BlackMagic Intensity Pro: Capturing an iPad 2 Demo via HDMI Out

One of the main features of the iPad 2 that I use the most over the iPad 1 is the ability to mirror my desktop out to a projector when doing demos. I've been using this feature extensively on my latest Adobe CS5 Evolution Tour. You can use either the original Apple VGA Adapter or the NEW Apple Digital AV (HDMI) Adapter. While this works GREAT for live presentations I also wanted to take advantage of it when recording tutorial videos or App reviews. The problem was finding a solution that allowed me to take either the VGA out or HDMI out of the iPad 2 back into my computer.

 

BlackMagic Intensity Pro to the rescue

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10 Things I Want To See in iOS 5

I've been an iPhone (iOS) user since 2007. Yep, that's when the 1st iPhone hit the scene. While the iPhone back then was revolutionary I still had a running list of improvements that I wanted to see. I even went back to dig up my original "50 Ways To Make The iPhone Better" post to have a look to see what was still missing today in iOS 4?The good news is that the vast majority of my original list has either been addressed via iOS updates or 3rd party Apps. Four years later I'm asking myself what do I still want? Having looked at the current iOS 4, 3rd party Apps and the Android platform, there are still a few things I'd like to see:

  • Over the Air Updates – It's time to cut the cord and receive iOS updates over the air. The only time I should have to plug in a sync cable is when I'm doing a full restore or if I want to have things go faster. Android already has this.
  • WiFi Media Syncing  –  I would be putting it mildly when I say that it totally sucks having to plug in a cable anytime I want to sync a new playlist, movie, podcast, etc from my iTunes library to my iOS Device. Apple let's you download gigabytes of data from the iTunes store directly to your device via WiFi, why not allow syncing of your OWN media via your OWN WiFi network? Long overdue!
  • Multiple Mail Signatures – We've had multiple email accounts since day one, but only one email signature since day one. Yes there are 3rd party Apps to work around this, but this should be built-in like it is in Mail on the Mac OS X desktop.
  • Set a 3rd Party Browser as your Default – Mobile Safari is cool, but iCab blows it away! I could easily make a list of 10 or more things I'd like to see in Safari. However, I've found all the missing features I wanted, in iCab. While Apple does allow you to download and use 3rd party browsers, you can't set them as the default browser. This means that any tap of a link inside another App always launches Safari instead of your preferred browser.
  • Spam Filtering – Need I say more?
  • Widgets – One thing on Android OS that I really like and wish were in iOS is the concept of Widgets. These on screen "widgets" show you information (current weather, latest tweets, email subjects, etc.) without having to launch an App. iOS really needs this!
  • Sound Profiles – This one goes way back to my Treo days. Mute is not enough! I'd love to setup profiles that will allow vibration, emergency calls to ring through, silence (no vibrating), etc. etc. If this were a "smart phone", it would be possible.
  • Notification Schedules – Currently, Notifications are either on or off. I'd like to setup a schedule in which my device doesn't make a sound or pop up a notification during night hours or meetings. Sure I can just turn them off, but then I'd have to remember to turn them back on.
  • Email a Group of Contacts – If I email the same 3, 5 or 10 people all the time, why do I have to manually enter their names in each new email? Group support in Mail please!
  • Ability to Assign Ringtones to Groups of Contacts – one of my oldest requests! Although we got custom ringtones years ago, there is still no ability to assign the same ringtone to multiple contacts (groups) at the same time. It's still a painstaking one-by-one task.

 

Why not just switch to Android completely?

I actually have an Android based tablet (Motorola Xoom) and phone (Motorola Atrix 4G). Like comparing ANY two things, there are going to be things I like in one that aren't in the other. So it's no surprise that there are things I like in the Android OS that aren't in iOS and vice versa. I have the luxury of being able to use any device I want whenever I want. Overall though (at least for now), I find iOS to have MORE things I like about it than Android. Sure, Android OS answers the majority of my list above, but I could easily come up with a list of 10, 20 or 30 things that are missing from Android OS that are currently in iOS. Not to mention a huge existing investment that I have in iOS Apps that I'd be leaving behind. Even if I were willing to leave my Apps behind, Android Market doesn't have all the same Apps or equivalents for all the Apps I use. There is NO PERFECT! Just like there are things I like even in Windows 7 over Mac OS X. I use Mac OS X most of the time because it has more things I like over Windows, but Windows 7 is only a reboot away when needed.

