In general, my default installations add two different free plugins into Quicktime to handle files which Quicktime cannot handle by itself. Both of these plugins are very well implemented and tested, and both are rock solid in terms of stability.

• Telestream Flip4Mac Player – This application/plugin allows the user to view unencrypted Windows Media Files within Quicktime. This is especially important, as Microsoft no longer makes a Windows Media Player for Mac OS X. Unfortunately, Microsoft has not shared their DRM with Telestream, so any WMF file that is encrypted cannot be played on the Mac.
• Perian – Perian is a open-source application that installs as a System Preference, and extends Quicktime to read “everything else.” Basically, if it isn’t supported by Quicktime or Flip4Mac, Perian will.

I’m sure there are a few formats out there that this trifecta doesn’t support, but I haven’t found them (Encrypyed WMF excluded.) Furthermore, by having them installed by default, my users have to worry less whether a particular video will run or not, allowing them to be more flexible in how they perform their job.

Telestream ha rilasciato la versione 2.3.0.11 beta di Flip4Mac WMV, la raccolta di componenti per QuickTime grazie ai quali è possibile riprodurre, importare ed esportare file audio e video nel formato Windows Media.

L’applicazione può essere sfruttata da qualunque software in grado di interagire con QuickTime, inclusi: QuickTime Player, iMovie e Final Cut Pro. Dopo aver installato questi elementi sarà possibile riprodurre i file WMV dal player QuickTime o all’interno di un qualunque browser come Safari, FireFox o altri.

Una versione a pagamento permette di importare file per l’editing, la creazione, conversione in vari formati. Le versioni disponibili sono cinque: WMV Player (il riproduttore vero e proprio), WMV Player Pro (con funzionalità di editing), WMV Studio (consentono l’esportazione di audio e video da QuickTime), WMV Studio Pro (per creare file con impostazioni definibili dall’utente, encoding progressivo a singolo passaggio e profili interfacciati), WMV Studio Pro HD (offre la possibilità di creare filmati in alta definizione e profili di encoding HD a doppio passaggio).

Il software richiede un qualunque Mac (Intel o PowerPC) con Mac OS X 10.4 o superiore e QuickTime 7 o superiore. Flip4Mac riproduce tutti i file VMW esclusi quelli protetti con il Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM).

In quest’ultima versione sono stati corretti alcuni bug, è stato aggiunto il supporto per il nuovo Mac OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard”, la codifica audio è affidata alle routine CoreAudio e i componenti supportano il multithreading. Il supporto a 64 bit è stato integrato ed è dunque possibile richiamare le preferenze a 64 bit direttamente dalle Preferenze di Sistema.

Si tienes problemas para reproducir algunos videos, Perian es la solución, ya que permite el soporte para AVI, FLV, DivX, XviD, MS-MPEG4, AAC, AC3, VBR MP3…

Si quieres reproducir WMV, te recomiendo Flip4Mac.

[Post dedicado a los ''novatos'' de la Party que me preguntaron por ello ]

salu2

PD: Si no lo tenías instalado, es casi una obligación que lo instales .

Mit Quicktime liefert Apple einen schnellen, nicht überladenen und schicken Media Player mit. Einige moderne und proprietäre Formate kann man von Haus aus allerdings nicht damit abspielen.

Das ist allerdings kein Beinbruch, denn Abhilfe schaffen zwei kostenlose Softwarepakete. Namentlich Perian und Flip4Mac.

Perian bezeichnet sich selbst als Schweizer Taschenmassen für Quicktime. So bietet es durch eine Quicktime Komponente Zugriff auf so gut wie alle aktuellen Video und Audio Codecs.

In der Liste fehlen allerdings die proprietären Windows Media Formate von Microsoft. Hier kommt Flip4Mac ins Spiel, welches kostenfrei eine Komponente zum abspielen, und gegen eine Gebühr Funktionen zum editieren mitbringt.

Eine Alternative die alle Codecs gleich mitbringt ist der Open Source Video Lan Media Player, kurz VLC. Allerdings finde ich Quicktime in der Bedienung doch ein tick netter. Aber VLC spielt wirklich so gut wie alles ab, ohne dass man irgendetwas anderes installieren müsste. Vor allem auch gut, wenn man mal irgendwo ist und ein Format nicht läuft. Ein File runter laden und schon läuft es.

