Dear Tech In-Law,
I have a Mac at home and I know you can create and edit movies using the iMovie application that were included on my system. Can you give some quick tips on how to get started using this?
Sean
Dear Sean,
There are editing programs available on both the PC and Mac platform that make it very simple to quickly view, edit, and polish your captured video and turn it into a timeless treasure. The iMovie application that comes bundled with iLife is easy to learn and I must warn you once you start playing around with this application you might lose all track of time!
In a nutshell, once you connect your video camera to your computer, the video will be imported in clips much the same way your pictures are imported in a photo application. Once the video clips are all loaded then you will be able to drag clips in whatever order you want, cut out unwanted video, add titles, effects, transitions, background music, etc. Once you have finished editing the video and have it ready to share, you can then choose what type of format you want to save it in, such as video optimized for iPod or online vieiwing. Or if you are creating a DVD, the iDVD program will open and you will choose a menu layout and theme you like and then burn the video to disc.
Instead of going through each step here, I will direct you to some excellent video tutorials available that are on the Apple website as they are broken down by categories and you can simply watch the topics you are unfamiliar with or would like to reference again. In case you live close to an Apple store, you can also attend classes there as well. Either way, it won't take long until all your friends and family will be hitting you up for a copy of your latest creation!
Dear Tech In-Law,
Don’t laugh, but I still have one of those old-timey TV’s with those things that stick up in the back (Antennas). We live a simple life w/o cable TV and I think at one point, we had to mold some aluminum foil to one of the antennae because of bad reception. I heard that at some point next year these “dinosaur” models will not work. Can you tell me when we may have to splurge and explain why? Do you know of a good museum where I can donate my “fat-backed” TV?
Bart
Dear Bart,
That's a great question and one that you will hear about more and more in the coming months. In a nutshell, here is the "official" explanation from the digital TV transition website:
"At midnight on February 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting. Digital broadcasting promises to provide a clearer picture and more programming options and will free up airwaves for use by emergency responders."
Now, let me just say this is a perfect opportunity to stretch the truth a little and great reason to offer to your spouse that you will be forced to buy a flat panel HDTV. Not sure that will fly, but hey it's worth a shot.
Here's the reality. DTV is not HDTV, so you don't have to buy a HDTV. Actually, your dinosaur is not quite extinct yet - you can still use it just as before. TVs that are connected to cable or satellite will not have to do anything, everything will still work as before. For anyone wishing to keep their analog TV without a pay for service, you will need a converter box in order to do so. The good news is Congress created a coupon program where each U.S. household can receive two $40 coupons that can be applied toward eligible converter boxes. So, you should be able to install next February 17th before bed, go to sleep and then wake up to your favorite morning program just as before.
Oh, and don't toss those rabbit ears or your homemade aluminum foil booster either. You will need to install those to the box to continue to pick up the signals just as before!
To read more about the program and to apply for a coupon, click here.
Dear Tech In-Law,
What are the pros and cons of choosing Apple's new MacBook Air over a regular MacBook?
Brian
Dear Brian,
Apple makes some great notebooks. There has been speculation for some time about an ultraportable MacBook that would be released and last week these predictions came true. The MacBook Air has a lot of "wow" factor whe
n it comes to size, looks, and features. Some of the features that I like besides the size are the bright LED-backlit screen that turns on instantly when opened as well as saving battery life, not to mention the battery life itself which is listed at five hours. I love the multi-touch feature introduced on the iPhone and I think adding an oversized trackpad with multi-touch to the notebook will be a hit once users get a chance to try it out. The 802.11n wireless network capability is great and the full-size keyboard with the ambient light is a really nice touch. All that coupled will the latest version of the operating system will make quite a compact punch.
Now, for some cons. I have mixed emotions about the external optical drive, sharing another computer's drive, non-replaceable battery, as well as no firewire input and just limited inputs altogether. They weren't kidding when they say "Air." Also, the new technology certainly has a price as it starts at $1,799. Ouch.
So, here's my take. If you have a desktop PC or another Mac at home already that you are pretty happy with, then I say go for the MacBook Air as you will be able to use them together and not miss any features or connections. There are enough advanced features packed into this that you should get a lot of use from this machine. On the other hand if you are looking for one device to use at home and on the road, I might go with a MacBook or MacBook Pro depending on your needs. You'll still have a great machine and all the great software features, plus you won't be limited on the connections. The only thing you'll lose in this decision is your paycheck.
Dear Tech-In-Law,
My laptop computer (PC) is shutting down too soon I want to have it shut down when I say so. I've noticed when I am not active for awhile the screen goes black and I have to re-boot the computer. Can you help?
James
Dear James,
This could be a myriad of issues, but let's start with something simple and just see if it might correct the issue. In Windows, there is a setting called "Power Options" that allows you determine how quickly you would can choose a pre-set option such as "Laptop" that will conserve your battery by shutting down the screens, starting the screensaver, as well as having the system "hibernate" or "sleep" in a low power mode. Your settings could have been altered where the system is set to hibernate quicker than it should.
In Windows XP, you can access this panel by choosing "Start", "Control Panel", then "Performance and Maintenance" and then selecting "Power Options." You might also be able to access this panel quickly by right-clicking on your battery level indicator in your icon bar.
