October 2013 Newsletter: App for Travelers: Field Trip, Smartphones and Pass-codes, Make Music with Photo Story 3

Published: Thu, 10/31/13

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Monthly Issue # 72 October 31, 2013                                                    www.geeksontour.tv
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October - Scuba Diving and Movie Making
Geeks go Diving
Jim has been scuba diving since the early 70's and I have been diving since the early 80s.  It's one of the things that got us together.  We haven't done as much of it since we've been RVing, but we're committed to taking at least one dive trip each year.  This year we signed up for Bonaire in October and it was beautiful.  The weather was perfect, the water was calm and warm, and the dive boat was just a short walk from our room at the Divi Flamingo Resort.
Jim took his Go Pro video camera on every dive, and I took pictures of the above water scenes.  Jim used Photo Story and Movie Maker to put it all together in this 5 minute video on youtube.  If you watch it, please notice the music, it was all created by Photo Story 3.  See the article later in this newsletter for details.
Geeks at The Rally in Atlanta
Geeks who Teach
Large seminar crowds and small hands-on classes teaching smartphones. From October 16 to 21 we were at the Camping World / Good Sam Rally held at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. We were parked in the Infield, along with a few hundred of our close RVing friends! Another 1-2,000 RVs were parked outside the track area.

 

Calendar: Coming up in November / December

For more details, see our website Calendar.  

Q&A Forum
Some Geeks on Tour members tell us that the Q&A forum is worth the entire cost of membership!  Here are some of the topics that have been discussed this month:
App for Travelers: Field Trip and Historical Markers
Field Trip Identifies a Statue
Both Jim and I love history and we would love to stop every time we see a road sign that says, "Historical Marker Ahead," but we find that is near impossible when you're traveling in a motorhome towing a car.  Now, whenever I see the sign "Historical Marker Ahead," I will also hear that special ring on my phone.  I pick up my phone and look at the notifications to see the Field Trip icon.  With one tap of my finger, I am able to read the complete text of the roadside marker and Jim doesn't even have to take the rig out of cruise control.
Hey Smartphone! STOP Asking for my Password Every Single Time.
Passcode

If you use an iPhone or iPad, you know that there was a major upgrade recently to iOS; version 7.  The most common complaint we've heard about this update is that it requires a passcode to unlock the device.  And, by default, it requires that passcode EVERY time the screen goes dark.  It is very annoying when you're using your phone (or tablet), get distracted for a just a minute, and when you look back you need to swipe to unlock AND enter a passcode.  Although this feature got turned on with the iOS 7 upgrade, you do have the ability to turn it off, or adjust it. 

Android phones and tablets have similar settings.  Both are detailed below.

Using Photo Story 3 to Create Music for Movie Maker
Make Music with Photo Story 3
Photo Story 3 is a free program from Microsoft. It has been around since Windows XP. We have been using Photo Story 3 to easily create great slideshows with movement, transitions, narration, and music. It is the best free program we have found that does all that. It is also one of the easiest programs we teach about.  What it doesn't do is work with video clips.  For that we teach Movie Maker.  But Movie Maker can't make music.  Photo Story can actually create music on the fly.  This article shows you how to create the music in Photo Story for use in a completed video made with Movie Maker.
RVTravel.com

RV Travel Newsletter by Chuck Woodbury

Seniors Learning Technology
Seniors Learning Technology
Odds are that you are over age 60 since the majority of Geeks on Tour's readers are in that age bracket.  Most of you come to us to learn about travel uses of technology - how to Plan, Preserve, and Share your travels.  Almost none of you come to us to learn what you need for your work.  You want to use a smartphone, organize your pictures, make a travel blog, and see pictures of your grandkids on Facebook.  We think there are some fundamental differences in the way you learn compared to people who are learning in the workplace:

That's all for now. We hope you learned something. Your next issue will be next month. Any questions, please visit our forum. If you like this newsletter, please forward it on to your friends! If you received this issue forwarded by a friend you can subscribe to get your own copy delivered to your in box - it's free. To see the archives of past newsletters, go to http://geeksontour.tv/category/newsletter/.

Happy Computing!

The Geeks on Tour website is an online learning library for Travelers who want to learn to use their computers for managing digital photos, making blogs, using maps and other online resources. Anyone can watch our free videos, read articles on our  Computer Tips for Travelers Blog, sign up for our free monthly newsletter, or Picasa weekly tips. A small fee makes you a 'member' and you can then view any of our 230+ video tutorials on these subjects in our Learning LIbrary.
Geeks on Tour
Sincerely,
Geeks on Tour
jimandchris@geeksontour.com