<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>mthomas.co.uk</title>
	<atom:link href="http://mthomas.co.uk/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://mthomas.co.uk</link>
	<description>My little space on the Internet where I can reflect, review and share my knowledge...</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:48:14 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>Spreadsheet Tip: Calculating the end date of a loan or project</title>
		<link>http://mthomas.co.uk/spreadsheet-tip-calculating-the-end-date-of-a-loan-or-project/</link>
		<comments>http://mthomas.co.uk/spreadsheet-tip-calculating-the-end-date-of-a-loan-or-project/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:46:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Thomas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Tutorials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[EDATE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Excel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spreadsheet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mthomas.co.uk/?p=1314</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Not only do spreadsheets excel at calculating numbers, they can also calculate dates too. Imagine that you have taken out a 6-month loan and you want to know when it will be paid off (assuming that it is 6 calendar months from the loan start date) or maybe you have been assigned a project which [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><!-- Start ScreenSteps Content --></p>
<div class="LessonContent">
<div class="LessonSummary">
<p>Not only do spreadsheets excel at calculating numbers, they can also calculate dates too. Imagine that you have taken out a 6-month loan and you want to know when it will be paid off (assuming that it is 6 calendar months from the loan start date) or maybe you have been assigned a project which must be completed on a certain date.</p>
<p><span id="more-1314"></span></p>
<p>You know that it will take you exactly 6 months to complete the project so you need to know when to start.</p>
<p>The <strong>EDATE</strong> function, which can be used in most spreadsheet applications including Excel, Numbers and Google Spreadsheets, as well as open source applications such as Libre Office and Open Office will calculate the date that is a defined number of months away from another date. </p>
<p>The structure of the function is <strong>=EDATE(date,months)</strong></p>
</p></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Example 1: A Loan</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Example_1_A_Loan.png" width="406" height="183" alt="Example_1_A_Loan.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>Imagine that you have taken out a 6 month loan starting on 4th May 2012. The formula in B5 will calculate when the loan will be paid off (assuming that it is 6 calendar months from the loan start date). </p>
<p>The formula in B5 is <strong>=EDATE(B3,B4)</strong></p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Example 2: A Project</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Example_2_A_Project.png" width="406" height="183" alt="Example_2_A_Project.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>You have been assigned a project which must be completed on 8th October 2012. You know that it will take you exactly 6 months to complete the project so you need to know when to start the project. </p>
<p>The formula in B5 is <strong>=EDATE(B3,-B4)</strong>. </p>
<p>The second parameter (or argument as it&#8217;s known) is a negative and therefore subtracts 6 months from the date in B3.</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Excel: Analysis TookPak Add-In</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Excel_Analysis_TookPak_Add-In.png" width="282" height="363" alt="Excel_Analysis_TookPak_Add-In.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>Note that if you are using Excel 2003 or earlier you have to install the Analysis ToolPak add-in otherwise the result of the EDATE function will display as <strong>#NAME</strong>.  </p>
<p>To install the add-in, select <strong>Tools</strong> &gt; <strong>AddIns</strong> and tick <strong>Analysis ToolPak</strong> in the Add-ins dialog box</p>
</div></div>
</p></div>
<p><!-- End ScreenSteps Content --></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://mthomas.co.uk/spreadsheet-tip-calculating-the-end-date-of-a-loan-or-project/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>FREE Webinar: Balance Your Budget The Easy Way</title>
		<link>http://mthomas.co.uk/free-webinar-balance-your-budget-the-easy-way/</link>
		<comments>http://mthomas.co.uk/free-webinar-balance-your-budget-the-easy-way/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:06:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Thomas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Webinars]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mthomas.co.uk/?p=1291</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Thursday 12th January I&#8217;m delivering a webinar on behalf of MacBitesLearning. In the webinar, which is called Balance Your Budget The Easy Way, I&#8217;ll be taking a look at how to create budgets in both Excel and Numbers. Whether it’s a wedding, the monthly shopping or the purchase of a new item such as [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On Thursday 12th January I&#8217;m delivering a webinar on behalf of <a href="http://macbiteslearning.co.uk" target="_blank">MacBitesLearning</a>. In the webinar, which is called <i>Balance Your Budget The Easy Way</i>, I&#8217;ll be taking a look at how to create budgets in both Excel and Numbers.</p>
<p><span id="more-1291"></span></p>
<p>Whether it’s a wedding, the monthly shopping or the purchase of a new item such as a car or computer, keeping within your budget is essential to the success of “the project”. Whether you use Excel, Numbers or something else, spreadsheet expert Mike Thomas will show you how to balance your budget and keep everything on track. So please join us and see just how seductive spreadsheeting can be.</p>
<p><img src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/wedding_planner.png" alt="Wedding Planner" title="Wedding Planner" width="500" height="270" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1292" /></p>
