This article is about The Basics Of Syncing Your iPad with iTunes
When you first connect the device to your computer, Apple guides you through the setup, but at some point you will want to be familiar with the options available to you when syncing iTunes on iPad, which is basically the only way you manage most of your iPad’s contents, including music, contacts, photos, apps, and ebooks, and keeping it updated.
This article will give you an overview for syncing your iPad with iTunes. More detailed information can be found in Apple”˜s own free iPad User Guide and similar books. You might also want to check out my MUO article about the general settings of your iPad.
First off, I assume that you have already synced your iPad with iTunes at least once in order to get signed up. That process is required for you to own and use the iPad.
If you’re like me, you probably won’t be syncing your iTunes on your iPad on a regular basis. It’s much better when you can sync and update content wirelessly than having to plug and connect the USB cord between your iPad and your computer. Syncing your iPad to your iTunes is mainly useful for adding songs, TV shows, podcasts, photos and other related content to your device. Some content like purchased iTunes songs, apps, and ebooks for iBook Reader can easily be downloaded wirelessly, via Wi-Fi and 3G connections from the iTunes App Store.
By connecting your iPad to iTunes you get to see all your media content – apps, music files, movies, TV shows, podcasts, etc. One of the first things you can learn, if you have forgotten, is the memory capacity of your iPad. In other words, how much stuff it can hold. The above screenshot shows that my iPad can hold up to 14 gigabytes of content. 64GB is the largest capacity iPad model you can purchase right now.
At the bottom of the information panel is a bar that illustrates a breakdown of content on your iPad. This is very important to know especially if your iPad is filled to capacity. If you’re new to the iPad, I’ll assume you haven’t added a lot of apps to your device. But basically, you will want to keep in mind that songs and videos will take up most of the space on your iPad. Photos, apps, ebooks, and other documents (e.g. PDFs, iWorks documents, other graphic files) tend to take up less space.
In the left panel of the iTunes interface, when you click on the triangle of the iPad folder under Devices, it will reveal all the media files, except for your apps and photos, currently added to your iPad.
Software Update & Backups
Typically when the operating system (OS) of the iPad needs to be updated, it will be checked and done automatically by iTunes via a Wi-Fi connection. But if you have missed an update or you want to make sure that your device has the most recent update, just click the Check for Update button and you will get a report back. A recently released iOS4 for the iPhone is scheduled for the iPad next Fall. But there may be minor updates for the iPad before then.
Each time you sync your iPad with iTunes, it will back up new content, such as new apps and documents, added to your iPad since the previous backup. It will not back up your songs and videos that already stored in your iTunes library.
Depending on the size of the content, backing up and syncing the content of your iPad can take several minutes. If you need to know the last time your content was backed up, you can click Apple>Preferences>Devices.
If you want to keep iTunes from automatically syncing your content when you connect it to iTunes, you can disable it on the Preference box. When disabled you will need to manually sync it by clicking the Sync on the bottom-right of iTunes.
If you want to sync your device to add or delete content without backing up, you can cancel the process by simply clicking the little x in the progress bar at the top of iTunes.
The same can be done if you want to cancel a sync before it's completed.
Restore
If you ever need to restore your iPad to its original state, you simply click the restore button. Official how-to details about restoring your iPad can be found here on the Apple site. The important thing to remember is to periodically allow iTunes to backup the content of your device just in case something happens.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Embed Video Audio on HTML5 Page
How to Embed Video/Audio on HTML5 Page
In HTML 4.x, the only way to reliably embed video on a web page so that all users can see it regardless of browser or operating system, is to use Flash. This requires the Adobe Flash plug-in and a combination of the <object>and <embed>tags.
In a long time to come, you may have to provide both HTML5 and Flash to be compatible with all web browsers. But you could learn how to embed video/audio in HTML5 now and when the HTML5 time comes, you can switch to it easily. As the proverb goes: Chance favors only the prepared mind.
This article will take a look at what might be the most-hyped part of the HTML 5 specification - the audio and video tags.
Using HTML5 Video Tag
Famous video sharing sites such as YouTube is chomping at the bit to use the HTML5 video tag. It will greatly seize a chunk of web size. Here's the code to embed a video in HTML 5:
<video src="path-to-html5-video.mp4"></video>
Really simple, right? But you will embed video something like below because not every browser can recognize the <video>tag.
<video src="path-to-html5-video.mp4" controls>
<object width="550" height="400">
<param name="movie" value="path-to-fallback-flash.swf">
<embed src="path-to-fallback-flash.swf" width="550" height="400">
</embed>
</object>
</video>
This method lets the browser choose the video or flash to play, with their default video player. So your video will be played in different style player, maybe the Safari style or Chrome style. Another free option is to use the third-party HTML5 video player like VideoJS, FlareVideo, JW Player, etc. Here VideoJS is recommended for it's free, fullscreen, and consistent style in all HTML5 browsers.
