georgestarcher.randomlings

Random ramblings from my personal side.

Adding multiple calendars from Google to iDevices

I was making a shared calendar specifically for Macworld with Victor Cajiao. It will be a busy conference so it will help if we can put all known events in one spot. Then we want to be able to modify it on the fly from anywhere and have both of us see it while we are there.

This calendar is a second one beyond my normal one in my google calendar account. My normal calendar default having added my google account in both my iPhone and iPad syncs fine. The problem is the additional calendar was not showing up. I even had my google account added as an MS Exchange server account.

Here is the trick. After you are sure your device is syncing as an ms exchange account go to http://m.google.com/ on your device. Sign into your google or google apps account. Once signed in go to http://m.google.com/sync/ now you can see all the devices syncing to your account. Touch on the desired device to modify the sync settings. Now you can see the list of all your calendars in your account. By default just your main one is selected. Add your other calendars. Last step. Go into the account settings for your google account under mail on your idevice. Turn off calendar sync. Let it remove your calendar data. Ten turn it back on. Give it a minute or two to resync. Now your multiple calendars should show up.

iDevices and Creativity

I keep up on the trends in media production.  What I find really amazing is how things like the iPhone4 and iPad are making seriously professional grade work possible for anyone.  Even the true professionals.  I cannot imagine what it would have cost to make the "Nancy Lee" video for Vintage Trouble five to ten years ago just due to the equipment.  This was shot on an iPhone4 for the raw footage.  Then one of the iPhones was stolen and recovered due to Find my iPhone.   You can read that story on their blog post.

I know people in the entertainment industry and in the industries around it.  A lot of them really do not see that this sort of technology is shifting things back into the hands of the independent creators.  A number of people ask me about iPad, iPhone etc.  I ask one question first.  "Do you have kids?"  And if the answer is yes, then my immediate answer is "Yes get one.  Especially, if they are the least bit creative."  I tell them it is a disservice to your kids not to introduce them to current technology like this.  It inspires their creativity and frankly it is how things are heading.   

What about the argument iPad is just for consumption?  My answer to that is two fold.  First, how can you possibly understand how to create if you do not see how people are consuming the final results?  You have to understand the medium to best use it to create.  Second, seriously can you look at the video for "Nancy Lee" and others like it shot with an iPhone and sites like HandHeldHollywood and see limitations rather than possibilities?  Just look at The Cube from Teradek to see how iPad is influencing normal production sets.  I have said from the moment I first got my iPad that it would change movie production with dailies and scripts.

PS I loved Vintage Trouble's sound so much I picked up the album , The Bomb Shelter Sessions, over on iTunes.  So yes making creative works like the video and putting it on YouTube can result in fan/customers.

Stellar Author - Brandon Sanderson

Maybe you do not like Zombie and Horror, as I do.  Something evident in previous posts.

I was first exposed to the work of Brandon Sanderson through his Mistborn series on Audible.com.

He comes up with extremely interesting structures of power systems that provide the magic like component to his stories.  Always amazingly structured.  Somethings you can catch enough hints to guess what else is possible.  Only to get a flush of pride if you guessed right.

Now I am absolutely enamored with the start of another series.  The Way of Kings.  As with Mistborn he establishes a new twist on good vs evil.  One explored and tied to the unique power systems Brandon comes up with.  The other thing I love about this story is the strong sense of ethics, honor and leadership principles he puts into the story.  This gives it the real substance.

And surely if you are a Wheel of Time fan you recognize his name.  It was Brandon's Mistborn series that landed him the honor and burden of bringing the Wheel of Time home.  With The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight you can little doubt his skill as a story teller.  

So if you want some extremely rich and detailed listening or reading for your holiday.  Check out Brandon's Mistborn then Way of Kings stories.  You can also follow his progress over on twitter,BrandonSandrson  And don't worry if you get hooked by Mistborn.  Brandon said in his twitter stream recently that a new story set in that world is coming out in 2011.

Undying Entertainment

We all know everyone is talking about the success of the new TV series "Walking Dead."

But here are my favorite new media authors of the Undead.  Complete with links to their audio books over on http://www.podiobooks.com.   if you like the stories, be sure to use the donation button to give back what you feel is fair for such quality undying entertainment.

  1. Jake Bible - Dead Mech
  2. James Meltzer - The Zombie Chronicles - Escape 
  3. J.P. Moore - Toothless

I want to give a nod to Phil Rossi's "Harvey."  It is not quite zombie, but the story is very close in some respects.  Plus all of Phil Rossi's work is just so darn good.  He even writes and performs his own music for his audio books.

One more author to be watching is Benjamin Rogers.  I know he is working on his audio to move his stories like "Faith & The Undead" to Podiobooks.com

An author who really gets it.

I have been a fan of http://www.scottsigler.com for years. His horror/scifi stories are excellent entertainment. He and his team (Dark 0verlord Media) have a boundless enthusiasm for Scott's fans.

The most recent developments in how Dark 0verlord Media puts together books, eBooks and audio books just shows a real grip on how media is moving. I think it signals a shift back in favor of the content creators as well. The ability to make such quality content then still deliver it in any format the fan could want is something Hollywood can learn from.