If you're uploading videos created by PhotoStory or MovieMaker (wmv), you may need to convert them to *.MP4 format before web servers like Drupal and Kaltura can publish them. A good tool for this is Any-Video-Converter. The program is free, easty to install and use and it has all of the features you need for preparing videos for the web. It even runs on Windows 7. It will even download videos from YouTube and convert them for you. Be sure to consider YouTube's terms of use when you're using content posted on their site.

 

 

Did you get a new computer for Christmas? Are you tired of tracking down all the software you'll need to install? It CAN take a long time. I didn't get a new computer but I did find two sites that will help you. The first is an article called 13 Things You Must Do First with Your New PC. This is a great place to start with lots of tips that will save you time and money.

One of my favorite new links from the article is a site that will let you download all the extra software you'll need via one web page. Visit Ninite.com.

See also: 

• Skype - http://skype.com Basic voice over Ineternet application. Everyone should have Skype. The lastest version also lets you share your desktop.
• Oregon.webex.com - ORVSD hosted WebEx
• http://docs.google.com/a/oregonk12.org - Google Docs is an easy way to share files.
• Yuuguu - http://www.yuuguu.com/home
  Free - Very easy to use, shares screen with multiple users. Screen share only, Skype or phone needed for voice.
• Lotus Sametime Unyte Share - https://www.webdialogs.com/services/share.asp
  Free - Easy to use but you can only share your desktop with ONE other person. Upgrade to commercial version for about $30/month.
• CroosLoop - http://www.crossloop.com
  Free - Screen and file sharing - both sides of share must have installed software

More

For those of you uploading video to your blogs on Drupal, you'll want to convert your videos to *.swf format before uploading. I found a FREE little utility that seems to do a great job of this. See the end of this post for a download link.

There are many other utilities you can get from this same company. I'd be interested in your reviews. Use the comment feature to let us know what you think.

When you install this software, be sure to uncheck all the options for the ASK toolbar if you don't want that installed. ASK.com is a good search site but I tend to avoid too many toolbars.

Jing is an easy-to-use screen capture utility. It produces *.png still captures and allows for easy *.swf flash file creation of narrated screen annimated movies. Jing is free but you can upgrade to Jing Pro for $15 a year.  http://techsmith.com/jing/

Sometimes you can't link to a YouTube video or embed it in your blog because YouTube is blocked. You may need to find the video on another site, like TeacherTube.com or try to download a copy to show locally.

There is a javascript that will help download the video. Just bookmark Download Script and when you are viewing the YouTube video you need, click on the bookmark for additional YouTube download options.

Note that your downloaded video should not be re-posted on the web or you will be violating YouTube terms of use.

This program is called Super and that's a perfect name for it. It is a video converter importing and exporting a wide range of formats. This is now on my "must have" list of free software to install in all PCs running Windows.

You can download the most current version from the Super web site at:

http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

Or use the copy I've provided in the files section below.

 

GIMP is a photo and image editing package. You can also use it for drawing and painting. It produces bitmapped images and can save files in many different formats.

Inkscape is a vector based drawing and illustrating program. It produces SVG (scalable vector graphics) files. It can be used for logos, fliers, and technical illustrations.

Scribus is a desktop publishing program. It supports publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation.

 

This course is published on the NWRESD Moodle server at:
http://nwonline.nwresd.org/course/view.php?id=218. You may view the course online or download it and install it on your own Moodle server. See the bottom of this post for links to software download sites.

I just got a new MacBook with an Intel processor and thought it would be useful to document all the free software I put on it after I installed Windows XP on it. These programs are all free to use. I'll post another article with all the free Mac software I find.

You should install Apple's Boot Camp software so you can dual boot with Apple and Mac OS X. You will have to buy a Windows license. I'm still working on different versions of Linux to install but the Knoppix Live CD runs just fine. I'm also using VMware Fusion to run virtual sessions in Mac OS X.

Read more to see the list...

Inkscape is a graphics editor similar to Illustrator and Freehand. It uses the SVG (scalable vector graphics) format. When combined with the OpenClipart.org SVG free clipart library, you have a powerful graphics package and instant library of quality graphics.

Supported features include shapes, paths, text, markers, clones, alpha blending, transforms, gradients, patterns, and grouping, node editing, layers, complex path operations, bitmap tracing, text-on-path, flowed text, direct XML editing, and more. It imports formats such as JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and others and exports PNG as well as multiple vector-based formats.

Inkscape runs on Linux, OS X and Windows platforms. It is released under the GNU General Public License so it is free to use and redistribute. This means you can freely install it on all your computers and give it away to your students and staff.

There are some good tutorials on the Inkscape home page:

• Basic tutorial
• Advanced tutorial
• Shapes tutorial
• Bitmap tracing tutorial
• Calligraphy tutorial
• Elements of Design tutorial
• Tips and tricks