Extreme 4K Multi-Mon Video Editing on Windows 8

http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/extremewindows/archive/2012/12/17/extreme-4k-multi-mon-video-editing-on-windows-8.aspx

I am amazed by the image quality that's possible with today's 4K digital cinema cameras. It's like watching full-res images from a DSLR playing back at 24 fps on the big screen, 4K footage is just stunning. Seeing 4K footage on the big screen got me thinking about 4K displays and 4K video on a PC. With 4K displays just coming to market, I think it's time to examine how this technology will impact our PC experiences in the not-so-distant future.

From the RED 4K Demo Reel projected in 4K – plenty of resolution and detail for a 70' screen as shown here

With this post, I'll provide an introduction to running 4K displays with Windows 8 and demonstrate end-to-end 4K video screening/editing with the HP Z820 RED Edition PC.

After shooting some 4K and 5K footage with the RED EPIC camera, I wanted to evaluate the footage with a 4K projector or display. This started my quest to experiment first-hand with 4K display technology on Windows. With some research and with the help of friends at Toshiba, I was able to borrow a Toshiba Regaza 55X3 55" 3D 4K Ultra-high-definition television. This TV is not available in North America and may not be appropriate for a real post-production environment, but it's great for to use for my needs as a technology demonstration on Windows 8.

When the TV arrived, I had two thoughts:

1. How am I going to connect it to a PC? and
2. How will this 4K display work with a multi-mon setup?

4K resolutions are supported with HDMI 1.4a, but I didn't know what graphics hardware would meet this specification. After some research I found that both the latest round of NVIDIA Kepler-based cards and the latest AMD RADEON series cards (including the RADEON 7970) support 4K output! So, connecting a 4K display to a Windows PC was going to be easier than I had originally thought.

I installed Windows 8 on the Z820 RED Edition PC and decided to use the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti card for display output since it supports HDMI 1.4a. After the graphics card was installed and configured I connected the Toshiba 4K TV using the HDMI port. I also connected two Samsung Series 9 WQHD (2560 x 1440) 27" displays as well, one via a DVI port, and the other via Display Port.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti supports up to four displays simultaneously

TA-DA! It worked. 15.6 million pixels at my disposal! It was such a beautiful sight, I just had to sit down and stare it for a while. I remember reflecting:

"People will debate the need for 4K TVs at normal TV viewing distances, but having a large 4K monitor for photos, video, and app UI is crazy-awesome".

Imagine being able to see images from your DSLR at near 100% magnification and 55" diagonal scale… WOW.

Panoramic picture of Bryce Canyon spanning 3 displays – check out how small the keyboard and mouse look!

Since I was using a low-tech improvised support system for the 27" displays, the result was a staggered setup. I accounted for this by adjusting the stacked positions of these displays in the screen resolution settings dialog:

Adjusting relative monitor positions in the Screen Resolution settings dialog

This fine tuning resulted in cursor and UI continuity from one display to another. I noticed with this setup that the "spanning" feature for multi-monitor wallpaper works well even when running a non-conventional display array like this one.

Now that I had the display situation figured out, it was time to put the Z820 RED Edition through its paces. I started by plugging a REDMAG SSD into the integrated REDMAG drive on the front panel of the PC. I launched REDCINEX PRO, and browsed the content of the SSD. I validated that the footage would playback at 100% magnification and full quality using RED ROCKET acceleration. Excellent.

I then launched Premiere Pro CS6 and created a 4K project. I added a 4K REDCODE RAW file to the timeline, and in the "Source Settings" dialog, I was able to activate the option to use the RED ROCKET card. After a few minutes of UI shop-keeping in Premiere Pro CS6, I had a nice layout with project and settings management dialogs spanning the two WQHD displays, and the "Program Monitor" (preview window) filling up the 4K display. With quality set to 100%, and magnification set to 100%, I started playback on the timeline. After only about one second of queuing time the footage started to play smoothly in 4K. It's hard to describe adequately without being able to see it in person- this capability rocks! The following diagram will give you a high-level overview of what's happening end-to-end to make this demonstration is possible.

Demo setup: Z820 RED Edition end-to-end 4K footage screening

You can see in this diagram how data flows all the way from the REDMAG SSD (which was taken directly from a RED EPIC camera) to the 4K display. I won't go into deep detail here, but under the covers the following is happening:

1. The REDCODE RAW files are made available via eSATA just like an internal storage device (fast!)
2. The REDCODE RAW file is decoded on the RED ROCKET card into a format that can be manipulated in Premiere Pro
3. The NVIDIA graphics card is used for accelerated playback in Premiere Pro CS6
4. The 4K video data (preview) is output via HDMI 1.4a to the 4K display

At the same time, other parts of the Premiere Pro UI are being output to the two WQHD displays. Hard to imagine that all this works so well with a ~$300.00 video card! Of course, I should highlight this is an early adopter geek enthusiast tech demo, not a fully-supported hardware configuration. As of today, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti video card is not on the Premiere Pro CS6 officially supported graphics card list on adobe.com.

Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 running on 3 displays

While this display setup may not be a "turn-key" solution for video professionals, what it does show is that Windows 8 supports 4K displays and 4K multi-mon scenarios well.

