Hive Video - Free Highlight Reel Creator for YouTube is Live!

I'm thrilled to return to blogging after a crazy few months working on my web app for YouTube videos: Hive Video. The Beta is live so head on over and you can create free highlight reels from YouTube videos.

Hive Video is the simple alternative to video editing. Whether you're looking to highlight the best parts of a tutorial, put together the best moments of various videos (e.g., sports), or just create a kid-friendly playlist without comments, ads, or recommended videos--it's easy, free, and doesn't require any install. 

Once you've created your highlight reel or mashup of YouTube videos, you can quickly share the results with a public view URL. Send it via social media, email, or whatever, it's just plain easy.

Check it out! I'd appreciate any feedback.

My GitHub heat map for 2017 tells the story pretty clearly--I started the project in April.

This new project is under the umbrella of my software startup: Second Marker.

Update: we now support Twitch VOD videos as well.

Second Marker Software

My next project has begun. I’m working on a software startup called Second Marker.

Our first solution—and the inspiration for starting the company—is a free and easy alternative to video editing: Tunnel Video. If you want to make a highlight reel of YouTube videos, this will be the simplest solution.

There are endless possibilities for why someone would want to create and share a playlist of YouTube video with start and end times, but some use cases include:

• Playlists of training videos for athletes and coaches
• Highlights of tutorial videos
• Easier sharing of multiple videos
• Kid-friendly playlists with none of the usual YouTube complications such as comments and recommended videos

Update: try the Beta for free at http://www.tunnelvideo.com!

Google Acquires AppBridge Software

At the Google Cloud Next conference yesterday it was announced that Google has acquired AppBridge. I've been at AppBridge for just over a year and I'm thrilled to be a part of this Vancouver software success story.

AppBridge is a tremendous addition to the Google solutions because the founders designed the AppBridge Transformation Suite from the ground up for performance and the cloud. AppBridge is already handling the world's largest G Suite and Google Drive migrations.



Here is a quote from Google's announcement:

"Migrating to the cloud can be complex. It's not just your files that need to be moved; permissions also need to map correctly; content likely needs to be reorganized, and some data probably needs to be archived. To address that challenge, today we are announcing the acquisition of AppBridge, an enterprise-grade, G Suite migration tool that helps organizations seamlessly migrate from their on-prem, cloud-based and hybrid solutions to Google Drive.

With AppBridge, your organization can migrate files effortlessly to G Suite from your existing file servers or content management systems like SharePoint, or from many other cloud platforms you might be using. File permissions are also brought over when you migrate, which means your team's file access remains unchanged and your data stays safe. We’re working together with AppBridge to bring them into the G Suite team. Stay tuned for more information in the near future."

As for me, I'm going to take some time to think about what I want for my next adventure, but this one was certainly memorable.

TechCrunch Article: Google acquires AppBridge to help enterprises move their files to its cloud services

Building Video Games with My Daughter and LEGO

I asked my (then) 4-year-old daughter if she wanted to make a video game, and her response was exactly what I expected, "We can't make a game." "Actually, " I said, "we can! Want to do it?" She emphatically said yes, so we set out to make an iOS game. Of course, I had already done some playing around with Unity 3D, so I knew that a 2D game wouldn't be too much work.

I wanted her to have the best experience possible, so I devised a plan to take her ideas and convert them into the game without changing much along the way. I used a sample 2D game as a starting point so we wouldn't have to spend too much time writing code before she saw her creations in a working game. Note that if you don't deploy your app to the store, you can do all of this for free (plus the cost of LEGO of course).

We started by drawing out the main elements of the game by hand. Here are the villain and hero characters as my daughter drew them.



After that, it was off to the LEGO store so we could get enough 2x2 pieces to build whatever we wanted. Here's the villain LEGO version my daughter created from her original drawing.

We designed the rest of the game elements including a tree and an egg, and then I used photos of the LEGO concepts to convert her creations to simple sprite versions. Here's another character before reducing the pixels down to a simple sprite.



My daughter building LEGO versions of the game sprites.



This is a screenshot from the first build I deployed to my iPhone (just for fun, I threw in a photo of my daughter as the player). Not bad for a 4-year-old with some LEGO!

We had a great time on this project and I was prompted to write this post when she recently asked if we could play the game again.

RabbitTxt Text Messages is My First App

I’ve been working with a friend of mine on a simple iOS app called RabbitTxt—you can grab it for free right now from the Apple iOS App Store. The idea is to enable quick, one handed, pre-canned text messages to people or groups. Basically, tap, tap, send. Or if you’re sending the same thing to the same person, just… tap.

