Category Archives: Gadgets & Apps

Record Skype calls. Easy.

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Call RecorderCall Recorder from ecamm network provides a really simple, inexpensive ($13) way to record a Skype call. For Mac users. David and I chatted for 2 minutes last night so I could check this out. I was using an inexpensive LogiTech headset/mic and I’m not sure what David was using. He sounded a little hotter than I did and Call Recorder does not give you a way to monitor levels (that I saw). But this is literally a one-button plug-in for Skype.

The resulting audio file is a Quicktime .mov file. Call Recorder comes with a few conversion tools that turns your call into an MP3 file. And one of the tools converts to two channels so you can work with either end of the call. For price and ease-of-use, I don’t know how it can get much better.

The quality will only be as good as your connection and your mics. But I think this sounds a lot better than anything you’d get with a regular phone call. And I think I can tweak this for better results. I’ve got a couple of interviews coming up that will give me a better test drive. And, as I told David, I’m sure that are Windows apps that will do this as well or better.

Podcasting with GarageBand 3

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Podcasting with GarageBand 3That’s the tile of a video training CD from lynda.com. The instructor, Scott Bourne, is really good. GarageBand a piece of Apple software most noted for making music but the latest upgrade includes some nice podcasting features. I have access to very good recording and editing hardware and software but I’d like to see what I can produce on the MacBook. The two CD set runs about $50 bucks but I think it’s worth it. I confess I got hooked by working through the first few lessons on the lynda.com website. I think it was at the end of Lesson #3 that I realized I’d have to subscribe or buy the CD to get more. By then I was hooked. Well done lynda.com. Let me get through the two CD’s and I’ll put something together, post it here and you can judge for yourself if the training is any good. [Amazon]

Phone Whores

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In case you are not familiar with a term that I just made up, a phone whore is a woman who goes to the airport with no magazines, laptops, books, puzzles or other means to entertain her. All she has is a phone, and she’s going to use it, no matter how many people are annoyed.

The phone whore is motivated by the desire to talk with people. The phone asshole (male variety) is motivated by the need to have everyone on the flight know he’s negotiating important business deals and that he has staff members that must receive his wisdom.

— Scott Adams

 

Mac on the road

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I can’t remember who made the first “portable” computer I owned but the bastard must have weighed 15 pounds. Connecting to the web wasn’t an issue in those days because it didn’t exist (in any way that mattered to me). I can’t even remember what I did with the laptop on the road.

This is my first outing with a Mac and I couldn’t be happier. The hotel charged me $10 a day for cable access but I just plugged it in and was up and running. Wifi was very slow at the conference but the Mac found the signal with no fiddling or port futzing.

I’m posting this from the Seattle airport where $8 buys 24 hours of really fast net access. Nobody needs 24 hours but what a great way to pass the time (or do bidness). And, again, so easy. This is the way mobile computing was meant to be.

Mac migration continues

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After I purchased my iPod nano (a year ago? two years?), I installed iTunes on my home desktop Windows machine. And for the most part, that has worked fine. This morning I migrated everything over to the Mac Book and sync’d up the nano. My original thought was I wanted to be able to update podcasts wherever I might be. Before, I had hook up to the home PC…now I sync with the Mac Book which I am keeping with me more and more.

I’ve also loaded my Outlook contacts back on the nano (I’ve found this to be extremely useful). First time I did this it was a bit of a pain. Had to export the contacts from my Win machine at work and jump thru a couple of hoops to get the file on the nano. These days, I keep my Mac Book Address Book sync’d with work (I just drag and drop a file) and sync’ing the nano with the Mac Book is… well, you’ve seen the TV ads.

Pre-Mac, I tended to keep a lot of stuff scattered between home, work, laptop. I find myself looking for ways to get my most important stuff on the Mac. I’m looking forward to my first road trip with the Mac.

Final Cut Express HD

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Installed Final Cut Express HD. This is the next step up from iMovie for video editing. As I understand it, “Express” is the Lite version of Final Cut Pro. At first glance, it reminds me of Adobe Premiere in that it’s packed with features and will have a bit of a learning curve. But it comes with an excellent tutorial DVD so, we’ll see. I can see myself running back to Studio 9 (Windows) in a pinch.

Apple promoting business podcasting

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I haven’t played with GarageBand much but plan to. Supposed to make podcasting a snap. And the folks at Apple think there might be some business applications for podcasting:

“Promoting your business just got easier. Create a podcast with GarageBand, post it to iTunes in minutes, and reach customers, clients, and partners in a whole new way. Chefs are sharing recipes. Maternity store owners are giving the lowdown on diaper bags. And other professionals are airing business discussions, marketing new products and services, and keeping people informed.”

Things I like about the Mac OS

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In time, I suppose I’ll come to appreciate the the more philosophical (spiritual?) aspects of the Mac invironment. For now, I’m finding delight in small discoveries:

  • Font Finder – I weep to think of the wasted hours trying to identify a font. No more.
  • Dictionary – If Windows (Not Word) has one, I never found it. Yes, I know I could have installed one.
  • Outliner – Just a simple little applet for organizing thoughts. (See Dictionary above)
  • Lighted Keyboard – It was dusk and getting difficult to see the keyboard. As I reached for the lamp, the Mac keyboard became backlit. My Thinkpad had a wee light that shone down on the keyboard. Better than nothing, but…

I wonder if the Great Mac Mystique is really nothing more than lots of little “oohs” and “aahs” like these. I’m confident that, in time, I will come to appreciate, if not understand, the the more substantive differences between the two operating systems. For now, I will amaze the people of my village with tales of wonder.

Crossing the Rubicon

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Here’s the plan. Tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. I meet Henry and we head for St. Louis where I purchase my first Mac. I really think he is more excited about this Moment than I. This could be the let-down of all time but for a peek in my head, pop Sergeant York into the DVD and FFWD to the scene where a drunken Gary Cooper gets knocked off his mule by a bolt of lightening and stumbles into Walter Brennan’s church, where they’re singing “Give Me That Old Time Religion.”

If they guys at the West County Apple Store could pipe that song over the sound system as I walk up to the counter, we’d have us pretty good TV spot. My plan is to see if I can wait a few days before I crack the seal on the new toy. Just to fuck with the Mac users a little bit.

Mac Lust

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Do people still get what we once called “new car fever?” A completely irrational, irresistable desire to buy a new car? I buy a new Toyota every 10 or 15 years, so I don’t suffer from this particular affliction. I am, however, suffering from Mac lust. I want one of the new MacBook Pros. I have a couple of computers at work; a year-old Dell here at home; a perfectly good ThinkPad. I do not need another computer. But I want one. I have never used a Mac. Don’t look forward to having to learn a new operating system or move back and forth between Mac and PC.

I want a Mac because they are cool. And all the cool kids have them. They are sexy. There is no logic or reason at work here. This is happening in the lizard part of my brain. I’ve thought about sneaking over to St. Louis to the Apple store and putting my hands on one of the new MacBooks. But that’s like saying I’ll just lie down on the bed next to the super-model, but we won’t “do anything.” If I walk in that store, I’ll walk out $2,500 poorer. So I’m holding on. Like a junkie trying to survive the shakes and chills and maybe in the morning I won’t want that fix.