Macworld RapidFire
Thursday, January 26th – 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Come be dazzled in 5 minutes – over and over again! Macworld | iWorld’s RapidFire is all about getting “to-the-point” and teaching our audience one cool thing, really quickly and really effectively. Join Dan Moren, Sr Associate Editor, Macworld, as he introduces each presenter to tackle one little known or little understood feature, one confusing concept, or one new approach and see if they can beat the clock to get you the data that matters.
RapidFire topics will include:
The 10 Wildest Things People Do with Their iPhones
Karen Anderson, Author, WriterWay
Super-Tips for the iOS Maps App
Christian Boyce, Macintosh Consultant to the Stars, Christian Boyce and Associates
Getting Movies On Your iOS Device
Christopher Breen, Senior Editor, Macworld
5 Ingredients to Perfect Video Delivery
Nick Floro, President, Sealworks Interactive Studios
Saved by the Tap: Five iOS Tips You Can’t Live Without
Serenity Caldwell, Macworld
20 LaunchBar Tips That Will Make You 20% More Productive
Dan Frakes, Senior Editor, Macworld
The “Real World” Photo Booth!
Wendy Gorton, Professional Developer/Trainer, CUE
Find That Pesky Plist in 30 seconds or Less
Dave Hamilton, President & Podcaster, The Mac Observer / Mac Geek Gab
Hitch Hiking
Diarmuid Harrington, Hitch Hiker and Artist, Local Artist
The Not-so Secret Art of Keyboard Shortcuts – How to Impress Your Friends and Look like a Pro
Edmond Hirota, Graphic Designer, Self-employed
Data Detectors: Your Mac as Your (very clever) Personal Assistant
Chuck La Tournous,Director, RandomMaccess; The Mac Observer
Finding the Best Deals in the Mac App Store
James Rea, President, ProVUE Development
A Crash Course on Apple Repair – iFixit Shares the Basics of Repairing Your Apple Hardware
Luke Soules, CXO, iFixit
Kyle Wiens, CEO, iFixit
Building A Killer Automator Workflow
Benjamin Waldie, President, Automated Workflows, LLC
Keynote Dynamics
Scott D.S. Young, Presentation Designer, ClearFocus
The 10 Wildest Things People Do with Their iPhones
Karen Anderson, Author, WriterWay
From the vaguely illegal to the madly inventive to the just plain crazy, you’d never believe what can be done with an iPhone. The author of “Take Control of iPhone Basics” shows you a few very cool things you might want to try with your iPhone and several that you don’t want to attempt. Ever.
Who Should Attend?
People who own iPhones, people who provide technical support for iPhones, app developers, psychologists, anthropologists, and aspiring entrants in the Darwin Awards.
Attendees Will Learn:
The creative ways that people use (and mis-use) technology in their attempts to address real-world problems.
Super-Tips for the iOS Maps App
Christian Boyce, Macintosh Consultant to the Stars, Christian Boyce and Associates
iOS comes with a terrific Maps app but most people barely scratch its surface. This session will turn the Maps app into a powerful tool that you’ll use every day. All you need is someone to show you how it’s done.
Who Should Attend?
Anyone who’s thinking “I know about the Maps app but I don’t think I use it fully” should attend.
Attendees Will Learn:
You’ll learn how to locate yourself on the map. How to use Street View to get photos of where you are and where you’re going. How to find the nearest coffee shop or ATM. How to go straight from email to Maps, and from Address Book to Maps, without typing anything. How to drop a pin on the map, to help you find your way back to your car or hotel. Shortcuts for zooming in and out.
Getting Movies on Your iOS Device
Christopher Breen, Senior Editor, Macworld
In one hand you have a DVD. In the other, an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. How do you make one fit into the other? You’ll learn in 5 minutes.
Who Should Attend?
Anyone.
Attendees Will Learn:
How to rip DVDs they own and convert the resulting media to an iOS-compatible format.
5 Ingredients to Perfect Video Delivery
Nick Floro, President, Sealworks Interactive Studios
This rapid-fire session will give you everything you need to know to compress and optimize your video content today for mobile and desktop devices.
