Fujitsu’s ScanSnap ($420) is a remarkable device that’s unbelievably productive and compact — about the size of a small fax machine. Its purpose is to convert printed documents into searchable electronic files, and it does that very quickly.

Fujitsu ScanSnap fi-5110EOXM

ScanSnap has two scanning heads which lets it scan both sides of a double-sided document at once. Just drop any combination of sizes of documents into its 50-sheet feeder, from receipts and business cards to billing statements and magazine pages, and the ScanSnap will convert them into any of several foramats: searchable PDF files, Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents, or photo scans at up to 600 dpi. The speed is roughly 18 double-sided sheets per minute.

Here is a simple little tip in Apple Mail for people who regularly use several email address aliases in their corespondence. For example consider the case of a web designer who uses three main email addresses…

william@acmedesign.com (actual mailbox)
webmaster@acmedesign.com (alias)
support@acemedesign.com (alias)

Apple Mail makes the process easy…

An important notice for designers using the new Intel-based MacBook laptops, iMacs, or Mac Minis. QuickTime 7.1 causes a variety of freezes with Adobe Creative Suite on Intel-based Macintosh computers. Apple has recently released QuickTime 7.1.1 to fix the problem. You can download the needed update from the QuickTime download page, or via Mac OS […]

Google Earth is a free utility that lets you search for nearly any location in the world, then shows you the location in 3D. For example, enjoy a virtual 3D tour of downtown Seattle starting at the Creativetechs office (although 3D New York is much more interesting).

Google Earth gives you driving directions, maps, and statistics about the area, and lets you zoom and swoop around the world in real time. It can also overlay an amazing amount of information, including roadways, political boundaries, points of interest, local amenities, and information from other Google Earth users. You can also add your own notes.

Available at earth.google.com.

Two months ago we ran an apparently popular tip on Creating Quick Voiceovers in GarageBand 3. We’ve received a lot of questions since then about the best microphone to use for a simple voiceover.

We can’t quite declare a “best microphone.” But if you are looking for an inexpensive way to record video tutorials, GarageBand voiceovers, or your own podcasts, here is our recommendation: Go with one of the Plantronics DSP headsets with a USB connection. These provide good voice recording, and are quite affordable. They plug right into your computer’s USB port. Easy.

Two models we’ve used in our QuickTIme video tutorials:

Plantronics DSP-400 USB Headset [$35].
Plantronics DSP-500 USB Headset [$45].

The DSP-400 folds down for easy portability while the DSP-500 is a bit more substantial (the DSP-500 is apparently the mic of choice for at least one large video tutorial company).

Want to hear for yourself? We’ve got sound samples on the blog version of this tip for 6 different microphone options.