I have been using Adobe CS6 on Windows 8 with great results (including Premiere Pro CS6) for a while including on the Z820 RED Edition configuration documented in this post. As an FYI, the Adobe CS6 family of creative apps are officially supported on Windows 8, as you can read about on adobe.com. Once the displays were properly connected and configured, I observed stable and reliable graphics performance with this 3-display setup. Since you can't see this setup in person, I wanted to include a picture that shows just how big the Windows 8 Start Screen is on a 55" display compared to an 11.1" laptop:

Windows 8 Start Screen: 55" side-by-side with 11.1"

This was my first experience with 4K display technology, and I'm really looking forward to exploring other aspects of ultra-high resolution displays with Windows. I'll be sure to share my experiences!

I also shot a quick video that shows the end-to-end 4K screening demonstration and the 3-display setup documented in this post:

Stay informed, follow me on Twitter!

via The Windows Blog http://blogs.windows.com/b/

Update on Windows 8 Pricing

http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/01/18/update-on-windows-8-pricing.aspx

We are seeing good momentum with Windows 8 today. When upgrading from Windows 7, Windows 8 has a lot to offer including a beautiful new Start screen with live tiles, plus the familiar desktop and faster startup and longer battery life. Today I’d like to share the pricing details for the Windows 8 upgrade editions that will begin in February. I’d also remind you to take advantage of the great upgrade offer which lasts until January 31st 2013.

Windows 8 upgrade editions (see which edition is right for you here) will be priced as follows starting in February:

• The Windows 8 Pro upgrade edition will be available online and at retail for $199.99 MSRP (U.S.).
• The Windows 8 upgrade edition will be available online and at retail for $119.99 MSRP (U.S.).
• The Windows 8 Pro Pack will cost $99.99 MSRP (U.S.).
• The Windows 8 Media Center Pack will cost $9.99 MSRP (U.S.).

But we have our promotional offer available until January 31st 2013, you can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $39.99 ERP* (U.S.) via Windows.com using the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant or pick up a DVD copy at a local retailer for just $69.99 ERP* (U.S.). If you bought an eligible Windows 7 PC between June 2nd and January 31st, 2013 – be sure to register for the Windows Upgrade Offer and upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for only $14.99 ERP*** (U.S.). If you upgrade to the Windows 8 edition or buy a PC with the Windows 8 edition pre-installed and want to move to the Windows 8 Pro edition– you can purchase the Windows 8 Pro Pack (previously known as Windows Anytime Upgrade) directly within Windows 8 by going to the Start screen and typing “Add Features to Windows 8” and at participating retailers for $69.99 MSRP (U.S.) until January 31st. If are running Windows 8 Pro and want Windows Media Center and DVD playback, you can add the Windows 8 Media Center Pack for free until January 31st**.

If you are building your own PC from scratch, looking to run Windows 8 in a Virtual Machine (VM), or looking to run Windows 8 on a second hard drive partition – you will want to purchase the Windows 8 edition or Windows 8 Pro edition OEM product known as “System Builder”. You can find these products online at local retailers.

For questions regarding upgrade paths for Windows 8, see this article on TechNet. For more information on upgrading to Windows 8, I suggest checking out this page on Windows.com as it is a great resource for information on upgrading.

And if you have any issues regarding your upgrade experience or technical questions about upgrading then I suggest visiting the Windows 8 Microsoft Community forum and posting your questions there.

*Offers limited to five upgrade licenses per customer. To install the Windows 8 Pro upgrade, customers must be running Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. The prices displayed are estimated retail price and the transaction may be completed in a different currency. The actual price of the offer will vary by region since it is dependent on a variety of specific factors including exchange rate, local taxes, duties, fees, local market conditions, other pricing considerations, and may vary by each independent reseller. The actual price you pay may be more than the advertised price due to these additional factors. Shipping and handling charges may apply to packaged DVD product.

**When moving from the Windows 8 edition to Windows 8 Pro via the Windows 8 Pro Pack – you receive the Windows 8 Media Center Pack and won’t need to install it separately.

*** The last day to register for the Windows Upgrade Offer is February 28th, 2013.

via The Windows Blog http://blogs.windows.com/b/

Unto Every Nation LDS Mission Website

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2013/01/18/unto-every-nation-lds-mission-website/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSWebGuy+%28LDS+Media+Talk%29

A member has just created the website Unto Every Nation (UntoEveryNation.com) as a place where newly-called missionaries, returned missionaries, missionary moms, or anyone who loves missionary work can read missionary blogs from around the world.

From Argentina to Zimbabwe, missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints all around the world leave their homes and live in a foreign land for 18 months to 2 years.  They do this to invite others to come unto Christ (see Preach My Gospel, page 1).  Every week, these missionaries write their families and friends, telling them about experiences they have had, people they have met, and lives they have touched.  Often times, family members or friends of the missionary maintain a blog where they post letters and pictures.

Unto Every Nation is a place where people can step into the life of a missionary and read their blogs, wherever they may be.