Who Should Attend?
Teachers, Designers, Developers
Attendees Will Learn:
- How to compress content
- What tools you need
- Understanding codecs
- 5 ingredients to perfect video
Saved by the Tap: Five iOS Tips You Can’t Live Without
Serenity Caldwell, Macworld
Think you know everything there is to know about your iOS devices? Think again. Here are several quick-hit tips to help you master multitasking, save time, and—maybe, just maybe—make you look cool.
20 LaunchBar Tips That Will Make You 20% More Productive
Dan Frakes, Senior Editor, Macworld
A launcher utility is the Mac user’s Swiss Army Knife. It can launch apps, browse and find files, run scripts, search websites, access your contacts, open bookmarks, create new documents, and much, much more, all with just a few easy-to-learn keypresses. But few Mac users take advantage of these unique utilities. In this rapid-fire session, Macworld’s Dan Frakes shows you 20 ways his favorite launcher, LaunchBar, can significantly improve your productivity. You’ll learn examples for using LaunchBar, features you didn’t even realize exist, and ways a single launcher can take the place of multiple other utilities. Using many of the same actions and keyboard shortcuts you’re already using, you’ll be amazed at the things you can do!
Who Should Attend?
Anyone looking to be more productive and more efficient without having to learn to use a dozen different utilities. This session will be useful for both beginners and more-advanced users, and everyone from home users to educators to designers and more will be able to put these productivity tips to good use.
Attendees Will Learn:
How to take advantage of launcher utilities to more efficiently perform everyday tasks.
The “Real World” Photo Booth!
Wendy Gorton, Professional Developer/Trainer, CUE
Put the tripod and lessons on blocking shots aside– throw up a sheet, grab a costume box, and help your kids write scripts to jump into the world of quick-and-easy confessional style filmmaking. Follow along as Wendy shows you her 4th graders’ “The Real World: Gold Rush!” reality show her students created and edited, all on a Mac and on a budget in both time and finance. Students assumed roles in the 1840s, owning their own boardinghouses and equipment shops, and dealt with issues along the way and used PhotoBooth to easily capture short clips and edit them together.
Who Should Attend?
Teachers, educators, administrators interested in having an easy, backpocket way with one MacBook in the classroom to organize a film project that motivates and engages students. Oftentimes, teachers new to filmmaking can get mired in the equipment and classroom management, and PhotoBooth moviemaking can quickly create a product that students truly learn from.
Attendees Will Learn:
How you can quickly use PhotoBooth and some props to create a small movie set that can capture “confessional-style” footage for project-based learning and be inspired to chat with neighbors about a project they could implement with their own classrooms.
Find That Pesky Plist in 30 seconds or Less
Dave Hamilton, President & Podcaster, The Mac Observer / Mac Geek Gab
Often when an Application is having problems you just know that deleting the associated Preference Plist file will solve it, but how do you know WHICH plist file that is?
Dave’s to the rescue. He’ll show you how to set up a quick-and-easy spotlight search that will find it in record time EVERY time.
Who Should Attend?
Anyone who uses a Mac and wants to learn how to troubleshoot this simple, common issue.
Attendees Will Learn:
Attendees will learn how to use Mac OS X’s Spotlight to search special files, and how to use it creatively to help solve system problems.
Hitch Hiking
Diarmuid Harrington, Hitch Hiker and Artist, Local Artist
Hear about how to hitch hike with your iPad.
Who Should Attend??
Any one who needs a ride fast!
Attendees Will Learn:
How to hitch hike, Greet people at Airports and Exhibits
The Not-so Secret Art of Keyboard Shortcuts – How to Impress Your Friends and Look like a Pro
Edmond Hirota, Graphic Designer, Self-employed
Keyboard commands are often seen as an advanced-level skill that beginning computer users neglect. Even advanced users find learning keyboard commands to be daunting. Where does one begin?
I’ll present a short list of keyboard commands that I find essential to the daily workflow. Commands that will make any beginner feel like a pro in 5 minutes.
