MacSpot

Strong Bad Email #143

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Wed, 1 Feb 2006 20:56:00 -0800

Technology Acording to Strong Bad:
(Right click on video and select play)

Homestar Runner
+MacMan

How to Embed Google Video

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 15:15:00 -0800

This is just a follow up post on embedding video. I decided to use Google Video this time.

Systm Episode 1

Steps for uploading video:
1. Download the Google Video Uploader here.
2. Upload your video to your Google account.
3. Allow Google to verify your video.

Steps for adding video to website:
1. Go to the page the video is on and click the "Put on Site" link
2. Copy the code to your website.

Using Google video is nice because it generates all the code you need for adding the video, it stores the video on their server so you don't have to, and it already has a huge database of video that you can add to your site for free.

Enjoy
+MacMan

How to Embed Quicktime Movies

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 14:10:00 -0800

All over the web I'm seeing more and more embedded video on websites. This is a really nice add-on that gives your site just a little more of the cool factor.

Steps:
1. Find a video. Any short quicktime movie will do. Remember, try to keep file size small.
2. Use this code on your website:

< src="sample.mov" width="320" height="256">< /embed>
(Remove the " " just before "embed" and before the "/embed" when copying and pasting.)

3. Replace "sample.mov" with your movie file (either absloute or relative URL)
4. Set height and width to desired values. (Add 16px to the height so that the play/pause controller will show up.)

That's It!

There are several varibles that can also be set such as autoplay and start time. Check out everything shown here and more at Apple's tutorial page.

+MacMan

If you want to download and save the embeded movies from a website, read my how to.

Tunatic

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Sun, 25 Dec 2005 22:10:00 -0800

Here's another music related post for ya. I just stumbled across a program called Tunatic. Tunatic analyzes the music playing through your sound card and returns the song name and artist to you. It doesn't matter if the sound is comming from iTunes or a microphone. It just works. Its a little creepy when it is able to correctly identify your music.

Tunatic does have a few bugs though. The main problem is it has a limited music database. By downloading a program called Tunalyzer, users can help increase the size of the database. So, if you are listening to a popular band such as Green Day, you should have few problems matching songs. However, if you are listening to a more obscure band, don't expect Tunatic to get it right everytime, if even at all.

Download Tunatic: Mac Windows

+MacMan

TMBG Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 21:49:00 -0800

Yep, its true. They Might Be Giants (TMBG) has released their first podcast.

Here is TMBG's announcement:

They Might Be Giants' very first podcast is available right now right here. To subscribe to this unique free service subscribe here. This first episode is approximately 20 minutes long and features a number of exclusive recordings and some unusual tracks we suspect you'll find interesting. The host is the Duke of Dead Air- Cecil Portesque- broadcasting from an undisclosed, very rainy location. Future podcasts are already in the works. Please check it out, and we sincerely invite you to hip as many people you know about this show- especially you blogtopianists out there.

If you never podcasted before, you might want to check out your iTunes application if you are on a Mac or PC. Just open the application and click on the "Podcasts" button. Under "advanced" select "subscribe to podcast" and paste the below link in the field.

http://www.tmbg.com/_media/_pod/podcast.xml

If you don't have iTunes, it's avalible free from Apple. Go to apple.com to download it now.

+MacMan

Flock

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 20:59:00 -0800

There is a new browser in town and its called Flock. It's based on Firefox and has some pretty nifty features. I'm posting this right now using a built in blogging feature in flock. I wish Firefox had this feature. I'd be much more inclined to post if it were this quick. Enjoy!

What's the idea behind Flock?
We believe that it should be easy for everyone to contribute to and participate on the web. To that end, we've started with integrating tools that make it easier to blog, publish your photos and share and discover things that are interesting to you.

Who should use it?
Flock is currently available only as a developer preview. This means that you can try it out but that it's not quite ready to become your everyday browser.Expect a more stable, public beta by the end of the year. If you want to see what we're working on for that release, take a look at our public beta roadmap.

Ok, so where can I download Flock?
You can grab the latest release from our developer page or, if you're even more brave, help test hourly builds.

Update: After doing a little searching, I found an extension for Firefox which allows me to highlight text and choose to "blog this". It allows me to bypass the big, klunky blogger interface.
Download Blog This (compatible with Firefox 1.5)

+MacMan

Get Music Recommendations

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 15:02:00 -0800

Do you find it hard to find new music artists to fit your taste? Well, now you can let Pandora do the searching for you. Just type in your favorite band or song and let Pandora tell you other artists that are similar. It uses its Music Genome Project Database of more than 10,000 artists. It even plays full length songs for you, not those little 30 sec clips.