<p>The webinar starts at 8:00pm UK time and will last around an hour. Although it&#8217;s free, in order for us to track attendance we request that you obtain a ticket from here: <a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2632077615" target="_blank">http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2632077615</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://mthomas.co.uk/free-webinar-balance-your-budget-the-easy-way/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Manchester United Play at Outdated Trafford!</title>
		<link>http://mthomas.co.uk/manchester-united-play-at-outdated-trafford/</link>
		<comments>http://mthomas.co.uk/manchester-united-play-at-outdated-trafford/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:55:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Thomas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mikes Musings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mthomas.co.uk/?p=1269</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Whilst reading Zite, my favourite iPad magazine app, yesterday, I came across an article in the Manchester United section. As I started reading it, I realised that it had been translated into English using translation software. The result, whilst hilarious, goes to show that the only way to properly translate is to ask a human [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Whilst reading <a href="http://mthomas.co.uk/zite-personalised-magazine-app-for-ipad-and-iphone/">Zite</a>, my favourite iPad magazine app, yesterday, I came across an article in the Manchester United section. As I started reading it, I realised that it had been translated into English using translation software. The result, whilst hilarious, goes to show that the only way to properly translate is to ask a human being to do it.</p>
<p><span id="more-1269"></span></p>
<p>The following is the first few sentences of the article:</p>
<p>Man Utd is one of the massive four in British Top Group that located in Stansted. This football team is based on Outdated Trafford or often known as The Theatre OF Desire. Manchester United was Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Team in 1878, the club transformed its title to Man Utd in 1902 and gone after Old Trafford in 1910. </p>
<p>Manchester United is the most successful soccer team in Uk sports, that having 19 Language Group titles, 11 FA Cups , 4 Category Mugs and also 2 Champion League Glasses in 1999 and 2008. Each year, most of the football team alter their hat and Manchester United among them. Manchester United shirt is still domination of red color for property jersey and glowing blue , black or whitened for absent shirt. The small remains white and black along with the objective keeper nonetheless use yellowish shade for house jacket.</p>
<p><img src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/old-trafford.jpeg" alt="old trafford" title="old trafford" width="259" height="194" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1270" /></p>
<p>So what should it say? Well this is my &#8220;best guess&#8221;&#8230;</p>
<p>Man Utd is one of the Big Four in the English Premier League, located in Stretford. This football team is based at Old Trafford, often known as The Theatre of Dreams. Manchester United was founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Team in 1878, the club changed its name to Man Utd in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910. </p>
<p>Manchester United is the most successful soccer team in UK sports, having 19 League Championship titles, 11 FA Cups, 4 League Cups and also 2 Champions League Trophies in 1999 and 2008. Each year, most football teams change their kit and Manchester United is among them. Manchester United shirt is still mainly red for the home jersey and glowing blue, black or white for away shirt. The shorts remains white and black and the goalkeeper&#8217;s shirt is a yellowish shade for home matches.</p>
<p>Original article: http://www.nowebpatents.com/man-utd-shirt/</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://mthomas.co.uk/manchester-united-play-at-outdated-trafford/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Mike&#8217;s MacBites Magic Gluten Free Flapjack</title>
		<link>http://mthomas.co.uk/mikes-macbites-magic-gluten-free-flapjack/</link>
		<comments>http://mthomas.co.uk/mikes-macbites-magic-gluten-free-flapjack/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:52:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Thomas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mikes Musings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mthomas.co.uk/?p=1258</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I recently announced on MacBites that Saturday is flapjack-making day at MacBites HQ. I&#8217;ve posted the recipe over on the MacBites site.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I recently announced on <a href="http://macbites.co.uk">MacBites</a> that Saturday is flapjack-making day at MacBites HQ. I&#8217;ve posted the recipe over on the <a href="http://macbites.co.uk/mikes-macbites-magic-gluten-free-flapjack" target="_blank">MacBites site</a>.</p>
<p><span id="more-1258"></span></p>
<p><img src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/flapjacks.png" alt="flapjacks" title="flapjacks" width="500" height="306" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1259" /></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://mthomas.co.uk/mikes-macbites-magic-gluten-free-flapjack/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>FlipBoard – Personalised Magazine App for iPad and iPhone</title>
		<link>http://mthomas.co.uk/flipboard-personalised-magazine-app-for-ipad-and-iphone/</link>
		<comments>http://mthomas.co.uk/flipboard-personalised-magazine-app-for-ipad-and-iphone/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:39:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Thomas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mthomas.co.uk/?p=1237</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[FlipBoard is a free &#8220;digital magazine&#8221; app for the iPad and now the iPhone which aggregates news and stories from a whole range of websites. Whether your interests lie in tech, business, travel, general news, sports, entertainment or style, there&#8217;ll be something for you in this app. By linking FlipBoard to services such as Twitter, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>FlipBoard is a free &#8220;digital magazine&#8221; app for the iPad and now the iPhone which aggregates news and stories from a whole range of websites. </p>