Auf den Screenshots spiele ich eine .mkv Datei des kostenlosen Films Big Buck Bunny ab. Dieser wurde von der Blender Foundation erstellt und wird kostenlos verteilt.

http://perian.org/

http://www.telestream.net/flip4mac-wmv/overview.htm

http://www.videolan.org/

http://www.bigbuckbunny.org/

I’ve posted a couple of times now about my experiences creating audio and video on OS X. A couple of weeks ago, I had a brief conversation with my friend Ian Hughes, aka epredator, who was trying to get himself setup:

Good one. All I knew was that DIVX AVI files were playing on my machine fine, through QuickTime.

The answer, which I’d evidently missed before, is Perian. This is a really simple, installable package which enables support for a whole range of “other” file formats in QuickTime. You’ll also want to install Flip4Mac, which gives support for Windows formats like WMV. It’s also worth adding the Xiph component for formats like FLAC and OGG. Once you’ve got those in place, you should be fine to import, play and edit in iMovie and other QuickTime-based applications.

Las cosas como son: allá en Redmond han sabido hacer las cosas (no sé si bien, pero efectivas sí) y por todos lados hay semillas de su legado; ejemplo de esto son los archivos .wma y .wmv, que son sus formatos de audio y vídeo comprimidos. Es obvio que el MP3 y el AVI pudieron más que la idea de Microsoft, pero de cualquier manera no son pocos los archivos codificados en esos formatos… que Mac OS X no reproduce de manera nativa. Este detalle puede solucionarse con la aplicación de la que hoy les contaré, Flip4Mac; en estricto rigor no es una aplicación, sino que una preferencia del sistema que queda instalada en ese lugar y otorga a QuickTime y Safari poderes para reproducir estos archivos. Vamos a ver.

Lo primero, claro, es descargar Flip4Mac. Para informarse acerca de la preferencia y ver otras opciones de descarga relacionadas, que son de pago, pueden ir a la página oficial del proyecto. Dentro de toda la información encontrarán la URL de descarga, que los transportará… a la página de descargas de Microsoft. Recuperados de la impresión, pueden descargarlo; la URL directa para llegar allí es esta. De más está decir que es gratuito.

Una vez descargado, ejecuten el PKG y comenzará el asistente de instalación de Flip4Mac, del cual pondré algunas capturas a continuación para que no se me pierdan:

Como ya habrán adivinado, lo que sigue es hacer clic en ‘continuar‘ para que el proceso de instalación avance (es simpático recordar los eternos instaladores de Windows…). Se toparán con el acuerdo de licencia, mismo que deben aceptar antes de poder seguir.

Aquí seleccionan el disco rígido donde quieren instalar Flip4Mac. Les informa del espacio que ocupará, y ya pueden continuar con lo que queda. Se les pedirá la contraseña de administrador, y una vez puesta el programa de instalación copiará en el destino seleccionado los archivos. Al terminar, pueden cerrar el asistente. Luego, vayan a las preferencias del sistema (escribiendo eso en SpotLight o con el icono del Dock, si es que no lo han sacado) y fíjense en lo siguiente:

En el apartado de complementos, al final de las preferencias, aparece un nuevo icono, que corresponde al de Flip4Mac. Como les contaba al principio, más que una aplicación es una preferencia, que otorga opciones de configuración que pueden revisarse y modificarse desde aquí. Se ven como sigue:

Aquí pueden divertirse configurando las opciones; no digamos que son montones, pero algo hay. Lo que importa es que ahora el web player de Safari y QuickTime quedaron habilitados para reproducir archivos codificados en WMV y WMA, por lo que la potencialidad de ambas aplicaciones crece varios palmos. Así que no se hable más, y a disfrutar… Espero que les haya sido de utilidad.

Saludos a todos, y disfruten de sus Mac

Durante el día de hoy, estuve viendo un reportaje sobre aplicaciones esenciales gratuitas para Mac. Al leer el reportaje, noté que, tras que algunas no eran tan esenciales, habían aplicaciones que no eran tan buenas como otras que conosco. Por esto, decidí traerles mi lista de aplicaciones esenciales que son completamente gratis!