 

WWDC Kicks off Today

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference kicks off today with news around iOS 5 as well as iCloud and maybe even some hardware announcements. It will be interesting to see how much of my remaining wish list is addressed.

Continue reading “10 Things I Want To See in iOS 5”

Go from Adobe InDesign CS 5.5 to your iPad Wirelessly

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1je3ZPU3lSM

 

In this episode of the Adobe Creative Suite Video Podcast I'll show you how to use the NEW Digital Publishing Suite Tools to take your interactive InDesign publication from start to finish fron InDesign CS 5.5 to your iPad (or Android tablet) wirelessly. This is my first look at the NEW .FOLIO builder tools that are now integrated directly inside InDesign. You'll need to grab the latest tools for your copy of InDesign CS5 or CS 5.5 here (Mac | Win).

Note: in the video I show how you can rearrange your articles online via digitalpublishing.acrobat.com. If your Acrobat.com account is NOT provisioned by Adobe to access the Digital Publishing Suite you can simply skip that part of the process and go straight to the iPad.

See more of my Adobe Creative Suite Videos on my Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and get the App here. It features EXCLUSIVE CONTENT that no one else gets to see. This episode has a BONUS CLIP that is available only in the App:

Learn Adobe Creative Suite with Terry White - Wizzard Media

 

Scottevest Wearable Tech

Got Gadgets?

Of course you do. Why else would you be reading my blog? I routinely walk around with iDevices, Android devices, cameras, gps units, chargers, cables, batteries, etc. Normally these items are in my pocket if they are small enough or in my computer bag if they are larger items. When I travel I almost never check my luggage. If I do check a bag, it's a bag of clothing and never a bag with gear in it. At the same time my carry on bag has to be small enough to fit under the seat in front of me. Since I'm now tasked with carrying more and more devices for work and having to carry a smaller bag due to the ever decreasing space under the airline seats I'm always looking alternative ways to carry stuff. I read a review from a friend of mine on the Scottevest line of clothing. I've seen "geek wear" before and had no interest in integrating gadgets into my clothing. I still don't have any interest in "wearable tech." However, I am very interested in clothing that is simply designed to carry more of my tech gear. That's exactly what Scottevest jackets/vest are to me.
 

It's my 3rd carry-on

Scottevest jackets have on average 20+ pockets in them. They are designed to carry today's portable electronic gear and at the same time not showing visible bulges. That last part was pretty hard for me to believe. That was until i got one. The Scottevest clothing doesn't just have a bunch of pockets, It has a bunch of pockets that are carefully laid out to provide optimum storage and accessibility while providing minimal visible bulge. They thought of the little things. For example the two inner breast pockets are see through on the inside so that you can see and operate touch screen devices. Also you can run a set of earbuds through the inside of the jacket up to the collar where there is a special set of flaps to completely hide them when you're not listening to music/making calls. They put a screen cleaning cloth in one of the inside pockets on a string to allow you to quickly wipe your touch screens or camera lenses. There's even a pocket large enough to carry a tablet like the iPad. I first thought: "NO WAY will that not show from the outside!" While I don't really plan to carry my iPad 2 in my jacket, I did have to try it. OMG! It actually does fit and doesn't show from the outside.
 

What's in my pockets?

To date I have carried my: Kodak Zi8, Motorola Atrix, Mophie Air iPhone 4 Backup Battery, Holux GPS module, iPad stylus, keys, iDevice sync cables, iPad charger, boarding pass, passport, business cards, 2 ink pens, cash, and yes on occasion an iPad 2 🙂
 

Added security

While on my latest international tour I realized that the Scottevest has an additional benefit. It allows you walk around with gear that isn't showing to the general public. Granted, it doesn't hide a DSLR, but it can hide just about every other valuable that you're carrying.
 

