If you regularly change your desktop images for particular purposes, you probably already know how to control click on your desktop and select Change Desktop Background to get the task done. But why go through that process when you can use an Automator action to change to your favorite or most used desktop backgrounds in one simple click.
Author: Bakari Chavanu
40 Digital Photography Techniques, 3rd Edition
Book Review
Most people who like taking pictures probably don’t want to spend time reading manuals and long books about camera techniques. Most avid shooters I imagine just want specific techniques and strategies they can easily understand and try out.
Read MoreTurbocharge Your Computer – Lifehacker
Book Review
If most of your productive day-to-day activities revolve around your Mac and related software, you probably keep current on as many strategies, tips, and ideas that help you not only be more productive at the keyboard, but also provide you ways to better organize your daily routines, projects, and – heck – your entire life if need be.
Read MoreProblem Solved Using Soundslides
Review
After searching and trying out three or four different solutions that would work with my .mac website/account, someone recommended Soundslides. I downloaded the trial version and immediately liked the the layout and simplicity of the application.
Read MoreCanon EOS 30D: Guide to Digital Photography
Book Review
When it comes to books about digital photography, Thomson Press is a sure bet for both beginner and experienced photographers. Their photography books are typically well illustrated, designed, and written from a practical point of view. This review looks at Canon EOS 30D: Guide to Digital Photography by David D. Busch.
Read MoreCreate a Digital Workflow for iPhoto
Anyone who regularly shoots digital photographs realizes just how easy it is to fill up a photo management system like Apple’s iPhoto with thousands of images. In fact, uploading, managing, and processing digital photos is probably the most difficult part of digital photography. Everyone loves to shoots pictures, but digital photos can easily fill up a hard drive just in same way many old school shutterbugs could fill up shoe boxes and plastic covered album pages
Read MoreThree Aperture Books Reviewed
Any of the three books under review will effectively get you into and through Aperture. The first hurdle to understanding this massive program is understanding it’s structure and management tools. Aperture is about photo management for heavy digital photography shooters. Here are three books that may help you get the most from the application.
Put Your Favorite Videocasts on DVD
With the emergence of podcasts and videocasts, along with the unlimited amount of blogs and other types of websites, the plethora of free information and resources is sheerly overwhelming. You simply can’t keep up with all the information you access or that comes to you on a daily basis.
From iPhoto to Aperture
I’ve been an avid fan of iPhoto since it was first introduced about five years ago. Of course the revolution in digital photography inspired me to take videography and photography to a professional level, but having an effective way to organize and edit my photos was equally inspiring.
Read MoreThe Digital Photography Book
Book Review
Author, Photoshop guru, and photographer, Scott Kelby is widely known for his popular tips books about such creative software as Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Elements, Apple’s OS X, and even tip books for the iPod. So how is his latest book?
Read MoreBeyond Snapshots
Book Review
Though I’m not an historian of digital photography, I would say that second wave of the digital photography revolution was the advent of photo blogs. I’m not alone. The plethora of books published on the subject seems like a monthly occurrence, and the demand for them seems equally great. Here are two reviews of some of the latest.
Better Workflow in Photoshop
Book Review
Author, digital photographer, and lecturer Eddie Tapp, who this month was inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame at the Photoshop World Expo in Las Vegas, and who also serves as the Chairman of the Committee on Digital Advanced Imaging for Professional Photographers of America, has written the first in a series of books on effectively using Photoshop in the areas of professional color management, creative enhancement techniques, and professional production techniques.
Read MoreThe Printshop For Mac
Review
If you use iDVD and its themes for home or professional use, you can’t afford not to have The Printshop For Mac Version 2 software. I’ve been using this latest version since it was introduced at the Mac World conference last January for all my DVD labels and cover designs. While I could also do DVD cover layouts in InDesign or Apple’s Pages, The Printshop offers a less time consuming integration with iPhoto, iDVD, and iTunes that you simply won’t find in the larger, more expensive design programs.
Read MoreA bevy of Adobe InDesign books reviewed
Book Reviews
Having worked in lesser graphic applications like Apple’s Pages, I simply wasn’t prepared for the breath and scope of InDesign. I still keep shaking my head at the possibilities, and I’ve only learned about a third of the program.
Charge While You Listen – DLO’s TransDock micro
Review
One of the first features that drew me to this iPod gadget was the battery charger. I listen my iPod (using a cassette player adapter) mostly in my car and I can’t count how many times the battery has come close to running down or out because I hadn’t charged it for several days. So when I saw that DLO’s TransDock micro would charge my 4th generation iPod while it broadcast my music , I wanted to check out its other features as a possible upgrade to my current transmitter.
Read MoreCreate a Mother’s Day Letter or Card with Apple’s Pages
A true Mac user would never be caught buying a Hallmark greeting card when he or she has TextEdit, AppleWorks, Pages or some other graphic layout program installed on his or her Mac. If you have Pages installed, you can whip a out nice Mother’s Day letter that will be more meaningful and personal than all the store bought cards you’ve purchased in the past.
Read MoreCooking with Photoshop
Book Review
Flip through any creative, cutting edge magazine or website and you’ll discover what professional and crafty users of Photoshop are doing with photography. Up until flipping through John Beardsworth’s Photoshop Blending Modes Cookbook for Digital Photographers, I had little appreciation and knowledge for what could be done if you would only stretch the use of Photoshop beyond the quick fixes and enhancements.
Read MoreThe Adjustment Tool in iPhoto 6 – Part 1
No doubt, either version of Adobe’s Photoshop offers the best tools for photo enhancements, but Apple’s iPhoto image Adjustment tool provides a quick, down and dirty, method for enhancing your photos. I rarely print out or publish a photo to the web without at least using one aspect of this Adjustment tool.
Read MoreA Quick Start Guide to Gmail
Book Review
Like Peachpit’s other Visual QuickStart Guides, this book is a well illustrated guide that offers how-to information on setting up a Gmail account, using the interface, adding, editing, and importing contacts, using new mail notification features, composing, sending, filtering and managing mail, and enabling message forwarding if you would like to have your Gmail mail sent to your ISP account
Read MorePhotoBank
Review
Bakari takes a look at the recently released PhotoBank from SmartDisk. Find out if this is worth your time or money.
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