• Adium

Adium es una aplicación de instant messenger para conectarse a servicios como AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Facebook y Gtalk, entre muchos otros. Este messenger se puede cotomizar a tu gusto cambiando icons, smileys & backgrounds. [Más info]

• AppCleaner

Pequeña aplicación para desinstalar otras aplicaciones. El desinstalar en Mac es super fácil pero las aplicaciones dejan atrás files que no queremos en nuestras Macs. Este programa busca estos files y los borra junto con la aplicación que quieres desinstalar. [Más info]

• Burn

Mac OS X nos permite quemar discos sin programas como este pero siempre es bueno tener algunas funciones más avanzadas. Desde Audio Cds hasta Dvd Videos, con esta aplicación lo podemos hacer. [Más info]

• Carbon Copy Cloner

Realiza backups sin problema. Con esta aplicación, puedes automatizar tus backups de la información más importante en tu Mac. También, puedes hacer una copia exacta de tu disco duro sin problemas. [Más info]

• Cyberduck

FTP client muy sencillo de utilizar. Te permite trabajar con files en FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Mosso Cloud y Amazon S3. [Más info]

• HandBrake

Aplicación para convertir tus Dvds (o imagenes) en formato .mp4 y .avi. Te permite escoger los capítulos que deseas y te permite incluir subtítulos a tus películas. [Más info]

• NewsFire

Una manera simple y organizada de mantenerte al día de lo que sucede en el web utilizando RSS feeds. Este es el RSS Reader que yo utilizo y no lo cambio por ninguno. Viene integrado con opción de postear en Twitter. Es gratis a cambio de tener el RSS feed del desarrollador. [Más info]

• Onyx

Utilidad de mantenimiento, optimización y personalización de tu Mac. Te permite reparar permisos, dar mantenimiento a tu sistema y editar parámetros escondidos de Finder, Safari, Dock y Dashboard, entre muchos otros. La principal herramienta de mantenimiento que necesitas. Esta es la versión Leopard, para otras versiones, visitar el website. [Más info]

• OpenOffice

Paquete que contiene procesador de palabras, spreadsheet, base de datos, aplicaciones para presentaciones multimedia y hasta para hacer dibujos. Opción esencial y la mejor manera de salir de Microsoft Office. Esta es la versión Intel, visitar el site para otras versiones. [Más info]

• Perian

Componente para Quicktime que te permite ver todos los formatos de video más importantes en el internet. [Más info]

• Skitch

Servicio web que te permite compartir fotos de tu desktop, de websites (screen captures) o hasta de tu cámara. Puedes editarlas y añadirles texto identificando las cosas que quieres que todos vean en las fotos. Esta aplicación viene con el servicio de poder subir estas fotos a tu cuenta en Skitch.com, FTP, SFTP, Flickr y MobileMe. También, provee los links y códigos para que puedas compartir tus fotos fácilmente. Este servicio todavía está en beta y me temo que, una vez se haga oficial, comienzen a cobrar por utilizarlo. [Más info]

• Transmission

Aplicación para descargar torrents. Sencilla, rápida y fácil de utilizar. [Más info]

• UnRarX

No todo lo que bajamos en internet está en un file .zip. Para los files .rar, esta es la aplicación que necesitamos. Perfecta para complementar el Archive Utility de Mac OS X. [Más info]

…y lo que no puede faltar, la ñapa!

• Flip4Mac: Componente para Quicktime y tus browsers que te permite ver videos .wmv y escuchar audio .wma. [Más info]

• Growl: Sistema de notificaciones para tus aplicaciones. No todas las aplicaciones tienen este feature pero se ven muy bien las que si lo tienen. Aunque no es una aplicación tan esencial, se las recomiendo. Las notificaciones son exelentes. [Más info]

• Inquisitor: Extención del search feature de Safari. Te permite buscar información en otros lugares como Amazon, eBay, y Wikipedia, entro muchos otros. Adicional, lo puedes costomizar para que busque en otros lugares. También disponible para Firefox, IE, y el iPhone. [Más info]

• MacTheRipper: Aplicación para copiar Dvds. Te permite copiar y hacer backups de tus Dvds, reduciendo su tamaño para que los puedas quemar en un Dvd normal. Actualmente, esta aplicación ya no se sigue haciendo por problemas de copyrights con los estudios de cine pero todavía se consigue en el internet. [Más info]

• Monolingual: Nosotros siempre usamos nuestras Macs en inglés o español. Así que, para que tener todos los otros idiomas instalados? Esta aplicación te permite borrar todos esos idiomas que no utilizamos como japonés, chino, alemán, etc. [Más info]

Me imagino que, por lo menos, algunas de estas aplicaciones ya ustedes las tendrán y me gustaría que compartieran sus opiniones sobre ellas y que aplicaciones deben considerarse como esenciales para ustedes. Recuerden que deben de ser aplicaciones gratis!