Using HTML5 Audio Tag
The code looks very similar to <video>. However, the Mozilla only supports Ogg Vorbis files, while Safari can handle pretty much anything QuickTime can.
<audio src="path-to-html5-audio.ogg" autoplay>
Sorry, your browser does not support the <audio>element.
</audio>
Similar to the <video>tag, the same Flash solutions would give you near universal support for today's crop of browsers.
Take Good Photos for Your Kids
How to Take Good Photos for Your Kids
Well, you may take lots of photos to memory some special occasions like wedding, family reunion, baby born, school sports meeting or graduating; and everyone want to make it perfect photography, so here are some tips on how to take good photos:
The first thing to remember is to keep clicking! You're more likely to get good photos of them if you're taking more photos, and sometimes the cutest photos of them are when they're not looking straight at the camera with a "cheese" smile.
Get down to their level - photos always look better when you're on the same eye level as your kids. So crouch down and get more detail in your photos rather than lots of the tops of their heads.
Use a fast shutter speed if you're using an SLR camera to keep blur at bay - if you're using a point and shoot camera, sometimes using a flash can help if they're running around like little monkeys or you can set your camera to the picture of the running man (sport) on the menu for a faster shutter speed.
Use natural sunshine as your light as much as possible - brings out better colors in the photo and doesn't create the same "sheen" that a flash can create. The best time of day to do this is in the morning and just before sunset as the light is warm rather than harsh and doesn't create a shadow like it will during the middle of the day. Keep your background in mind - you might get the best photo of your children but the background might let the photo down in the end.
For a photo you can blow up of your kids and frame, make sure you don't have undesirable things in the background. Make sure you get in the photos yourself. If you're always the one taking the photos, ask someone else to take the picture for you - you don't want your kids looking over their photos in years to come and not see you as you once were (young and gorgeous!!). If there is no one else to take it, put it on timer and set the photo up... and if all else fails - book a family photo shoot.
Every family should take the time to have at least one professional photo shoot in their lifetime. It not only gives kids something of a keep-sake of their family from their younger years, but it also is a great way to save that time (or that "phase") in life forever. Just remember, you can't get that time back in their lives and it's hard to remember them so small or so cute or pulling certain faces... so get clicking - I'm sure they'll thank you in the future when you can show them what gorgeous little monkey's they used to be.
Well, you may take lots of photos to memory some special occasions like wedding, family reunion, baby born, school sports meeting or graduating; and everyone want to make it perfect photography, so here are some tips on how to take good photos:
The first thing to remember is to keep clicking! You're more likely to get good photos of them if you're taking more photos, and sometimes the cutest photos of them are when they're not looking straight at the camera with a "cheese" smile.
Get down to their level - photos always look better when you're on the same eye level as your kids. So crouch down and get more detail in your photos rather than lots of the tops of their heads.
Use a fast shutter speed if you're using an SLR camera to keep blur at bay - if you're using a point and shoot camera, sometimes using a flash can help if they're running around like little monkeys or you can set your camera to the picture of the running man (sport) on the menu for a faster shutter speed.
Use natural sunshine as your light as much as possible - brings out better colors in the photo and doesn't create the same "sheen" that a flash can create. The best time of day to do this is in the morning and just before sunset as the light is warm rather than harsh and doesn't create a shadow like it will during the middle of the day. Keep your background in mind - you might get the best photo of your children but the background might let the photo down in the end.
For a photo you can blow up of your kids and frame, make sure you don't have undesirable things in the background. Make sure you get in the photos yourself. If you're always the one taking the photos, ask someone else to take the picture for you - you don't want your kids looking over their photos in years to come and not see you as you once were (young and gorgeous!!). If there is no one else to take it, put it on timer and set the photo up... and if all else fails - book a family photo shoot.
Every family should take the time to have at least one professional photo shoot in their lifetime. It not only gives kids something of a keep-sake of their family from their younger years, but it also is a great way to save that time (or that "phase") in life forever. Just remember, you can't get that time back in their lives and it's hard to remember them so small or so cute or pulling certain faces... so get clicking - I'm sure they'll thank you in the future when you can show them what gorgeous little monkey's they used to be.