The app will remember the last person (or group) you sent a message to and also which message you sent, so you don’t have to select them again.

Unfortunately, my grand idea of the fastest text/SMS messages possible ran into an iOS restriction. Once you tap “Send Text” in RabbitTxt, you’ll need to press send again when the iOS messenger app opens. Sadly, there’s nothing we can do about that. The fastest possible text message interface on iOS is… tap… tap… Shrug.

It was Pat’s idea to add the “Jazzify” feature and it’s pretty snazzy. This feature converts your text message into a flashing image. Perfect to get someone’s attention.

How to Do Everything SharePoint 2013

My latest book project is an end-user SharePoint 2013 book called How to Do Everything: Microsoft SharePoint 2013. this is, of course, a new edition of my last book, How to Do Everything: Microsoft SharePoint 2010. As with the 2010 version, my good friend, Arpan Shah, Microsoft Senior Director of Office 365, has contributed a section on the history of SharePoint and also written the foreword.

What I set out to do in the first edition was focus on the most important cases for the day-to-day user. I trust readers are conscious of the fact that the “How to Do Everything” series name doesn’t mean that all of SharePoint can be summed up in one book. This book is squarely focused at the end-user.

For the second edition, I don’t want to stray too far from my original goal. However, I’ve listened to all the feedback from the first book. Readers wanted an end-user book, but some wanted it to take them a bit further, so that’s what I’m going to do. I’m adding content about SharePoint administration and other topics that aren’t necessarily required for every user, but will be interesting to those who want a bit more.

I’ve worked with McGraw-Hill Osborne Media on other projects and they’re a great publisher to work with—professional and helpful.

Here’s some text from the 2010 book description:

"Written by a former member of the SharePoint development team, this is a step-by-step guide to mastering the latest release of this integrated suite of server capabilities.In How to Do Everything: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Stephen Cawood—one of the people who helped build SharePoint—offers advice from his many years of working with SharePoint customers, cutting to the core and focusing on key features to get you up to speed quickly. You’ll get easy-to-follow tutorials on blogs, wikis, My Sites, Web parts, taxonomy, document management, workflow, publishing sites, team sites, and much more. Take full advantage of the content management, enterprise search, collaboration, and information-sharing capabilities of SharePoint 2010 with help from this practical guide."

Announcing GovernanceHx – SharePoint Governance for Everyone!

I recently read an article that proclaimed--without any grey area--that Microsoft SharePoint governance has nothing to do with technology. I certainly understand the sentiment. Governing an enterprise platform such as SharePoint can be complicated and requires planning and buy-in from various people. However, I also believe that giving SharePoint users access to the right tools can empower them to keep track of whether their governance plans are being effectively enforced. To put it succinctly, wouldn’t you rather know right away about issues than wait until someone decides to proactively check for them?

 

In my vast spare time (for those who don’t know me, that’s a joke), I’ve been working on a SharePoint community application that I’m now ready to start talking about.

GovernanceHx is a web application that is bringing SharePoint governance to the Cloud. The application allows any SharePoint user to run free, read-only reports against their SharePoint servers with the express purpose of combatting SharePoint sprawl. This means that people without admin access, or development skills, can easily generate reports about the growth of their environment and use them to gain an insight into changes over time. This is why I chose to go with the name GovernanceHx. “Hx” is commonly used in the health care field as the abbreviation for history. GovernanceHx shows the governance health of your SharePoint server over time.

- A report results page from GovernanceHx

At this time, I’m showing some demos and recruiting a few SharePoint experts to be Governance Advisors on the project. I’m happy to announce that SharePoint expert and prolific conference speaker, Richard Harbridge, has joined the project as the first Governance Advisor.

These advisors will help shape the future of the project by using their real-world SharePoint experience to identify the best application of the GovernanceHx framework. Since GovernanceHx tracks growth, the advisors will help figure out which growth reports will be most useful.
 
And speaking of frameworks, that’s one of the coolest aspects of this project. I’ve developed the GovernanceHx reporting framework using Windows Azure, so users will not need to install anything at all on their SharePoint server to run reports against Office 365 or any SharePoint sites that are accessible over the net.

 

Cloud-based SharePoint governance opens up all sorts of possibilities for Office 365/SharePoint online customers. For example, I’m sure there are plenty of small to medium businesses that would like a solution to help with their governance enforcement but simply can’t afford a large enterprise reporting application for the job. GovernanceHx will be the low friction way for these users to discover sprawl issues before they become unmanageable.

