Podcasting could just be a hobby or a major income generating project for some people. Technology makes it really easy to create a podcast. All you need is a computer, a microphone, a free podcasting service wherein you could upload your recorded voice and let the world know what you want to say, and of course – a recording software.
For professional and amateur podcasters alike, there is arguably no better recording technology than Audacity. Audacity is a completely free software wherein you could create a recording and play them with your preferred tracks. Of course there are other software programs for voice recordings that are sold in the market. But the functionality of Audacity is almost the same as other commercial recording softwares. As of this writing, there are more than 20 million downloads for Audacity, and it doesn’t show any signs of going down.
Aside from the “free” feature from Audacity, you can create music using the multi-track capability of the software. Up to 16 tracks can be played at the same time – more than enough if you’re a start-up band.
Audacity has their own extension (.aup). That means, the file that you’re saving can only be played in another Audacity software. For the file to be played in other media players, you have to export them to a standard file such as mp3. wav files can easily be exported but mp3 still requires an encoder. When you download the software, download the LAME folder also located at the official site of Audacity. Unzip the folder. When your select “Export as mp3,” it will ask for the .dll file located in the folder. All you need to do is to look for the file once, and never do it again later.
When using multiple tracks, increase the bit rate. When you download audacity, it will be set at 128kbps by default. With 128kbps, it can at least carry up to four tracks. That’s the usual number of tracks you need to play a simple song. But beware of the file size as 128kbps could master up to 3MB in a three minute song. If you’re doing only one-track (for voice only), you can use 32kbps. You can do this by going to Edit > Preferences > File Format.
Always have a copy in multiple formats. This will be tedious but at least have a file in .aup and mp3 formats. The reason for this is ease in transferring a track from one file to another. If you transfer an mp3 format to an .aup format, all you will hear is a squeaky sound.
So if you’re thinking of podcasting or recording your first song, download Audacity. This is one free software you shouldn’t miss as it will give you the functionality that can be compared to other sound manipulation software. Give it a try and practice all the functionalities and you’ll be a sound master in time.
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There are hundreds of add-ons that Firefox users can install in their browser. Internet Explorer (IE) may have the edge of having the most users around the world, but Firefox has definitely edged them with regards to functionality and customization. Here are some of the add-ons that anyone should have in their Firefox browsers.
Gmail Manager – if you don’t have an account with Gmail until today, go get one! As Gmail’s popularity grows by the thousands everyday, this tool makes it easier to create not only one but as many accounts as you can. The Gmail Manager will silently occupy the lower bar of your Firefox browser. Once you open the program, you’ll be able to see your numerous accounts with Gmail.
Flashgot – video hogs unite! Flashgot is definitely a tool for you if you love collecting videos available in popular download sites, as well as flash videos such as those from YouTube. Once you install this nifty software, and visit a popular website, just click on the logo on the lower right side of the browser and you’ll be presented with the number of videos to download. Remember to download flash player to view the downloaded videos.
Social Bookmarking Tools – you might already have noticed a couple of websites and blogs with these small widgets wherein you can easily add the site to your digg, del.icio.us and other social bookmarking websites. Instead of looking for those widgets, why not have them in your browser permanently. Every time you want to mark something, just click and comment, and your bookmark will be in your account in no time. There’s no universal widget so you have to install the add-ons one by one.
Gmail Space – as of this writing, Gmail is currently nearing the 3 gig mark of memory. That’s already a lot for regular users who just wanted to access the internet because of simple e-mail and document. Using Gmail Space, you could use Gmail as a simple tool on the go. Create a separate account and transfer some of the documents you need on the go and use this tool to easily upload them. No need to sign up and “send to self” to store the documents in Gmail. To be safe, don’t upload anything really personal.
SearchStatus – this is perfect for everyone who has a website. If you want to know how popular you are in the internet, this is the perfect tool for you. SearchStratus will tell you your current page rank and Alexa ranking at the same time. You’ll also know how popular a website you visit. Even a particular link’s popularity will be shown in the page rank and Alexa toolbar immediately.
Google Notebook – one of my favorites so far. How come no one has created something like this in the first place? Google notebook can bookmark any page. Aside from placing a bookmark, you can easily place a little note to remind you what to do in the website and if there’s any information you need to add.
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Microsoft Office’s dominance as the premier office application is now challenged more than ever with the release of applications that are similar in feature or even stronger in terms of their use. MS Word, MS Excel and MS Powerpoint used to be the standard applications for almost everything being done in offices. Every release is waited on and applied immediately, hoping this will be the better software than it was last year. Personally, I think we got stuck in 2003 when it comes to the office applications. The next generation of office applications developed by Microsoft is not that appealing anymore. And I think I’m not alone with this conclusion. Millions out there are still using 2003 as the primary tool for office applications. MS Office 2007 is quite good but not enough to sway us to change our simple and very effective Office 2003.
Now there are office applications ready to challenge the powerhouse of MS office. They don’t just bank on the idea of getting things done faster compared to graphics intensive MS office, but they are also free. If you’re a manager or the owner of a very big corporation where computers are numbered by hundreds, you will be paying thousands of dollars for the licensed office application. However, with free office software you can practically have the same experience without having to pay a single cent for these products.
