Skype for MAC With Video Preview (BETA)

At long last, this may be the answer to all of our MAC to PC video conferencing issues. Skype for MAC v1.5.0.52 (BETA) has just been released with the ability to make video calls. Download it HERE.

I will update this post once I try to video conference with a PC user. Good luck!

Update: I successfully chatted with a PC user for the first time today! There were only two issues. ONE: I accidentally downloaded the wrong version... I found a forum discussing Sype for MAC w/video preview, and I am apparently not the only one who did this. Ensure that you download the version located HERE. The dmg file should be named "Skype_BETA_1.5.0.52_Video_preview.dmg". And TWO: do not attempt to adjust any Skype settings or preferences while engaged in a video chat. It goes all buggy. Good luck and have fun!

Essential Firefox Extensions

Since my last post on Firefox, I have discovered 2 essential Firefox extensions. How essential? Well, let's just say that while surfing the net, I don't go more than 30 seconds without using one or both of them.

I've already talked about Performancing 1.2 (which allows for easy, one-click blogging) and Forecastfox (which adds weather reports to your browser toolbar or statusbar). But, while not everyone will be interested in those, I can guarantee everyone will be interested in these.

First up is Dictionary Tooltip, which lets you double click (or Press ctrl+shift+D, or right-click) on a word to see its meaning. You no longer need to exit your browser window (or open a separate one) to look up the definition of a word (definitions courtesy of The Free Dictionary.com):

As you can see from the video, you get detailed results (sometimes it even includes a picture) at, literally, the touch of a button. Priceless.

If you're anything like me, your Bookmarks Toolbar (below the url entry bar) gets jammed fast with links you visit daily. When I realized nearly half my links were for search engines like Google and IMDB, I downloaded the second essential extension; Firefox SearchBar.

It comes pre-loaded with Google, Yahoo, Amazon, eBay, Answers.com, and Creative Commons search.

Want to add more? Mozilla has a list of popular search engines here, or you can visit this site to search for something specific. Just click on one and it's automatically added to your search bar. Want to remove some of them? Just download SearchPluginHacks to allow easy and instant right-click (or ctrl+click) removal of search engines for customization. (I imagine this feature will come standard with new versions of SearchBar.)

I simply cannot imagine how I managed to surf without these tools for as long as I did. Enjoy!

How To: Share Files & Folders With Other MACs on Your Network

I'm sure there are probably a bazillion ways to do this, but today we accidentally (and easily) set it up so that my husband and I each have access to each other's computers from our own. Since we're writing partners, we're constantly e-mailing documents back and forth or Fire Wiring large files and/or programs back and forth, so this is going to save us a TON of time and unnecessary run-around.

If you are sharing a wireless network with someone else (i.e. if you use a wireless router like AirPort Express) this should work beautifully. The following instructions should be followed on both (or all) computers you wish to share with.

1. Open up your Sytem Preferences (that's the light switch thingy on the dock). Click on Sharing (under "Internet and Network"). The first option is "Personal File Sharing". Click the box to activate it.

2. Open your Finder window and look at the top left hand side of the Sidebar. If you have "Network" listed above "Macintosh HD", skip down to step 3. If Network is not listed, go to Finder > Preferences (located at the top of your Desktop). Click the Sidebar tab and put a check next to "Network". Now Network will appear in the Finder.

3. If you click on "Network" in the Finder window, you should see the other computer(s) listed. Double click on the computer you wish to share with (or, depending on what "view" you're in, hit "Connect"). As a "Registered User" enter their Login and (computer) Password. (Click the option to remember the login info and password so you don't need to enter it each time.) And Ta-da. You're in.

4. (Optional). While I was accessing my husband's Desktop (i.e. leaving him a love note!) I accidentally pressed Apple+T which created a folder (to his Desktop) in my Finder window! So now, when I need to send him something (or retrieve something from his Desktop) I just click on the folder in the finder window and I'm automatically logged into it via the Network - without actually having to go directly through the Network. Brilliant!

How To: Burn a DVD

Sounds like it'll be easy, doesn't it? Insert a blank DVD, open the burning software of your choosing and press the "Burn DVD" button. It actually is that easy if you're burning an unencrypted disk - but what if you want to burn an encrypted one?

I'm not here to argue the legality (or morality) of copying disks that are specifically made to not be copied. And for the record, I have burned a total of 1 encrypted DVD in my lifetime - yesterday - and that's because it was due back at Blockbuster before I had a chance to watch it. If I end up liking the movie enough to want to watch it over and over, I will buy it. I'm a movie buff and I like having a legitimate collection.

So how do you do it?

First, you'll need a free program called MAC the Ripper. From their site: "MacTheRipper is intended to backup DVDs you have legally purchased for personal use."

