RF modulator

The only reason I’m writing this post is because I came across some REALLY helpful information on SicklesInsight about the Fast Media Modulator (Steren Electronics).

Seems there’s a lack of readily available/findable info about this particular product. And it would just so happen a co-worker of mine needs said information – so if Jeff of S.I. needs it, my coworker needs it, then chances are others need it too.

Thanks Jeff!

Pandora’s Box

Yet another thing worth posting about today is Pandora.

While legend has it that last time Pandora opened her box, bad things came out – this time it’s not so bad. Pandora is part of the Music Genome Project started in 2000. It’s a web application written with the intent of “helping you find the music you like”. Example. I like David Crowder. So I enter it as an artist I like. Pandora knows things about David’s music style and lyrics and searches its database for similar music. It starts playing songs for you – you tell it yes you like it or no you don’t. You can also ask it questions like “why is this song playing?” and it will tell you why it thought you would like said song. After a while it learns from the music you voted on what you want to hear.

Why I think it’s cool – you don’t need to drag your whole CD collection with you, you get to hear new music, you don’t have to waste hard drive space either since Pandora has so much already on it.

I’m on day 3 of training it to know what I like and it’s getting really good!

Try it!!

PS – more on the music Genome Project – it’s cool!
The Music Genome Project

On January 6, 2000 a group of musicians and music-loving technologists came together with the idea of creating the most comprehensive analysis of music ever.

Together we set out to capture the essence of music at the most fundamental level. We ended up assembling literally hundreds of musical attributes or “genes” into a very large Music Genome. Taken together these genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song – everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony. It’s not about what a band looks like, or what genre they supposedly belong to, or about who buys their records – it’s about what each individual song sounds like.

Over the past 6 years, we’ve carefully listened to the songs of over 10,000 different artists – ranging from popular to obscure – and analyzed the musical qualities of each song one attribute at a time. This work continues each and every day as we endeavor to include all the great new stuff coming out of studios, clubs and garages around the world.

It has been quite an adventure, you could say a little crazy – but now that we’ve created this extraordinary collection of music analysis, we think we can help be your guide as you explore your favorite parts of the music universe.

We hope you enjoy the journey.

www.fabchannel.com

I came across this coolness while at work today. Ever want to go to a concert but can’t afford it? Or maybe you can’t go because you have to work, or it’s too far away, or….or….or…..

Excuses last no longer. Fabchannel.com is a place worth checking out. There are tons of live, full length concerts here. Some of them from artists you know and love. There are also lectures that have been uploaded, talk shows, etc.

Yes it’s similar to Youtube/Google video and all the others if you really think about it. But it’s cool in it’s own way. Check it out when you’ve got some time.

How to save your computer without a CS degree!

Many of my friends these days are asking me for tips to help their computer, I even get piles of computers dropped off to me at the barn!  Below is a good list of things to do to keep your computer working great.  After all, whether it’s new or refurbished, expensive or a great steal, you still spent money on it and you’ll make my life for one a lot easier if you do this!!

1.  Open up your computer (don’t you dare touch your motherboard to see what it feels like, especially if the darn thing is still turned on/plugged in).  Get a can of compressed air “air in a can” and clean out under the motherboard, around your drives and slots.  Just follow the instructions on the can.  Don’t tell me you don’t read directions because if you are reading this post, then you read directions.

2.  Go to start, run, then type in prefetch.  Your prefetch is simply a compilation your computer made for you to load programs quicker it thinks you might ask for, before you ask for it.  Basically, you really honestly don’t need it, unless you notice the difference between a few seconds.  You should also go to start, run, temp and empty out your temporary files as well.

3.  Some other things to delete while you’re at it – cookies (process varies by browser, but it’s in the internet options general section….), ADWARE/SPYWARE (you can use great programs like Adaware SE, and Spybot to remove these unwanted intruders).

4.  Get a good virus scanning program and for the love of pete keep your subscription current.  Big ones in the market are Symantec, McAfee (free to Comcast subscribers), and CA.   These unfortunately leave large footprints in your system and you really really really have to make sure you’ve removed everything about it from your computer before you install something different.  A virus scan that I tried and liked was AVG.  Unfortunately it’s not free anymore, but it leaves a very small footprint and learns very fast.

5.  Delete unwanted/rarely used programs.  And just to let you know, if you must partake in the filesharing world – you don’t need 5 different programs running at once – just find one that gets you what you want and use it!  Lots of programs running can slow your computer, and many file sharing programs hog system resources and even slow your internet speed because it’s stealing all the bandwidth (that’s right all you movie downloaders – just go RENT!) P.S.  If you don’t want it, or probably aren’t going to use it – DON’T DOWNLOAD IT!!

6.  Disk defragment -”but why??”  I’ll tell you why.  Your computer is constantly surveying itself.  Fragmentation = slowmentation.  Put some pieces back together for your poor over used and under appreciated hard disk drive.

7.  Leave your computer on, turn your monitor off.  Constant turning on/off is hard on your computer like high impact sports are hard on you.  Instead of turning it off every time, try standby or even better hybernate!  Monitors only last so long too – the more you leave it on, the less life it gets.  Save those precious pixels for some quality time with your eyes!

8.  Dont: kick your computer, drop it, throw it, bang on it, open it up and shake it, or otherwise try to bully it into submission.  When the time comes for that, call me up have me come over, then take your dog for a walk and enjoy the world without a computer for a few minutes.  I’ll fix it and save not only you but your computer as well!

9.  Get a surge protector.  Think of it this way, sticking your finger in the toaster/outlet doesn’t feel good to you, life without a surge protector for a computer is similar to toaster/outlet finger sticking.  I recommend Tripp-lite.