If you happen to have a system tool like Norton installed, it might be a good idea to scan your system and make sure everything else is running as it should. Hope this helps!
Response from James: Thank you - this worked! I went to power options per your instruction and the hibernation was set to only 15 minutes! I changed this to 6 hours and it seems to be fine now.
Dear Tech In-Law,
Great idea! I've got one for you. What do you recommend for someone buying their first HDTV? I'll be more specific: I'm looking for a maximum size of 46" - I'm constrained by the cabinet it will go into (which is exactly 47.5" in width. I've been eyeing this one: Samsung LNT4665F 46" 1080p LCD HDTV
Anyway, I'd be interested in hearing your advice not only on that but components to hook up - I'm going to purchase a new DVD player, too. Oh yeah, and I'm going to have to upgrade my DirecTV to HD. I've heard they compress their HD, but they still offer the most HD channels. I want to keep them because of the NFL Ticket next season...
Regan
Hey Regan,
Great questions. I love me some HDTV. The great news is the prices have really dropped this past year across the board - some 30% since this time last year.
So, you can get really technical when you look into details on these, but as long as you stay with a good name brand and high native resolution, most of the technical specifications will be pretty close. If you go with full 1080p resolution, you will pay a couple of hundred dollars more than a set with 720p. The highest resolution sets you can buy right now are 1920x1080. As far as the display types, the two most common are LCD and Plasma. Supposedly the plasma will give you some deeper black levels and have a wider viewing angle than the LCD, but honestly that's something you should just go and test out for yourself on whether you can really tell a difference and if so then decide if the price is worth the difference.
Samsungs have a great reputation and the model you mentioned has received high praise. You've done your homework! As far as a DVD player, I would go ahead and splurge on a blu-ray drive. At this stage, it looks like blu-ray has just about shut the door on HD-DVD. You can now pick one up between $250-300 as well. Get yourself a good receiver if you don't have one and you'll be all set for the home theater.
As far as DirecTV goes, yes there is some compression, but typically they have less compression than with cable. I've had the DirecTV HD DVR for a good while and it's great! Now what are you waiting for - you do realize the Super Bowl is just a few weeks away? Better get on it!
Dear Tech In-Law,
I got an iPhone for Christmas and the battery only stays charged for approx 24 hours. Is this normal or do you think it has a defect? Also I don't know how to stop playing a song on the iPod other than just pushing the pause button and then moving on to use the phone. Do you think this pausing mode is draining the battery?
Catherine
Hi Catherine,
Thanks for the question. I'm a big iPhone fan, and had my fingers crossed for an updated iPhone at Macworld yesterday when Apple revealed some new hardware and software. Or at least a 16G model. No dice, but they did release some really nice new features that are available now in your software update.
As far as the battery goes, no, that is not normal to only stay charged for only 24 hours, especially just a few weeks after using the device. Unless you are walking around watching videos and using the WiFi feature many times per day it sounds like your battery is running low much quicker than it should. Pausing the music that is playing is not going to be a factor here with the battery life. As far as pausing goes, squeezing the headset microphone is still the quickest and easiest method. If your phone happens to be locked, you can tap the home key twice you will also see the music slide bar pop up and you can take care of it there too.
Back to the battery - if you have not checked your battery usage, it would be worth your time just to see what kind of results you are seeing. Apple has a support article about how to do this in the iPhone as well as other battery saving tips that are worth looking over.
If you have gone through these steps and are still experiencing the same issue, I would recommend taking it by an Apple Store or calling support, as the good news is your battery is covered under Apple's warranty for 1 year. The worse case scenario is they would have to replace it, but at least it won't cost you anything. Outside of the warranty, it costs $85 for the same replacement - yikes!
Good luck with getting it resolved and have fun with your iPhone. Be sure to check out the new maps feature released yesterday which is great! Also, keep watching after February as you will finally see third party providers releasing iPhone applications!
So the last couple of weeks I've been thinking about the format, content, and features of the site. In a nutshell, I am going to start simply by word of mouth and hopefully generate some interest and questions. I will post the ones on the site that I think will benefit other readers and will have them all tagged with labels in order to develop a nice archive that can easily be searched on the site. I have some more ideas for the site but want to go ahead and get the word out.
So there you have it, now let's get this thing started. Questions anyone?
So, that's the idea. Guess I could have called the blog "Nice Guy Tech Advice," but I like to think of myself more like an in-law who is the guy where you can get help with no strings attached and more importantly without any family baggage. No, I'm not an engineer or an I.T. professional but that's hopefully what will make me more approachable. So, who am I and why am I doing this? I am just a regular guy who happens to obsess about all things tech and also the guy who people ask for help and advice.
Hopefully I can be a helpful resource to those that are either intimidated, confused, or embarrassed in a ever-increasing tech world that changes daily to try and make sense of it all. Looking for a great gift? Not sure which computer, mobile phone, GPS, etc. to buy? Have a question that you might be afraid to ask? No longer. Send them to me and I will do my best to give you a honest, informative, and objective answer and hopefully a little humor thrown in for good measure.
This blog is for those of you who don't venture online every day, those that are still tentative and unsure about all things tech. And for those of you who happen to stumble upon this blog and might have some friends and family who are in this category, please pass my e-mail along. I look forward to being one of your favorite in-laws.
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