New SharePoint 2010 Book is Here!

I stopped by FedEx yesterday to pick up my hot off the presses copies of  my new book, How to Do Everything: SharePoint 2010. I suspect that it’s already on its way to the Amazon warehouse and will be released there soon.

This is my first end-user book and I’m very happy with it. McGraw-Hill did a great job from start to finish—quality editing and excellent presentation. So if you’re interested in SharePoint, but don’t know where to start, here’s an option for you.

Thanks to SharePoint MVP, Sean Wallbridge (from itgroove) for his technical editing skills and Arpan Shah, (Director, Microsoft) for writing the foreword. Also, big thanks to Roger Stewart from McGraw-Hill for bringing the whole project together. And, of course, my agent Neil Salkind for putting me in front of great publishers.

This book is part of a series called “How to Do Everything,” and I really hope that I don’t have to deal with, “you didn’t cover everything” comments. :)  This is SharePoint after all—covering every aspect would take a substantial series of books.

Topics in this SharePoint 2010 end-user book include:

• SharePoint Concepts
• The SharePoint UI
• Document Management
• Collaboration
• Taxonomy and Social Tagging
• Navigation
• My Sites
• Web Parts
• Customization
• SharePoint Client Applications

How to Do Everything SharePoint 2010

I’m thrilled to announce that my latest book project is an end-user SharePoint 2010 book called How to Do Everything: Microsoft SharePoint 2010. My good friend, Arpan Shah, Microsoft Director of Technical Product Management for SharePoint, has contributed a section on the history of SharePoint and also written the foreword.

What I tried to do in this book is focus on the most important cases for the day-to-day user, but also provide an insight into power user and administrative tasks. With only ~315 pages, there’s only so much that I could cover. I trust readers are conscious of the fact that the “How to Do Everything” series name doesn’t mean that all of SharePoint can be summed up in one book. This book is squarely focused at the end-user.

The publisher is McGraw-Hill Osborne Media and I’m excited to be working with them again. The book will be on shelves this summer. However, you can order your copy today from the Amazon and McGraw-Hill sites.

Here’s some text from the book description:

"Written by a former member of the SharePoint development team, this is a step-by-step guide to mastering the latest release of this integrated suite of server capabilities.In How to Do Everything: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Stephen Cawood—one of the people who helped build SharePoint—offers advice from his many years of working with SharePoint customers, cutting to the core and focusing on key features to get you up to speed quickly. You’ll get easy-to-follow tutorials on blogs, wikis, My Sites, Web parts, taxonomy, document management, workflow, publishing sites, team sites, and much more. Take full advantage of the content management, enterprise search, collaboration, and information-sharing capabilities of SharePoint 2010 with help from this practical guide."

Business in Vancouver Interview about Augmented Reality

Curt Cherewayko from Business in Vancouver recently interviewed me about my book, Pragmatic Augmented Reality.

It is quite clear that Augmented Reality (AR) has caught the attention of many developers and reporters. But as I was quoted as saying in the Business in Vancouver article, people probably “won’t know the underlying technology is augmented reality. They’ll just accept that this is the way it works.”

XNA Game Studio Kindle Edition

The Microsoft XNA Game Studio Creator's Guide has been doing well in the reviews for the Amazon Kindle edition.

“I purchased this book specifically because it was the second edition and it seemed as though the authors' credentials exceeded the average book on XNA. Also, I was interested in the math behind game programming. I was not disappointed.”

- Rob "ActivelyX”

“This is a great book for XNA developers! My son and I are working through this book together and we are having a great time learning XNA! The author takes the time to explain complex gaming concepts simply, the code examples are almost without error, and the reader is taken through a wide variety of examples including everything from collision algorithms to writing games for Zune.”

- James Anderson "Avid Reader"

XNA second edition

I'm happy to say that my next book project will be a second edition of the XNA Game Studio Creators Guide (McGraw-Hill) that I co-wrote with Pat McGee.

XNA has undergone some significant changes since our book came out, so we're working to update and improve the text. along those lines, we are lucky to have Nick Gravelyn (XNA MVP) doing the technical review.

if you have any suggestions, feel free to contact Pat or me.


