iPad/iPhone App of the Week: Air Video

Every now and then an App or website comes along that solves perfectly a need you have but that you didn't know a solution existed for.

And for me that App is Air Video...

You see I have an extensive collection of movies stored on an external hard drive...far to many to add to iTunes and in any case, most are in .avi format which iTunes doesn't like.

To watch those videos I have to copy them to the machine where I want to watch them usually via a memory stick or a network transfer and play using an application like the VLC player.

And then along comes the iPad and of course I'm thinking, well, I want to watch those videos on the iPad but I don't want to have to convert them to an iTunes compatible format and sync to the iPad every time I want to watch a particular movie.

What to do, what to do...

Then I see a brief tweet by Don McAllister from Screencasts online saying that there is an iPad version of Air video.

And I'm thinking...could this solve my problem?

And amazingly, it did. I CAN'T believe this app has existed for the iPhone for ages and now there is an iPad version and it works PERFECTLY and I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT!

After having downloaded the app to the iPhone or iPad and installed a software application on the computer where the videos are stored (and identified folders containing the videos) you simply navigate to the server on the iPad (or iPhone) in the Air Video App, select the video and hit play (for videos in an Apple friendly format like .mp4). For videos in a non-Apple friendly format you select play with live conversion and the server will convert the file before streaming to your device on-the-fly.

And it works and it is beautiful and I can watch my videos on my iPhone or iPad wherever I want to be.

I can't recommend this App highly enough if, like me, you have lots of videos you don't want to sync to your mobile devices via iTunes.

I don't think I can suggest any improvements at all. The App works perfectly right from installation.

Kudos to the developers.

Guru Bob

ps now if only there were a version of Air Video I could run on my laptop...hint hint.

Posted via web from GuruBob's Posterous Blog

GuruBob.co and Moving A Wordpress Blog

My main blog used to be hosted on the domain gurubobsblog.com. Recently, however, I was approached by the domain register for the soon to be released .co domain to participate as a co-founder and relocate my blog onto a .co domain.

And so http://www.gurubob.co/ was born and the post at the link below explains my reasons for re-location and some information about the .co domain opportunity.

GuruBobsBlog.com has moved to GuruBob.co

Moving to the new domain involved moving a Wordpress Blog which cause a certain amount of trepidation but didn't turn out to be quite as bad as I thought. I've recently published a post on the steps involved in moving a Wordpress Blog and some of the issues and solutions I experienced.

Moving a Wordpress Blog

For those that haven't checked out my main blog it is the home of my online publishing in relation to the Thirty Day Challenge and on other subjects of interest such as SEO, Internet marketing in general and NLP. Take a look if you have any interest in those subjects.

It is as it is.

GuruBob

Posted via web from GuruBob's Posterous Blog

Untitled

Just finished listening to Seth Godins book Linchpin as an audiobook on my iPhone. It's all about how to become indispensable in your life either as an employee, a business owner or whatever.

As Seth points out, becoming indispensable is not easy and is usually entirely the responsibility of the individual rather than the organisation within which the individual is practising or offering their skills and output.

I did find the book strangely motivating and Seth does cover in some detail the characteristics that define and indispensable person. I was also intrigued by the fact the Set defines a linchpin as being artistic and their output as art.

While I do consider myself as a linchpin, I have always thought of myself as a Scientist and scientific in the way I go about my work.  Now, it seems I can legitimately call myself an artist…at least if Seth Godins definition has any merit.

Click here to find Linchpin on Amazon

It is as it is.

GuruBob

Posted via web from GuruBob's Posterous Blog

iPad Crack - News and Reviews

Well...the day has nearly arrived when the Apple iPad is about to go on general availability in the US.  The tech forums and feeds abound with stories not only about the iPad itself (generally the reviews are good to excellent) but also about the myriad of iPad apps that are either about to be released or due to arrive very soon.

My favourite story was the interview of Steve Jobs by Stephen Fry in Time magazine but I also enjoyed the iPad video analysis by Andy Ihnatko of the Chicago Sun Times.

On the app front, the landscape is changing so fast it's hard to keep up but Gizmodo has published a good list of essential iPad apps.

For myself, I will be vicariously watching the adventures or Paul Colligan and Ed Dale as they undertake Operation iPad. It is a very exciting time rioght now in Tech and I can't wait to get my hands on an iPad and begin to intergrate it into my daily life.

It is as it is.

GuruBob

Posted via web from GuruBob's Posterous Blog