Basically, it "rips" the encrypted DVD contents to your harddrive in the form of a folder called Video_TS. What's great about the Mac the Ripper (MTR), is that you can choose which parts of the DVD you want to extract. Just want the Main Feature and none of the menus or special features? No problem. (This is especially handy if all that extra stuff adds up to more than 4.7GBs and won't fit onto a standard, blank DVD.)

So you've downloaded MTR (which comes with a very helpful guide) and you've managed to rip a DVD to your Desktop. Now what?

If your DVD is less than 4.7GB - or, if you're burning with Toast - then it's smooth sailing (i.e. skip the rest of this paragraph and continue on to the next). But, if it's more than 4.7GBs and you don't have Toast, then you need to compress the movie with an app like DVD Remaster or DVD2one so it'll fit onto one disk. *Note: If you use Toast, you do not need a compression program because Toast can do it for you. Okay - where were we...

So your Video_TS folder is less than 4.7GBs. If you open the Video_TS folder, you'll see it's filled with a slew of .VOB files. (You'll notice an empty Audio_TS folder as well but you can ignore that.) Now, all you need to do is burn the Video_TS folder to a disk.

I recommend Toast Titanium, since I have it(!) and it's so easy to use that I burned my first disk without any troubles. (Plus, as mentioned above, if your DVD is more than 4.7GBs, Toast can compress the data so it'll fit on a standard blank disk.) Toast is just CD/DVD burning software - it's one of the better ones (if not the best) for MAC, but I'm sure other applications will work relatively the same way.

Here's where most people go wrong - if you are burning a Video_TS folder - like we are today - DO NOT tell Toast that you are burning a "Video". Instead, choose "Data". When you do, four options for burning Data disks appear on the left. Choose "DVD-ROM (UDF)". Then, drag the Video_TS folder into Toast and name your disk using only CAPS_AND_UNDERSCORES. After you hit the Big Red Burn Button, Toast automatically (re)creates the empty Audio folder which is needed for your DVD to burn and run properly. When it's finished burning, run to your DVD player and test it out.

This is a long post, but it really is a fairly simple process. (One that took a lot of Googling and reading to figure out for myself.) Good luck!

Product Review: AirPort Express

Up until 10 minutes ago, we employed a D-Link wireless router for our our wireless networking needs. It cost $80 CAD at our local Future Shop and worked just fine. We rarely had to reboot it and never gave us any major problems. But as our needs changed, we realized there were certain things the D-Link router just couldn't do.

I don't need to print all that often (usually just driving directions... and knitting patterns...), but to walk into my husband's office to use the printer is a feat in and of itself. The room is a barrage of papers, wires, DVDs, CDs and camera equipment. I am forced to place my beloved iBook on the floor (to hook up the printer via USB) and I have to sit there - on the floor - until my printing is done. Not a HUGE deal, but not at all a pleasant or convenient experience.

When we set ourselves up with iSight webcams, we had to bi-pass the router to get them to work. It took at least 1 hour to figure out we had to open ports on the D-Link router to allow for video conferencing and another hour to figure out which ports to open and how to open them.

On top of all of that, it took another 20+ minutes just to figure out how to password protect our connection. Here's the breakdown:

D-Link Router:
Cost: $80 CAD
Total Set-up Time: 2.5 hours (approx.)
* cannot print or play music wirelessly

AirPort Express:
Cost: $160 CAD
Total Set-up Time: 8 minutes. (exact)

How to set up AirPort Express

Step 1: Connect the appropriate cables to the ports you want to use. (ie. the Ethernet cable connected to your DSL or cable modem for internet, the audio cable connected to your stereo if you want to play music wirelessly, and a USB cable connected to a compaticle USB printer if you want to print wirelessly).

Step 2: Plug AirPort Express into an outlet. Wait for the green light. (If the light flashes amber, disconnect the modem from its power supply, wait a few seconds and then reconnect.)

Step 3: Open AirPort Setup Assistant (this utility app comes installed on all MACs with an AirPort card - which is all recent models) and follow the few easy steps to name your network and create password to protect your connection. (We named our network "Cerebro". Heh.)

That's it. You're Done. And it just works.

That should be Apple's new slogan: "It.Just.Works."

You will likely need to "add" your printer before you start wirelessly printing like a Wireless Printing Fool (it takes 5 seconds to do this - literally), but you would need to do that if you were printing for the first time via USB.

This afternoon we're going to purchase a mini-stereo cable so we can take full advantage of AirTunes (the ability to play music from your computer wirelessly through a stereo).

Overall, as you can see from the 5-star rating, I am extremely pleased with AirPort Express. It has the compact and sleek design you have come to expect from an Apple product, it already has all the proper ports open to allow for audio/video conferencing, password protecting and naming your network is done quickly and easily during the set-up process, and you can print and listen to music wirelessly. The same cannot be said for the D-Link router which is and does none of these things.

A product that is ten times more useful than it's competitor, is certainly worth twice the price.