Who Should Attend?
- Beginners with less than a year of experience using a Mac.
- Former Windows users with years of experience.
Attendees Will Learn:
Beginners will realize how controlling a Mac can feel like a video game. Windows users will learn how the Mac can surpass Windows’ keyboard control for some tasks. Though the Mac is famous for being the platform that made DOS look archaic, keyboard control is essential for anyone who wants to maximize their productivity on a Mac.
Data Detectors: Your Mac as Your (very clever) Personal Assistant
Chuck La Tournous,Director, RandomMaccess; The Mac Observer
Ever notice text that gets a little arrow when you move your mouse over it? Those are data detectors — snippets of text that your Mac magically understands. Phone numbers, addresses, appointments and more — and the incredible things your Mac can do with them.
Who Should Attend?
People who want to let their Mac do more for them.
Attendees Will Learn:
How to recognize information that your Mac recognizes and how to use data detectors to automatically, set appointments, update your contacts, get maps and directions and much more — all in five tip-packed minutes!
Finding the Best Deals in the Mac App Store
James Rea, President, ProVUE Development
Did you know that every day anywhere from 15% to 20% of the apps in the Mac App Store are on sale? (For example as of today, September 9, 2011, there are $10,497 in discounts available.) Unfortunately Apple doesn’t provide any practical way to find out which apps are on sale in any given day. In this session we’ll show you how to quickly find the best current deals among all apps, or more importantly, the best deals in the specific categories you are interested in.
Who Should Attend?
Anyone that uses the Mac App Store and likes to save money.
Attendees Will Learn:
How to find discounts and save money when purchasing apps in the Mac App Store.
A Crash Course on Apple Repair – iFixit Shares the Basics of Repairing Your Apple Hardware
Luke Soules, CXO, iFixit
Kyle Wiens, CEO, iFixit
The process of repairing your hardware is always evolving. Devices are getting smaller and more integrated, complicating the repair process. Repairing your hardware is not just about diagnosing, troubleshooting and fixing, it’s also about how to simply get into your hardware. The team at iFixit will show you the best tricks and tips to troubleshoot, get inside, and repair your Apple products. We’ll demonstrate how to handle water damage, bad reception on an iPhone, and ways to get inside devices with the right tools and tricks. Come join us for a quick, visual demonstration to better inform you with the basics of Apple repair knowledge.
Who Should Attend?
Anyone who wants to learn about fixing their own stuff which can save them money and expand your skillset.
Attendees Will Learn:
- About some of the most common issues with Apple products
- The tools used to fix the issues
- How to get into the toughest of devices
Building A Killer Automator Workflow
Benjamin Waldie, President, Automated Workflows, LLC
You’ve seen it in your Launchpad. You’ve seen it in your Applications folder. It’s Automator. It sounds cool. It looks cool. It’s got a cool icon. But, what can it really do, and why should you care about it? In this RapidFire session, you’ll find out. That’s right. In 5 minutes, you’ll witness the true power of Automator in Lion as we put it to the test by creating a killer workflow in 5 minutes or less.
Who Should Attend?
Any Mac user who wants to understand the benefit and power of Automator will not want to miss this brief session.
Attendees Will Learn:
That Automator is a powerful tool in their Mac arsenal, and they should seriously consider checking it out.
Keynote Dynamics
Scott D.S. Young, Presentation Designer, ClearFocus
As a presentation designer I see a lot of professionals and novices that could use some awesome tips in producing a presentation using keynotes. I will introduce a few of the simple tools. I will show how to enhance a typical presentation using Keynote tools, i.e. the move animation tools, transitions and text effects. I will show a few excellent examples that I have done
Who Should Attend?
Students, Beginners, Professional and what-a-be presentation
Attendees Will Learn:
- How to make their presentation Rock using Keynotes in 1 – 2 – 3 steps.
- Using and editing a template
- Adding color and editing color
- Adding classy animation and not making it cheesy
- Adding sound and creating a video of presentation”