Getting the most out of Google Desktop
When we were designing Google Desktop, we knew that people would use it in different ways. It's been interesting to see just what you're doing with it. Legal Andrew points out that one way to improve your experience is to simply have the right set of gadgets in your Sidebar, so that, for example, the email gadget keeps you from having to switch constantly between Outlook and your other programs. At Lifehacker, Adam Pash points out that you can tweak Google Desktop to get it to do more of what you want. And Ionut Alex. Chitu came up with a list of 10 Great Uses For Google Desktop, including control panel replacement, browser cache, and file recovery.
If you haven't already, make sure to check out our features page to see the full list of what Google Desktop has to offer. Or if you have other ideas, share them with us.
SIMS for TV creatives
Imagine the SIMS program, but then adapted in a way to use the character animations to preplan and produce TV drama or documentaries. No broadcaster will pay for rehearsal time any more, so you must arrive at a scene with a storyboard and a camera shot list already in your mind before the camera's role. I first saw Antics version 2 at IBC 2005. After a period of silence, the fruit of their work is now on sale for under 1000 Euros and, judging from the paces I have been putting it through, it is quite simply brilliant. Download a trial copy and try it for yourself. You need to devote some concentrate time to learning how to play with it, but it is a gentle learning curve. The great thing is being able to save the final scenes that you've planned as a DVD, so you can show the client just what you have in mind before any production starts. Better by miles than any paper storyboard and a great way to practice the shots. I particularly like the fact you can record dialogue and have the animation speak it for you. I am sure some people will use this program to make shows in their own right. In short, good news for the creative world - obviously a huge amount of love and care went into this. By the way, I have no commercial connection with these guys. I just believe good news should be celebrated.
More Background to what I am doing
This post is to tell you that the people behind this blog have come up with a new -free- Critical Distance Newsletter , the October 2006 Edition 9. It deals with news about this blog, but other broadcast related material as well. You can subscribe, if you like, by signing up at the Critical Distance switchboard. Unsubscribing is also easy, so don't feel locked in. Likewise, we do not use the mailing list for anything else than sending the newsletter. No phones will ring, no salesmen will call. It is in PDF format.
Podcasters Microphone
UK distributor Source Distribution has announced the availability of the new Røde Podcaster – which claims to be the world’s first broadcast quality USB microphone.
Based on Røde’s acclaimed Broadcaster microphone, like the NT2, the Podcaster delivers "studio-grade results through a tight cardioid response that seamlessly connects directly to PC or Mac with a single USB cable, avoiding the added cost and complexity of a separate computer audio interface".
Ideal for online broadcasters, the mic also provides a convenient solution for anyone who records audio directly to their computer, including journalists, voice-over artists, musicians, students and multi-media professionals.
The Podcaster is powered entirely from the USB bus, and uses high-grade A-D converters for optimum quality. It comes complete with an onboard high-output headphone amp for direct monitoring purposes, along with a dedicated volume control and a 3.5mm minijack headphone output. A green status LED indicates that the mic is active and ready for recording.
The microphone comes complete with a microphone stand mount and 5 metres of USB cable. Optional accessories available shortly include a suspension mount and an anglepoise table mounting arm.
To further enhance the Podcaster’s features, Røde has also developed optional downloadable software that allows the user to control the Podcaster’s recording level, to monitor levels via an LED level meter, and to mute the microphone when playing back recordings. This software is available from www.rodepodcaster.com - a dedicated site that also provides podcast hosting as well as offering a wealth of podcasting information and tips.
Oh, and the price? UK 149 pounds including UK VAT.
Helpful resources
With new versions of Google Desktop frequently being released, we've really been adding to the feature set. To help you navigate this maze of features and improve your experience with Desktop, here are two help resources you may want to check out.
U2U Groups
U2U (User to User) groups are official Google Groups that enable users to post feature requests, suggestions, bugs or problem reports, and general questions about Google products and services. What's unique about a U2U group is that not only do experienced users weigh in on your feedback, but an official Google presence, our very own Google Desktop Guide, regularly participates in the discussion. Expert feedback combined with the ability to search over all group posts provides a powerful resource. In addition to the Google Desktop Help and Enterprise U2U groups, groups are also available for other products like Toolbar, Picasa, Maps, Calendar, and more.
Help Center
We maintain a Google Desktop Help Center in 12 languages to help you use Google Desktop. You can browse the content or search the Knowledge Base to find an answer to your inquiry. If you're unable to find your answer on the Help Center or the U2U group, or you would like to leave us feedback or suggestions privately, you can, through the Help Center.
And if you have questions about other Google products and services, bookmark the general Google Help portal: http://www.google.com/support
Level Your Levels with the Levelator
So what is The Levelator? It's a piece of free software (for individual use) that runs on Windows or OS X (universal binary. It adjusts the audio levels within your podcast or other audio file for variations from one speaker to the next, for example. The softwave is written in Java. It's not a compressor, normalizer or limiter although it contains all three. It's much more than those tools, and it's much simpler to use. The interface is dirt-simple: Drag-and-drop any WAV or AIFF file onto The Leveler's application window, and a few moments later you'll find a new version which just sounds better.
My experiments show it's a kind of Optimod for podcasters or broadcasters or anyone with audio in a WAV file format. Note that MP3 is not supported (yet). Worth playing around with. Let us know here what your findings are.
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