The Bottom Line

Is that while I have jackets that I like to wear, the Scottevest has become my new favorite travel jacket. They come in a variety of styles and materials for both men and women.
You can check them out here.

Continue reading “Scottevest Wearable Tech”

How the iPad fits into a Photography Workflow

Last week when I was on The Grid, I got asked to describe how the iPad would fit into a photographer’s workflow and I promised to do a post on it…

The iPad is definitely a revolutionary product that has disrupted the status quo. While I absolutely enjoy using an iPad, I don’t find it to be the end all be all replacement for a desktop/laptop computer. At least not full-time. The iPad didn’t replace my phone, nor did it replace my laptop. It’s another device that I use when it’s more convenient to use than either of the other two devices. With that said the question has been asked “How does the iPad fit in a photography workflow?” Last week my buddy Scott Kelby wrote a post about what he’d like to see in a “real Photoshop for iPad.” Adobe demonstrated some Photoshop technologies for iPad at Photoshop World in Orlando. There are several image editing and image viewing Apps for the iPad. So the question becomes does the iPad fit in a Photographer’s workflow and if so how?

 

The short answer is YES!

Here are the ways that I use my iPad in my day-to-day photography workflow:

 

Getting ready for the shoot

If i’m doing a model shoot, then I use the PosePad App to plan out my shoot with photos and notes to pull up right there on the spot and walk them over to the model. This is my digital shot list. This has worked extremely well even on location shoots outside the studio.

PosePad for iPad .

 

Model and Property Releases

I stopped carrying paper releases over a year ago. There are two fantastic Apps for doing CUSTOM (yes, YOUR text) release forms for both Model and Property releases. I prefer the look and feel of the release forms in Easy Release, but I absolutely love the exhaustive number of available custom fields in the Contract Maker Pro. My recommendation: For a basic release only requiring a few fields and your custom text that looks great, go with Easy Release. If your release forms are more complicated or multiple pages go with Contract Maker Pro. Both Apps are GREAT!

Easy Release .

Contract Maker Pro .

 

Getting Images into the iPad

When you’re out and on the go chances are you’re going to be shooting and you’ll want to do two things. You’ll want to backup your images and review them. Let’s start with getting them in. There are 3 popular choices. The first is Apple’s own Camera Connection Kit. It works great with SD cards or via a USB cable to your camera. It will bring in your pics (JPG or RAW or both) as well as your videos. However, it will not work with Compact Flash cards. Apple turned down the power of the port via a software update and therefore card readers don’t work anymore connected to the Camera Connection Kit. That brings me to a NEW option: M.i.C. has shipped a CF reader for the iPad. Lastly and probably my favorite method is to shoot wirelessly into the iPad via the Eye-Fi card.

Continue reading “How the iPad fits into a Photography Workflow”

Learn the Adobe Creative Suite with Terry White on your iPad

Oh happy day! I'm pleased to announce that my "Learn The Adobe Creative Suite with Terry White" App has just been updated to be a Universal iOS App, which means that you now get to see the videos in all the iPad 10" glory without having to screen double them. The App is now available on the App Store and is of course a FREE update to anyone who already had it.

If you're new to the App, the advantage here my regular podcast is that many of the episodes have Exclusive Bonus Clips. These clips can only be seen in the App and aren't published anywhere else. Often the Bonus Content includes additional tips and techniques or expands in an area where the regular episode left off. On the iPad these Bonus Clips are highlighted right below the regular episode so you'll more easily be able to identify the episodes that have Bonus Content.

There are literally hundreds of videos available on the various Creative Suite Apps all the way back to CS2. Thankfully the App has a built-in Search feature as well as the ability to Star your favorite episodes and download the ones you want to be able to watch offline.

I want to personally thank you for your support in my podcast as well as my App!

