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The Apple Mac has no hash (#) key on its keyboard, either US or UK.  Mad or what?  Workarounds [http://www.viciouslime.co.uk/articles/5-applemac/4-where-is-the–hash-key-on-a-british-mac-keyboard]:

• UK: Alt-3
• US: Shift-3
  • (In the UK, Shift-3 instead makes a £ symbol)

To see all such “special symbols” (my term):

• System Preferences > International > Input Menu and select Keyboard Viewer
  • [http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=155093]
• [http://www.hutsby.net/2008/01/apple-mac-osx-looking-for-hash-on-uk.html]
  • Lists them all out on a webpage.
  • e.g. Alt-G gives a © (copyriGht)
  • Some handy math/greek characters too.
• x

Need to establish a better home network, e.g. so Parallels on my Mac can see my Windows laptop, so it can suck the XP out of it.  Also want shared printer etc. (I have a node for that).   Just a question of setting it all up…

I want to transport everything off an existing PC into a Parallels VM (on a Mac).  I want to confirm it is possible and find out how to do it.  So, after a bit of googling:

• Yes it is possible.
• The source machine (the Windows PC in this case) needs to be running the Parallels Transporter Agent
•  The Transporter Agent may be obtained from http://www.parallels.com/uk/download/desktop
• Here’s a problem someone experienced when installing it to Windows 7 (though my main source PC is running XP):
  • http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=97119
• Here’s someone who is attempting to do the same thing I wish to do, but stumbled:
  • http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=97777
  • (no answer to his question so far)
• x

“The feature that elicited the most “OMGs” in the room was a new dialogue level matching option. Allows you to quickly, automatically, intelligently match levels on separate snippets of dialogue, without increasing the levels of noise or non-dialogue sound sources. You can save levels and use them as standards in future projects. This saves a TON of time on a frequent issue that crops up for low-budget web productions that can’t afford to hire sound guys for every field shoot. This was a big deal for a lot of us.”

[http://boingboing.net/2009/07/24/apples-new-final-cut.html]

Links:

• http://lifehacker.com/315747/tech-support-and-document-collaboration-gets-easy-with-ichat
• http://lifehacker.com/5088083/five-best-video-chat-applications

Geographically separated team members of a Final Cut project can collaborate via iTheatre.   Suppose an editor is discussing with a client via Apple’s iChat.  Then the editor can play out of FCP straight into the iChat session.   It’s in FCP: View > iChat Theatre Preview.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RACPO0N4Hc4

There are some reputable video people covering this topic:

• http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/non-linear-editing-mac/353369-ichat-theatre-preview.html
• http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/fcp_ichat_theater_stone.html

But iChat is only available for Macs.  What if the client doesn’t have a Mac?  I did some googling:

• iChat is an Instant Messenger.
• It is only available for Macs but it is compatible with AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), which is available for Windows.
  • ” iChat is only available on OS X” [http://lifehacker.com/5088083/five-best-video-chat-applications]
• .mac accounts are just AIM accounts. Enter your .mac username with @mac.com at the end while configuring an AIM account. [http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=458194]
• Whatever is playing in your Viewer or Canvas window is sent via iChat to your remote viewer. [http://digitalcontentproducer.com/videoedsys/revfeat/apple_ichat_theater_preview_0827/index1.html]
• But can the iChat Theatre option be used with Windows users?
  • This person believes it is not possible to interact with Windows users (I wonder if they know of the AIM option or whether it handles iTheatre) [http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/8/1065470]
  • “If your collaborators are on Windows and don’t have access to a Mac, you’re out of luck.” [http://digitalcontentproducer.com/videoedsys/revfeat/apple_ichat_theater_preview_0827/index1.html]
• “for iChat Theater Preview to work, both the host and remote computers much be running Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard or later. Both computers must have iChat accounts and the remote user’s account must be added to the host computer’s buddy list (more detail from Apple here). ” [http://digitalcontentproducer.com/videoedsys/revfeat/apple_ichat_theater_preview_0827/index1.html]
• [http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Talk/thread?tid=3669a2bf94155d06&hl=en]
  • “… is it possible to make videoconference between a PC using google video and a MAC using ichat ?”,
    • “No, it is not possible.  Video chat is only between Gmail chat users.” and furthermore “You need … the Newer Version interface of Gmail”
• It has screen sharing, so both parties can observe and control a single desktop

Some links about iChat itself:

• iChat itself:
  • http://www.timsblog.net/2008/06/07/ichat-for-windows-maybe
    • Overview and context wrt other Instant Messengers (IMs).
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IChat
    • Has great list of add-on tools e.g. encryption.
  • http://www.apple.com/macosx/what-is-macosx/ichat.html
• How to converse with Windows users
  • [http://screencastsonline.com/forums/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1216452140/0]
    • “I wish MSN Messenger was supported natively as hardly anyone I know in the UK uses AIM. I’ve only got 10 AIM buddies. I have to go through a Jabber server with an MSN transport to use it”
    • “I am same as the others. I use Adium as I have MSN and Google Talk friends mostly and very few on AIM.   Sure I can use iChat fo Google Talk”
    • “It seems most of us are using Adium because iChat doesn’t connect to MSN and/or Yahoo Messenger.”
    • “Skype doesn’t intereact with any other software as far as I know but for internet-based phone video calls, it is the best because so many people use it and it is on Windows as well as Mac.”
  • [http://digg.com/apple/Adium_2_0_Coming_With_video_audio_support]
    • Adium is what Pidgin should be.
    • Adium is based on Pidgin’s libpurple (libgaim), which is already used in Pidgin on all three platforms.
    • Adium is the Cocoa client of libpurple. Pidgin is the GTK client, finch is the CLI client, etc… Same IM backend, multiple GUIs.
  • http://pressf1.pcworld.co.nz/showthread.php?t=86311
    • “AIM [http://products.aim.com] is about as close to iChat as you’re gonna get on Windows. That said, a better option would be to go with something more flexible like Pidgin. [http://www.pidgin.im]”
• AIM
  • http://products.aim.com/
  • [http://digg.com/apple/Adium_2_0_Coming_With_video_audio_support]
    • If you’re using the AIM service, make sure you have port 5190 open on your router, NAT, firewall, cable modem, or DSL modem. You’ll need it open for incoming connections to send and outgoing connections to receive (yes, that is the right way round: the recipient connects to the sender).
• Pidgin
  • Is open-source, has sometimes debatable deadlines and capabilities.  Many consider Adium better, and it has been stated that they are both front-ends onto the same core.
  • (formerly GAIM) [http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/28/adium-offers-first-look-at-video-integration]
  • [http://www.pidgin.im/about] “Pidgin is a chat program which lets you log in to accounts on multiple chat networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on MSN, talking to a friend on Google Talk, and sitting in a Yahoo chat room all at the same time.  Pidgin runs on Windows, Linux, and other UNIX operating systems”
  • There are third-party plugins for other protocols such as Skype and Twitter.
• x

After having installed FCS3 (feat.FCS7) and its XDCAM Transfer plugin, I did an Apple Software Update.  As expected, this detected an available update for “Pro Applications”.  Among those updates listed was one for Soundtrack Pro, described as “Fixes issue with installer”.  What does that mean?  I already installed it.  Should I uninstall and reinstall it ?  I’ll do nothing until I find out for sure.

After that update , there were no further updates.

The XDCAM Transfer plugin allows FCP to easily ingest footage in the format generated by XDCAM-EX cameras such as the EX3.   Unlike FCP6, where it was also advised to load a “FAM Driver” (as a separate plugin), this is not appropriate for FCP7 (explained below)

From the ReadMe phase of the ‘Install XDCAM Transfer’ installer dialog:

XDCAM FAM driver and tool.
Mount Professional Discs in XDCAM devices connected by FAM (i.LINK) in the Finder.
Note: The XDCAM FAM driver and tool are not compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and are not installed.
•    XDCAM Transfer main application.
Preview clips from XDCAM and import your selected material as QuickTime movies. XDCAM Transfer supports the PDW-U1 XDCAM Drive unit and Professional Memory Cards recorded with the PMW-EX1 camcorder.
•    Sony XDCAM Import and Export plug-ins for Final Cut Pro.
Initiate transfers from XDCAM directly into a Final Cut Pro project and render your Final Cut Pro sequence directly onto a connected XDCAM disc.
•    Final Cut Pro XDCAM presets.
Configure your sequence and export settings to be compatible with XDCAM. The XDCAM HD422 presets replace those installed by Final Cut Pro 6.0.3.
•    XDCAM Transfer User Guide.
Found in the Documentation folder of this disk image and also available from the Help menu of the XDCAM Transfer application after installing the software.

 As a first experiment (with how well or not FCS3 would run), I installed the upgrade to a new machine.

Groundless concerns:

• There is no hassle over installing it on a second machine.  The license allows it and there is no Deactivation etc required.  Only if both machines are on the same network will it complain.
• It was not necessary for the target machine to have the previous version of FCS installed.

The update physical form was a cardboard box measuring about (by eye) 5×5x1.5 inches.  Its main contents were 7 data-DVDs, a nice concise booklet and some formal documentation, one of which had the serial number printed (twice).   Installing the system took a few hours.