<p><span id="more-1237"></span></p>
<p>Whether your interests lie in tech, business, travel, general news, sports, entertainment or style, there&#8217;ll be something for you in this app. By linking FlipBoard to services such as Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Google Reader and Flickr, the app will display whatever content and stories your friends and followers are sharing.</p>
<p>To move from page to page, you swipe your finger across the iPad screen and FlipBoard turns the page with an &#8220;animated flip&#8221; (hence the name of the app). The iPhone app works in a similar way, except that you swipe up and down rather than left and right.</p>
<p><img src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/flipboard1.png" alt="flipboard" title="flipboard" width="500" height="375" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1239" /></p>
<p>One feature that is unique to the iPhone version (it&#8217;s coming to the iPad soon) is Cover Stories, which displays stories that Flipboard’s algorithms determine are most relevant to you. The feature, &#8220;learns&#8221; with use, very much like Zite.</p>
<p>FlipBoard is free and is available from the <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/flipboard/id358801284?mt=8">App Store</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://mthomas.co.uk/flipboard-personalised-magazine-app-for-ipad-and-iphone/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Zite &#8211; Personalised Magazine App for iPad and iPhone</title>
		<link>http://mthomas.co.uk/zite-personalised-magazine-app-for-ipad-and-iphone/</link>
		<comments>http://mthomas.co.uk/zite-personalised-magazine-app-for-ipad-and-iphone/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:39:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Thomas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mthomas.co.uk/?p=1219</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This week saw the release of the iPhone version of Zite, a free "personalized" magazine app which was originally released for the iPad]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This week saw the release of the iPhone version of Zite, a free &#8220;personalized&#8221; magazine app which was originally released for the iPad. I reviewed the iPad version of the app back in <a href="http://macbites.co.uk/macbites-episode-0054/">episode 54 of MacBites</a>. </p>
<p><span id="more-1219"></span></p>
<p>For anyone who missed the review, Zite trawls through hundreds of thousands of news sites and blogs, looking for stories that it thinks you will find interesting. As Zite themselves, say &#8220;Your Zite magazine is compiled using automated algorithms that find and deliver articles that have buzz: that is, they&#8217;re being discussed on websites, blogs, and popular social media services. Your content isn&#8217;t chosen by a person&#8221;.</p>
<p><img src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/zite.jpeg" alt="zite" title="zite" width="500" height="129" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1223" /></p>
<p>Just like paper-based magazines and newspapers, the app contains &#8220;Sections&#8221;. Tap the Customize tab to display a list of Sections which includes Sports, Tech News, Film and TV, Cooking, Business, World News. Tapping the name of a Section in this list adds it to &#8220;your&#8221; magazine. Typing a keyword into the &#8220;Enter your own&#8221; box offers up more Sections which allows you to further customize Zite.</p>
<p>Although Zite uses complex algorithms to decide what stories and articles to deliver, it also uses activity on your Twitter, Google Reader. Delicious and Read It Later accounts to help it to figure out what topics you’re interested in (this bit is optional &#8211; if you don&#8217;t use any of these services you can still use Zite). It also analyzes your use of the app over time to fine-tune its story selections. For example, if you tap the &#8220;thumbs up&#8221; icon in the Sidebar next to an article or you share an article on Twitter, Facebook or via email, Zite will, in the future, provide you with more articles of a similar nature. </p>
<p>In my case, I entered only my Twitter name into the Configuration settings and Zite generated a list of Sections that included Mac News, Social Media, Technology and iPad &#8211; pretty accurate I&#8217;d say! I manually added Food &#038; Cooking and Manchester United.</p>
<p>Each Section consists of several pages with each page containing several stories. To navigate through the pages, simply swipe your finger across the iPad screen. To load a story (you only see the first paragraph or two of each story plus an image) just tap on it. </p>
<p><img src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/zite1.png" alt="zite" title="zite" width="500" height="375" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1227" /></p>
<p>To select a different Section, tap on its name from the Sections from the list on the right hand side. If you want to amend your Sections or add/remove a &#8220;service&#8221; (Twitter, Google Reader, etc), click the Customize button.</p>
<h3>Profiles</h3>
<p>Do you have Zite on multiple devices? Does more than 1 person use Zite on your iPad? If so you should take advantage of the Profiles functionality now offered by Zite. Profiles allow you to 1) sync your preferences (selected Sections, Twitter and other Service accounts and even the intelligent &#8216;learning&#8217;) across devices and 2) allow multiple people to use Zite on a single device where each person can have the app configured independently so it really is YOUR content.</p>
<p>If you have Zite on an iPad, tap the Save Profile button at the top left and then click Save. To create a Profile, enter your name, email address and create a password. The current configuration is saved to this Profile. The Save Profile button is now replaced with a button containing the &#8216;Name&#8217; that was entered when the Profile was created.</p>
<p>To create another Profile, tap the Profile button, tap New Profile and repeat the steps above. At this point you are logged in as &#8216;user2&#8242;, so define your Sections, Twitter account etc.</p>