See more of my Adobe Creative Suite Videos on my Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and get the App here for $1.99:

Learn Adobe Creative Suite with Terry White - Wizzard Media

 

Continue reading “Learn the Adobe Creative Suite with Terry White on your iPad”

Eye-Fi to Send Photos Direct to iOS and Android Devices without a WiFi Hotspot

In case you haven't been following me on this story you can start with my "Shoot Tethered (wirelessly) to an iPad" from a couple of weeks ago here. Back then I decided to try out the Eye-Fi Pro X2 Card in my D7000 shooting wirelessly to an iPad 2 via my MiFi mobile hotspot and I was pleased with the overall workflow. Today Eye-Fi just announced a new card (yeah that happens in technology, deal with it!), the Eye-Fi Mobile X2 which is a cheaper card that offers Direct to iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) and Android mobile device shooting WITHOUT the need for a WiFi hotspot. Removing the WiFi hotspot requirement and going direct in an AdHoc fashion makes this solution even better. However, don't fret if you bought the Pro X2 card like I did. They are going to release a firmware update to the existing cards next week. Keep in mind that the Pro X2 card does handle RAW and Geotagging. The new card does not.

This should open up a whole new world for people that want to shoot with a decent camera and share those images even with some minor retouching/adjustments, from a tablet device directly. I'll be shooting RAW to my regular SD card in slot 1 and BASIC JPG to my Eye-Fi card in Slot 2 on my D7000. Life just got a little more fun.

If you don't have an Eye-Fi card yet, you can get the NEW Mobile X2 8GB card with the Direct Mode love built-in here.

Sorry, still not Compact Flash joy.

As soon as I have the yet to be released iOS App and an updated card you expect a review here.

Promo Video:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN8ZRzXLG_I

Adobe CS5 Evolves: Digital Publishing from InDesign to Tablets Gets Better

 

Adobe InDesign CS 5.5 improves in the areas of Digital Publishing to devices. It addresses the number one request from our ePUB authors and that is the ability to embed video in your exported ePUBs and yes those videos play on the iPad (or any other ePUB 3.0 standards compatible device). We've also made some improvements on allowing you to layout your publications for print, but also dictate the order in which elements are exported to ePUB using the new Articles Panel. Another major improvement is the ability to either have InDesign generate your ePUB cover from the 1st page of your document or linking to a specific image that is optimized for a small size "bookshelf" on a device such as the iPad's iBooks App. Here's a video on how some of these features work:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bBNrMoKz0Q

 

What's new in Interactive Digital Publishing to Tablets?

The video below walks you through some of the enhancements to the Digital Publishing Suite in InDesign CS5.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HR_LdlM31s

 

 

There's more new stuff in CS 5.5

See Greg Rewis' post on what's new in Dreamweaver CS5.5 for HTML 5 and Mobile Authoring here.

See Jason Levine's post on what's new in Production Premium CS5.5 here.

See Paul Trani's post on what's new in Flash Professional and Mobile App development here.

Learn more about Creative Suite 5.5 including a New Subscription pricing option for those that don't want to or need to "buy" Creative Suite Products here.

Also see more CS 5.5 videos on Adobe TV. In case you missed it, Adobe TV can now be viewed on your iPad.

 

Why is Adobe releasing a new version of Creative Suite so soon?

As you know Creative Suite apps have typically reved every 18-24 months. The world is moving faster than that and many of our publishing customers need solutions for publishing to new devices and in new formats sooner. Now you will see Adobe introduce a major milestone release ever 24 months and a mid-cycle release every 12 months. Johnny L is here to tell us all about it:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niE9VT8Yjbo

 

Join us for a Live Q&A Today (4/11/2011) 

We will be hosting a live Q&A Today (4/11/2011) on Facebook at 12:00 noon EDT (GMT -4). Join me and the other Adobe Creative Suite Evangelists, Jason Levine, Greg Rewis, Paul Trani for an hour to answer your Creative Suite questions.

Here's the link for the live Q&A

 

Join us on the CS5 Evolves Tour

I'm  about to head off on the CS5 Evolution Tour with my Adobe Evangelist colleagues!