The main installation disk additionallycontained electronic documentation.  I copied it to :

• Boris Calligraphy User guide
  • Makes fancy text.
• Exploring Final Cut Pro 7
  • Same as the booklet that came in the box.

It also contained “Extras”, as follows:

• AppleQmasterNode.mpkg
  • Allows a computer to act as a node in a render-farm, in support of Compressor.  If you are unsure which role each computer will play in your network, just install the Apple Qmaster software on each computer in your network. You can sort out the details later. [http://documentation.apple.com/en/appleqmaster/distributedprocessingsetupguide/index.html#chapter=2%26section=2%26tasks=true]
  • I started its installer but it asked whether I wanted to let this computer be used as a rendering node.  I had already been asked that question when loading the main FCS3.  So maybe it was loaded already.  Decided that FCS was probably best left alone in this respect, so I aborted the install.
    • CORRECT: While following QMaster tutorial [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTrxEAPGY5Y] I checked existing System Preferences for QMaster and they were already there, it was already enabled for sharing.
      • In contrast, when I checked the same for my older machine running FCP6, its QMaster was not enabled for sharing.  Of course I fixed that immediately.
  • • BUT in both cases (both machines) the options were greyed-out.
    • For the newly-installed FCP7 machine,  Options for selected service (Compressor) said “Selected Service On (2 instances).  Sounds like it’s using both cores OK.
    • For the older FCP6 machine, it said “Selected service On (1 instance)”.  But its an 8-core machine.  So maybe something is not quite right…
    • Then again it might be a “feature”  of no significance, just run a render and check Activity Monitor to see if all cores are being used [http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7315551].  The discussion (like some others) also suggests not using all the cores available.
• DVX-100 Audio Sync Tool
  • DVX-100 is a camcorder by Panasonic. Broadly EX3-like and film-ish e.g. 24P)
  • I don’t need this, so I won’t install it.
• Head Leaders for Cinema Tools
  • Countdown etc.
    • A number of prebuilt QuickTime clips have been included to use as head leader in your edited sequences. Using these head leader clips is preferable to selecting the “Start with 8 seconds of leader” checkbox in the Export Film Lists dialog because these clips also contain Picture Start, countdown, and an audio pop at the 2-second mark. [’Head Leaders Read Me’ file]
  • I guess they’re intended to be copied somewhere (?).  I put them at […/Documents/Final Cut/FCS 07]
• Spotlight Importer
  • Spotlight importers should be provided by all applications that support custom document formats. A Spotlight importer parses your document format for relevant information and assigning that information to the appropriate metadata keys. [http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/DOCUMENTATION/Carbon/Conceptual/MDImporters/Concepts/WritingAnImp.html]
  • In other words, it allows Spotlight to search withinapplication-specific files.
  • But when I tried installing it, it said “The domain/default pair of (com.apple.dock, loc) does not exist”.  Don’t know what it means but it sounds broken…   Either way, I can’t install it, so must abandon it.
• Template Intro Movies for DVD Studio Pro
  • Blocks, corporate, mosaic, stripes, smoke…
  • I guess they’re intended to be copied somewhere (?).  I put them at […/Documents/Final Cut/FCS 07]

I have Microsoft Office 2007 installed on one of my computers (”the old laptop”) and want to put it on another one (”the new laptop”).  But is there any restriction involving Activation etc.?

• At the link below, someone else with the same uncertainty verbalises my uncertainties clearly “Will “uninstalling” Office 2007 in that machine, send a signal via the internet that I’m uninstalling it? Or should I take note of any particular machine ID of the one I’m replacing it so I can “tell” the system which one to de-activate?”

There are great clear anwers to this at http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/genuineoffice/thread/413e0f83-774c-43f5-bc1e-b55af6a6b1ea.

• “Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 can be installed on 3 computer at a single point of time. Other office suite 2007 can be installed on 2 computer. Information can be found in the jewel case.”
• “There is no process of de-activating an office product. Uninstalling does not de-activate the product. Install the product on the computer and activate.”
• “REASSIGN TO ANOTHER DEVICE.  You may reassign the license to a different device any number of times, but not more than one time every 90 days.  If you reassign, that other device becomes the “licensed device.”  If you retire the licensed device due to hardware failure, you may reassign the license sooner.”
• “…there’s a lot of slack in the activation logic, so you’re unlikely to have a problem, but in case you do, you can do a phone activation, which Microsoft says is painless and will only take 5 minutes.”

So all I have to do is go ahead and install it on the new machine then!