<p>To login as another user (where the Profile has already been created), tap the Profile button and select from a list of Profiles (these are Profiles that are stored on the device) or tap the Log In button and enter another username and password.</p>
<p>If you don&#8217;t have an iPad or you haven&#8217;t created a Profile on the iPad but want to use Zite on the iPhone, the first time you run Zite on the iPhone, you are asked if you have already set up Zite on another device. Click No, then set up your Content preferences (i.e. choose your Sections and optionally configure your Twitter account). </p>
<p>You can create a Profile at any time on the iPhone, however, note that the iPhone doesn&#8217;t support multiple Profiles because, according to Zite Support, &#8220;not many people share iPhones&#8221;.</p>
<p><img src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_1266.png" alt="Zite" title="Zite" width="200" height="300" class="alignright" /></p>
<p>When I ran the app for the first time on the iPhone, I answered Yes to the question &#8220;Have you already set up Zite on another device&#8221; because in my mind, I had set up Zite on another device. I was using it on my iPad but I didn&#8217;t actually have a Zite profile as they didn&#8217;t exist when I first installed Zite on the iPad. I was presented with a sign-in screen to sign in using my Profile. As I&#8217;d not created a Profile I had to tap Cancel, then tap No.</p>
<p>Later on, I created my Profile on the iPad (because I was on the iPad at the time I thought about creating a Profile). The problem I then faced was that when I wanted to login to my Profile on the iPhone (to sync content and settings across devices), there was no way to do this. The only option on the iPhone is to create a Profile &#8211; there is no way to login with an existing Profile.</p>
<p>I contacted Zite Support who advised that I uninstall and re-install Zite and when I run it, it will act as if it&#8217;s a &#8216;first run&#8217; and ask if I have Zite set up on another device. I should tap Yes and then enter the username and password that I setup on the iPad.</p>
<p>Not really a satisfactory way of working, that you can&#8217;t log in to your Profile on the iPhone unless you do it the first time that you run the app. If I get any further with Support, I&#8217;ll report back.</p>
<p>All in all, an excellent pair of apps which are both available for free from the <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/zite-personalized-magazine/id419752338?mt=8" title="Zite" target="_blank">App Store</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://mthomas.co.uk/zite-personalised-magazine-app-for-ipad-and-iphone/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>iPad/iPhone &#8211; The &#8220;Open In&#8221; Menu Limitation</title>
		<link>http://mthomas.co.uk/ipadiphone-the-open-in-menu-limitation/</link>
		<comments>http://mthomas.co.uk/ipadiphone-the-open-in-menu-limitation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:30:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Thomas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mikes Musings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mthomas.co.uk/?p=1203</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Saturday I uploaded a file to my Dropbox from my Mac. The next morning, whilst out with Meyer (our dog), I wanted to review and edit said file so I opened the Dropbox app on my iPhone and tapped on the file to open it. Dropbox opens files in read-only mode and as I [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On Saturday I uploaded a file to my <a href="http://db.tt/KoEA7wj">Dropbox</a> from my Mac. The next morning, whilst out with Meyer (our dog), I wanted to review and edit said file so I opened the Dropbox app on my iPhone and tapped on the file to open it.</p>
<p><span id="more-1203"></span></p>
<p>Dropbox opens files in read-only mode and as I wanted to edit the file, I tapped the &#8220;Open In&#8221; icon at the bottom right of the screen.</p>
<p><img src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_1050.png" alt="iPhone/iPad Open In" title="iPhone/iPad Open In" width="250" height="375" /></p>
<p>This displays a list of installed apps that can open/edit the file (this list differs depending upon the type of file selected). The app that I wanted to use, which I knew was installed on the iPhone, was not listed.</p>
<p><img src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_1053.png" alt="iPad/iPhone – The “Open In” Menu Limitation" title="iPad/iPhone – The “Open In” Menu Limitation" width="250" height="375" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1215" /></p>
<p>I checked the settings and preferences for both Dropbox and the app in question but there was nothing that I could configure that was related to my issue.</p>
<p>I mentioned it to Elaine and she checked her iPhone and iPad and asked how many apps I had listed. I had 10 apps listed in the Open In list, the same as she did.</p>
<p>After doing some digging around forums, I found the answer. The Open In list on both the iPad and iPhone is limited to displaying 10 apps. There is no logic as to which are displayed, but I suspect that it&#8217;s based on most recently installed. The answer that was suggested by others in the forums was to uninstall apps one at a time until the desired app appeared and then re-install the apps you had uninstalled.</p>
<p>However, I see two problems with this &#8211; one is that as you re-install apps they will be added back to the Open In menu and the app you really want on the menu will be &#8220;pushed off&#8221; and the other is that because apps have to run in their own sandbox, when you uninstall an app, any data that is stored &#8220;inside&#8221; the app will be deleted from the iDevice.</p>
<p>There was unfortunately, no solution to my problem. I had to wait until I returned home to edit my document on my Mac.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://mthomas.co.uk/ipadiphone-the-open-in-menu-limitation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Watching Live TV on an iPad or iPhone</title>
		<link>http://mthomas.co.uk/watching-live-tv-on-an-ipad-or-iphone/</link>
