audio, then full processing mode. Select audio again, then click on compression. Select the 'Lame MP3 Codec' and then choose a bit rate between 96kbps and 128kbps, then select okay. Now you can render this file by clicking save as, and saving it to a folder as an avi file. You do not have to use the DivX codec, you can use another codec such as OGM or Xvid, but DivX is a widely used codec which helps the distribution.

Step 6: Upload to a web server.

If you have some webspace, place the video onto there. You can upload your video onto there. Add a link onto your website or blog, and add the news onto an RSS feed. This is where feedburner comes in. You can use the iTunes podcast directory to promote it as it reads your RSS feed and allows the viewer to download it using the iTunes software from the link that you provided. So that is how you make a video podcast using a PC.

There is a general overview of how to make your own podcast. I hope you have enjoyed this article and have found it useful to tap into the popularity of podcast. Keep reading my blog at http://thecomputeruservideophiler.blogspot.com/

2006-10-30T19:57:00.000+11:00

Welcome to my new blog, The Computer User/Videophiler. Over time, I will post all different information about Computers and AV, and sometimes I may go a bit off topic for a few laughs. I hope you enjoy reading this blog. Oh, if you have any questions, or computer problems; send me an email at matthew.penguincentral@gmail.com, I just might be able to help you out.

Enjoy!

Matt