Aquí pueden ver una lista de aplicaciones por Waldemar Santiago: Más de 100 Aplicaciones Gratis para Mac OS X

I am not terribly computer literate.  That is one of the reasons I love Mac so much.  I know there are things I sacrifice, but with advances in technology that is getting less and less.  With my Mac I can usually do anything I want with very little worry about messing something up or having a serious system error.  If I don’t know how to do something, I can Google it and usually there is a discussion board somewhere that will walk me through my problem.  The days of PC users only programing for PC’s is over, there are many Mac users out there, and it is becoming an accepted platform now.  (When I first started using Mac’s there was an outcry in the office and the promise of “if you buy it, you are fully responsible for it, and I cannot help you!” from the IT manager.)  I have not only used them since, but have actually requested them when I transferred jobs in the past, not that it would have been a deal breaker, but it would have made me very unhappy if they said no.

So all this leads to my latest problem…  My twin daughters are approaching driving age and for them to get their permits they have to have a certain number of hours of training.  No longer is the training done in schools, now you have to go out to private companies and pay them for it.  We did our research and found one that does one on one instruction at a reasonable price and signed them up.  There is a 30 hour on-line component that they have to go through before they can do the hands on driving with the instructors.  And therein lies the problem.  For some reason the embedded videos on this website will not play on either of our Macs.  We have done the required Flip4Mac download, tried Windows Media Player, and a plethora of other things, (one of my friends set me up with the Mac guy from Best Buy and he spent about an hour trying to help us.  He downloaded things I had never heard of and nothing worked! This guy knows his stuff and has pay for programs that handle even the oddest codecs and formats.)

For weeks I have been thinking this was our problem, the weird Mac people with no tech support available; but now I realize it is really this companies fault.  In the world of YouTube, Podcasting, and on-line video access so easy kids are doing it, it is really time to step up and make the video files available to all systems.  It shouldn’t require searching endlessly for an outdated program (IE6 not supported since 2005ish?) when there are easy fixes.  I was actually relieved after spending hours trying to solve the problem to learn it was not just me!

It is not just you either… when you are in the middle of your problem it is easy to look around and think it is all you, you and you alone are the reason, the cause and have to be the solution…  Not true.  Others have struggled with the exact same thing you are; other people can’t make it work without help either, and the cool thing is, this guy I have never met was willing to hang in there with me to try and find a solution.  There are people around that want to roll up their sleeves and help you too, no matter the mess you are in.  If you truly want help, it may take time, it may take effort, it may require admitting you have made some mistakes, but there are people that will come along side of you and help you.  Even if they cannot solve it, they will let you know it is not just you!

Esta aplicación, al igual que Perian del que hablé en el post pasado, es un add in para QuickTime que nos permitirá visualizar contenidos de Windows Media WMV que por defecto no son soportados en Mac.

Es un software aceptable, pero es de pago, lo que lo hace un poco “insoportable”.

Existe otra opción para la reproducción de este tipo de contenidos y muchos otros más, llamada VLC, de la cual hablaré en el siguiente post (esto parece culebrón, continuará…).

Enlace | Windows Media | Flip4Mac |

Alguns dias se passaram desde a chegada do macbook , então tentei ver um video nele o video estava no formato RMVB tentei rodar pelo Quicktime e não obtive sucesso. Após isso corri até o oraculo (vulgo google) onde encontrei uma luz para resolver esse pequeno problema.

Com relação ao RMVB em minhas buscas fiquei sabendo que um programa chamado VLC Player resolveria meu problema então fui atrás para baixa-lo o mesmo pode ser baixado aqui , após instalado fui rodar o video e para minha surpresa o audio saiu perfeitamente agora o video eu também não sei o que aconteceu com ele.

Mais buscas e então por unanimidade (me corrigam se eu estiver errado!) descobri que RMVB no MAC OS X só consegue ser aberto pelo Real Player que você encontra aqui , ao testar o video abriu sem nenhum problema tanto imagem quanto som perfeitos.

Não contente tentei rodar um avi e em seguida um wmv e para minha frustração também não rodarão , então após algumas buscas descobri meus salvadores Flip4Mac e Divx Codec que respectivamente podem ser encontrador aqui e aqui , basta instalar os dois e se divertir em seu mac vendo vários videos

My latest software toy is Drive-in from the Flip4Mac guys. The same guys who brought you, well, Flip4Mac and ScreenFlow. While ScreenFlow gets the big thumbs up from me and I could not do without Flip, Drive-in is a bit disappointing.