		<comments>http://mthomas.co.uk/watching-live-tv-on-an-ipad-or-iphone/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:22:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Thomas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mthomas.co.uk/?p=1185</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Most people that I know own at least 1 television set and these days it&#8217;s usually a wall-mounted plasma of at least 40 inches. When I watch TV it really is &#8220;on the small screen&#8221;. All my viewing is done on my MacBook Pro or my iPad or iPhone. Connected to my MacBook Pro I [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Most people that I know own at least 1 television set and these days it&#8217;s usually a wall-mounted plasma of at least 40 inches. When I watch TV it really is &#8220;on the small screen&#8221;. All my viewing is done on my MacBook Pro or my iPad or iPhone.</p>
<p><span id="more-1185"></span></p>
<p>Connected to my MacBook Pro I have an <a href="http://www.elgato.com/elgato/int/mainmenu/products/tuner/DTT08/product1.en.html">Elgato EyeTV DTT</a>, a USB TV tuner/recorder. I usually have the app&#8217;s window sized to about 6 inches, though if there&#8217;s something exciting on I might hit the &#8220;Enter Full Screen&#8221; key! </p>
<p>In addition to allowing me to watch and record live TV, it comes with software that converts the proprietary .eyetv files (generated when you record a programme) to various formats including M4V &#8211; which means that I can watch the recording on an iPhone or iPad.</p>
<p>There is also an <a href="http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/software/EyeTV-app.en.html">EyeTV app</a> for the iPhone and iPad which allows you to, amongst other things, stream live TV to your device. </p>
<p>As long as your iPad/iPhone is connected to the same WiFi network as your Mac(s), when you run the app it displays a list of all Macs on your network that have the EyeTV software installed. Tap the name of the Mac whose TV you want to stream. If the EyeTV software is not running on the Mac that you select, it asks if you want to start the EyeTV running.</p>
<p><img src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/eyetv1.png" alt="Elgato EyeTV" title="Elgato EyeTV" width="300" height="225" class="alignleft" /></p>
<p>From the menu on the left, you can choose whether to watch live TV, watch a programme that you have previously recorded, display a list of future programmes that are scheduled for recording on the Mac (you can cancel recordings from here too) and view the channel guide (where you can also set a programme to be recorded) on the eyeTV on the Mac.</p>
<p>To watch live TV, simply tap the channel that you want to watch. If you have the EyeTV running on your Mac, the Mac will be tuned to the selected channel (so be careful if someone else is watching on the Mac!). </p>
<p>If you want to watch an EyeTV recording on your iPad/iPhone, it has to be &#8220;prepared&#8221;. This is done by right-clicking on the recording in the Mac version of the EyeTV app and selecting &#8220;Prepare for iPhone access&#8221;. This process doesn&#8217;t convert the file to an M4V. It remains an .eyetv file but is now playable (as a streaming file from the Mac) on an iPhone and iPad (although the command is &#8220;Prepare for iPhone&#8221;, it plays full screen on an iPad, not at 2x)*.</p>
<p><img src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/eyetv2.png" alt="Elgato EyeTV" title="Elgato EyeTV" width="300" height="225" class="alignright" /></p>
<p>A small issue that I had recently was a problem with the audio. The volume was set to maximum on the iPad itself (using the volume switch on the side). </p>
<p>However, when I double-clicked the Home button to bring up the list of currently running apps and swiped my finger to the right to display the volume controls, I found the mute was turned on. </p>
<p>Simply tapping the volume icon turned off the mute and restored the sound.</p>
<p>The EyeTV app is available from the <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/eyetv/id329886711?mt=8">iTunes Store</a> and costs £2.99 / $4.99</p>
<p>*Thanks to <a href="http://elainegiles.co.uk">Elaine Giles</a> for this tip&#8230;the .eyetv file that is created when a recording is created is actually a package. If you right-click on the file in Finder and select Show Package Contents, you will see a number of files including a .mpg. This is the actual video file. When you prepare an EyeTV recording for iPhone access, an extra file is added to the Package. This file is an M4V. As well as this being the file that is streamed to your iPhone/iPad, courtesy of the EyeTV app, you can play it directly on your Mac or copy it to your iPhone and play it with an appropriate app such as VLC.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://mthomas.co.uk/watching-live-tv-on-an-ipad-or-iphone/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Installing Lion in VMWare Fusion 3</title>
		<link>http://mthomas.co.uk/installing-lion-in-vmware-fusion-3/</link>
		<comments>http://mthomas.co.uk/installing-lion-in-vmware-fusion-3/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:14:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Thomas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Tutorials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Virtual Machine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[VMWare Fusion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mthomas.co.uk/?p=1167</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve not yet &#34;upgraded&#34; my 17 inch MacBook Pro (my &#34;main machine&#34; as I call it) to Lion. There&#8217;s a number of reasons for this &#8211; too many to go into here, but I think it&#8217;s probably a case of if it ain&#8217;t broke then don&#8217;t fix it. I know I&#8217;m going to have to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><!-- Start ScreenSteps Content --></p>
<div class="LessonContent">
<div class="LessonSummary">
<p>I&#8217;ve not yet &quot;upgraded&quot; my 17 inch MacBook Pro (my &quot;main machine&quot; as I call it) to Lion. There&#8217;s a number of reasons for this &#8211; too many to go into here, but I think it&#8217;s probably a case of if it ain&#8217;t broke then don&#8217;t fix it. I know I&#8217;m going to have to do it sooner or later as at some point they&#8217;ll be some software that I can&#8217;t live without that will only work on Lion. But for the moment my Lion experience is limited to my 13 inch MacBook which was upgraded the day that the new OS was launched. </p>
