Camtasia 2019

By wnewquay

I have been using Camtasia forever, well since 2004. I have used it for screen videos to for post secondary education, and to edit and produce instructional videos for audio equipment. Some of these have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Sure, it’s not like they’ve gone viral, but they have proved their value.

When Camtasia 2019 was announced, the first thing I noticed was the Auto-Normalize Audio Loudness feature (see detail below).  In the videos I produce for audio equipment, my audience is extremely discerning (and critical) about the audio track in the videos they are watching. I usually export the audio, re-master it in other tools, and bring it back in to Camtasia. The critical step is to normalize the audio loudness. With Camtasia 2019, I should be able to do that within the product.

If you are building video presentations, you need to check out Camtasia 2019.

https://www.techsmith.com/video-editor.html

 

 

Camtasia 2019 new features:

Automatic audio leveling

Your videos will sound better than ever, no matter how many audio files you add to the timeline with Automatic Audio Leveling. Camtasia 2019 automatically adjusts your audio tracks so that you have consistent levels in every video project.

Mouse cursor smoothing

The new Cursor Smoothing effect, will make mouse movements clean and easy-to-follow. Now you can instantly smooth out your mouse cursor movements in your screen recordings.

Editable keyboard shortcuts

We’ve added ten times the customizable keyboard shortcuts in Camtasia 2019. These shortcuts make it easy to personalize your workflow with settings that are familiar to you.

Support for themes with logos or other images

Themes in Camtasia 2019 have been updated so you can now include your own images or logos. Easily apply it to one of the editable video assets for an impactful, consistently branded video.

Other features include new device frames, a new Whip Spin transition, a block text style for annotations and callouts, support for importing PDFs, and more. Camtasia 2019 is available in the following languages: English, German, French, and Japanese.

Surface Book 2 15″

By wnewquay

Surface Book 13.5 and 15

I just got the Surface Book 2. I was waiting for the 15″ and for the right time to switch from my Surface Book with Performance Base.  I got the original Surface Book as soon as it was available.  It was a great machine, and the unit with the Performance Base gave me more battery life. But that was about all I really noticed between the two units.  The Surface Book 2 is a big step up.

I was ready for the 15″ screen. After a few days with the bigger unit, I’m pleased with the larger view and I don’t mind a little extra weight.

The battery life for the Clipboard (Tablet) alone should be over three hours. I’m getting similar run time out of my aging Surface Pro 3.  I’ll still keep it around though. It’s great to use it on my desk for taking notes in OneNote during meetings.  I just don’t need to use it as a portable device. Amazingly, the Surface Book 2 15″ Clipboard is 817 grams compared to 12″ screen at 800 grams for the Surface Pro 3.

I’m also impressed with the pen tilt capability, despite having to buy a new pen to get it. You can test it out in Windows Ink Workspace – SketchPad.

Use the Pencil tool and check it out.

Here’s great article about
Surface Pro Pen Compatibility/Interoperability.

More in a few days after I’ve put some miles on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surface Book Performance Base

By wnewquay

Through a surprising set of circumstances I ended up replacing my Surface Book (512 GB / Intel Core i7 / – 16 DB / dGPU) with a new Surface Book with Performance Base (same specifications for the rest).

I thought there was something funny about the screen on my 16 month old Surface Book.  I noticed a yellow tinge about 1/2” in from the edge, all the way around. It was most noticeable against a white background.

Fortunately, I had everything backed up when I took it in to the Microsoft Store.  I talked to the support person about the discolouration. He looked at it, brought someone else over to look at it, the he held up the clipboard (screen only part)  at eye-level, parallel to the floor. 

image
— stock picture of the clipboard–

We could all see that it was bulging in the middle.  Okay, so the diagnosis was instant. The battery was failing.

Surface_Book_Home_1_HeroFullBleed_V1[1]

They decided to swap out the unit for a new one on the spot. The better news for me, they only had a Surface Book with Performance Base.  I paid the difference and walked away with a new machine. Of course, I had to install all my desktop applications again but 24 hours later, I’m pretty much functional.

I’m interested to see how much I’ll notice the difference with the Performance Base.

See: A Guided Tour of the Surface Book with Performance Base

Outlook Hanging with Surface

By wnewquay

After months of struggling with Outlook hanging up inexplicably I found something that looks really promising.  I had thought it was because I’m connecting to several Exchange servers.  It was particularly bad if I switched between the Mail and Calendar windows after Outlook had been running for awhile. My solution was to open up my Calendar in a second window as soon as I opened Outlook, but that was really tedious to have to remember to switch windows instead of using the shortcuts at the bottom left of the Outlook window.

Check this out;   File | Options | Advanced – Disable hardware graphics acceleration.

image

http://www.thirdtier.net/2016/05/outlook-2016-not-responding-solved/

What’s the difference between OneNote and OneNote 2016

By wnewquay

I’m a huge fan of OneNote and I use both versions. I came across this article that should help if you use OneNote, or are considering it. If not… Why NOT?

What’s the difference between OneNote and OneNote 2016

OneNote 2016 (as well as OneNote 2010 and 2013) comes with the Office suite and is available as a free download from www.onenote.com. However, you might have noticed another version of OneNote on your Windows 10 device that’s simply called “OneNote.” This new app, built from the ground-up, works great with any PC, tablet, or smartphone running Windows 10.

Screenshot of the Windows Start menu with OneNote and OneNote 2016.

Read the full article

Windows 10 Free Upgrade Offer to End Soon (July 29 2016)

By wnewquay

Watch this video as Brian Roper explains why you want to upgrade to Windows 10 NOW. And if you’re holding off, remember that it’s only free until July 29th.

https://youtu.be/wVo9Vdpk23g

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Published on May 5, 2016

Windows 10 is the best version of Windows yet, and is now running on 300 million active devices. Watch Bryan Roper from the Windows team run through the 10 top reasons to upgrade to Windows 10 – before the free upgrade offer ends on July 29th.

http://windows.com

May Updates for Surface Book

By wnewquay

May 2016 updates

The following updates will be listed when you check for updates in Windows or view your Windows update history after installing the updates:

  • Intel Corporation driver update for Intel(R) AVStream Camera 2500
  • Intel Corporation driver update for Intel(R) Control Logic
  • Intel Corporation driver update for Intel(R) CSI2 Host Controller
  • Intel driver update for Intel(R) Imaging Signal Processor 2500
  • Intel Corporation driver update for Microsoft Camera Front
  • Intel Corporation driver update for Microsoft Camera Rear
  • Intel Corporation driver update for Microsoft IR Camera Front

When Surface updates are provided via the Windows Update service, they are delivered in stages to Surface customers. As a result, not every Surface will receive the update at the same time, but the update will be delivered to all devices. If you have not received the update then please manually check Windows Update later.

  • Surface Camera drivers set (v30.10586.7035.1976, driver date 4/21/2016) improves Windows Hello stability.
  • Intel(R) AVStream Camera 2500 driver update (v30.10586.7035.1976)
  • Intel(R) Control Logic driver update (v30.10586.7035.1976)
  • Intel(R) CSI2 Host Controller driver update (v30.10586.7035.1976)
  • Intel(R) Imaging Signal Processor 2500 driver update (v30.10586.7035.1976)
  • Microsoft Camera Front driver update (v30.10586.7035.1976)
  • Microsoft Camera Rear driver update (v30.10586.7035.1976)
  • Microsoft IR Camera Front driver update (v30.10586.7035.1976)

For other models see: Install Surface and Windows Updates