I love the concept and the execution. The idea is you create copies of your DVDs on your Mac as virtual DVDs that Drive-in can mount and then it or the Mac’s DVD player plays them (& Front Row etc.). This all works great and the virtual DVDs are so good you can even rip them using Mac the Ripper – but don’t tell anyone I said that.

What should be the killer part of this app is disappointing for someone like me who is not included in the universality of the USA. Let me explain. Drive-in has a feature similar to iTunes Get Album Artwork / Trak Info. If you give it the barcode number from the back of the DVD; to be more precise a UPC (Universal Product Code – say that with a yank accent) or a EAN (European Article Number – note the geographical preciseness), it will fetch the DVD’s cover art, description, production details etc. from [fan fare] Amazon (US, Canada, UK, France, Germany or Japan). Guess what – in Australia we don’t use UPC (not so Universal – its not a World Series guys if you don’t have any other countries playing) or EAN and you can’t reverse look-up either of them on Amazon.

In the end I resorted to a couple of online databases for EAN and UPC product codes and managed a reverse look-up to find the EAN code and then get the info from Amazon. Now I don’t expect the guys from Flip to recognize the Australian Product Number (APN) standard (no amazon.com.au anyway) but had I been able to look up the DVD’s info via something more reversible such as the ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) as well as the UPC or EAN I would not feel so all alone at the Drive-in.

Este es un videotutorial sobre programas muy útiles para Mac OS X, para los nuevos en Mac o para aquellos que quieren hacer su equipo mas útil y funcional.

Onyx: Software de mantenimiento de tu Mac (Gratis)

AppZapper: Desinstalador de aplicaciones (De pago)

Perian: Codecs para todo tipo de ficheros de video (Gratis)

Flip4Mac: Codec para ficheros de video de Windows (Gratis)

AppFresh: Actualizador de aplicaciones instaladas en tu Mac (Gratis)

Transmission: Cliente de descargas torrent (Gratis)

Roxio Toast: Grabador de Discos (De pago)

Unarchiver: Descompresor de ficheros comprimidos (Gratis)

Adium: Cliente de mensajeria Instantanea (Gratis)

QuickSilver: Lanzador de Aplicaciones (Gratis)

VMWare Fusion: Virtualizador de Sistemas Operativos en tu Mac (De pago)

Open Office: Suite de Herramientas de Oficina (Gratis)

Mac Messenger: Cliente de Mensajeria Instantanea (Gratis)

Microsoft Office Mac: Suite de Herramientas de Oficina (De Pago)

iWork: Suite de Herramientas de Oficina (De Pago)

En Maqueros me acabo de enterar que fue actualizado Flip4Mac, un componente para Quicktime que permite ver videos en WMV.

Este componente tiene una version paga que permite hacer edicion y exportacion al formato mencionado, pero la version gratis puede perfectamente reproducirlos.

Recuerden que siempre podemos contar con Perian, otro componente para Quicktime, pero completamente gratis y que permite reproducir ademas de WMV, tambien AVI, WMA, FLV, DivX, 3ivx y muchos formatos mas.

Descargar | Flip4Mac Update v2.2.1
Desarrollador | Flip4Mac
Fuente | Maqueros

flip4mac, componente, quicktime, avi, wmv, wma
flip4mac, componente, quicktime, avi, wmv, wma

I recently upgraded to Leopard. It only took me almost a year to get around to doing it, yet I was still stoked about using the latest and greatest. I had to make the decision—Archive and Install or Fresh Install. After the first go around, I realized that my Tiger install was bloatted with apps. So I took the plunge. I backed up what files I could and decided to do a fresh install.

This go around I desperately needed to limit the number of applications to the essential applications that I couldn’t live without.  The following is a carefully considered list of the the third party applications that make me a happy mac user.

Quicksilver

I didn’t understand the power of this little app at first, but after digging through, watching video, and customizing some things, I’ve come to find that it’s indispensable to me. I use it mostly as an application launcher but Quicksilver is so much more.