<p><span id="more-1167"></span></p>
<p>The MacBook is 4 years old and runs like a lame dog. It always has done to be honest. There&#8217;s no way I could seriously use Final Cut or Photoshop on it for example. It does have VMWare Fusion installed but if I want to run my Vista VM or my Windows 7 VM, forget it. I installed Lion on it, &quot;because I&#8217;m an Apple Geek&quot; and because I didn&#8217;t want to be left out. I&#8217;d already gone on record at the MacBites Live event when Lion was demo&#8217;d and also on MacBites episode 51 as saying that there was nothing in it for me.</p>
<p>However, it&#8217;s always handy to have an installation of Lion to tinker with plus, as a Podcast Host, I regularly have to check out some piece of software which no doubt will come with a 30-day trial at the end of which I&#8217;ll have to either buy it or remove it. So I decided the way forward was to create a Lion VM. The problem was that VMWare Fusion 3 (version 4 has just been released but at the time of writing I haven&#8217;t bought it) doesn&#8217;t support Lion as a Guest OS. Although Parallels 7 does allow you to create a VM with Lion as the Guest OS, it is activated and costs &pound;35 a seat and although you are supposed to be able to convert Fusion VM&#8217;s to Parallels (I have 7 VM&#8217;s), I&#8217;m never quite sure how well that works.</p>
<p>Well I was in luck &#8211; it turns out that you can create a VM with Lion as the Guest OS using Fusion 3. However, there was a lot of terminal hacking. Here&#8217;s how to do it&#8230;</p>
</p></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Create a blank disk image</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wpid1157-Create_a_blank_disk_image.png" width="500" height="433" alt="wpid1157-Create_a_blank_disk_image.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>Using Disk Utility, create a new image. To do this, select <strong>File</strong> &gt; <strong>New</strong> &gt; <strong>Blank Disk Image</strong>.</p>
<p>Name: MyInstaller &#8211; you can name it whatever you want, but be sure to modify the steps below accordingly.<br />
Size: 5 GB (tip &#8211; use the Custom option)<br />
Format: Mac OS X Extended<br />
Encryption: none<br />
Partitions: Single partition &ndash; Apple Partition Map<br />
Image Format: DVD/CD master</p>
<p>Save the image &#8211; in this example I&#8217;ve saved it as &quot;LionInstaller&quot; in my Documents folder. The file will have a CDR extension</p>
<p>Once the new disk image is created, it should automatically be mounted and you should see &quot;MyInstaller&quot; listed in the Finder sidebar. If it does not automatically mount, simply find the CDR file and double-click it.</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Mount the Lion installer image</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wpid1166-Mount_the_Lion_installer_image.png" width="500" height="328" alt="wpid1166-Mount_the_Lion_installer_image.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>To do this, locate the file &ldquo;Install Mac OS X Lion.app&rdquo; (this is the file that you should have downloaded from the Mac App Store when you bought Lion), right click on it and select &ldquo;Show Package Contents&rdquo;. Open the &quot;Contents&quot; folder and then the &quot;SharedSupport&quot; folder and double-click on InstallESD.dmg to mount the image. The mounted image should display as &lsquo;Mac OS X Install ESD&rsquo; in the Finder Sidebar.</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Mount the Base System image</h3>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>The Lion installer image contains some hidden files. To get to them you&rsquo;ll need to run the Terminal application. One of these hidden files is BaseSystem.dmg which is used to boot the system.</p>
<p>Open the Terminal application and at the $ prompt, type: <i>cd &quot;/Volumes/Mac OS X Install ESD&quot;</i></p>
<p>Press <strong>Enter</strong> and at the next $ prompt type: <i>open BaseSystem.dmg</i></p>
<p>The volume will mount as &quot;Mac OS X Base System&quot;</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Copy the base system</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wpid1156-Copy_the_base_system.png" width="500" height="408" alt="wpid1156-Copy_the_base_system.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>Ensure that your installer image created in step 1 is mounted (if it isn&#8217;t find the file LionInstaller.cdr and double click it) because the entire contents of the base system needs to be copied to your installer image. </p>
<p>I recommend using the Restore feature in Disk Utility. </p>
<p>Click any drive in the Disk Utility Sidebar (1) </p>
<p>Click the <strong>Restore</strong> button (2)</p>
<p>Drag the &quot;Mac OS X Base System&quot; to the &quot;Source&quot; field (3)</p>
<p>Drag &quot;MyInstaller&quot; to the Destination field (4) </p>
<p>Click the <strong>Restore</strong> button at the bottom right (5)</p>
<p>Be aware that if you chose to &quot;Erase destination&quot;, your installer image will now have the same name as the source, Mac OS X Base System. If so, rename it back to &lsquo;MyInstaller&rsquo;. </p>
<p>Once that is finished, you can eject the BaseSystem image as it is no longer needed</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Setup the ‘kernelcache’ file</h3>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>First the file needs to be copied from the Lion installer image to your installer image, then the boot configuration file updated to specify the location of the file. All these operations are performed via the Terminal using the following commands:</p>
<p>$ <i>cp &quot;/Volumes/Mac OS X Install ESD/kernelcache&quot; /Volumes/MyInstaller/kernelcache</i><br />
$ <i>cd /Volumes/MyInstaller/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/</i><br />
$ <i>sudo vi com.apple.Boot.plist</i></p>
<p>Make sure the boot file contains at least the following key/value to specify the location of the kernelcache file:</p>
<p>Kernel Cache<br />
\kernelcache</p>
<p>To do this, navigate to the Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration folder on the MyInstaller volume and open the com.apple.Boot.plist file with a text editor. If necessary copy the 2 lines:</p>
<p>&lt;key&gt;Kernel Flags&lt;/key&gt;<br />
