Mac Stuff

Update: Fujitsu ScanSnap fi-5110EOX Paper Scanner

After many discussions leading from my review of the ScanSnap fi-5110EOX in April of this year, it seems like it's time to sum up some of the updates.

The most significant update is that Fujitsu have announced the fi-5110EOXM - a white Macintosh compatible version of the scanner. At last there is official support for the Mac.

But what if you've already purchased an fi-5110EOX or EOX2?

Well, in a similar pattern to before, you can now download the latest Mac driver for all of these models including the new model from the Japanese web site: http://scansnap.fujitsu.com/jp/downloads/mac.html. It's called SnapScan_V10L13.dmg.

Then, once you've installed that, with the very kind help of rm, there is an English localisation that can be downloaded from this discussion thread: http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=32046&page=3&pp=20.

• Download these zip files and copy them into the ScanSnap directory created when installing the driver.
• Then open the Terminal application and change directory to the ScanSnap directory. The easiest way to do this is to enter the command "cd " (that's with a space after it - and please don't enter the quotes!), then drag the SnapScan directory (folder) from the Finder over the Terminal window and release. This will paste the path name into the terminal and you can then press Return in the Terminal window.
• Finally, enter "unzip ScanSnap13-English1.zip && unzip ScanSnap13-English2.zip" (don't enter the quotes and press Return at the end). If all goes well you're done and you can delete the two zip files. Just double click on the SnapScan Manager and smile! Thank you rm - whoever you are!

Exporting TV to DVD with EyeTV and Toast

I've just made one of those little discoveries that I probably should have known if I'd read a manual, but which I'd failed to notice and has caused me a considerable amount of unnecessary activity.

When I want to take a television programme recorded with EyeTV and record it onto a DVD the normal process I go through is:

1. Set it to record (by one means or another).
2. Come back later and edit out the extra bits at the start and the end (and the adverts if it's not BBC).
3. Press the compress button - compressing takes quite a while.
4. Come back later and export to Toast.
5. Come back later and drag onto Toast and burn, which itself goes through some lengthy multiplexing process before actually writing the data.

Aparently, if I upgrade to Toast 7, then step 4 is unnecessary, and hopefully, but I can't find any info anywhere to find out, step 5 is quicker.

But what I hadn't realised is that I don't have to do step 3. The compressing to disk part is totally unnecessary. As long as you mark the edit points, the export to Toast function function will only export the bits you need.

That's it!