Because it is brand new, there are still lots of missions without blogs. That’s where they need your help! Check out UntoEveryNation.com and if you know of any missionary blogs that aren’t featured, let them know. They want to share as many missionary blogs as possible. The more blogs they can share, the greater the impact of these missionaries will be.

via LDS Media Talk http://ldsmediatalk.com

Directory 2013 Ready for Beta Testing

http://tech.lds.org/blog/554-directory-2013-ready-for-beta-testing

Directory 2013 is ready for beta testing. We need your help to test out all the new and existing features to make sure the Directory functions correctly across all the varieties of browsers, units, locations, languages, and computers.

You can view the Directory 2013 test site at https://lds.org/rcdirectory.

The Directory beta site contains a recent copy of real data. You're encouraged to explore, play around, test, and experiment in the beta site as much as possible. Any changes and photo uploads you make on the beta site will not be permanent and may be reset or removed at any time as new versions are pushed out.

What's New in Directory 2013?

Directory 2013 introduces many new features with photo uploads and your household profile:

Photo Upload

Photo upload has been completely redesigned. Changes include a totally new photo upload interface that gives you the ability to crop and rotate photos prior to saving.

When you drag the crop area, Directory maintains an aspect ratio for the cropping area to ensure all photos have similar sizes.

Photo Watermarks

When members upload a photo, the words "Awaiting Approval" appear over the photo until an administrator approves it. This lets members know that their photo is not yet visible to others in the ward.

When administrators upload a photo, the photo is automatically approved.

Photo Administration

For administrators, the interface and workflow for managing photos has been improved. The New Photos page has been split into two smaller pages: Approve Photos and Assign Photos.

This helps you better see the tasks needing to be done for each photo.

On the Manage Photos page, administrators can crop and rotate photos as needed.

The Upload Photos page also allows you to drag photos directly into the browser, which helps simplify the upload process.

My Household Page

The My Household page has been simplified to clarify which privacy controls correspond to which aspects of your profile.

Additionally, when you sign in to the directory, the default page is now My Household, which appears at the top of the sidebar. Currently the My Household page defaults to the edit view. Prior to the full release of this version, the My Household view will default to a Ready Only view with an "Edit Household" button at the top, more similar to how My Household currently functions.

The gear icon in the upper-left corner of the photo allows you to edit your photos at any time, changing privacy levels, or cropping, rotating, or removing the photo.

Bug Fixes

In addition to these feature improvements, we've fixed many documented bugs (for example, photo directory printing) and worked on the behind-the-scenes code to make the application more robust and speedy.

Providing Feedback

You can provide feedback on the beta site in the Directory Beta forum on LDSTech. The forums provide a freeform way for you to provide feedback, based on whatever tasks, processes, and other ad hoc testing you decide to do.

Directed Testing Feedback

For more directed testing, we have a list of tasks for you to test in a tool called Swarm Tester. To see the tasks in Swarm Tester, you need to first join the Local Unit Directory project (if you're not already a member) and then go to the Swarm instance for Local Unit Directory.

Join the Local Unit Directory project:

1. Go to https://tech.lds.org and sign in with your LDS Account.
2. Click Projects on the top navigation bar.
3. If you’re new to LDSTech, you’ll need to sign the Contributors agreement. Click Profile on the sub-navigation bar, complete the information and sign the agreement, and then click Save.
4. Click Projects on the sub-navigation bar.
5. Click Local Unit Directory.
6. Scroll down to the bottom and click Join.

See the tasks to test in Swarm Tester:

Note: Use either Internet Explorer or Firefox when using Swarm Tester. Chrome currently has an issue that orders the test cases incorrectly.

1. Go to https://tech.lds.org and sign in with your LDS Account.
2. Go to https://tech.lds.org/swarm.
3. Click LUA Directory.
4. Complete the test cases listed.

When you fail a test case, you'll be prompted to describe the bug. After you click submit, the failed test case will automatically create a new issue in our bug tracking system (JIRA). Subsequent fails will be added as comments to the initial fail. This helps centralize the testing feedback.

Callings Needed

We need people with all callings to test the directory. If you're a ward directory administrator because of your calling (website administrator, bishopric, clerk, executive secretary), you will see additional options in the sidebar for approving, uploading, assigning, and managing photos. Stake administrators don't have permissions to manage photos, but they can edit profile information.

Testing Period

The testing period will probably run for one or two weeks, starting January 18 and continuing from there based on the testing feedback.

If you find a lot of bugs, we may release updates to the existing beta release to address them in an ongoing way during the testing period. Once all bugs have been resolved, we will release the beta to production.

As a Directory team, we talk every day about how much help we receive from the LDS Tech community and how invaluable it is to our success. Thank you very, very much for all that you contribute! We couldn't do this without your efforts.

via LDSTech http://tech.lds.org/component/content/frontpage

Resolution #10: Get Inspired Daily

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2013/01/10/get-inspired-daily/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSWebGuy+%28LDS+Media+Talk%29

This is the last of a series of articles with suggested resolutions for the new year. See the other suggested resolutions.

Daily Messages

You can sign up to receive a daily quote from Church leaders at LDS.org/daily-messages. You can subscribe to get them through e-mail, twitter, RSS, Facebook, or Google+

Set LDS.org as the home page on your browser

If you set the default page for your browser to LDS.org, then you’ll get a little bit of inspiration each time you open the browser. It only takes a second to check for new headlines on the home page.

