Ringo MUG

Location: Apple Ginza Store Theatre

TOPICS

After a long and hopefully refreshing hiatus, Tim Exley returned and served as master of ceremonies for the June meeting.

Tim’s Bits

Tim ran through the meeting’s agenda in his inimitable style, and gave a shout out to Koh who was unable to make the meeting. Skeptical audience members questioned Koh’s dedication to the club… To see their comments and Tim’s intro, click here (6.8Mb / 4:21). :) One other note worth mentioning - the webstreaming of our meetings is finally back up and running! Special thanks to Robert Hancock for setting up the server for the meeting. We had six people remotely tuning in last time, and hopefully we’ll be able to increase that number now that the streaming should be more reliable from now on out. Cheers Robert!

Video on Your Intel Mac - YouTube, Apple TV, and Joost

Tim continued on from his introduction, and gave a lengthy discussion on the various ways one can get video onto their Mac. Each service profiled had its own strengths and weaknesses. YouTube was fast at getting content up (of questionable legality), but the quality was often poor. Tim was less kind about the Apple TV - he considered it overly expensive and with content from Apple that was not of high enough video quality for a true HD experience. But the a few in the audience at the ASG shouted down his criticism saying it works well for them - particular since you can personally rip and then place the content you want onto your Apple TV. But then Tim demoed Joost - which is a new free internet streaming TV service available only for the intel-based Macs. Using the same technology platform as Skype, Joost gives you free on-demand high-quality streaming TV from major TV networks around the world. The catch - there’s advertising occasionally. But still, the quality of the broadcast was very impressive. Worth checking out - although sorry, the video chops off at 20 minutes. To see Tim’s demo, click here (32.8Mb / 21:24), and for more info on Joost, you can go to their website and sign up to be a Beta tester here. Just a small note - you get about 90% of Tim’s demo from the video link - about 2 minutes of discussion was lost when the streaming application crashed on my machine. Mea culpa.

Nike and iPod - Staying fit in Tokyo

Karen demoed how she manages to stay in great shape here in urban Tokyo - running with her iPod Nano and her Nike iPod Sports kit. The sports kit consists of two parts - a small sensor that you put in your shoe, and a receiver that plugs into the bottom of your iPod Nano. As you run, the sensor transmits information to the receiver, and all of that run information (distance covered, time, calories burned, distance to go, etc) is relayed to you through your headphones. After the run, the information is uploaded to a website, and you can track your running performance over time. Check out the first part of Karen’s demo here (20.1Mb / 12:01), and a demonstration of the Nike website and some Q and A here (21.15Mb / 14:10).

If you’re interested in learning more about the Nike iPod, check out this link.

Using Your Mac for Your Translation Business

Phil is a professional translator here in Japan, and he gave a very interesting presentation on the all the different ways he uses his mac for his business. From file management to translation software, backup software to key combos, Phil gave us an in-depth talk on his best tips and tricks. Check it out if you’re looking for better workflow as you use your Mac, or if you’re looking for better software to help your own translation needs. You can watch his presentation here (45.1Mb / 29.47).

After the Meeting

After the meeting, a group of 20 or so Ringoites wandered over to Duffy’s Pub in Ginza…. I assume the various Ringoites behaved themselves…

---

Notes: Peter Smyth