Beethoven 9th Symphony Stretched for 24 Hours

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Jesse Zylstra

Hear that sound? It’s familiar, it’s something you’ve probably heard all of your life. It’s just much slower than expected. Often thought of as the tune to “Ode to Joy”, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is thought by many to be one of his best pieces. Quite some time ago, this symphony was digitally stretched (see, I made it computer-related) over a 24 hour period without pitch distortion. This stream has been live since 2005, playing just this — quite cool. Continue reading →

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Goog-411 , 411 Service from Google

Posted on March 13, 2010 by Jesse Zylstra

Where can I find a free 411 directory service?

Goog-411 is a free 411 service offered by Google for finding local businesses’ address and phone number. Along with being able to tell you this information through the voice service, Googl-411 is capable of connecting you to the call (for free), or sending you a text message with details.

To use Googl-411, just dial 1800 GOOG411 from any US home or mobile phone. After connecting, you will hear: “Google. Say the business, then the city and state.” From the information you provide using your own wonderful vocal abilities, Google will organize the results into listings with numbers. Just say the number, and then (as it explains), say “Details” for more information, or “Connect” to connect your call.

Check out theGoog-411 website for more information.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN0q8SvlQAk

Dial from any phone

1-800-GOOG-411

(1-800-466-4411)

 
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The GetHuman Database — Skip Computer Phone Automation

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Jesse Zylstra

Do you hate talking to a computer for an hour before getting to a real person, then getting put on hold? Now you can just be put directly on hold and ignored for another hour!

The GetHuman database contains almost every major call center, and instructions for how to get directly to a human operator. Besides just bypass instructions, GetHuman also rates different aspects of the quality of care from call centers, including average wait-time so you can know how much time you need to put aside.

Computers have been used for routing calls to “the right technician” for years, but it always seems like you make a mistake that gets you to the wrong person. Calling and getting connected to the first-level operators will efficiently get you connected to who you need to talk to, the operator can ask for your name and then transfer your call. It is much quicker, it makes much more sense.

Check it out. http://gethuman.com/

This is definitely one to keep in your favorites list.

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Pidgin: A Multi-Protocol Instant Messenger Program

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Jesse Zylstra

Pidgin is a multi-protocol, multi-platform, open source instant messenger program available for Windows and Linux. (Mac Users are recommended to try Adium)

From their website:

Pidgin is an easy to use and free chat client used by millions. Connect to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and more chat networks all at once.

Supported chat networks:

  • AIM
  • Bonjour
  • Gadu-Gadu
  • Google Talk
  • Groupwise
  • ICQ
  • IRC
  • MSN
  • MySpaceIM
  • QQ
  • SILC
  • SIMPLE
  • Sametime
  • XMPP
  • Yahoo!
  • Zephyr

I find Pidgin great since I can use my Yahoo, MSN, and GoogleTalk accounts all at once. The only problems that I have had are slow transfer speeds due to how proprietary Microsoft is about their message system. Other than this, the people you talk to over Pidgin will not know that you are even in Pidgin until you tell them how great it is.
Plenty of plugins are available for adding extra features.
Best of all, Pidgin has no ads.

To download Pidgin and find out more, visit the Pidgin website

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Contest

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Jesse Zylstra

Comment and be nominated for Google Wave — Click Here

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Review: Sennheiser DJ Style Headphones with Enhanced Bass Drivers (HD 202)

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Jesse Zylstra
I bought a pair of Sennheiser DJ Style Headphones with Enhanced Bass Drivers from Newegg for $26 (with 99¢ shipping). Designed to be lightweight for extended use, these headphones are comfortable to wear and sound great. Best of all, they did not force me to break my cash-box open. I have to say, I love them.

Pros:
The sound is great, I can really tell individual sounds from each-other — something that I have trouble with on cheap headphones due to hearing loss.

  • These headphones are extremely comfortable to wear. I can wear them for a few hours without noticing them.
  • These headphones are extremely lightweight, weighing 0.2875lbs (4.6 oz.)
  • The 9.8ft cable length is more than what I need.. I keep more than half of it bunched up with a “twistie-tie”.
  • These headphones are Circumaural, meaning they go around the ear.
  • The headphones have descent insulation so as to block out quiet background noise.

