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Kill the iPhoto Auto-Launch?

Scott Rose — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:31:41 -0500

Every time I plug my iPhone into my Mac to synchronize or recharge the battery, iPhoto launches. How do I stop this from happening?

Whenever you shoot photos or videos on your iPhone, your new media shows up in the Camera Roll album of your iPhone’s Photos app. And once there’s media sitting in that Camera Roll, your Mac will think that you’ve connected a digital camera whenever you plug in your iPhone to sync with iTunes.

Since iPhoto, by default, automatically launches whenever you connect a digital camera, iPhoto will open up in anticipation that you’re going to import the photos from your digital camera (that is, your iPhone). You can turn off this behavior by going into iPhoto’s preferences, clicking on the General tab, and then choosing No Application in the dropdown labeled Connecting Camera Opens. But in the future, whenever you connect any digital camera (including your iPhone) to your Mac, you will have to manually launch iPhoto if you want to import photos.

As long as you keep your iPhone Camera Roll album empty, iPhoto won't launch when you connect your iPhone to your Mac.

A better solution might be to use iPhoto’s auto-launching behavior as a reminder to import the photos into your iPhoto library. Then, after the import is complete, tell iPhoto to delete the photos from your camera. This will remove all the photos and movies from your iPhone’s Camera Roll, thus preventing iPhoto from automatically launching again unless you have new media that needs to be imported.

If you still want to keep a copy of those photos on your iPhone, simply place them into an album in iPhoto, and then tell iTunes to synchronize that album with your iPhone.

iWeb Search Engine Optimization

Scott Rose — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:11:51 -0500

I created a beautiful website for my business with iWeb. Now, how do I move my site up in Google‘s search results?

One of our biggest disappointments with iWeb is that it doesn’t include the necessary tools to help your site climb up Google’s search results. iWeb lacks the ability to create meta tags, create alternate image text, and to easily change title tags--three of the criteria that Google looks for when indexing and ranking a page.

RAGE Software's free iWeb SEO Tool lets you add image tags, meta tags, and title tags to your iWeb site, so search engines can find your site and move it up in the rankings.

Fortunately, a utility called iWeb SEO Tool (free, www.ragesw.com) lets you add all three of the aforementioned items into your iWeb site. Developer RAGE Software also has tools to help you get your website listed in all the major search engines, monitor your rankings in those search engines, and discover your website’s most profitable keywords.

Even better, the RAGE Software blog (www.ragesw.com/blog/) has dozens of articles that will help you move your website to the top of the pack on Google and other search engines. For example, did you know that when linking to your website from other websites, your hyperlinked words should actually be the keywords that people are searching for, instead of your company’s name? Neither did we.

iMovie Updated to 8.0.4, Fixes iPhone 3GS Video Issue

Cory Bohon — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:19:08 -0500

Apple has just released an update for iMovie, fixing three bugs including one regarding video from the iPhone 3GS. Apple notes that iMovie 8.0.4 "Improves overall stability and fixes a number of other minor issues," including:

-Fixed a problem with incorrect rotation when working with video created by iPhone 3GS

-Resolved instability when adding multiple beat markers in some languages

-Corrected an issue where iMovie could become unresponsive after using fine-tuning controls beyond the stabilized portions of a clip

You can get the iMovie update by opening Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update), or by downloading the installer package from the Apple website.

20 Helpful iLife '09 Tips and Tricks

Roberto Baldwin — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:07:14 -0600

Every year Apple rolls out another version of iLife. While iPhoto and GarageBand got major updates, some apps, like iWeb and iDVD, ended up being nearly forgotten about. Still, with updates come new features to figure out and a navigation that's changed ever so slightly.

We dived right into the new suite and came up with 20 tips and tricks that we hope will help you enjoy all the features the new iLife '09 has to offer.

iPhoto

1. Add geo-tagging info to your uploaded photos - By default, iPhoto doesn't upload photos with location information to online sites. To share your location with the world, open the iPhoto preferences, choose Web and click on "include location information for published photos."

2. See only photos that haven't been imported - If you store images on your iPhone, but want them to be imported into iPhoto, you can show only the photos that need to be imported by checking the "Hide photos already imported box."

3. The more you tag, the smarter iPhoto gets - Find a group of images with a certain person. As you tag the images, iPhoto will learn their face and will eventually ask if if they are the person you're looking for. No word if iPhoto will help you find the droids you are looking for.

4. Multiple people in Faces - You can tag multiple people in a photo. Click on Faces and iPhoto will attempt to find all the faces. You can tag faces already found, then click on "add missing face" to create new face boxes. Adjust the size of the box, click done and add the name.

5. Hide photos - Got photos you want to keep, but they might be NSFW, or you have photos are just cluttering up an event. Use the Hide feature to make those photos disappear without deleting them. Select a photo you want to hide and cick on the red X Hide button. You can show all your hidden photos, select View>Hidden Photos in the menu bar.

6. Zoom in and out - Double left clicking zooms in to the map in iPhoto. Double right clicking zooms out. You can also use the slider in the lower right-hand corner.