Firefox

This one’s a no-brainer. Firefox just has so many useful extension it’s painful for me that it’s just more useful on an everyday basis than Safari (Sorry, Jobso). I know, you say, Safari is faster. I’ve found that Safari is indeed much faster than my Firefox 2.0 for the Mac. However, I’ve been revving up Firefox 3 Beta 5 and it’s almost as fast. And it has those handy dandy add-ons. Plus, the star bookmarking just deads Safari. Damn you, Mozilla. Damn you.

MacTheRipper

DVD ripping software at its simplest. In best Samuel L. Jackson voice “Yes, they deserved to be ripped and I hope they burn in hell!

Unison

I’m a little slow. It only took me like 10 years for usenet and newsgroups to catch on. I use Giganews for bandwidth, Newzleech to find nzb files and Unison as a newsreader. Unison is THE newsreader for Mac. If none of this makes sense, head over here.

Perian

Don’t get me wrong, VLC is great. Why use it if there’s a pre-installed application in Leopard that can play most vids, with a little help. That’s where Perian comes in. Install this and you’re stock Quicktime application gets an engine upgrade, racing stripes and fat custom tires. You can play FLV, Divx, H.264 and most AVI formats. Add Flip4Mac to the equation also and you can leverage Windows Media (WMV) also.

Miro

Mrs.funkdigi and I dropped our Dish Network service. It was becoming a beast and in these days of economic slowdown, paying for a service that’s not ala carte (the way things should be), I couldn’t see paying over $120 for TV I wasn’t watching. I found out about Miro (formerly Democracy) and soon nixed satellite. Miro offers tons of content, like Joost, put has the added benefit of torrent integration. With Tv Rss I’m able to access only the shows I’m interested in.

Remote Desktop for Mac

On Tiger, I was using Parallels as a crutch. Parallels is a superb virtual machine product and coming from my Dell, I thought I’d find that I wasn’t able to get things done with just my Mac. So, I had Parallels as a backup in case I couldn’t do something on a Mac that I used to be able to do on my PC. Well, as I’m sure many of you Mac users already know, that wasn’t the case. During the time, I needed to Remote into my office machine if I happened to work at home. I found Remote Desktop for Mac (a Microsoft product LOL) and ditched Parallels.

iSquint

iSquint is a simple video converter that lets you compress video to a size suitable to you iPod or iPhone. It’s fast, has a small app footprint, and its reliable. It also can automatically add the converted file to your iTunes library. Battlestar Galactica on the subway. Rejoice!

The UnArchiver

A quick and dirty zip, rar, etc. unarchive tool. Again, nice and small.

iLife

I know, it’s beast sized. There are other applications that can be used to substitute just about every app in iLife. Oh, and it’s pricey. I tried my best not to reinstall, but wifey wan’t to use a slideshow for our re-wedding and I also need to edit a track to loop a couple bars of D’Angelo’s Higher. I found myself wanting to use iLife again because it is so well integrated into Leopard and just easy to use. So I’ll do the slideshow with iPhoto, burn the DVD with iDVD and use Garageband to create the instrumental. *shrugs*

¡Que lio! , es verdad, vas a ver un video y que no se ve. Hoy en día, disponemos de múltiples formatos de video y como es lógico cada uno tiene su aplicación. Resulta bastante incomodo tener todos los reproductores de video instalados, al menos para mí, con lo sencillo que es tener uno y listo.

En nuestro caso el reproductor por defecto es el QuickTime pero con él, no podremos abrir archivos con formato Divx,WindowsMedia,etc. Para solucionar esto, existen programas auxiliares que contienen estos códecs de video.

Por un lado está Perian, denominada la navaja Suiza de los plug-in por la cantidad de ellos que contiene y por otro, está Flip4Mac necesariamente para reproducir los archivos con formato WindowsMedia.

La verdad que a mi me resulta muy útil tener estas dos aplicaciones para poder ver toda clase de videos con el QuickTime evitándome tener múltiples reproductores.

Por Avelino J.

With the release of Windows™ Media Components for QuickTime™, you can play Windows™ Media audio and video files (WMA, WMV) directly in the QuickTime™ Player and also view Windows Media content on the Internet using a Web browser (eg: Firefox/Safari)

Flip4Mac WMV is comprised of a collection of QuickTime™ components that enables Mac OS X users to play, import and export Windows™ Media files using QuickTime™-based applications. Both the PowerPC and Intel-based Macintosh systems are supported, on Mac OS X version 10.3.9 and QuickTime™ version 6.5 or later.