Cons:
These headphones are kind of big, and can not be tossed into a backpack. This is no real complaint, a good pair of around-the-ear headphones should be like this.

My other thoughts:
These headphones have everything I would expect in a nice quality pair of headphones. There is nothing I can truly complain about, but I do wish they would have come with a case.

Originally, I wanted noise canceling headphones, but further research informed me that, for every day use, noise canceling headphones are not that great for in-home use. So, until I have a jet engine sitting outside my office window, I won’t worry about noise cancellation technology.

Specifications:

The following are from the NewEgg specifications page:

Brand SENNHEISER
Model HD202
Type Stereo / DJ
Frequency Response 18Hz-18KHz
THD <0.5%
Input Impedance 32 ohm
Sensitivity 115dB S.P.L. at 1KHz
Connector 3.5mm/ 6.3mm (adapter included)
Ear Coupling Circumaural
Cord Length 9.8 feet OFC copper
Weight 4.6 oz.
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Gaming: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Tips

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Jesse Zylstra

Where can I find walkthroughs, tips, and hints for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas?
I found a great walkthrough and guide for GTA: San Andreas on the Bella Online website. GTA is one of two games that I play, so I have to say I was enthused to find such a great guide. All missions are included, and a few other pages including ways to make more money, where to find hidden weapons, police-safe areas, random things within the game, and more.

These guides do not include maps, which is a shame. It would also be nice if the descriptions were more detailed with better directions — this guide is more geared towards people somewhat familiar with the game. At the very least, the guides are complete and get the point across.

Other guides from the same writer:

Liberty City Walkthrough | Vice City Walkthrough | GTA3 Walkthrough

Check out the guide:

http://www.bellaonline.com/gaming/w/sanandreas/

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VLC Media Player / VideoLAN

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Jesse Zylstra

Did you finally run across a video that Windows Media Player wasn’t able to play?

Either due to codecs missing, or a really weird sub encoding of an encoding of an encoding that just doesn’t work as planned, Windows Media Player can’t handle everything.

A full list of formats and available inputs is listed here

VLC Media Player(also called VideoLAN) is a program capable of playing a wide variety of video and audio formats. VLC can stream media over the Internet using a variety of protocols, and play media locally via. Hard drive, DVD, CD, you name it.

VLC Media Player is a great program to have installed as a backup just in case Windows Media Player just will not work.

VLC is open source, and multi-platform. It’s just as great for Linux and Mac as it is for Windows.

Check It Out

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Classical Piano Music

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Jesse Zylstra

Where can I find free classical, open source, or public domain music scores?

Free-scores.com sounds like your typical “get the first page free with a sample watermark, pay for the rest” website just based on the domain. If you, like me, have spent hours upon hours trying to find your favourite tunes in the public domain for free but to no avail, this website may be for you.

Manipulating their search engine to give you just what you want can be a little tricky, but a little tweaking will help you find just what you want.

Music for just about every instrument can be found on this website.

Instrument Selections include: (from their website…)

WINDS STRINGS KEYBOARDS
Bassoon
Clarinet
French Horn
Flute
Oboe
Recorder
Saxophone
Trombone
Trumpet
Tuba
Banjo
Doublebass
Harp
Guitar
Lute
Mandolin
Piano
Viola
Violin
Violoncello
Accordion
Harpsichord
Organ
Piano
OTHERS
Choral, Voice
Drums
Orchestra
Other instru.


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Data Recovery Program: Recuva

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Jesse Zylstra

Where can I find a free data-recovery program?
Recuva is a free data recovery from Piform, the company that created CCleaner, the free program for cleaning out your computer.

From their website:
“Accidentally deleted an important file? Lost something important when your computer crashed? No problem! Recuva recovers files deleted from your Windows computer, Recycle Bin, digital camera card, or MP3 player. And it’s free!“


Other features besides just accidental deletion recovery include: (Features)

  • Being able to recover files from a damaged or even formatted disk
  • Automatically finding and being able to restore emails emails from popular email clients (including Thunderbird, Outlook Express, and Windows Live Mail)
  • Ability to restore unsaved Word documents
  • Fast, “Recuva can find most files within a minute”, and find even more, older files by doing a “deep scan”

Recuva is also capable of completely destroying files, making them unrecoverable if such an action was so desired.
A portable version is available as well which is great for computer technicians.

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