7. Use Faces for animals - While not an official feature in iPhoto, we were able to get iPhoto to recognize the differences between two cats and train the app to recognize their faces.

8. Moving Faces on the Corkboard -Be careful when moving faces around on the Corkboard. You can accidentally drop a person onto another person. It will erase your tags you've added to that person. A quick cmd-z will reverse the problem.

9. Change a person's Faces Key Photo - Open a person's images in Faces. Right click on the image you want to be the key photo and choose "Make Key Photo" An easier method, drag your mouse over the key photo in the corkboard view and while the photos are changing, tap the space bar on the photo you would like to be the key photo, violá!

10. Empty the trash - The trash is usually filled with photos you don't want, empty it for more space. Right click and delete those lame photos.

Tips for GarageBand, iMove and iWeb are waiting for you on the next page.

GarageBand

1. Make sure your Mac can hear your Guitar -By default, GarageBand is setup for a guitar to be connected to the program. If you're taking a lesson and need to tune your acoustic guitar, click on Setup>My Input Device> and choose Internal Mic.

2. Screensaver? No problem - If you're concerned about your Screen Saver or Energy Saver preferences messing with your guitar lesson, don't be. GarageBand takes that into account and disables both when you are taking a lesson.

3. Artists got bills to pay - If you plan on purchasing GarageBand so you can be taught by Sting how to play Roxanne, be warned. Artist Lessons will set you back $4.99. It's still cheaper than having Ben Folds show up at your house with a grand piano.

4. Easier Ringtones - GarageBand has ringtone template now. To make a ringtone from an MP3, or unprotected AAC file, choose the oddly named "Example Ringtone" from the iPhone Ringtone selections in the GarageBand splash screen. Delete the jingle Apple has in the time line, click on the media browser and drag your song of choice to the timeline. Adjust the cycle region to your liking, choose Share>Send Ringtone to iTunes from the menu bar and you're ready to rock out with each incoming call.

5. Scoring notes - To write a score with real notes, instead of fumbling around with the keyboard to play virtual instrument, can be a bit confusing at first. Select a virtual instrument track, in the time line cmd-click where you would like to place your notes. Double click on the box you've created an the drawer with the Score Option should appear. Now cmd-click on the score to add notes.

6. Better search - When looking for the perfect song in your iTunes library, the Media Browser helps you narrow you choices down. By clicking on the magnifying glass in the search field you can search by, Artist, Song, Composer, and album.

iMovie

1. Image stabilization takes a long time - Stabilize all your clips when you're done with everything else. That way you can go for a walk or grab quick lunch.

2. Media in other places - Right click the in the Event Library to find videos stored on other drives, or in other parts of your Macs drive.

3. 500 miles and counting - When using the travel globes, try and make the minimum distance at least 500 miles. Anything less looks really lame.

iWeb

1. Facebook notification - Keep your friends in the loop with Facebook notifications that your site has been updated. When you publish your site for the first time after upgrading, you get the option to link your Facebook account.

iPhoto's Faces Recognizes Cats

Roberto Baldwin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:27:16 -0600

A huge disappointment for pet owners, was word that iPhoto's newest feature, Faces, wouldn't recognize animals according to Apple employees on the show floor. We even did a few tests at Macworld Expo with images they had of the dog Luce.

Well, we are happy to say that we were able to get iPhoto to recognize Robbie's Cat, Lola.

Click to embiggen

In clear images with two cats to choose from, the feature was able to pick out the correct cat. Like adding people to faces, the key is to train the software to recognize a person, or animal in this case, by tagging a few images manually.

Click to embiggen

Once a base face is established, iPhoto begins finding the person, or animal, on its own. At that point, you just need to confirm the animals face in the Faces' "Confirm Name" menu.

Click to embiggen

Search results mirrored those of our tests with human faces, with a small percentage of images that were either, not the correct person, or in some instances, a random round object.

This is a banner day for pet owners.

Editor's Note: Don't fret dog owners, we're going to test out dog images to make sure man's best friend wasn't left out of the loop.

Add Flash Videos to Your iWeb Pages

Steve Paris — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:06:44 -0600

If you use YouTube to convert your videos to Flash, you can post them on your iWeb site, and the video files stay on YouTube’s server, not yours.

The iLife suite makes it easy to create a home movie, convert it to QuickTime, add it to a webpage using iWeb, and publish it for all to see. However, while the H.264 format used during the conversion process produces high-quality films, they can be quite large, especially compared to Flash videos.

We’ll show you how to add Flash videos to an iWeb page instead of bulkier QuickTime movies, using YouTube as a go-between. This technique offers the added advantage of using YouTube’s bandwidth and storage space instead of your own—a useful bonus, especially if your website becomes popular.

What you need: iMovie ’08 (version 7.1.4, part of iLife ’08, $79, www.apple.com), iWeb ’08 (version 2.0.4, part of iLife ’08), YouTube account (free, www.youtube.com), Some videos to publish

1. Something to Share

iMovie ’08 can send videos from your Project Library directly to YouTube.