This service is similar to Yahoo's Launchcast, however instead of one big radio station, you make separate playlists based on different generes, or tastes. Also Pandora works in Firefox, Launchcast does not.

Dr_Worm_Md: Lanchcast has met its match...

Happy Listening
+MacMan

Skype

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 19:53:00 -0700

My eyes have been opened and I have seen the Skype. Skype is a free program that a person can use to chat over the internet. You can use skype as a fully functional VOIP service, or just use a headset and talk over the computer.

I said Skype was free, and it is for the most part. To be able to use more advanced features you have to pay, but the basic chat service is free.

Skype is basically an instant messenger for voice. Most IM clients support voice, but the quality of Skype is great! Just download skype, create an account, and add friends. It's simple.

You need a mike to use skype for what its intended. Any computer mike will do, but for really good sound quality invest in a nice headset. I bought the Logitech Internet Chat Headset and I Love it. Its comfortable, sounds great and its reasonably priced.

One thing Skype leaves out of the free version is an answering machine. This can easily be fixed by downloading SAM. Sam is a free, fully functional answering machine program that everyone who uses Skype should have.

Skype works on Mac and PC so don't worry about not cross platform compatibility.

Get Skype For Windows
Get Skype For Mac
Get Skype For Linux
Get Skype For PocketPC

Let me know if you get Skype set up, or are already using it.
+MacMan

How to save almost any media file in Firefox

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Sat, 6 Aug 2005 09:57:00 -0700

Don't you hate coming across a great video or audio file on the web, but you aren't given the option to download it. These embedded files can be tricky get, but Firefox has a feature built right in that makes it a breeze.

1. In Firefox, go to any website that has an embedded media file you want to download. (In our case a flash file .swf)
2. Right-click on the page and select "view page info".
3. Click on the Media Tab.
4. Scroll through the list until you find the file you want (it will probably be of type embedded.)
5. Then click the save as button and you got it. (To run a flash object, just open it in a web browser.)

For the complete guide visit inner.geek.

+MacMan

Apple Releases Mulit-Function Mouse

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Tue, 2 Aug 2005 20:23:00 -0700

Apple FINALLY gave in to the pressure to make a multi-function mouse. With the new "Mighty Mouse" you can right/left click, scroll 360 degrees, and program other buttons. Apple didn't sacrifice design for functionality, they accomplished both.

For $49 you can buy one of these new mice for OSX or XP. Yes, the mouse will work with Windows XP.

+MacMan

NeighborHoodies

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Mon, 1 Aug 2005 14:23:00 -0700

Ever want to make a shirt that says just want you want? Well, NeighborHoodies makes this process a breeze. You can make shirts, hoodies, bags, pants, and even stuff for kids. You've gotta check this site out just to look at some of the shirts people have made.

What would your shirt say?
+MacMan

Check out the music section for a new free downloadable mp3 every day.

Super Glue Monitor

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 17:44:00 -0700

Some guys super glued a CRT monitor to a wall and let anyone on the internet post a message to the screen. It's kinda fun just to see something you typed show up on a screen that you know thousands of other people are looking at. You HAVE to check it out.

+MacMan

FTS Box 4.0

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 20:48:00 -0700

FTS (From the Shadows) recently released their newest episode, Box 4.0. Man, these guys keep getting better and better. Yoshi and Robert are on this one.

Topics Covered in Box 4.0
ATSAC - LA Traffic Control
Make virtual drives to run your PC games directly from a hard drive (Robert)
Remove scratches from iPods and PSP screens ;-) (Yoshi)
Use a traffic pre-emption device to force traffic lights to change from red to green

Box 4.0 is one of the best episodes of FTS. Can't wait for 5.0.
+MacMan

Colorado

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Sat, 23 Jul 2005 14:40:00 -0700

Well, my traveling days are almost over. For the past 2 weeks I've been out and about in central Texas and then in Colorado. I'll be flying h0me Sun. and can't wait to get back to my computer. Here's some stuff I've seen besides a monitor.

//MacMan

Online Tech Programs

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Wed, 6 Jul 2005 14:48:00 -0700

Wonder why I've been gone so long? I've been watching/listening to a bunch of tech programs that you can get free off the web.

Podcast
Podcasts are great because they are very portable. Just download 'em, sync your favorite mp3 player, and listen. Really, you can listen to them any way you want (computer, cd, etc.)