- new second edition cover


- cover of the first edition

ARTag SDK download

if you purchased the book you can download the Rev2K SDK for Windows, Linux, or MacOSX for free (for non-commercial private use that is) at the following link: http://www.artag.net/sdk_download/artag_sdk_download.php

there is Windows, Linux and OSX code in the SDK and there is more in the book specific download which is available from the AR book page on the pragmatic site: http://www.pragprog.com/titles/cfar (look for the "code" link)

AR book is out

Augmented Reality: A Practical Guide is out!

who will be the first to review it? will it be you?

the code download for the book is available on the Pragmatic book page

CNN uses Augmented Reality

during the Iowa primary election coverage, CNN's Anderson Cooper held up a "magic pie chart." Jon Stewart showed the clumsy use of the technology on The Daily Show. it's actually an application of Augmented Reality, but the BBC was the first group (I know of) who used it for election coverage.

I haven't been able to find any images of the CNN example, so if you're reading this and you know of one, please post a comment.
update: wow, thanks to datadreamer for the quick reply.


- Anderson Cooper showing off Augmented Reality
(from http://www.flickr.com/photos/monoki/2165007234)



- Bill Gates tries out an ARTag AR system that uses a head-mounted display (our AR book uses ARTag but does not require anything other than a Windows PC and a webcam)

Mark put this short video up on YouTube, it's a good demo of what we're talking about in our book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItOtTdhDoto

this game shows a simple way of using the technology to enhance a card game experience.

augmented reality book is coming

the book that I co-wrote about augmented reality will be coming out soon.

Dr Mark Fiala, a researcher at the National Research Council of Canada, was my co-author and together we have written (what I believe is) the first book about augmented reality that is targeted at the average person. all you need is a computer, printer, and a webcam.

BTW -- you can see ARTag videos on YouTube (just search for "ARTag").



from the publishers website:

"Augmented Reality is the fusion of real and virtual reality, where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real-time. AR creates the illusion that virtual, computer-generated objects exist in the real world. All you need is a computer and a webcam. This book will show you how, and teach you about game development at the same time. You can run the included demos, or use the ARTag API to customize your own AR applications.

About this Book

Augmented Reality is a natural way to explore 3D objects and data, as it brings virtual objects into the real world where we live, rather than forcing us to learn how to navigate inside the computer. With video-see-through technology, AR handheld devices such as tablet PC’s, PDA’s, or camera cell phones, (or in many cases just a webcam and our standard computer monitor), you hold the device up and “see through” the display to view both the real world and the superimposed virtual object. You can move around and see the virtual object, model, animation, or game from different views as the AR system performs alignment of the real and virtual cameras automatically.

This book will introduce you to Augmented Reality (AR), provide detailed explanations of how the technology works, and provide samples for you to try on your own. Code samples using the freely downloadable ARTag software SDK in C++ and C# are included; all you need is a computer, printer, and a webcam."
- Pragmatic Publishing

SharePoint Migration Manager

a while back, I wrote a short post about a Vancouver software company that I'm doing some work for, Metalogix Software Corp.. they develop sophisticated SharePoint migration solutions and I'm really impressed how much work they have put it since I saw the Microsoft Content Management Server version of their software--their current list of features is impressive. they have three software packages available for migrating to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server: Website Migration Manager, FileShare Migration Manager and SharePoint Site Migration Manager.

you can click the image below to see what one of their products looks like, and you can also watch some online video demos. SharePoint Site Migration Manager is so good that a lot of people actually use it for far more than just migration tasks. whether you're a dev or a SharePoint administrator, it helps to have such an easy-to-use, flexible and quick utility in your toolbox.


- SharePoint Site Migration Manager (v. 3.4.14) from Metalogix (click for full size)

XNA book base code article

the XNA Game Studio Creator's Guide co-author, Pat McGee, has written an article about the XNA base code that he wrote for the book.

essentially, this article breaks down how to create the simple first-person game engine that is the base of many of the examples in the book.


- a screenshot from the textures chapter

Metalogix SharePoint migration

during my days with the Microsoft Content Management Server (MCMS) team, I worked with a Microsoft partner called Metalogix Software. at the time, they were the best option for customers who wanted to migrate any sort of website to MCMS.

since then, MCMS has been discontinued as a separate product, but some of the functionality of MCMS has been added to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS). with this change, Metalogix adjusted their focus. today, their primary business is sophisticated SharePoint migration solutions.

my latest gig is going to be some contract work for Metalogix. I'll be helping them build up their product documentation and FAQ resources.


- Metalogix Software's SharePoint Site Migration Manager

XNA book download and forum

the sample code and other files that go along with Microsoft® XNA Game Studio Creators Guide can be found at: http://www.mhprofessional.com/product.php?isbn=007149071x (look for the "code" link on the left side, just under the cover image)

thanks to Pat, the forum for the book is here: http://www.gamedeveloperonline.com/

if you have any questions about the examples, go to the forums and ask away.