LDS wallpaper on your computer desktop

Create.lds.org has selected some of the photos submitted by Church members and created beautiful desktop wallpaper for you to download free. They are formatted in different resolutions and dimensions for use on smartphones, tablets, and computers. Below are several examples, but go to the link above and see all that are available. Learn how to share your own photos through the Vineyard.

 

via LDS Media Talk http://ldsmediatalk.com

Resolution #9: Use Social Media Responsibily

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2013/01/09/resolution-9-use-social-media-responsibily/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSWebGuy+%28LDS+Media+Talk%29

When interacting on social media, some people feel they can say or do anything. But I urge you to think twice about what you post or tweet to be sure you are acting responsibly. Don’t say or do something online that you wouldn’t say or do in the physical presence of others.

Below are a few questions you may want to consider.

1. Am I too emotional right now? (If you don’t know, wait three hours and see if you still feel like making the post or sending the tweet.)
2. What would my mother, grandmother, or role model think reading this post?
3. Will I be ok with my children (or future children, nieces, and nephews) reading this post/tweet when they Google me someday?
4. If a potential employer reads this post/tweet, could I miss out on job opportunities?
5. Is the post/tweet clear or could it be confusing or misunderstood by some people? (This is especially important when using sarcasm or making a joke.)
6. Are the links in the post/tweet working?
7. Does my language reflect my personality and represent me well? Or your company, if you represent your company?
8. Is posting/tweeting a reply publicly the right choice or would a direct message be better?
9. Have I made my tweet short enough for others to retweet?
10. Have I used hashtags when relevant so others can find my post/tweet? For example, many users of Twitter, Google+, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and Tumblr use the keywords #lds and #mormon to flag content about the Church.

 

via LDS Media Talk http://ldsmediatalk.com

Resolution #8: Use Secure Passwords

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2013/01/08/use-secure-passwords/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSWebGuy+%28LDS+Media+Talk%29

This is one of a series of articles with suggested resolutions for the new year. See the other suggested resolutions.

In today’s world of online banking, online commerce, online social media, and online just-about-everything, chances are you have lots of online accounts. And chances are that you use the same username and password a lot. That’s a really bad practice.

SplashData has released its annual list of the worst online passwords. More people use the word “password” for their password than any other word or phrase. That makes “password” the absolute worst string of characters you can chose to protect your online accounts.

Here’s the top 10 list:

1. password
2. 123456
3. 12345678
4. abc123
5. qwerty
6. monkey
7. letmein
8. dragon
9. 111111
10. baseball

Seriously folks? We care so little about protecting our online bank accounts or other accounts that have sensitive information, including credit card numbers?

Start taking simple steps to protect your accounts by using stronger passwords and using different passwords for different websites.

• Never use a word or combination of words that can be found in a dictionary.
• Never use your mother’s maiden name, the name of your pet, the name of your spouse, or any other easily-guessed words.
• Never use the same password for your bank account that you use anywhere else.
• Do use strong passwords — 8 or more characters with mixed uppercase and lowercase and at least one number or special character (like #@~}[`^|).
• Do use different username/password combinations on different websites. Especially risky is using the same password for entertainment sites, email, social networking, and financial services.

Having trouble remembering all those different passwords? Try using a password manager application that organizes and protects passwords and can automatically log you into websites. An alternative is to come up with a personal system that uses the same base password, but adds difference prefixes or suffixes to the password and/or username for different sites. Others like to use abbreviated scripture references.

via LDS Media Talk http://ldsmediatalk.com

Resolution #7: Support LDS Videos

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2013/01/07/resolution-44-support-lds-videos/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSWebGuy+%28LDS+Media+Talk%29

This is one of a series of articles with suggested resolutions for the new year. See the other suggested resolutions.

Resolution #3 was about using more media produced by the Church. Today’s resolution is about supporting other members who create good media.

How to Support Good Videos

1. Create an account at YouTube.com.
2. When you watch a video you like, click the Like button.
3. If you really like the video, you can click Add To to add the video to one of your playlists.
4. Click Share this Video to see and copy the direct link to the video. (It will look something like http://youtu.be/CGkOjoF4d3w.) You can then paste this link into a social media post or into an e-mail to a friend.
5. Click Embed to copy the code to paste into your blog so that the video appears and plays right within your blog post.
6. Click Email to send an immediate email to a friend with the name of the video and a link to it.
7. If comments are allowed for the video, please leave a comment for the person who created or uploaded it. Make your comments unique and applicable to the video. Encourage and thank those who are creating and uploading these great videos. Some videos do no not allow comments, and sometimes you will need to wait for your comments to be approved by the owner.

Where to Find Good LDS Videos

See my post (Resolution #3) for links to lists of media produced by the Church. Below are a few places you can find LDS videos produced by others:

• Bonneville Communications YouTube channel provides Homefront® videos, the most awarded public service campaign series in history.
• FAIR LDS (Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research) has many videos that defend and explain Mormon beliefs.
• Mormon Information has a great selection of LDS videos.
• Deseret Book has a selection of positive videos.
• LDS.net also has a collection of positive videos about the Church.
• SethAdamSmith has a channel of videos about Church topics.
• Understanding Mormonism has videos to explain LDS beliefs and practices
• Beliving LDS Mormon has videos to explain LDS beliefs and practices
• More Good Foundation has videos to explain LDS beliefs and practices
• Mormon Defenders has  videos that defend and explain Mormon beliefs.
• Read the story “Mormons Make Their Voices Heard — Digitally.”
• See previous posts on this blog about member-produced videos.