IFPI Wants ISPs To Cut Off File-Sharers

From http://techdirt.com/articles/20070118/054445.shtml

While the RIAA is busy sending out SWAT teams, its international equivalent, the IFPI also wants some help in its fight against copyright infringement: it’s again calling for ISPs to cut off customers who it says share copyrighted music. It’s not clear exactly why ISPs should be compelled to do the IFPI’s bidding, much like it’s unclear why the RIAA gets to deploy public law enforcement SWAT teams. However, in the UK, the recent Gowers Report on intellectual property recommended that ISPs come to some sort of arrangement with the record labels in this area, or that government should intervene. There are theoretical objections to the idea, but it could be a somewhat decent idea, and is certainly preferable to suing consumers into oblivion. However, there’s no guarantee that getting an ISP to cut off a user would preclude separate legal action, and it’s highly unlikely that the IFPI will push for the shutdown process to be implemented in a fair way that allows for a user to defend themselves before getting cut off. When groups like the IFPI, RIAA or MPAA are the ones accusing people of illegal file-sharing, they often don’t bother to collect sufficient evidence. They accuse the wrong people, or even try to say that the mere existence of a shared files folder constitutes illegal activity. Presumably what they want is something akin to YouTube’s DMCA takedown process: they fill out a web form somewhere with an IP address, and boom, that user gets cut off from the internet, with no recourse or — god forbid — due process.

Why Macs Suck

SNAP preview anywhere

Ever wanted to preview a site without actually going to it? Maybe you don’t want to lose the spot you’re on now of your current page, maybe you don’t want to open yet another window/tab.

Now you don’t have to if the site owner is curtious enough to include SNAP in their site. SNAP is a tool that allows site admins to give a “sticky note” to a hyperlink. Simply drag your mouse over a hyperlink and a preview appears of the new link in a small window.

Now you can tell if it’s the site you’re looking for without opening another window (once you click on the preview it will load the link in a new window) plus it has a built in feature to surf the web using key words – so it’s a graphic sticky note and a seach engine all in one.

Check it out by dragging your mouse here

There is also a firefox plug-in

More freeness

Last time I posted about free classes it was through HP. I have found another source! Retail Access also offers free classes. All you have to do is find a subject you are interested in, read up on it with the links provided and then take an exam. Do well and you will earn yourself cool prizes like an AMD AM2 processor for $11. Some of the prizes are actually free. Now why didn’t we get freebies for acing math tests back in the day?

http://www.retailaccess.com/

Free computer classes

That got your attention didn’t it . Seriously though, ever wish you could learn more about computers without surfing through countless useless webpages about who knows what or spending money to take a class at a local CC? HP makes it possible. No you can’t get any kind of prep for a certification exam, but there are definitely useful classes that they offer and the best part……it’s FREE!!!
Check it out!

i’m switching

Taken from the Wall Street Journal Morning Edition 6-22-06

"This week, we reviewed the beta (or pre-release) version of a new photo-sharing Web site called Tabblo (www.tabblo.com), from Boston-based Tabblo Inc., that will be officially released on June 30. Tabblo differs from other Web-based sharing sites. It's a so-called "Web 2.0" service, meaning it functions like a software application, offering features like dragging and dropping and editing all on the same Web page, without the annoying constant reloading that characterizes so many photo sites.

Tabblo also puts special emphasis on presentation, allowing you to arrange your photos in collages and designs with descriptions, rather than as straightforward slideshows, so as to add a little flair and style to your photos. The company calls these photo montages "tabblos." If you really like the tabblo that you create, you can order high-quality printed posters of them in 11×17 inches for $10, or 8.5×11 inches for $8."

The process for building a tabblo is straightforward. Three tabs labeled View, Upload and Make at the top of the screen walk you through the steps. In View, you can see all of the tabblos that you've already made, as well as a list of those in your circle of friends. In Upload, we quickly added photos to our Tabblo accounts using Java uploader, one of five options offered by the site. Integrating your photos from Flickr.com — another photo-sharing site — is one of the five options, if you have an account.

The Edit Tabblo section was especially impressive. We easily dragged photos all around the screen, seeing which fit in the best places of our collage layout and automatically swapping out other images. It was smooth and quick, exactly like working in a full-blown program stored locally on a PC, instead of a Web site stored on a distant server.

When we moused over each photo, buttons and controls appeared. These included a Remove Picture button and four on-screen editing options in the top left of each image: Collapse, Scale & Pan, Show Effects and Rotate Photo. Scale & Pan was very useful, instantly showing a window in which we could zoom in or out and pan around the image. Show Effects altered the image to black and white, sepia, oil paint or negative style.

All of these changes took just a few seconds for each image — quite a switch from the constant refreshing and reloading of Web pages that are commonplace on other photo-sharing sites.

A box filled with more editing options is constantly present at the right of your screen, offering options for changing text colors, background colors and other settings. After tweaking to our heart's content, we continued on into the Share Tabblo section. Here, we could opt for our tabblo to be seen by anyone, just those in our circles, people we invited or just ourselves.

If your tabblo is set to Public or sent to someone using an invitation, those viewing it won't have to sign in. If the tabblo is sent to those in your circle, those people must sign in with their Tabblo account information, which they'll already have (by being in a circle). This week, Tabblo will introduce a shareable link which can be sent to others for use without login credentials."

 

something to add which wsj didn't cover – there are several upload options other than integrating a flickr account.  you can add a picasa plugin, install a java uploader, or a flash uploader for multiple photo uploads. otherwise there is the traditional browse and upload one photo at a time….

i just integrated it with my flickr account and it didn't add all of my photos.  must be a beta bug, but if i were to install a desktop tool i could add all photos whether they were on flickr or not

upload time is a bit on the slow side but other than that it's great