Audio Blog 14 Soon

Sorry for the delay in the audio blog. I recorded tonight on Stephanie's Laptop, but as I was saving Audacity locked up and I lost 25 min of recording. I will try again shortly, but this time on the Desktop. The nice thing about Stephanie's Laptop is the fan is really quiet, which makes for less noise in the background. Anyway Talk at you shortly.

Introducing the iPod Invisa?

I promise no more iPod stuff for a while.


Click Here To Play


Download Quicktime here.

My iPod reviewed

Likes:

Apple’s iTunes software makes it very simple to import your music and video files. I always was unsure of iTunes functionality to encode and play music files. After getting my hands dirty I find that is a simple way to manage my music files. The iTunes podcasting feature allows you download your favorite podcasts easily. The big plus to this is once on the iPod if you don’t finish listening to a podcast you can easily come back to the spot you left off. As a stand-alone MP3 file this is not possible, but more on that later. Finally, adding and deleting files is simple, my thought was when I bought the iPodwas how big the manual would be on how to transfer files, but iTunes took care of it for me.

In addition, the iPod offers a ton of space to hold content. With the 30-gigabyte model I am able to transfer all of my music files encoded in AAC 192 kbps, with more room to spare. I now have the ability to take advantage of my RCA Aux output on my car stereo deck. I can for the most part say good buy to the 100’s of cd’s in my car and no longer have the worry of them being stolen, scratched or melted.

Finally, there are ways to place output from your computer to your television. However, the best feature is the ease of viewing video from iPod on my television. The quality is as good as from normal television broadcasts and DVD. Now you could buy Apple’s AV cable, however the can be done by simply using DV video camera cable available at any retailer. The video quality is as good as it is encoded. I have to congratulate Erica Sadun with the great hack for this.


Dislikes:


My current iPod with video is not my first. The first model I owned was the 60 gigabyte black iPod. First off, 60 gigabytes is a ton of space, and I would recommend it to anybody wishing to use it for video. However, in my case most of my video is deleted off after watching each episode, therefore this model was a little much for me. Second the black model as everybody is aware of does show the scratches easily and for me I didn’t like that. Finally, the hold button, after only 4 days, broke. This seems to me to be the only hardware flaw with the iPod. I would much rather have buttons rather then a switch.

When I imported my songs to iTunes, if any tag was off from my files it created a different folder on my iPod for those songs and artists. This created files sorting problems on the iPod for example if I had Aerosmith spelled AeroSmith it created a different artist category for that song. This is more my fault then anything and correcting it is taking some time.

As far as iTunes podcast feature goes it is great, however if you use other sources to download your favorite podcasts then there is a hitch. If you upload a file that you have downloaded from the alternate source, iTunes treats it as a music file. What this means is if you stop your favorite podcast in the middle you will not be able to go back to that point. If you are like me you don’t have time to listen to a full hour of say TWiT then you can’t go back if you downloaded it from any other place then iTunes.

Video play is a battery hog. I get about 1.5 to 2 hrs out of my battery with video playback. This is ok for half hour to hour shows but for longer movies getting a plug-in accessory is a must. In addition encoding video to MPEG 4 has been a challenge. I have yet to find programs that sync the video and audio. In addition, the time-consuming, yet doable process of ripping DVD’s to MPEG 4 has been hit and miss. Further, when watching a movie I don’t have the ability to skip to different chapters, however like with podcasts I can pause and come back the movie later and continue where I left off. With that in mind and considering I do little traveling I will stick to watching movies on my DVD player or the theater.


A Final Word:


Overall I love my iPod, it does have limitations, but it does what I want it to do. It plays all of my music and allows me to watch my favorite video podcasts on my television. For $299.00 it isn’t a bad buy, but ask yourself what it is you want from a portable player before you buy.

Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Don't get to stuffed today. Here is some information I found on the Internet about Thanksgiving:

Boston Massachusetts Information:
The History of Thanksgiving

The Wampanoag Indians
When the Pilgrims first landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in Dec. 26, 1620, it was the day after Christmas. Those who know Massachusetts winters realize that this was just about the worst time to land, with frozen land, no food, and bitter snows coming shortly. The ship had carried 102 passengers, and about half of the Pilgrims died during this first winter. Still, that even some of them survived was thanks to the native Wampanoag Indians, who met up with them soon after they landed.

The Wampanoags lived in small villages along the coastline of both Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They fished, farmed, and were generally peaceful and friendly. They lived in wigwams, and wore deerskin outfits.

Squanto
The Indian which helped the Pilgrims the most was "Squanto", who had visited England before and knew how to speak English and work with these visitors. His ability to communicate with the Pilgrims and show them how to survive in this harsh winter was key to their survival.

The First Thanksgiving
The pilgrims invited their two key Indian helpers, Squanto, Samoset, plus Chief Massasoit, to share in their Thanksgiving since they had been so instrumental in the pilgrims´ successes that summer. The Indians brought their families, numbering over 90 people. The pilgrims were overwhelmed, and didn´t have enough food, so the Indians brought along their own supplies for the feast. The Wampanoags brought turkey, deer, berries, squash, cornbread, and beans - things that they'd farmed and that they'd shown the Pilgrims how to care for.