 

via LDS Media Talk http://ldsmediatalk.com

Resolution #6: Guard Your Online Reputation

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2013/01/06/guard-your-online-reputation/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSWebGuy+%28LDS+Media+Talk%29

This is one of a series of articles with suggested resolutions for the new year. See the other suggested resolutions.

In today’s wired world, it is important to consider your online reputation. When I interview people who apply for jobs, I always look at their profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest. I look at what a candidate writes, what kind of pictures they post, and what kind of posts and photos they like and share. This can reveal a lot about a person’s character and personality.

I have worked with Fortune 500 companies and businessmen who take great care to manage their brands and their personal reputations. But everyone should be concerned about their online presence and what it says about them. For example, if you post your testimony online, will others take it seriously in the context of everything else you do online?

Managing your online reputation is important for both adults and kids. Some colleges check the web to learn about applicants. 70% of companies have rejected candidates based on their online reputation. Teach your children that what they write and post today—both good and bad—can be seen by millions of people across the world in an instant and they can remain accessible for the rest of their lives.

Assess your online reputation

These tips can help you find out what information is on the Internet about you and help you see the impression it leaves on people:

• Search your name. Begin by typing your first and last name into several popular search engines to see where you are mentioned and in what context. To get more precise results, put quotation marks around your name, so that the search engine reads your name as a phrase and not as two or more unrelated words that just happen to appear in the text. Search your name with and without a middle initial or name. Try your maiden name and all spelling variations. If you find other people who share your name, you can eliminate many false hits by using keywords. You can add keywords that apply only to you, such as your city, your employer, or your industry.
• Search for information about you. Use similar techniques to search for your telephone numbers, home address, e-mail addresses, and personal website domain names. You should also search for your social security and credit card numbers to make sure they don’t appear anywhere online.
• Target specific sites. Check online phone directories, genealogy sites, alumni sites, the websites of organizations to which you belong or donate time or money, and other sites that compile personal, professional, or contact information about people.
• Read blogs. If any of your friends, family members, or coworkers have blogs or personal web pages on social networking sites, check them to see if they are writing about you or posting pictures of you.
• Sign up for alerts. Set up a Google Alert for your name so you are notified whenever something new appears online about you.

Protect your online reputation

These tips can help you manage and protect your online reputation:

• Safeguard your personal information. Reduce the chance of  identity theft and online fraud by keeping your personal information private when you go online. Be equally careful about sharing information offline and be sure you know how organizations will use your information before you give it to them.
• Use privacy settings. Most social networking and photo-sharing sites allow you to determine who can access and respond to your content. But don’t assume these controls are foolproof. If something is truly private, don’t post it on social media.
• Don’t mix your public and private lives online. Use different e-mail addresses and accounts for different online activities to help keep your public and private lives separate.
• Choose your photos thoughtfully. Whether you’re a child or an adult, make sure potential colleges or employers can’t access photos that make you look irresponsible.
• Watch your language and content. Always assume that anyone can read anything you’ve written online.
• Take action. If you find information about yourself online that is unflattering, embarrassing, or untrue, contact the website owner or administrator and ask them to remove it. Most sites have policies to deal with such requests.
• Be active in social media. Have accounts on the major social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest and post content that you can be proud of.
• Share your expertise. Show off your expertise by writing a blog and contributing guest articles to blogs and websites that are relevant to your industry.
• Create an identity hub. Make a hub that links to all of your content. Claim a domain name (URL) with your name and post your resume and links to your blogs, social media accounts, and other information about you online. Create a Google profile and a profile at About.me and optimize it. Search engines like fresh content, so update these pages often.

Some of the suggestions in this article were adapted from “Take Charge of Your Online Reputation” on Microsoft.com.

 

via LDS Media Talk http://ldsmediatalk.com

Resolution #5: Talk with Kids About Online Safety

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2013/01/05/resolution-1-talk-with-kids-about-online-safety/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSWebGuy+%28LDS+Media+Talk%29

This is one of a series of articles with suggested resolutions for the new year. See the other suggested resolutions.

If your kids got a new smartphone, iPad, computer, Xbox, or other Internet-connected device at Christmas, now is a great time to have another talk with them about Internet safety.

Online Activities

Talk to your children about what they should and shouldn’t be doing while online. Make sure you have anti-virus, anti-spam, and parental controls in place to safeguard your family against bad experiences. And remember, it’s not just about home computers anymore–you need the same on any device that can connect to the Internet, like smartphones, iPads, and Xboxes.

Texting

Talk with your children about texting and appropriate messages and photos. You should know about programs like Snapchat–a phone app that lets users send a picture that self-destructs after a few seconds. It can be used for legitimate purposes, but mostly it’s used by teenagers for sending inappropriate pictures without getting caught.

