Today for Freelance Friday, I thought I would throw this your way. It is a movie that was created and edited on the new Apple iPhone 4G. It is a really cool little move. The creators also show you behind the scenes and how it was made.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. It’s Independence Day weekend for everyone in the United States. This means Fireworks and Bbq’s. If you plan on going out on Sunday night and taking pictures on of fireworks. I put together a post that will help you with your task, you can find it here “Photographing Firework Displays”. Be safe and sane around those fireworks.

“Apple of My Eye” – an iPhone 4 film – UPDATE: Behind the scenes footage included from Michael Koerbel on Vimeo.

By now, you’ve likely seen those clever Apple commercials which present a variety of situations before boasting, “There’s an app for that.” With over 100,000 options to choose from, their claim is remarkably accurate. As a small business owner, I’m always on the lookout for new ways to maximize my productivity with cutting edge technology. Over the past year, these are the apps that I’ve relied upon heavily. Each one is available as a free download from the App store with the exception of “My Writing Nook” which sells for $1.99.

1. My Writing Nook

I’m writing this article while riding a train to New York City. Instead of carrying a laptop, I’ve opted for an iPhone app called “My Writing Nook”. Besides the ability to work in landscape or portrait mode, this simple program allows users to sync content with a desktop computer. After my train arrives at the station I’ll be able to access the material from an office computer by logging into my account at www.mywritingnook.com. Some other convenient features include an integrated thesaurus, dictionary, and word count. For those of you who forget to hit save, the Writing Nook has you covered. It auto-saves every two minutes so you’ll never lose another masterpiece again. You can also email your written pieces directly from the app.

2. Evernote

Here’s how it works: You can log into your account from any computer or phone with an Internet connection. Then, create a few different “notebooks”. I set up areas for client management, photography techniques, inspiration, and more. You can make as many notebooks as you’d like. Anytime you need to remember something, just log in, enter and save it. When perspective clients call, my first step is to create a file about them in Evernote. This will include their contact information, details about the job, and any other information I feel is relevant. I can then access this data later using the Evernote app, or a desktop computer. This is the equivalent to having a large file cabinet with me at all times. The content automatically syncs between your phone and any desktop computer.

Evernote does more than just store text notes. One of the most useful features is the ability to snap an iPhone photo and geo-tag it while in the app. You can then add notes to the image, and view the longitude and latitude. This is a great tool for photographers who scout locations. For those fleeting thoughts that you have to get down in a hurry, try the voice recording option. Simply hit record, talk into the phone, and save for later.

Recently, Twitter integration has been built into Evernote. When you hash tag a tweet with #en it will automatically be saved to your Evernote files. For those of you not interested with Twitter and hashtags, you may want to try Evernote’s time saving “Web Clipper” feature which is an add-on for Firefox. This extension provides a toolbar button to easily add a selection or an entire page to Evernote. A free account provides users with a 40MB monthly upload allowance. This has been more than sufficient for my needs. However, if you find yourself approaching the monthly storage limit, an upgrade to 500MB is available for $5 a month.

3. Google Mobile App

Think of the Google Mobile app as Grand Central Terminal for your iPhone. It’s the main hub from which all of Google’s products are launched from. This includes Gmail, Docs, Calendar, Tasks, RSS Reader, Maps, and the new Google Buzz. For this reason, it’s one of my most clicked on apps. Google has also added a feature that brings a whole new meaning to “hands free”. Instead of typing in your search terms, you can speak them into the phone. This convenient feature has helped me out of a jam several times, especially when driving to a client in an unfamiliar location. It’s remarkably accurate, and fun to use. To get started, download it here.

Dropbox refers to their cloud storage and syncing solution as a “magic pocket”. It all starts with a folder on your desktop computer or laptop. Any file you put in the dropbox is stored safely to their cloud. You can then access the file from any online computer. Best of all, you can now access them with your iPhone using the Dropbox app. For small businesses this is an incredibly useful tool. It works with every file type imaginable including documents, photos, video, and music.

You may have read an article about Mozy.com and several other cloud storage solutions. While Mozy is still a viable option, Dropbox has recently become a serious competitor largely due to their convenient syncing features, and user friendly interface.

To get your free account visit Dropbox online.Here is the link for the Dropbox app itself.

ref: http://www.nyip.com/ezine/digital/five_photography_iphone_apps.html
by NYI Student Advisor Chris Corradino

I will let you got to the link above to view the entire post. But, here are my quick thoughts on the Lightroom vs. Aperture. First, any program that makes my life easier is a good program. When I first got my MacBook Pro, I was given a trial version of Apples Aperture 1. It was a step up from iPhoto, because it offered more post processing control over the current version of iPhoto at the time. I knew I wanted to go the Adobe Lightroom way, because of the workflow is designed to work better with other Adobe products i.e. Photoshop. Another reason I chose Lightroom over Aperture, is the fact that most plug-ins a free, and more user presets.

Aperture has one major benefit that I looked into to help me make a decision to go with Apple Aperture. In the early days I really used the iLife programs especially iWeb and iMovie/iDVD. Aperture works seamless with these programs. However, as my needs grew beyond what these programs offered, my interest in Aperture diminished. I nolonger use iWeb for my web publishing, I use Adobe Dreamweaver CS4.

In conclusion, any program that makes photo post processing easier for anyone whether it is Lightroom, Aperture, iPhoto, Adobe Bridge or one of the other web 2.o programs available, I think you should use the best one for your needs.

Post your comment, thoughts or ideas in the comment section below or take the survey.

