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VLC: The Media Player That Could

by Dan

When I purchased my first Mac I quickly transfered over all the media files from my old windows based machine and was excited to finally view the content on an operating system with strong media capabilities.

I opened up Quicktime and found a movie in .avi format that I wanted to open. Unfortunately, Quicktime didn’t know what to do with the file and told me I needed to go and find plugins to open the movie. After I found a plugin that would allow Quicktime to play .avi movies I launched the movie again.

Sure enough the picture came in and I was almost convinced that finding quicktime plugins wasn’t too bad. Then I realized.. the audio for the movie wasn’t playing. Quicktime needed another plugin for the audio portion.

ENTER VLC

If this experience sounds similar to you, fear not! There is a wonderful and small FREE media player out there that has everything built into it to quickly play almost any media format.

After struggling with finding quicktime plugins to play all my media formats I cam across VLC. I download the app, installed it, and opened movie after movie after movie without any trouble.

VLC is a wonderful free application. In addition to having a Mac version, the software also comes in Windows and Linux versions. It plays DVDs, CDs, music and video files, and can even stream video across a network or over the internet.

Give VLC a try and check back here atmaciverse.com with RSS for ways to get the most out of your new free Media Player.

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Menubar: Date Display

by Dan

Lifehacker.com provided a simple but informative tip that shows you how to display the date on the menu bar. This of course is for anyone that doesn’t know to look at the iCal icon to see today’s date.

  1. In System Preferences, open International and go to the Formats tab.
  2. Next to Dates, click the Customize button. Arrange your date in the format you want to appear on your menubar. Use the down arrows on each element to choose between formats (January, Jan, 01, 1, etc.) I chose [Oct 29], as shown.
  3. Now, select the entire date format and copy it to your clipboard (Cmd+A, Cmd+C). Hit OK.
  4. Hit the Customize button next to Times. Choose the “Medium” format.
  5. Paste the date format on your clipboard next to the time format, and hit OK. You’re done!

Head over to lifehacker.com for more details.

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Adium: 5 Must Have Extras

by Dan

If you’ve decided that you need a bit more customizable instant messaging client for your Mac than what iChat offers, Adium is for you. The ability to add extra features and capabilities to Adium is what really makes it a great IM client.

Here are 5 Must Have extra features you can add to Adium to add that customizable feel you want from your instant messaging client:

1. Send TXT Message To Your Contacts

Send SMS / Email – If you ever have the need to send a txt message to a friend but didn’t want to take the time to type out the message and send it from your phone, this plugin is for you. Add phone details to each of your contacts and then right click, send SMS, and enter the message you’d like delivered to your contacts phone. Tell them to jump online, send them a website link, or remind them of lunch the next day!

2. Customize Your Adium Dock Icon

Dock Icons – The possibilities are endless. New Dock Icons for Adium are being added to the Adium website constantly. This lets you add a bit of custom look and feel to your desktop and instant messaging client. Pick from Home, Yoda Duck, and many many more!

3. Open & Close Apps

Opener ‘n Closer – If you find yourself constantly in deep discussions with your friends over your Instant Messaging client but still need to be productive check out this Adium extra. It allows you to launch or close any application on your system by typing a messages in any chat window. Close the apps you aren’t using, or open any application you need for your discussion.

4. Quickly Send Links

Current Webpage – This extra makes it easy to share links to a webpage you’re currently looking at. Once this is installed simpley type ‘%(name of the browser you’re using)’ and a link with the title of the webpage you’re currently looking at will be sent to your contact. No need to take the time to copy and paste.

5. Update Your Status Message

TwitterAdium – Automatically update your status message when you’re away from your computer. Let your friends online see that you’ve gone for a bit to eat, are out at a party, or in the middle of class. With this Adium Extra, you can have your status message automatically display your latest twitter message. Send a txt update of your status to twitter and your Adium client will update your status message!

These 5 Extras add some great customizable feel to Adium but there are many, many, more extras that may just have the feature you’re looking for. What extras do you use? What other extras are a Must Have?

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Adium: An iChat Competitor

by Dan

iChat is a great and powerful Instant Messaging client that comes standard with all releases of OS X. While it has its strengths, it also has its weaknesses.

The lack of ability to communicate with the MSN and Yahoo networks and its default way of separating even your AIM, .Mac, and Jabber contact list can cause a lot of clutter on your desktop. If you don’t use chax, you may need to have a separate Space for each IM network you’re using.

If these issues bother you with iChat, then you may be interested in Adium. A free Instant Messaging client that allows you to connect all your IM networks and keep your contacts in one contact list.

Adium has a lot of customizable features and integrates well into the rest of the OS X environment. Although Adium has some great features, it does not have Screen Sharing capabilities, solid video chat, or some of the other strengths of iChat.

Now… if they could just merge their features..

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Macbook Air Passes Airport Security

by Dan

Recently, Airport Security (TSA) announced on their blog that they’ve reviewed the Macbook Air and is now comfortable with seeing the Apple notebook come through security.

After reports of a few individuals missing flights because of security hassles with new new thin Notebook without a CD/DVD drive, TSA send out notification and descriptions of the Macbook Air to its personal so that such problems wouldn’t occur in the future.

Well, Last night I had a flight to catch and originally debated on whether or not to bring the Macbook Air with me. But I had plenty of time to get through security so I figured it couldn’t hurt to bring it along.

Like usual, the security line was long, but I was able to move through the security check and slid the Macbook Air through the x-ray imagery.

At first I thought I was in trouble and would have to deal with some long security questions about my computer as a TSA officer approached me while I reached for my bag. He grabbed the back in front of mine, looked at me and said “IS THIS YOURS!?!?”

I was greatful that the bag wasn’t mine. I explained it wasn’t and the real owner stepped forward. I grabbed my Macbook Air and put it into my briefcase. I had a smile on my face as the security officer started questioning the intentions of bag owner’s use of a flash light on an air plane.

While the TSA officers have been instructed to ignore the Macbook Air as a security check, they’re still worried about flashlights.

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