You can download Flip4Mac WMV free of charge, and if you purchase an upgrade, you can import Windows Media files for editing, create Windows Media files for distribution, and export to other formats. Note that this product does not support files that are protected with Windows Media digital rights management (DRM).

Download flip4mac

If you like, here’s Microsoft’s own Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X. It’s an obsolete app (it was last updated on Nov 8, 2003) but the PowerPC app does play some DRM files and still runs fine in an Intel Mac Leopard. You’ll need Stuffit Expander to decompress the .sitx download.

Recently – in a move wrapped in common sense and taste – a friend of mine purchased an Apple Mac.
And so I sent her a list. A list of software I can’t do without on my own Mac. It occurred to me others might be interested so here’s my “couldn’t live without” software list for the Mac:

Firefox – Safari is good but it’s just not compatible with enough of the sites I use i.e. wordpress.com

Flip4Mac – the best windows media plugin, lets you watch video on sites to lazy to encode video for formats other than windows. The coolest thing is you just install it and everything else is automatic.

Fire – fantastic IM client that works with everything (MSN, AOL, YAHOO and .MAC). Sadly there will be no future versions of Fire as this open source project has come to an end but whilst we’re all still on OS X this remains a great IM client.

Missing Sync – This delightful software allows you to sync your windows mobile 6 handheld – or any number of other handhelds – to your mac (including itunes) anyway. Ace!

OpenOffice – Is a good cheap (free – if memory serves) alternative to buying Office for Mac (hideously expensive).

Handbrake – A good dvd ripper is essential in the UK if you want to take full advantage of your video ipod (particularly the touch)*. Handbrake comes with all the settings pre-configured for ipod formats and – once you’ve figured out how to use it – works really well.

Cyberduck – A great FTP client for Mac.

*One of the few lame features of Apple is their inability to sort out movie distribution for the UK via itunes.

Breaking News - Today Apple updated the iPhones memory to 16GB and the iPod Touch memory to 32GB. Both are selling for $499.

News – Amazon.com trumps iTunes and starts to sell NBC TV shows. So was it all a big lie when Apple reported that NBC wanted to raise their ($1.99 per episode) TV show prices?

Curious that soon after, all NBC material was pulled from iTunes, but then showed up a few months later on Amazon for, get this, ten cents cheaper! ($1.89 per episode -TV Pass Price). What gives????

So it’s good news for all you fans of The Office, Heroes, House and the nerd’s favorite, Chuck. But ONLY if you are downloading to a PC. That’s right – all you MAC fans are out of luck…..or maybe not. Reviews of the service report a number of negatives including long downloads and no Mac, iPod, Apple TV or Zune compatibility. I say why bother….

So, even if you can’t get that movie from Amazon on your iPod, at least you can still rent a movie from iTunes and watch it on your trusty old video iPod…….Whatttttt, you can’t???

Wired News reports that some relatively late-model iPod owners are discovering that their devices don’t work with Apple’s newly-launched iTunes video rentals — even though those iPod models have a video playback feature. Looks like if you want to rent a movie, you have to upgrade!

What starts with a ‘Yah’ and ends with a ‘oo’ and is worth $44.6 Billion dollars? Yahoo, of course! That’s billion with a B – no wonder their commercial screams YYYYYAAAAHHHHOOOOO! According to: NEW YORK (Reuters) – Technology giant Microsoft Corp said on Friday that it had offered to acquire Internet media company Yahoo Inc for $44.6 billion in cash and stock. Look out Google, big bad Microsoft is coming to get ya – (hoo)!

Rumor – Not so fast, Mr. Gates! The rumor is: Apple, InterActiveCorp, and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp are believed to be considering rival bids for Yahoo as well.

The Gadget of the Week – Sharing is caring. Straight from their website:miShare is a smart little gadget for sharing files and playlists between iPods. No computer or cable is needed, and it’s super easy to use. Just attach the source and target iPods and press miShare’s big button to start the transfer. It’s nice to share.

Tip – Do you have a Mac and your PC buddies keep sending you WMV files that you can’t watch? Suffer no more, my friends. Check out flip4mac.com for a free download and now you too can watch that skateboarding dog through your Quicktime player! It also lets you play Windows media using the Safari web browser. There are a few upgrades that can be purchased if needed.

If you have any techy, geeky, nerdy, or gadgety news, reviews, tips or tricks – Let us know and we can share them with the world. Send them to: aGEEKspot at Gmail dot com