Social Media

Talk with your children about their activities on social media sites like Facebook. There is a fine line between respecting your teen’s privacy and doing things to protect them.

• Friends. Set your teen’s privacy settings so that his/her posts and photos are only visible to his/her friends. And make sure your teen only accepts friend requests from people he/she already knows. Do you know the friends your teen hangs out with online? Shouldn’t you know their online friends as well as you know their physical friends? If you’re like most parents, you have friended your teen on Facebook so you can see what he/she does. But that doesn’t mean you’ll see everything (as you’ll read below). There are services, such as SociallyActive that monitor your teen’s Facebook network and alert you when there is a potential threat.
• Posts. If you are your teen’s Facebook friend, you can see what he/she posts to his/her own status updates.
• Comments. You won’t see the comments your teen makes on his/her friends’ posts unless you are friends with them, too.
• Photos. Depending on how your teen’s privacy settings are configured, he/she may be uploading photos or being tagged in his/her friends’ pictures, and you’ll never see them. Tagged photos show up in the taggers’ timeline for all of their friends to see. Unfortunately, unless you’re their friend as well, you won’t see these photos, or even know who the person is that tagged them.

Privacy

Remind your children about not divulging personal information online–like where they live or their phone number. But also be careful about what you post as a parent. For example, “I have to pick up Johnny from soccer practice again, it ends at 3: 15, I hope I can make it,” “His school team the Schwerman Eagles made championship today,” and “…he’s really into this goth girl…” All common innocuous statements you may make online. You are a proud parent and you want the world to know, but do you realize just how much information you are putting out there? You’ve probably even posted pictures of your angels. But just from those few statements someone knows his name, school, soccer schedule, and that he seems to be hanging on the fringe of the goth crowd. The pictures let them know exactly who he is. What else have you told the world? Be careful what you post, and the privacy settings on who can see your posts.

Video Games

Talk with your children about video games to make sure their experience is fun, safe, and secure.

• Check the rating.  Just like movies and TV shows, some games are meant for children and others are really intended for adults to play. From “E for Everyone” to “M for Mature,” Rating Categories and Content Descriptors appear on nearly all video and computer games sold in the U.S. and Canada and are an easy guide to gauge age-appropriateness. See esrb.org for more information. If you can’t find enough information online, talk with an expert at the video game store or talk with a friend who has the game.
• Activate parental controls. Game consoles offer parental control features that allow parents to restrict games by ESRB rating, manage online access, and even limit how much time a child can use the system. Follow these instructions for your system to help you manage your children’s video game play.
• Protect kids’ privacy.  Because online-enabled games can allow players to speak with one another, kids should know that they shouldn’t share personal information with others, even people they think they can trust. And that’s not limited to e-mail addresses and phone numbers, either. Kids should know not to share personal details like where they go to school, where their parents work, or what their weekend plans are.
• Be vigilant about cyberbullies. Cyberbullying is a growing concern as more and more kids go online, and just like on a real playground there can be the occasional bully in the game world as well. Talk to your kids about their online gameplay and make sure they know who to turn to if they encounter a bully, online or off.  And do everyone a favor by reporting misbehavers to a game publisher or its online community moderator. See this video game discussion guide for parents.

Review previous posts about Internet safety.

 

via LDS Media Talk http://ldsmediatalk.com

Resolution #4: Keep a Journal

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2013/01/04/keep-a-journal/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSWebGuy+%28LDS+Media+Talk%29

This is one of a series of articles with suggested resolutions for the new year. See the other suggested resolutions.

The article “Thinking outside the Book” in the November New Era magazine (pages 40-42) discussed several creative ways to keep a record of your life.

The purpose of journaling is not just to make a record of your life for your posterity. A number of studies have shown that we retain things longer if we write them down, so recording our spiritual thoughts and impressions after an experience helps solidify the experience and allows the feelings we experience to become a part of who we are, accessible to us in every part of our lives.

Here are some additional ideas on how to keep a record of your life using modern technology:

Digital scrapbooking is a type of journaling. There are many online and offline ways to create digital collections of photos, e-mails, and other things that are memorable to you. Over time, paper photos, music programs, drawings, letters, postcards, and other memorabilia will fade and deteriorate. Scanning them and compiling them into a digital scrapbook is a great way to preserve them forever.

A personal blog can be a great way to capture your thoughts. You can make journal entries on a blog that you can post online and share with family and friends who have a password access to your blog; you can also publish posts with a private setting so others can’t view them publicly. Some people combine scrapbooking and blogging together to make a textual and visual record of their lives.

Social media can be part of the record of your life. Take screenshots of key social media interactions. There are also programs that let you capture and download all the posts you make on social media sites.

Notes & Journal feature (formerly called “My Study Notebook”) on LDS.org can be used to create and preserve journal entries in addition to capturing highlights and notes about scriptures and other Church publications. Learn more about the Notes & Journal feature.

Digital pictures, audio, and video recordings of your activities are certainly a great way to capture and preserve things that are important to you.

Special interest blogs can also be a way to express your knowledge or interest in a specific topic.

Word processing can be a great low-tech way to capture a record of your life. Simply type your journal entries using word processing software.