Flexible Reader for PDF file editing
PDF X-change Viewer—Flexible Reader for PDF file editing
As I have introduce before, that Adobe PDF reader and Foxit reader are the most popular Viewers for PDF reading. And these days a survey on AnyBizSoft Facebook shows that, in addition to the readers I mentioned above, PDF X-change viewer attracts the attentions of some users. And actually, I am one of them. I nearly cannot help me to love the reader because it just like PDF editor at my first glance. Here is my experience on the third great PDF reader.
PDF-XChange Viewer is another excellent alternative to Adobe Reader except Foxit Reader. It free and fast, just as Foxit Reader. Its interface looks remarkably like Adobe Reader, but with more command icons on the top. Besides viewing PDF files, this PDF Reader also have some additional functions:
* Add Comments and Annotations to any PDF file (subject to security settings)
* Markup pages with text and objects
* Type directly on any PDF page, not just Adobe enabled forms documents - in Typewriter mode.
* Export PDF pages or entire files to any one of the supported Image formats including BMP, JPEG, TIFF, PNG and many more
* Extract text from a PDF page/File
* Make your navigation of large or complex PDF files both simple and enjoyable switch the extended functionality of our 'Loupe' and the 'Pan' Window tools
* Fill and Save Adobe Forms to disk, email or 'post'
* Full JavaScript Engine included
* Updated JPEG2000 Compression support - improving speed
* And many more features such as Rotate and 'Save', Email files etc.
If you are carefully enough and if you have used Foxit Reader before, you may find many functions are the same in these two PDF readers. And actually, either of them can meet our ordinary needs to read, comment and simply edit PDF files. The mainly differences i guess are mainly because different using habits that divides the users into different groups. Generally speaking, they are both excellent alternatives to the bloated Adobe Reader. If you are not used to use Foxit Reader, or if Foxit Reader sometimes doesn't work properly, you can give PDF-XChange Viewer a try without hesitate. On the opposite case, you can choose Foxit Reader as the best alternative.
As I have introduce before, that Adobe PDF reader and Foxit reader are the most popular Viewers for PDF reading. And these days a survey on AnyBizSoft Facebook shows that, in addition to the readers I mentioned above, PDF X-change viewer attracts the attentions of some users. And actually, I am one of them. I nearly cannot help me to love the reader because it just like PDF editor at my first glance. Here is my experience on the third great PDF reader.
PDF-XChange Viewer is another excellent alternative to Adobe Reader except Foxit Reader. It free and fast, just as Foxit Reader. Its interface looks remarkably like Adobe Reader, but with more command icons on the top. Besides viewing PDF files, this PDF Reader also have some additional functions:
* Add Comments and Annotations to any PDF file (subject to security settings)
* Markup pages with text and objects
* Type directly on any PDF page, not just Adobe enabled forms documents - in Typewriter mode.
* Export PDF pages or entire files to any one of the supported Image formats including BMP, JPEG, TIFF, PNG and many more
* Extract text from a PDF page/File
* Make your navigation of large or complex PDF files both simple and enjoyable switch the extended functionality of our 'Loupe' and the 'Pan' Window tools
* Fill and Save Adobe Forms to disk, email or 'post'
* Full JavaScript Engine included
* Updated JPEG2000 Compression support - improving speed
* And many more features such as Rotate and 'Save', Email files etc.
If you are carefully enough and if you have used Foxit Reader before, you may find many functions are the same in these two PDF readers. And actually, either of them can meet our ordinary needs to read, comment and simply edit PDF files. The mainly differences i guess are mainly because different using habits that divides the users into different groups. Generally speaking, they are both excellent alternatives to the bloated Adobe Reader. If you are not used to use Foxit Reader, or if Foxit Reader sometimes doesn't work properly, you can give PDF-XChange Viewer a try without hesitate. On the opposite case, you can choose Foxit Reader as the best alternative.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
HTML5 VS Flash
HTML5 VS Flash, what is your choice?
HTML5's been pitted against Flash as the savior of web video since the release of the iPad, on which you can't play any Flash contents. There are those that suggest that HTML5 will one day supplant/replace Adobe Flash. On that day, you could finally enjoy web video on your iPad (and more mobile devices). I am only a website owner, rather than a programmer. What can I do in this revolution (is it) ? HTML5 is rapidly growing as a new standard of online video technology, and we need to be prepared in advance to accommodate it. It is still early to say that HTML5 will replace Flash totally,Html5 doesn’t provide all the features and functionality that Flash does today, so we’ll have to consider our choices wisely.
HTML5 VS Flash
Before comparing HTML5 to Flash, we need to know what exactly they are, right?
Flash: It's a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages by Adobe (formerly Macromedia Flash). As far as you know, Flash is frequently used for advertisements and games. More recently, it has been positioned as a tool for "Rich Internet Application (RIA) ". Flash is the most widely used content delivery methodology up to date. By the way, The Microsoft counterpart of Flash is SILVERLIGHT.
