Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Facebook Privacy

Penn's department of Audit, Compliance, & Security has created some guidance for managing your privacy on Facebook. Check out their video below, or visit their page for additional info.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Final Cut Pro X

The lab now supports both Final Cut Pro 7 and Final Cut Pro X. We are not encouraging people to use Final Cut Pro X because it has several drawbacks, but it is in the application folder in the lab if you would like to try it out and see what you think. If you are just catching up on the FCPX hoop-la here are some of the programs pluses and drawbacks:
+FCPX+
GOOD:
-If you know iMovie, you will be seeing a more familiar layout that the previous version

-Most, if not all, of the rendering will happen in the background while you work. No more coffee breaks while you wait for your video to be ready.

-Auto-align for matching multiple audio tracks of the same source.

BAD:
-No support for any projects of previous versions of FCP.

-Different interface than previous versions

-Doesn't transfer between multiple machines with ease

Connecting to AirPennNet

Trouble with AirPennNet? SAS Computing is holding a wireless setup fair in WIC TONIGHT (9/15) from 5 - 7pm.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

CS 5.5

It's a new school year and we've got new tools in the media lab. So welcome students and welcome Adobe CS 5.5.

So why the 5.5 upgrade? Why not a full step up to CS6? Well, CS6 is still a ways away. For now Abobe is placing a big focus on broad, multiplatform mobile content development with this release, using with the latest standards. And if you work with video, you’ll notice sweeping performance enhancements in CS 5.5 that enable you to work faster. These upgrades actually don't even effect all of the Creative Suite programs. The CS5 tools not revisioned to CS5.5 are Photoshop (Extended), Illustrator, Fireworks, and Contribute.

Here's an article that describes what's new in each product in great detail. It's a lot of words, but it pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Better yet, come to the lab and see for yourself what's new.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Time Magazine Beyond 9/11 Project

Time Magazine has put up this incredible site:
It uses photos and video shot by Marco Grob to create a substantial mosaic of stories from September 11th and the 10 years that followed. The imagery is almost all in black and white, and the site is beautiful in its design and simplicity. It collects stories from a diverse group of leaders, survivors, rescuers, and fighters into a spanning interactive space. Some of the interviews will really bring you back to that day, and some may bring a tear to your eye. So if you are emotionally prepared, take a look.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Chase Irwin: Blowing Your Mind

Hopefully by you've seen the new library publication, "Ten Things About the Penn Libraries That Will Blow Your Mind." If not, we have a few sitting on the table near the door. It features our very own Chase Irwin, as the person whose mind is about to be blown, photographed by yours truly, and designed in large part by Jesse Turnbull. Chase graduated in May, so he won't be with us much longer as a lab consultant, but it's good to see he's going out with a bang.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

September Workshops

Please check out and share our September calendar!

Upcoming are:

  • Wordpress, Wed. Sept. 7, 1:30 to 3 pm
  • Excel Charts and Graphs, Thurs. Sept. 8, 1:30 to 3 pm
  • Excel Basics, Sat. Sept. 10, 2 to 3:30 pm
  • BlackBoard Basics, Tues. Sept. 13, 1 to 2:30 pm
  • PhotoShop Basics, Wed. Sept. 14, 10 am to Noon
  • Social Media 101, Wed. Sept. 14, 2 to 3:30 pm
  • From Assignments to References: Planning your Semester, Wed. Sept. 14, 5 to 6 pm - Presented by Weingarten Learning Resources Center (VPUL)
  • Google Sites, Thurs. Sept. 15, 10:30 am to Noon
  • What's New in Office 2010, Thurs. Sept. 15, 2 to 3:30 pm
  • PowerPoint Animations, Mon. Sept. 19, 10 to 10:30 am
  • RefWorks, Tues. Sept. 20, 10 to 11:30 am
  • iMovie, Wed. Sept. 21, 10:30 am to Noon
  • Mathematica - Special Vendor Presentation, Thurs. Sept. 22, 9 am to 1:30 pm
  • Prezi, Thurs. Sept. 22, 10 to 11:30 am
  • Embed Video in PowerPoint, Fri. Sept. 23, 11 to 11:30 am
  • Google Productivity Boost, Fri. Sept. 23, 11 am to Noon

All workshops are open to Penn students, faculty, and staff unless otherwise noted. Registration and details: http://wic.library.upenn.edu/wicshops/

I am the Robot

By now you've probably seen the utterly fantastic t-shirt that our very own Jesse Turnbull designed for the library's freshman social. Something you probably didn't know, however, is that *I* am the robot. OK, technically I just posed for the reference photo, so I'm not all that recognizeable in the final image, but as you can see, I was totally the inspiration.