&lt;string&gt;&lt;/string&gt;</p>
<p>and paste immediately below. Then amend the copied lines to:</p>
<p>&lt;key&gt;Kernel Cache&lt;/key&gt;<br />
&lt;string&gt;\kernelcache&lt;/string&gt;</p>
<p>Save and close the file</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Copy the installation Packages</h3>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>Before the packages can be copied from the Lion installer image, there&rsquo;s a file on your installer image that needs to be deleted. Use the Terminal to do this and be aware that this operation might take a few minutes because it&#8217;s copying several gigabytes of data.</p>
<p>$ <i>sudo rm /Volumes/MyInstaller/System/Installation/Packages</i><br />
$ <i>sudo cp -R &quot;/Volumes/Mac OS X Install ESD/Packages&quot; /Volumes/MyInstaller/System/Installation/Packages</i></p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Flag the system as a server installation</h3>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>In order to boot an OS X volume in VMware, it needs to be a server. The system checks for the existence of a file in a specific location and you can &quot;fake&quot; a server installation simply by creating that file using the following Terminal commands:</p>
<p>$ <i>cd /Volumes/MyInstaller/System/Library/CoreServices</i><br />
$ <i>sudo touch ServerVersion.plist</i></p>
<p>Both installer images can be ejected.</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Create a virtual machine &#8211; 1</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wpid1158-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_1.png" width="500" height="383" alt="wpid1158-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_1.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>Open VMware Fusion and select &ldquo;<strong>New…</strong>&rdquo; from the <strong>File</strong> menu.</p>
<p>Click the &ldquo;<strong>Continue without disc</strong>&rdquo; button.</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Create a virtual machine &#8211; 2</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wpid1159-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_2.png" width="500" height="383" alt="wpid1159-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_2.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>Select &ldquo;Create a custom virtual machine&rdquo; and click <strong>Continue</strong>.</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Create a virtual machine &#8211; 3</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wpid1160-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_3.png" width="500" height="383" alt="wpid1160-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_3.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>Select &lsquo;Operating System: Apple Mac OS X&rsquo; and &lsquo;Version: Mac OS X Server 10.6 64-bit&rsquo; and click <strong>Continue</strong></p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Create a virtual machine &#8211; 4</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wpid1161-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_4.png" width="500" height="370" alt="wpid1161-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_4.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>Click the &ldquo;<strong>Customize Settings</strong>&rdquo; button and name and save the new virtual machine &#8211; my VM is saved as &quot;LionTest&quot;</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Create a virtual machine &#8211; 5</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wpid1162-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_5.png" width="500" height="354" alt="wpid1162-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_5.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>From the Settings menu in VWMare Fusion, select &ldquo;<strong>CDs &amp; DVDs</strong>&rdquo;</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Create a virtual machine &#8211; 6</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wpid1163-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_6.png" width="500" height="357" alt="wpid1163-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_6.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>Click &ldquo;<strong>Use disc image</strong>&rdquo; and select your installer image (the one created in Step 1)</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Create a virtual machine &#8211; 7</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wpid1164-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_7.png" width="500" height="354" alt="wpid1164-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_7.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>From the Settings menu, select &ldquo;<strong>Hard Disks</strong>&rdquo;</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Create a virtual machine &#8211; 8</h3>
<div class="StepImage" style="margin:10px 0px;">
<img style="padding:3px;" src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wpid1165-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_8.png" width="500" height="357" alt="wpid1165-Create_a_virtual_machine_-_8.png" />
</div>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>Deselect &ldquo;Split into 2 GB files&rdquo; for the pre-created hard drive and click Apply. Feel free to make any other changes to the settings with one caveat, you must use a SCSI hard disk; IDE drives are not recognized by the installer after it boots. Also, if the hard disk is going to be used as a boot disk, it cannot be split into separate 2 GB files, so make sure to deselect that option when the HD is created.</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Replace the Virtual Machine&#8217;s NVRAM</h3>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>VMWare Fusion&#8217;s default NVRAM will boot up previous OS X systems, but it will not boot up a Lion volume. The original article where I found these instructions had a link to an NVRAM file. In case that file disappears, I&#8217;ve linked to my own copy that you can download <a href="http://mthomas.co.uk/downloads/lion_in_a_vm/nvram.zip" target="_blank">here</a>:</p>
<p>Download and uncompress the NVRAM file.</p>
<p>Locate your VM within the Finder (mine is in my Documents folder and is called <i>LionTest</i>), right click and select &ldquo;<strong>Show Package Contents</strong>&rdquo;.</p>