My favorite podcasts are TWiT (This Week in Tech) and Diggnation. TWiT is made up of the old TechTV crew like Leo Laporte, Kevin Rose, Patrick Norton, Robert Heron and others. If you want hardcore tech check out TWiT. Diggnation is a new podcast put out by Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht. They review the most dug stories from Digg.com and throw in some of their favorites along the way. Diggnation also puts out a video version of the podcast which is hilarious. Watching Kevin and Alex again is really cool.

Apple is getting on the podcast bandwagon with the new version of iTunes. They now have podcasting service built right into the music store. Its really easy to use, and its free. iPodderX still reigns supreme on the Mac, but for everyone else, go get iTunes.

Video
With the fall of TechTV its been hard to find good tech video programs, but now the internet tech shows are becoming alot better. I like Systm, theBroken, and FTS (From the Shadows)
Systm and theBroken are put out by Kevin Rose and Dan Huard. Now that they are working on the shows full time there starting to get better. FTS is another great tech show that Yoshi has been working really hard with.

get your geek on
+MacMan

Systm Has Arrived

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Mon, 23 May 2005 19:28:00 -0700

Systm is here, NOW. Get the links on Systm. They've got a ton of different formats, so choose your favorite.

Kevin Rose announced that he has gotten out of his contract with G4 and will devote all of his time to Systm and theBroken. Get ready for a ton of content to be comming your way.

I'm at 20.2% downloaded on Systm. As soon as I watch it I'll post my feedback.

+MacMan

M1cr0sof7 S9e@k$ 1337

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Wed, 18 May 2005 21:32:00 -0700

In February Microsoft published an article to parents on how to interpret "leetspeak" so that parents could understand what their kids were saying. The article is off the wall funny. Microsoft seems so serious in its presentation of the facts. Below are some excerpts from the article. The full article can be found here.

1. While it has many nicknames, information-age slang is commonly referred to as leetspeek, or leet for short. Leet (a vernacular form of "elite") is a specific type of computer slang where a user replaces regular letters with other keyboard characters to form words phonetically—creating the digital equivalent of Pig Latin with a twist of hieroglyphics.

2. Rules of grammar are rarely obeyed. Some leetspeekers will capitalize every letter except for vowels (LiKe THiS) and otherwise reject conventional English style and grammar, or drop vowels from words (such as converting very to "vry").

3. Non-alphanumeric characters may be combined to form letters. For example, using slashes to create "/\/\" can substitute for the letter M, and two pipes combined with a hyphen to form "|-|" is often used in place of the letter H. Thus, the word ham could be written as "|-|4/\/\."

4. The suffix "0rz" is often appended to words for emphasis or to make them plural. For example, "h4xx0rz," "sk1llz0rz," and "pwnz0rz," are plural or emphasized versions (or both) of hacks, skills, and owns.

Leet words of concern or indicating possible illegal activity:

•	"warez" or "w4r3z": Illegally copied software available for download.
•	"h4x": Read as "hacks," or what a malicious computer hacker does.
•	"pr0n": An anagram of "porn," possibly indicating the use of pornography.
•	"sploitz" (short for exploits): Vulnerabilities in computer software used by hackers.
•	"pwn": A typo-deliberate version of own, a slang term often used to express superiority over others that can be used maliciously, depending on the situation. This could also be spelled "0\/\/n3d" or "pwn3d," among other variations. Online video game bullies or "griefers" often use this term.

Other common leet words:

•	"kewl": A common derivation of "cool."
•	"m4d sk1llz" or "mad skills": Refers to one's own talent. "m4d" itself is often used for emphasis.
•	"n00b," "noob," "newbie," or "newb": Combinations synonymous with new user. Some leetspeekers view "n00b" as an insult and "newbie" as an affectionate term for new users.
•	"w00t" or the smiley character \o/: An acronym that usually means "We Own the Other Team," used to celebrate victory in a video game.
•	"roxx0rs" Used in place of "rocks," typically to describe something impressive.
•	"d00d": Replaces the greeting or addressing someone as a "dude."
•	"joo" and "u": Used instead of "you." This is also commonly written as "j00" or "_\|00."
•	"ph": often replaces "f," as in "phear" for "fear" (as in "ph34r my l33t skillz") and vice versa, such as spelling "phonetic" as "f0\|\\|371(." Well, thank you Microsoft on that fine lesson in leetspeak. cough +MacMan

Systm Widget

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Tue, 17 May 2005 17:49:00 -0700

Hi All! I just got through making a widget that counts down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until the release of Systm. This is a Konfabulator only widget.