An audio recording is a way to express your thoughts vocally. Talk about what you would write if you were keeping a traditional journal. Be sure to think and speak thoughtfully, record entries in a quiet place, and say what you mean. Use a digital recorder or try free software on your computer to make a digital recording. Don’t use audio cassettes, because the recordings on tape will deteriorate.

Keep your Digital Copies Safe

Using digital means can be a great way to preserve aspects of your life to enjoy later and to pass on to your ancestors. Just be sure that you keep a safe copy in a place away from your home in case of computer failure or theft or some natural disaster such as a fire or a flood. Use an automatic back-up system such as Carbonite to keep a secure copy offsite.

via LDS Media Talk http://ldsmediatalk.com

Resolution #3: Use More Church Media

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2013/01/03/more-church-media/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSWebGuy+%28LDS+Media+Talk%29

This is one of a series of articles with suggested resolutions for the new year. See the other suggested resolutions.

The Church provides a wide array of media that you and your family can enjoy, which can be much more uplifting than network television or movies.

• Mormon Messages
• Mormon Channel
• Youth Media (LDS.org/youth/video)
• Video Library on LDS.org (videos.lds.org)
• Mormon.org videos
• FamilySearch videos
• One in a Million videos for children
• Friend magazine videos
• New Era magazine videos
• Bible Videos (BibleVideos.org)
• Videos about Jesus Christ (from JesusChrist.lds.org)
• Church channels on YouTube

In the video below, staff at Church headquarters discuss how Mormon Messages videos are created and they show some examples.

Watch some of the Mormon Messages videos on YouTube or on the Mormon Channel (mormonchannel.org/MormonMessages).

Which is your favorite Mormon Message video?

via LDS Media Talk http://ldsmediatalk.com

Resolution #2: Make Wise Media Choices With Ok.com

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2013/01/02/ok-com-wise-media-choices/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSWebGuy+%28LDS+Media+Talk%29

This is one of a series of articles with suggested resolutions for the new year. See the other suggested resolutions.

Many families struggle to find the information they need to make good decisions about what movies to watch in today’s world where family-friendly movies are more the exception than the rule. I’ve written before about good movie review sites for families.

Today I want to talk about a new website that uses technology to generate age-appropriate movie choices customized to your personal taste.

OK.com is a family-friendly tool produced by Deseret Digital Media. It offers a more helpful alternative to the Motion Picture Association of America’s ratings system. It combines user-generated recommendations to give you an age recommendation for every movie.

Using Facebook, you can invite friends and build a network where you share recommendations with each other. OK.com then predicts which movies you will like by a combination of computer algorithms and an analysis of what movies your friends like.

For example, consider the cases of “Forever Strong” (a film about a high school rugby team) and the Tom Cruise movie “Rock of Ages.” Both films have a PG-13 rating from the MPAA, yet OK.com users believe “Forever Strong” is safe for a 10-year-old while “Rock of Ages” should be limited to ages 17 and above.

Once you’ve decided on a movie, the system will tell you how you can get the movie: (1)  streamed at home through Netflix Instant and Netflix DVD–and soon Amazon Instant Video and iTunes, (2) which Redbox locations have the DVD in stock, or (3) if the movie is still in theaters, it provides locations, times, and ticket prices.

Learn more about it in the Deseret News article “Websites, including new OK.com, seek to help families make media choices.”

via LDS Media Talk http://ldsmediatalk.com

Resolution #1: Read Scriptures Daily

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2013/01/01/resolution-1/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSWebGuy+%28LDS+Media+Talk%29

Ok, it’s the new year and everyone is supposed to make new year’s resolutions, right? So over the next several days, I’ll post ideas for resolutions on how to strengthen your family by using Church materials and technology wisely.

Resolution #1: Use Church resources to enhance your daily study of the scriptures. The Church provides the scriptures online, in audio format, and in traditional printed formats:

• Online scriptures. If you haven’t experienced scriptures.lds.org, you need to. You can read the text or listen to the audio scriptures. You can even enlarge the text size to make it easier to read. You can click on footnotes and references to jump directly to the referenced scriptures. It also has personalized study tools that let you highlight verses and save personal notes. Those notes are then available to you whether you read the scriptures online or on a mobile device. (See mobile.lds.org.) This is your own digital personal study notebook. And it can include more than just the scriptures. You can also highlight and take notes in other Church publications, such as the Gospel Doctrine manuals or the Institute manuals, and it’s all synced to your personal study notebook.
• Audio scriptures are available in CD format or you can listen to them online at scriptures.lds.org. When in a chapter online, just click Listen in the right margin.
• Printed scriptures are available for purchase in a variety of covers, colors, and sizes.

In Sunday School classes this year, adults will study the Doctrine and Covenants and Church history. I challenge you to try the new digital study tools to highlight what you find important and cross reference the scriptures and information in other Church publications. Refer to the article “D&C/Church History Resources to Support 2013 Study” for a list of the resources provided by the Church to help in your study of the Doctrine and Covenants and Church history.

5 Scriptures to Motivate You to Action

The scriptures are not passive reading materials. They should motivate us to action. On every page, there are messages for each one of us.

In the video below from Mormon Times TV, author and BYU religion instructor John Bytheway talks about 5 of his favorite scriptures that help provide a little extra motivation when we need it.