<p>Delete the current nvram file if one exists &#8211; the file will have an .<i>nvram</i> extension</p>
<p>Copy the uncompressed and downloaded nvram file into the folder and rename it to match the name of your Virtual Machine (e.g. LionTest.nvram)</p>
<p>Now you should be able to run the VM and it will boot up and start the Lion installation process.</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Installing Lion</h3>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>After the installation disk boots up, the first thing you should do is run Disk Utility and format the hard drive. All the norms apply; GUID partition map, Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) format, etc. When done, quit to return to the installer.</p>
<p>Continue with the installation. When the installation is complete, it will attempt to reboot the VM using the freshly installed OS on the hard disk. It won&rsquo;t boot, because it&rsquo;s not a server installation.</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Forcing the VM to boot from the CD</h3>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>VMware will not let you change the startup disk in the VM&#8217;s settings, so you&rsquo;ll have to force a change while the VM is running. Start the VM. As soon as you see the VMWare splash screen, hit the <strong>Escape</strong> key. This will bring you to a boot menu, select &ldquo;Boot Manager&rdquo;</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Flag the new system as a server installation</h3>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>After the VM boots from the install disk again, run the Terminal. I labeled my virtual HD, &ldquo;OS X Lion HD&rdquo; when I initialized it, so I would enter the following to &lsquo;touch&rsquo; the system:</p>
<p># touch &quot;/Volumes/OS X Lion HD/System/Library/CoreServices/ServerVersion.plist&quot;</p>
<p>Now you can quit the Terminal, choose Startup Disk from the Utilities menu and restart from the hard disk</p>
</div></div>
<div class="LessonStep top">
<h3 class="StepTitle">Thanks</h3>
<div class="StepInstructions">
<p>With thanks to <a href="http://osxdaily.com/2011/03/07/install-run-mac-os-x-10-7-lion-in-a-virtual-machine-with-vmware/">http://osxdaily.com/2011/03/07/install-run-mac-os-x-10-7-lion-in-a-virtual-machine-with-vmware/</a></p>
</div></div>
</p></div>
<p><!-- End ScreenSteps Content --></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://mthomas.co.uk/installing-lion-in-vmware-fusion-3/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Converting a Cake Back to Flour, Eggs and Sugar</title>
		<link>http://mthomas.co.uk/converting-a-cake-back-to-flour-eggs-and-sugar/</link>
		<comments>http://mthomas.co.uk/converting-a-cake-back-to-flour-eggs-and-sugar/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:01:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Mike Thomas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mikes Musings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mthomas.co.uk/?p=1150</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At work, one of the things our team gets asked quite often is if it is possible to &#8220;reverse engineer&#8221; a PDF file back into Word or PowerPoint. I&#8217;ve never been able to successfully get Acrobat Professional to do it but a recent thread on the company&#8217;s Yammer network, plus another request from a user, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>At work, one of the things our team gets asked quite often is if it is possible to &#8220;reverse engineer&#8221; a PDF file back into Word or PowerPoint. I&#8217;ve never been able to successfully get Acrobat Professional to do it but a recent thread on the company&#8217;s Yammer network, plus another request from a user, got me thinking.</p>
<p><span id="more-1150"></span></p>
<p><img src="http://mthomas.co.uk/uB3x4Y8WrnJzNbEKfR9Z/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/pdflogo.gif" alt="" title="Acrobat PDF Logo" width="200" height="200" class="alignleft" /></p>
<p>On the company Intranet, there is a page where you can request approved software to be installed on your PC. I searched for &#8220;PDF&#8221; and found a list of several applications that will do the job. As I&#8217;m unable to install software at work, I downloaded the trial version of <a href="http://www.investintech.com/products/desktop/">Investintech Able 2 Extract PDF Converter</a> to a computer at home. I chose this one as somebody had recently asked me if I could show them how to use this particular program as they&#8217;d had it installed on their work PC.</p>
<p>The trial will only convert 3 pages but it did it very well. I converted 2 PDF&#8217;s. One was originally a Word document. I converted it back to Word. The resulting document retained the formatting, the tables &#8211; including the borders, and all the text was fully editable &#8211; and 100% accurate in conversion. The other PDF was originally a PowerPoint file so I converted that back to PowerPoint. Again it was 100% accurate with the text, brought in the images and colours. The only thing that was a bit dodgy was some effects on some text.</p>
<p>There are a couple of other company approved apps that will do the same thing but I&#8217;ve not tested them:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.nuance.com/for-business/by-product/pdf/index.htm">Nuance ScanSoft PDF Converter</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.soliddocuments.com/pdf/-to-word-converter/304/1">Solid Documents Solid Converter PDF to Word Professional</a></li>
</ul>
<p>From a personal point of view, PDF is designed to be an output format. You convert your original (Word, Powerpoint, etc) file to PDF to make it smaller and allow people who don&#8217;t have the application that the original file was created in, to open it (and as more and more people get Macs, iPhones, iPads and other &#8220;smart devices&#8221; the cross platform PDF format is going to become more important). Too often I find that the original document has been lost and that is the reason that we are asked to help convert it. Reverse-engineering a PDF is like converting a cake back to flour, eggs and sugar &#8211; you just wouldn&#8217;t do it!.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://mthomas.co.uk/converting-a-cake-back-to-flour-eggs-and-sugar/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

