Monthly Archives: December 2009

Behringer USB Audio Interface

This digital audio converter is marketed as a high-quality and inexpensive way to digitize old cassettes and LPs. I’m sure it’s excellent for those tasks, too, but I’ve found it particularly useful for making audio recordings on a laptop without a pro-tools budget.

behringer2sm.jpg

Basically, it's a less noisy way of taking sound from a mic and recording it onto a computer. Recording on an 1/8-inch-line input can be pretty noisy, especially on a laptop. This converter cuts out much of the noise, and makes a usable recording. I recently recorded some narration for a voiceover on a video I’m putting together, and it works pretty well. It's also USB-powered, so no need for batteries or an AC power cord. There are more expensive versions that do a slightly better job, but I find this product does a great job for the money.

— Drew Reed

Behringer UFO202 U-Phono High-Quality USB Audio Interface with Built-In Phono Preamp
$30

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Behringer

Set a Default Text Style in Gmail [Gmail Labs]

If you wanted to change the font, size, or color of your messages in Gmail, you normally have to do so on a mail-by-mail basis. Not so anymore, if you enable a new default text styling option from the Labs.

After enabling the new feature in the Labs menu from Gmail’s settings, head back to the “General” tab and look for the new text box. Set your font, size, color, and other options there, and they’ll stick from message to message. Most of us probably don’t need 18-point purple Garamond text, but, then again, a few subtle changes might help your own missives stand out in your message view.

New in Labs: Default text styling [Official Gmail Blog]






TVTrigger Integrates Television and BitTorrent into One Lovable Package [Downloads]

Windows only: TVTrigger is like TV Guide for your desktop—if, in addition to keeping you up to date on your favorite shows, TV Guide also automatically found and downloaded the latest torrent of said show as soon as it's released.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

This weekend we highlighted an application called FreeGuide, which is essentially a personalized TV guide for your desktop. TVTrigger is a little like that, except rather than personalizing your listings by channel, TVTrigger lets you choose favorite shows—and then automatically downloads the latest for you as soon as it's available.

We've seen similar tools before—like previously mentioned TED—but TVTrigger takes things a step further. It's got full episode lists, cast lists, plot synopses, can play trailers of episodes, and fully integrates with BitTorrent searches and downloads. Although TVTrigger has a built-in BitTorrent client, you can choose to open torrent files with your preferred BitTorrent client if you don't want TVTrigger handling your downloads.

It’s a little rough around the edges at spots, but TVTrigger would probably feel a whole lot friendlier for beginners than the normal BitTorrent procedure. TVTrigger is a free download, Windows only.






107 – Oil-Based Finish Basics

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Oil-based finishes are typically the first type of finish we confront as woodworkers, be it straight oil or a can polyurethane. Although they are all derived from oil, these finishes can vary widely in terms of application method, durability, and maintenance. The key to understanding these finishes is to understand their ingredients. With that foundation in your tool belt, you can start looking at ingredients lists instead of brand names and labels, and you’ll know exactly what to expect from the finish. Since this is a live session, we have a bunch of viewer questions in the video as well.

Topics include:

  • What is oil?
  • What is varnish?
  • What is the relationship between varnish and polyurethane?
  • The relative durability of oils, varnishes, and oil/varnish blends.
  • How to see past marketing jargon.
  • Why I like Arm-R-Seal.

Products discussed in the video:


RoomAtlas Puts Hotel Searches on a Google Map, Is Awesome [Travel]

Many sites that help you find a hotel can be a little frustrating to use. They’re either pumped full of ads or jumble results according to advertisers. RoomAtlas does away with all that, providing a simplified but impressive Google Maps-powered hotel search.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

Many travel web sites are often packed with ads, you can rarely search by specific location, and some require you to do a lot of leg work to really visualize the bottom line when it comes to price.

RoomAtlas makes things simple with their easy navigation and obvious options. You can type in an intersection, event center (say you’re traveling for work and would like to stay close by), or a city or street if you’re looking to stay near a friend or attraction, and it’ll return all the results placed nicely and color-coded by price on a Google Map. Once you click through to a hotel, you can then see what the building looks like, read reviews, and so forth.

It’s a dead simple search function, and even if you don’t use it to book your stay (say if you have a rewards program elsewhere), it makes finding the place you’d like to stay easy like Sunday morning.






Fring Puts Video Calls on Your iPhone [Downloads]

iPhone only: Previously mentioned mobile VoIP and chat application Fring has updated their iPhone app with support for streaming video calls. It’s a great feature, but it does have a catch.

If you’re unfamiliar with Fring, it’s a messaging application that integrates with everything from Skype and Google Talk to Facebook and AIM. For most, the VoIP feature comes via Skype. With the new update, iPhone and iPod touch users with a Wi-Fi connection can make and receive video calls via Fring or Skype and watch your contact from your phone. Unfortunately the video chat is only a one-way video thing for now, meaning either you can watch your friend talk or your friend can watch you talk. This is, of course, a limitation of the iPhone and its non-front-facing camera. The folks at Fring assure us that two-way video calls will be available as soon as the iPhone gets a front-facing camera.

Two-way video or not, it’s great to see a first step in this direction for the iPhone. Video calling may not be an everyday sort of event (I do plenty of things while I’m on the phone that the person I’m talking to doesn’t need or want to see), but it’s certainly got its place, and it’ll be nice to take video chat out of our computer monitors.

Fring is a free download.

Fring [iTunes App Store via Fring Blog]






Use Basic Fat Math to Lose Extra Weight [Weight Loss]

Changing your diet entirely and signing up for a gym—starting tomorrow, you swear—probably won't work. Wired's How-To Wiki runs some math on what it really takes to lose permanent weight. The numbers are actually, well, encouraging.

Photo by bandita.

Nobody eats the same exact diet every day, but most days meet up with a fairly consistent average. Stick to that diet as closely as possible, and then use the math that The Hacker’s Diet author John Walker suggests:

  1. Multiply the pounds you want to lose by the number of calories in a pound of fat: 10 x 3,500 = 35,000.
  2. Divide the total by the days you’ll diet: 35,000 ÷ 60 = 583.
  3. Eat that many fewer calories each day.

The wiki post suggests other methods of using specific measures and time limits to drop pounds. The backbone to all the advice is fairly simple: find a way to gradually kill calories from your diet, and keep them out.

Done any helpful math on your own diet lately? Share your success in the comments.

Engineer Weight Loss [Wired How-To Wiki]






Less Noisy Garage Door

LS_Garage
Do neighbors complain a lot about the noise level of your garage? Do you want to minimize it? Here are some ways to have a more quiet carport:

Inspect your garage to find out where you can make necessary changes.

If your garage is made of concrete, you can try installing a noise isolating system which is made of semi-rigid rubber which can cut the vibrations. If you have a room above your garage, you can try insulating noise by adding under carpet under your carpet.

Try nylon rollers instead of steel ones. They will run almost noiselessly on the tracks. Check your electric operator as well. Steel chains make a lot of racket. Try to switch to rubber, specifically a rubber belt that is reinforced with a metal wire.

If you’re planning to change springs for your lifting system, “torsion” types are more recommended than “extension” ones, because the former allows balancing and reduces friction between cables and springs on tracks. As for the tracks, those with a larger radius offer smoother door action.

Don’t forget to lubricate your garade door at least twice a year.

You can always ask help from your local handyman or garage door experts if you wish to have the whole thing replaced.

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