Matt’s Final Thoughts:

Final Thoughts
If you’re a current Lightroom user, you’re among the group of the most used photo management/processing software in the world. There’s a reason why when you do a search for buzz, news, tutorials, presets, etc… on Lightroom vs. the same for Aperture, you find much more about Lightroom. It’s an awesome program and like anything out there, will just get better with time. Be happy with it. If your curiosity just has to get the best of you then by all means, download the free trial of Aperture and give it a try yourself. Maybe you’ll switch. If that’s the right thing for you then go for it. Just don’t do it because it’s new and different. As always, leave a comment. I welcome your thoughts on the topic (just be nice)

(polls)

Apple iPad

I am sure I am not the First, and I know I won’t be the last. Apple today revealed in San Francisco, in their grand fashion the new long anticipated iPad. About six months ago word was out that Apple Inc. was going to come out with a new device. And today was that day to see what the iPad would look like and how much it would cost. It seems to be a large version of the iTouch.

The size seem to be about the same as the MacBook Air just without the clam shell. The screen is 9.7 inches, measured diagonally. So overall, it’s slightly smaller than a magazine. And at just 1.5 lbs and 0.5 inches thin, it’s easy to carry and use anywhere. The high-resolution, 9.7 inch LED-backlit, IPS display on iPad is remarkably crisp and vivid. It uses a display technology called IPS (in-plane switching), it has a wide, 178° viewing angle.

iPad uses the same revolutionary technology that’s in an iPhone multi-Touch. To maximize battery life, Apple engineers took the same lithium polymer battery technology they developed for our notebook computers and applied it to the iPad. As a result, you can use iPad for up to 10 hours while surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching videos, or listening to music.

The iPad will be released in March with wireless, and in April Apple plans on releasing the 3G version. The iPad will start at $499 pirce tag. And iPad is available with a choice of 16, 32 or 64GB flash storage. I don’t think that will be enough storage. I have a feeling that will be a limiting factor for those of us that will be using this as a substitue when we don’t want to us our MacBooks.

Here is the link to the video if your would like to learn more. iPad

I brought this up because one of my Terabyte HD’s was filling up with all my system backups. I only had 50 gigabytes left on my primary backup HD. So I decided to delete all my backups up to November 1, 2009. It was simple, all I needed to do is find the folder and files under the Backup main folder a delete the folder I wanted.

I moved the no-longer needed folder to the trash. What I didn’t realize is how long it would take to actually empty my system trash once the deleted folders were in the trash. For the record it took just over 5 hours for the entire trash can to be emptied. That just over half a terabyte of free space has now been recovered. I am sure that in my obsession of backing up my system that it will only be a matter of month and I will be deleting a 1/2 terabyte of re-storable files and folders.

If you feel so inclined to read my previous post here is the link Safety First.

When I got done exporting and was done with using my computer, I went through the shut down sequence and put my computer away.

The next morning I received a very important phone call from a colleague who had sent via email. I explained that I had not opened my email for the day. While I spoke to him I was attempting to start my MacBook Pro. I say attempted, because I was getting noting when I tried to boot up my laptop. Nothing would happen. I asked if he could send the information to another web based email so I could access it from another computer. All the times I didn’t need this my laptop to go Kaput was on that day.

I promptly ran to my old PC and made an appointment at the local Apple Genius Bar, because I knew all the appointments would fill very quickly. As it was the soonest I could see a “GENIUS” was going to be 2:45 PM. I knew this was going to be bad. Cost of fixing my computer is not the issue, it’s the time away from “My Precious” is the issue.

I was very punctual for my appointment. The “GENIUS” went through the preliminary checks. After 20 minuets she said “It’ Broke”. Actually she said she thinks that the Logic Board was not working. She checked my ProCare status, and proceeded to check my computer into the hospital. Five to seven days is the time it will take to get computer fixed. Without any other choice, I was forced to accept the separation and move on.

Tonight, Monday I received a phone call from the Apple Tech. at the local store. I was preparing myself for the worst with a call this early in the repair process. To my surprise he informed me that my computer had been repaired, and was ready to be picked up. So I had my wife pick my laptop from the Apple Store.

I have it in my hot little hands and we picked up where we left off four days ago. I am so glad that I purchased the Apple ProCare for this computer. I have had to take it in twice now for similar problems. Both repairs would have cost more the $700.00 if I would have had to pay it myself. I will be bummed when the day comes and the Apple ProCare expires and I will have to pay real money to fix my computer. As far as I see it, $250.00 spent on the Apple ProCare then, has saved me $1,150.00 now.

As of 10:00 PM Wednesday night, I completed the install of the last program MAC: Microsoft Office 2004. All I have left is to pick and choose some files to migrate back and some plug-ins for web based programs.

I am really glad I did this clean install and erase. When I purchased his MacBook Pro last year in Dec. I thought it was cool and easy to migrate all my user information that was on Magellan’s MacBook to my new computer. What I didn’t know, was this would migrate everything. Programs, plug-ins, files, folders, music, and anything else I didn’t want.

My notebook has a 120 GB HD, when I was done I had 60GB left and the 40GB of photos I have taken since last December took up of the rest of the hard drive. The is why it became very sluggish.

After the clean install of Mac OSX Leopard and only installing the MS Office 2004, Adobe Lightroom, Toast, iLife 08 and one copy of Photoshop, I still have a ton of room. According to the internal HD info I have used 20.3 GB that leaves almost 97 Gig of free clean space. My computer runs faster and the fan doesn’t run as often.

Time Machine works great on my 1 Terabyte external HD. Once Time Machine is set up, I plug the HD in either with the USB or Firewire connection and Time Machine does the rest for me. It backs up my system every hour.

When you initially set up Time Machine it will take longer then usual to back-up your system. However, every time after that It only backs-up the changed data. All other data is left the same unless it had changed.

Photo by: Kirk Howard Copyright© 2007