Details here.

Schedule:

Tour Locations

May 2
Gothenburg
May 3
Stockholm
May 4
Oslo
May 5
Prague
May 6
Helsinki
May 9
Copenhagen
May 11
London
May 11
Århus
May 19
Warsaw
May 23
Amsterdam
May 24
Kortrijk*
May 25
Moscow
May 27
Istanbul
May 31
Sydney
June 2
Melbourne
June 7
Paris
June 9
Barcelona**
June 14
Sao Paulo
June 17
Mexico City
June 17
Skellefteå

Review: IPEVO Point 2 View USB Camera for iPad/Mobile Device Demos

As I go out a demo Adobe's Digital Publishing Suite one of the biggest challenges is showing the final product to the audience on the iPad/Android tablet. Although the iPad does have a video out solution via the iPad to VGA adapter, that Adapter only works in certain Apps and apparently adding support for to your App (depending on what your app does) can be tricky. The only other solution is to use a document camera. While document cameras certainly aren't new, they are not really designed for travel. My colleague Colin Fleming pointed me to the IPEVO Point 2 View USB Camera. He hadn't tried it yet, but it came up in his Goole search. While I loved the size I was very leary about the "USB 2" connection. Most solutions I've tried that are USB 2 based have low frame rates, which makes it challenging to show any type of movement. These "document cameras" were never designed to shoot anything moving (ie. movies, multi-gestures) or animating on screen. They were designed to take still pictures of objects or "documents".  

 

Low cost of entry

I went out and read every review of the Point 2 View that I could find and most of the reviews slammed it as  "webcam". This is largely due to the fact that it doesn't have a built-in microphone. Since I have no desire to use it as a webcam and the fact that it was only $70 (cheap compared to other solutions), I decided to give it a shot.

 

It works!

The good news is that it works! It should be fine for what I want to use it for. It's small enough to put in a laptop bag or suitcase and the weighted base means that it won't easily fall over. It's far from perfect though:

The Good

  • It's Cheap! $70 – most solutions cost at least twice as much
  • It's very portable and travel friendly – A MUST
  • It has a weighted base and is designed to point down
  • Doesn't require any drivers on the Mac. Just launch their supplied App and turn it on.
  • One button auto focus or choose Continuous Focus (not fast, but good)
  • Has a full screen mode – great for making training videos
  • In App Zoom, Exposure Controls
  • Update: Works with other Apps too including iChat, ScreenFlow, Skype, etc., which will make giving mobile demos online and recording them even easier. Thanks Cari!
  • Software lets you reverse the image both horizontally and vertically which means it doesn't have to face the same way in every situation. 
  • The included stand allows the camera to be mounted in front or on the sides
  • It can take a picture too. (download two sample shots here)

The Bad

  • The frame rate is not great, but should be good enough for Adobe Connect demos and  live demos
  • You HAVE TO USE THEIR APP. Not the end of the world, but it's the only way you will see it on screen CORRECTION, it works in other apps too
  • The stand is barely tall enough for iPad in portrait view so may need to put the stand on top of something else to raise it up a bit.
  • No built-in mic – I don't care.
  • White Balance Sucks – no controls for it either
  • Not great in low light, but shouldn't be a problem shooting a lit display of a device
  • USB cable is hardwired in, but luckily it's long enough.

 

The Bottom Line

Frankly I'm stunned that someone hasn't designed a device for the sole purpose of demoing mobile devices. Mobile devices are exploding and it seems like some clever  person would see the need and develop a specific product to do this! While you could go with a cheaper webcam with better video quality, the challenge is always finding a way to mount it on a stand and face it down as most webcams are designed to attach to your computer display. In the meantime the IPEVO Point 2 View USB Camera will be my solution until something better comes along. It does have the right blend of size, price and features to be the best solution that  I've seen so far for doing demos of mobile devices on the go.

You can get the IPEVO Point 2 View USB Camera for $69 here.

Continue reading “Review: IPEVO Point 2 View USB Camera for iPad/Mobile Device Demos”