One of these products is the software release by OpenOffice.Org. It has successfully created office applications that will rival the powerhouse giant. Their version of office even has the ability to export files as PDF without additional software. They also have Calc (Excel), Impress, (Powerpoint), Base (Access), Draw (CorelDraw) and Math (MS Equation Editor). Millions of downloads have been logged by the creators and there’s no signs that it will stop anytime.
Aside from offline competition, there are also online competition that’s even more powerful because of the connectivity to the internet. Google has set of products that are the same as the standard office application. While you’re writing a document or creating a simple excel file, you can allow others to watch you do it in real time anywhere in the world. They may even add some notes or help you with creating the file in real time. Just recently, Google made an announcement that it’s releasing Google Presentations. By the name you will immediately recognize its similarity to Office Powerpoint. Yahoo even joined the bandwagon and purchased Zimbra for $350 million. Zimbra is an e-mail application that can easily be recognized similar to MS Outlook. It will be months now before yahoo mail will become a better e-mail that what it is today.
Microsoft Corporation is acknowledging this competition. They have slashed the prices of the office applications and students can buy it for as low as $60. Still $60 is not free but as a standard leader they still have followers. We will be seeing a lot of competition and it’s a fierce one.
Ten years ago we were held at the power of single core processors. Then they released the dual core which doubles the power of the processor. Later we were again at awe with the triple core which allowed us to have more powerful hardware to answer the demands of some of the software released in the industry. The gamers are not just enthralled with the 8-bit technology. We need gigs after gigs of powerful processors that are needed to ensure that some of the games can even start in the first place.
AMD answered the call as the race for the most powerful chip is being developed within the Silicon Valley. AMD’s latest arsenal, the Quad-Core is set to change accepted speed of most of the computers all over the world. AMD banks in four things to make your computer better than what it was.
First is what the company calls AMD Virtualization. Using the power of Quad Core, instead of having a power dedicated for one application, four cores will be working interpedently to run different kinds of software programs concurrently. The architecture will also make sure they will be working with each other in terms of interconnections, making it even more proficient not only with games but with other office applications with heavy load.
Second is the power requirement. Most of the time, the processors that we use today could also increase power consumption. But AMD has developed two new technologies, Enhanced AMD Power Now! and CoolCore. These are silent innovations that will eventually lower power consumption of each computer.
Third is what they call Investment Protection. This technology ensures the software that you use will never be interrupted. This ensures non-disruptive smooth transitions from dual- to quad-core technology, and streamlines the hardware and software updates only when you need them.
Lastly of course is the performance. Optimized processor ensures that users will have the best of technologies. Think of the power of four when you have them. It’s going to be phenomenal when everything works out according to the plans of the Quad Core technology.
But of course, competition will always have an answer. Intel is already working on their next level of chip technology to answer the Quad Core. But the technology could be unnecessary with all the powerful things that we have right now. For a simple business processor, you really don’t need to have four brains to work things out. And the price is quite high to call it an investment. The current market value of computers with AMD Quad-Core is $1,500 or more a piece.
For now, we’ll just have to wait until the price goes down and try it out for ourselves. Right now the technology that we have may be more than enough, and Quad-Core could wait. The good thing is that we know that there’s always an upgrade we can try, ready to be used anytime if needed.
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Tablet PC are here. In fact, we are already witnessing the 2nd and 3rd generation of Tablet PCs in the market. The major companies that have created our computers and other hardware devices are also in this market and silently selling these products to hardcore computer enthusiasts.
Before we go on, let’s take a look what a Tablet PC really is. By definition it could be anything flat, not a clamshell like the laptop, that packs a powerful processor compared to most PDAs and cell phones, and it works like a real computer with the ability to add and remove software and use the known operating systems for ease of data transfer. Sounds really cool right?
And they really are. Tablet PC has the size more than half of the laptop since you don’t need to fold them as most of these Tablet PCs are created with a touch screen capability. It could work like the laptop and think like the laptop, and weigh less than the laptop.
So why are these Tablet PCs unpopular to most of the people? There so many reasons why people are hesitant to transfer to this kind of hardware for their productive projects. Let’s get to them one by one.
First of all, the price. Most laptops will require you to pay at least $800 to $1500. If you already paid more than $1500, you already have yourself a very powerful notebook that’s good for more than two to three years without the need of upgrades. On the other hand, Tablet PCs are quite expensive. The regular Tablet PCs are priced at least $2,500. If you want to have something that’s as powerful as the $1,500 laptop, be sure to shell out at least $4,000. With that price you could already buy yourself two laptops and keep the rest for rainy days.
Another disadvantage of Tablet PCs is added difficulty in hardware upgrades. We acknowledge that a laptop is difficult to upgrade because its parts are harder to configure for an start up techie. But a Tablet PC not only needs a licensed technician but a good computer expert to upgrade its hardware components. If you ever find an separate upgrade of a Tablet PC, you’re in luck as these hardware components could have come from another busted Tablet PC. In short, what you’ll have are hand me downs instead of brand new.
If you really wanted to have a Tablet PC against all odds, be sure to have one that will keep up with the required speed for at least two years. That way you don’t need to add another Tablet PC for your Christmas wish list.
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