*Note: The image below will not update as it is a screenshot. The real widget updates every second.

What is a widget? Its a small program usualy written in HTML and Javascript that is designed to do a simple task such as display the weather, a calender, to-do lists, clocks, etc. In order to work they need to be run in a program like Konfabulator or Dashboard.

UPDATE!
You can now download the widget here. Its set up on the Konfabulator widget gallery.

ou'll need to download Konfabulator to run it. I'm going to make a Dashboard version soon for all you Tiger users out there.

This is my 1st attempt at a widget, so any feedback will be most welcome.
+MacMan

System Countdown Clock

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Mon, 16 May 2005 20:21:00 -0700

Scopetech just posted about the release date of Systm. It'c comming out 5/23/05 at 8PM PST. If you sign up for the newsletter you can download it 1 hour earlier. Systm is going to be similar to theBroken, but more like the old The Screen Savers. I can't wait!

Also in the way of TSS, Kevin Rose, and online technology content, This Week in Tech is a new PodCast put out by all the old TechTV guys.

Leo, Kevin, Pat, Yoshi, Robert, and Dvorak are all onboard on the project. The just released episode 5 today. TWIT was #1 on PodCast Alley this week, so check it out.

The best way to enjoy TWIT, download some PodCast software. Then listen to it on your computer, iPod, non-iPod player, or cd.

Mac - iPodderX

Multi-Platform - iPodder
Windows
OS X
Linux

+MacMan

Google Store

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Mon, 16 May 2005 20:03:00 -0700

Have you been to the Google Store yet?

I'm going to get this and iron www.MacSpot.Blogspot.com on the back

Oh the possibilities...
+MacMan

Search the 4 is Dead

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Sun, 15 May 2005 17:14:00 -0700

If you remember, a little over a month ago I made a post about Yahgoohoogle and SearchThe4 as alternatives to the standard Google search. We'll, its been brought to my attention that SearchThe4 is dead. But, with its passing comes another site almost identical to it, only better.

Rjnsmith Search is a search engine that is basically SearchThe4 but with more options of search engines to use. The user has the option to use these search engines for general web searches.

Yahoo
Ice rocket
AllTheWeb

Ask Jeeves
Teoma
Lycos
Excite

WebCrawler
Vivisimo
MSN
Google

Meta Crawler
Search.Com
Mamma
Dog Pile

These for images

Yahoo
Ditto
Picsearch

Alta Vista
Ice Rocket
Ask Jeeves
Alltheweb

WebCrawler
Object/Image
fotosearch
Google

Meta Crawler
MSN
Mamma
Dog Pile

These for news

News.com
Google news
Market Watch

Fox News
ABC News
CNN
Daypop

NewsIndex
Poynter
PBS
Sky News

Reuters
World News
SlashDot.org
The Street

These for info

Answers
Dictionary
Onelook

Infoplease
about.com
Education W.
Encyclopedia

Encarta
bartleby
britannica
Bible

Merriam
libraryreference
reference.com
Thomson

Being able to pick from all these different search engines from different categories makes Rjnsmith Search a one stop shop

Also, Yagoohoogle might be going away. Its new site will be Twingine

Thanks to the Anonymous commenter for the link.
+MacMan

Google getting Hacked?!!

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Sat, 7 May 2005 15:50:00 -0700

It's 5:50 CST and I cant get to google. It says "google.com cannot be found"

Is Google getting hacked, or are they just messing with their servers. We'll see.

Updates to come

Update:

Its back online. I wonder why it did that.

+MacMan

Spell Words With Flickr

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 08:10:00 -0700

I found this website thanks to a post by Ozir.

Just type in the word you want to spell with pictures and let the website do the work. If you dont like the picture it chose, just click the letter and it will find a new one for you. Check out what I made:

+MacMan

Get Free Music From Amazon

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 15:06:00 -0700

Amazon is now giving away free music downloads on their site. I'm not sure why they are doing this, but they are. As of now they have about 200 songs of all genres on the site to download. They are supposed to update the list every 6 hours, so keep checking back for more music.

+MacMan

Silhouette Guitar

noreply@blogger.com (MacMan) — Sun, 17 Apr 2005 12:41:00 -0700

Check out this awesome pic I took yesterday of the band Skitterwalk. (Well, not the band, but one of their guitars)

+MacMan