HTML5: It's the next awaited version of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) which is expected to bring about a radical change in the client side web coding. However, when people refer to HTML5, they usually mean the combination of HTML as a markup language, CSS which specifies how it is rendered, and the javascript code which manipulates the HTML and CSS dynamically.
HTML5 not only has the standard text elements, but also elements which embeds the video and to element to embed the audio, which was brought to web browser by Canvas - a more relevant method compared to Flash. Below is the general Flash to HTML5 comparison.
Why choose Flash
Good to great web presentation
Excellent Flash player penetration
Browser independent
AS3 is a strong typed language
Why choose HTML5
Doesn't require a plug-in
The best bet for animated content on mobile devices
Fast bitmap rendering
Fast JavaScript render speed
Great open source initiatives trying to push Canvas further
HTML5 Will Beat Flash, But Not Now.
So, there are both advantages and disadvantages of HTML5 and Flash. But in my opinion, HTML5 improves interoperability and reduces development costs by making precise rules on how to handle all HTML elements, and how to recover from errors. It has more opportunities to win the war. HTML5 will replace Flash and Silverlight eventually, maybe 5 years, maybe 10 years. Do note that both Adobe and Microsoft are giants, you don't know what they will do to affect the result. Only one thing is sure: HTML5 and Flash will go together for a long time to come.Flash is offering value to a lot of people and will not disappear overnight.
Now stay far away from the debate of replacement of HTML5 to Flash. You need to move your business on. But the situation is now or will be like this: Many people use the web browsers that don't support HTML5 like Internet Explorer 6,7,8, while others have upgraded their browsers to which well support HTML5. How would you do?
The mix solution like HTML5 video player seems to be unavoidable. And keep your eyes on HTML5 is also necessary.
HTML5's been pitted against Flash as the savior of web video since the release of the iPad, on which you can't play any Flash contents. There are those that suggest that HTML5 will one day supplant/replace Adobe Flash. On that day, you could finally enjoy web video on your iPad (and more mobile devices). I am only a website owner, rather than a programmer. What can I do in this revolution (is it) ? HTML5 is rapidly growing as a new standard of online video technology, and we need to be prepared in advance to accommodate it. It is still early to say that HTML5 will replace Flash totally,Html5 doesn’t provide all the features and functionality that Flash does today, so we’ll have to consider our choices wisely.
HTML5 VS Flash
Before comparing HTML5 to Flash, we need to know what exactly they are, right?
Flash: It's a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages by Adobe (formerly Macromedia Flash). As far as you know, Flash is frequently used for advertisements and games. More recently, it has been positioned as a tool for "Rich Internet Application (RIA) ". Flash is the most widely used content delivery methodology up to date. By the way, The Microsoft counterpart of Flash is SILVERLIGHT.
HTML5: It's the next awaited version of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) which is expected to bring about a radical change in the client side web coding. However, when people refer to HTML5, they usually mean the combination of HTML as a markup language, CSS which specifies how it is rendered, and the javascript code which manipulates the HTML and CSS dynamically.
HTML5 not only has the standard text elements, but also elements which embeds the video and to element to embed the audio, which was brought to web browser by Canvas - a more relevant method compared to Flash. Below is the general Flash to HTML5 comparison.
Why choose Flash
Good to great web presentation
Excellent Flash player penetration
Browser independent
AS3 is a strong typed language
Why choose HTML5
Doesn't require a plug-in
The best bet for animated content on mobile devices
Fast bitmap rendering
Fast JavaScript render speed
Great open source initiatives trying to push Canvas further
HTML5 Will Beat Flash, But Not Now.
So, there are both advantages and disadvantages of HTML5 and Flash. But in my opinion, HTML5 improves interoperability and reduces development costs by making precise rules on how to handle all HTML elements, and how to recover from errors. It has more opportunities to win the war. HTML5 will replace Flash and Silverlight eventually, maybe 5 years, maybe 10 years. Do note that both Adobe and Microsoft are giants, you don't know what they will do to affect the result. Only one thing is sure: HTML5 and Flash will go together for a long time to come.Flash is offering value to a lot of people and will not disappear overnight.
Now stay far away from the debate of replacement of HTML5 to Flash. You need to move your business on. But the situation is now or will be like this: Many people use the web browsers that don't support HTML5 like Internet Explorer 6,7,8, while others have upgraded their browsers to which well support HTML5. How would you do?
The mix solution like HTML5 video player seems to be unavoidable. And keep your eyes on HTML5 is also necessary.
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