Cultural Differences
The Wampanoag Indians normally ate sitting on the ground, on furs. For this special occasion, they sat at the tables with the Pilgrims. The Indian women and men both ate together. Pilgrim women didn´t have this equal status though - they had to stand behind their menfolk, dutifully waiting until the men were done and full before they were allowed to eat anything.

The Spread of Thanksgiving
Many states began having their own Thanksgiving celebrations in the fall, to give thanks for bountiful harvests. Abraham Lincoln made it official, and set aside the third Thursday as the national holiday in 1863.

20 years of Windows

20 years since Windows 1.0 was released. Wow! Who knew? Trivia about Windows 1.0, and yet another chance to check out that pic of Bill Gates lounging on his desk.

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Google Web Accelerator 0.2.62.80 Released Today

I started using this and it actually works pretty well even for broadband. Once installed you just click properties and select your Internet connection, dial-up, dsl or cable and you are off. Hope it works for you.

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Computers For Kids

Computers for Kids, Inc. (CFK) is a non profit organization working to close the "digital divide" by providing youngsters with home PCs with which to equalize their educational opportunities. Without help from CFK, the future for these kids would look bleak.

recentlyty had the chance to volenteer with this program. I would have to say that the kids took right the computers in about 1 hour or so they pretty much were out the door with their computers. Before each class we set up the computers and have them up and running. Part of the class is the kids must type out a thank you letter using Open Office. After that they get to choose some educational software to take home.

I must have set up about 20 computers and helped with some to their vehicles. The best part is to see the excitement oeveryone'ses face, and with out CFK this would not be possible.

The Blog Frappr! Map

I created a Frappr! So where in the world are you from? Just follow the white rabbit.

A Special Thanks

I would like to take some time on this Veterans Day to say thank you to our men and woman that have kept America free and safe.

And to my Dad my favorite Veteran, Thank You.

Shatner Plans a Star Trek Prequel?

Former Star Trek Captain William Shatner is hoping to bring the cult sci-fi show back to TV--he's writing a pilot for a prequel show.

Sounds great but didn't they do that with Enterprise?

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The Sony DRM hides itself by modifying the Windows kernel.

This story is a week old, but it makes you wonder how much big brother is watching you. There are plenty of other stories out about how Sony/BMG could add some tracking features onto your computer and cause all kinds of problems.

iPod returned after only 4 days.

Well it took only 4 days for the iPod to break. I was turning it off and placing the buttons in "hold" (this is done because the control wheel can restart the iPod with the slightest movement) and breakage. The "hold" is broken and I returned it back to Circuit City for a full refund.

So Apple that was not cool. They claim to be a better product, but come on only 4 days. I will give them a second chance, more on that later. However, this breakage only solidifies my worries about Apple Products, I have no clue as to what to expect of their product. The worse part is that I wanted to provide feedback of the problem and the support site has yet to list the iPod with Video. Can I expect this from further purchases of Apple products? One thing is for sure the Apple customer service person was friendly and told me exactly how to remedy the problem with two solutions and I was on the phone for only a short time. Also Circuit City "city advantage" coverage rocks, they return everything without a problem. I recommend that store to anybody.

I do have another iPod on its way. This time I went with white 30 gigabyte model. My experience with the 60 gigabyte black model is that scratches show real fast and 60 gigs is way way too much. I can't complain the iPod when working right allows for Photos, Video, Podcasts, and Music.

So I Got It!!!

Saturday I made a trip to Circuit City and purchased a 60 gigabyte iPod with Video (they were out of 30 gigabyte iPods). All I can say is this thing rocks. I have put all my music files onto it and it still has a whole lot more room for more. I also believe that it is a whole lot faster then my own personal computer. Now that is left to do is put some Audio Cables in the back of my car stereo and I am set. I would like some other accessories but one thing at a time.

Only draw back is watching video from the iPod is restricted to the small screen and I got the black one and it scratches real easier, but other than that it is nice. The only other draw back is the use of the iTunes software exclusively. I was hoping just to download directly from my computer, but I had to put the files into iTunes.

Audioblog Cast #13 and Notes

16k Version 32k Version


News:

• Halloween went off without a hitch.  Jessica had many trick or treat opportunities. Stephanie and her decorated for the occasion.


• Cocoa got out for a night.


• Big and Rich Concert was great and they have a new album coming out this coming November.


• Review of Blog stories.

Geek To Me:

• 2 new Podcasts I am listening to: KTVB’s Coaches extra and Mondays with Andy “Cyber” Walker.


• Itunes updates to 6.1 and iPod Video is out.  Home Video may be coming


• Octobers Windows Update.

Other Stuff:

• Of course new weblog design, logo and features I hope you like it.  I have spent a few hours getting it to this point.


• Updated links, took out Kevin Rose’s link since he has become a millionaire.


• Fire Fox Extension: IE View.

Internet Explorer Tab Within Firefox

This is a new firefox extension. To use it, just right click a link and choose "open this link in ie tab" you've now opened internet explorer in a tab of firefox!

This is great for the occasional times when a page doesn't work correctly in firefox, downloading windows updates, or designing a web page- since you can easily see how your webpage displays in IE with just one click and then switch back to Firefox.

If you are not using Firefox 1.50 a plugin is needed and the link to the plugin is given. I used it to do a Windows Update in Firefox, WOW a top ten Extension for Firefox easy.



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