HandBrake Updates to 0.9.4

It is updated and it is even better than before. The change log shows more than a 1000 changes, while the biggest update is the support for 64bit. It is definitely worth while updating, for my MacBook Pro it means that I can convert DVDs in realtime or even faster! Also I love the fact that it is now possible to include softsubtitles. As well as watch a live preview before spending hours on encoding.

Here is an extract from the authors homepage:

“Creation comes out of imperfection.”

There’s an old proverb in the video encoding world: “Speed, size, quality: pick two.” It means that you always have to make a trade-off between the time it takes to encode a video, the amount of compression used, and the picture quality. Well, this release of HandBrake refuses to compromise. It picks all three.

via HandBrake.

I have previously written about HandBrake that can be used to convert flv, usually YouTube videos, into formats that can be used on you iPhone .mp4.

For you information, Handbrake can be use as a converter for both audio and video. I have not had any problems what so ever. Read more about the supported formats here.

Posted in OS X | 11552 Comments »http://www.aetas.dk/archives/1155HandBrake+Updates+to+0.9.42009-12-01+09%3A33%3A35Philip+Hoyos

Applications to improve and enhance workflow with OS X

In my experience there are numerous applications to improve and enhance the workflow in OS X.

Here is an example to clarify my point. Lets say you want to downscale a hundred photos for web use. If you do not know any method of doing this you will have to open each picture within your favorite picture editor and downscale the pictures one by one. However, there are a lot faster and easier way, if you use Automator, you will be able to change all the pictures automatically.

My point is that to every action you preform by hand, there is another option. Here is a list of applications that I use to ease my workflow that I use them all the time when Im using my mac. The list will be updated from time to time when I come across other useful applications. (more…)

Tags: Applications, OS X, System, Workflow
Posted in OS X | 16No Comments »http://www.aetas.dk/archives/16Applications+to+improve+and+enhance+workflow+with+OS+X2009-10-02+13%3A20%3A07Philip+Hoyos

Eliminating the prejudices and misunderstandings

About four years ago, August 2005, my second laptop failed me for the third time and I had to go back to the shop to get it repaired. Between three and five weeks everytime I had to have the PC repaired and I was completely feed up with Windows, PC computers and shops promising fast, stabile computers running with no problems what so ever. How could any company with pride sell products that constantly failed or software with numerous errors. This certainly did not help my frustration.

At this time I started looking at Apple computers. The really looked good and I tried a MacBook at one of my buddies. He was all frantic about it. Talked about all the amazing stuff that was possible with this kind of machine. In my mind he sounded like some kind of preacher trying to commit me to his mac-religion. I asked him if I could sit down for a while and mess around with his mac. (more…)

Tags: Apple, MacBook Pro, Macboy, OS X, Windows
Posted in Apple, OS X | 10301 Comment »http://www.aetas.dk/archives/1030Eliminating+the+prejudices+and+misunderstandings2009-07-12+11%3A09%3A07Philip+Hoyos

HowTo: Convert flv to mp4 iPhone for free!

For a while now I have been searching the web for a free application for Mac OS X that would allow me to convert a movie in flv format from YouTube to my iPhone. I came across a wide variety of applications like iSquint, VisualHub and FilmRedux, these were free applications that should have allowed me to convert my movie. Unfortunately both iSquint and VisualHub has gone out of production, and I was unable to download them from their creators Techspansion.

As I don’t quit I had to find another solution, that was free to use. I have used Handbreak for converting other things before, although I couldn’t find any information about their support of flv, I had to try it out.

Success! Handbrake now supports universal input and therefor converts flv to any other format that is supported by Handbrak. The creators have tapped into the power of the FFmpeg project and have had a massive achievement by this.

You can download it at http://www.handbrake.fr

I used version 0.9.3, which at this time is the current version.

(more…)

Tags: Convert, flv, handbrak, iphone, mp4, video
Posted in HowTo, OS X | 984 Comments »http://www.aetas.dk/archives/98HowTo%3A+Convert+flv+to+mp4+iPhone+for+free%212008-12-16+07%3A52%3A18Philip+Hoyos

Tutorial: Share your iCal calendar for free

This guide will take you through 3 parts to help you share your iCal calendar with others. Further more it will show how users are able to subscribe to your calendar using Mac OS X iCal.

Part 1 – Setting up an account

To be able to share your calendar you will have to use something called a WebDAV server. I found a internet providing just that service. It is called iCal Exchange and is located on http://icalx.com and looks like this.

(more…)

Tags: Calendar, Exchange, Free, iCal, OS X, Publish, Share, Subscribe
Posted in Apple, HowTo, OS X | 332 Comments »http://www.aetas.dk/archives/33Tutorial%3A+Share+your+iCal+calendar+for+free2008-10-09+11%3A02%3A20Philip+Hoyos