First launch iMovie. Use one of your existing projects, or create one from scratch by dragging video clips from the Source Video (at the bottom of the screen) to the Project area (at the top). When you’ve completed a short film that you’re happy with, make sure it’s the one currently displayed (otherwise click on it in the Project Library section at the top left) and go to Share > YouTube.

2. Do You YouTube?

A free YouTube account lets you upload videos, plus make Favorites lists, rate videos, leave comments, and more.

Click Add to the right of the Account field to type in your YouTube account. If you don’t yet have one, you need to make a small detour to your Web browser and go to youtube.com. (If you already have a YouTube account, go straight to Step 3.) Click the Sign Up link at the top right of the landing page. Fill in all the requested information and click Create Account when ready. As is customary with any website login account, you’ll have to confirm your address by replying to an email sent to you by YouTube. Once that’s done, you’re ready to upload your video.

3. Sizing It Up

The gray letter i can tell you how big the video file will be.

Back in iMovie, enter your YouTube credentials, then fill in the info fields. For the best possible quality video, click the Medium button in the Size To Publish section. To see what size your video file will be once it’s encoded (which affects how fast it’ll download to your viewers’ computers), mouse over the grayed letter i to the right of the dimension. If you think that the film’s file size will be too big, opt for the smaller Mobile size. Checking Make This Movie Private will let you share it with a maximum of 25 people (customizable in your YouTube account). Click Next, read YouTube’s reminder not to share copyrighted material, and click Publish.

4. Visiting Your Video

Once iMovie sends your video to YouTube, this Visit link appears.

Still in iMovie, select your uploaded film in the Project Library and notice the small Published To YouTube banner at the top of the Project section. Click the Visit button at the far right of that banner to send your browser directly to the YouTube page hosting your video.

5. The Customizing Cog

Click the little cog by the Embed link.

Once there, you need to find the Embed link, located to the right of the video itself. Don’t copy it just yet: You have at your disposal a few options to customize the way the video will look when added to your website by clicking on the little cog wheel to the right of that Embed field.

6. Modifiable Visuals

The YouTube video player will eventually be on your own iWeb page, so it might as well look nice.

Usually, when a video finishes playing, you’re greeted with a selection of other films to watch. To keep that from happening, click the Don’t Include Related Videos button. You can also choose colors for the video player’s timeline and its border or remove the border entirely. Select the look that best matches the page you’re designing in iWeb. Once you like how the player looks, click the Embed field to select the code to its right and copy it (Command-C or Edit > Copy).

7. iWeb Snippet

The Embed link you copied is just HTML, so add it to iWeb as an HTML Snippet.

You’re now ready for iWeb. Select the page you’re building for your video (or create one from scratch). Go to Insert > HTML Snippet. A small see-through window appears with a large text field bearing the words Paste Or Type HMTL To Embed On Your Page. Click that field, paste the code taken from the YouTube page (Command-V or Edit > Paste), and click Apply.

8. Browser View

Your video stays stored on YouTube’s server, but visitors can watch it right on your page.

Your video will appear in a few seconds. You can drag the player anywhere on your page, but that’s it—you can’t rotate it, change its opacity, or even add a reflection or a shadow to it. You don’t need to finish and publish your webpage to see if the link works: Double-click on it to download the video straight into iWeb. If you’d rather see the end result in a Web browser instead, publish your site (either to MobileMe or to a folder on your hard drive) and visit the page using your favorite browser.

iLife '09 Shipping Tomorrow

Roberto Baldwin — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:11:10 -0600

Apple announced today that iLife '09 will begin shipping tomorrow. The upgrade to the creative suite was announced at the Macworld Expo Philnote earlier this month.

The suite will be available through Apple's Online Store, and at Apple Retail stores. The suite will set you back $79, and is available to customers that purchased a qualifying new Mac system on, or after January 6, 2009, for a shipping and handling fee of $9.99 thanks to Apple's Up-To-Date program.

The latest iLife suite includes new iPhoto features, Faces and Places. Faces groups photos using the awesome power of facial recognition software. Places uses Google maps, and geo-tagging information, to create maps of your photo adventures. GarageBand's newest feature is tutorials for guitar and piano. Once you get tired of the Apple employee showing you how to play Mary Had a Little Lamb, you can learn from your favorites artists, including Sting,Nora Jones and John Fogerty.

Biggest Macworld Expo Disappointment -- No Animal Facial Recognition in iPhoto

Roberto Baldwin — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:03:42 -0600

While test driving the latest version of iPhoto, we decided to use the new Faces feature on the dog Luce. Luce is in the iPhoto library of all the iMacs on the show floor.

While Luce is adorable, and we would love to take the pooch to the Mac|Life office and shower her with kibble and rawhide bones, iPhoto doesn't recognize Luce's cuteness.

We tried our doggy-faced experiment on two different machines, with three different pictures. The end result was always the same. The application couldn't recognize Luce's face in the iPhoto library.

It seems the algorithm needed to recognize human faces is different than the algorithm needed to recognize dog and cat faces. Hopefully Apple will recognize this huge bug in their software and fix it before the official launch of iLife '09 later this month.