• Moroni 10:31 - “Awake and arise from the dust”
• Proverbs 4:26 - “Ponder the path of thy feet”
• Doctrine and Covenants 60:13 - “Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known”
• Moses 1:39 - “This is my work”
• 1 Nephi 3:7 - “I will go and do”

John Bytheway has written more about these 5 scriptures.

What are your favorite scriptures that motivate you?

 

via LDS Media Talk http://ldsmediatalk.com

Updates to LDS Music Website

http://ldsmediatalk.com/2012/12/31/updates-to-lds-music-website/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LDSWebGuy+%28LDS+Media+Talk%29

Music.lds.org is one of the most visited sections within LDS.org, averaging more than 1.5 million page views a month and it has been updated with more music and more features. Here are some of the new or improved features you’ll love:

Interactive music player. Listen to hymns and songs or use it to play songs for family home evening or to learn new hymns. If you want to practice the soprano, alto, tenor,  or bass part, you can play it alone or at a higher volume with the other parts. If the music is too high or too low, you can transpose it to a different key, then play it or print out the new version for performing. The music player now has new features that make it easier to use. The major drawback is that now it requires Flash, so it will not work on some mobile devices (like Apple iOS smartphones and iPads) without additional software.

Download Church hymns and songs to your computer or mobile device. These can be accessed through the large music library, which includes lyrics and sheet music. For example, the Liahona collection lets you see and print music in many languages from magazines dating back to 1990. Playlists and downloads are available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English.

Learn to conduct music or play a keyboard or organ. See the online courses with multimedia examples.

Library of choir music. Access music that can be used without cost. For example, the entire Savior of the World music can be downloaded, complete with ideas on stage production and costumes.

Guidelines. See the FAQ section for answers to questions like standing for national anthems or performing popular LDS-themed music in sacrament meetings.

Search. The whole music section is searchable by text, title, composer, number, topic, or even scripture.

See the Help section for tips on using the site. Future plans include more language support, more music, and more submissions from members.

Learn more in the article “New Rhythm for Church Music Website.”

Also learn about the “LDS Music Mobile App” which does work on Apple devices, but has a much more limited set of features.

via LDS Media Talk http://ldsmediatalk.com

Google adds the scrolls of Genesis and the Ten Commandments to the cloud

http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/18/google-scrolls-genesis-ten-commandements/

Following through on its mission to help digitally preserve the Dead Sea Scrolls, Google announced today that it's working with the Israel Antiquities Authority to bring more ancient text to the cloud. The latest archived entries include an early copy of the Book of Deuteronomy and part of the first chapter of Genesis, which describes the creation of the world. In addition, hundreds of other 2,000 year-old texts outlining the history of Judaism and the life of Jesus will be added to the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library at a 1,215 dpi resolution. Utilizing Google's hosting, this project houses around 900 manuscripts that support commenting, image zoom and fullscreen viewing. Stop by the coverage link below to get up close and personal with these pieces of history.

[Image Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority]

Filed under: Science, Internet, Alt, Google

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Source: Google

via Engadget http://www.engadget.com

Google's cloud-based music-matching service has arrived... and it's free

http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/12/googles-cloud-music-service-has-arrived-and-its-free/

This is what Ars editor Cyrus Farivar sent to Google Play this morning.

Cyrus Farivar

Google has announced its own music-matching locker service, but unlike Amazon’s Cloud Player and Apple’s iTunes Match, this new service is free. Google Play, in this new incarnation, first debuted in Europe a month ago and now it has finally come stateside.

Google Music Beta (as it was then-called) first debuted in 2011—the new service will scan your computer's music collection, then check that against Google's servers and serve you with a stream of those songs. Previously, the service required you to upload each song through its client application.

“Our new music matching feature gets your songs into your online music library on Google Play much faster,” the company wrote Tuesday on its Google+ page. “We’ll scan your collection and quickly rebuild it in the cloud—all for free. And we’ll stream your music back to you at up to 320 kbps.”

Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

via Ars Technica http://arstechnica.com

Google Music gains scan and match feature in the US

http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/18/google-music-gains-scan-and-match-feature-in-the-us/

It wasn't very long ago that Google Music landed in Europe -- to the delight of local music lovers, we're sure. On its trip across the pond, the service gained a unique new feature called scan and match, wherein Google scans your local music library and makes the songs it matches instantly available in the cloud -- no upload required. Until now the feature, which is similar to iTunes Match, was only available in Europe, but it's coming to the US starting today. From now on, any US Google Play users who upload their music collection will benefit from this new feature. Over time, the company will also upgrade users with existing cloud libraries. It's a free service and it's automatic -- you're unlikely to notice that it's even happening. The upside is that entire collections will be uploaded faster. We're not aware of any downsides yet -- matched songs will be available for streaming at 320Kbps like regular Google Play purchases, while re-downloaded music will be available at or close to the bitrate of the original file.

Update: Google confirmed that any VBR files matched by the service will be re-downloaded as CBR files with a bitrate that's slightly higher than the average bitrate of the original song. This is obviously a drawback if you're currently relying on the service to backup your music collection.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Google

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Source: Google Play (Google+)

via Engadget http://www.engadget.com