11/11/08: Fun with FLAC
Music enthusiasts understand that lossy compression formats such as MP3 are not an ideal way of archiving music digitally. Even if the MP3 is indistinguishable to the ears, additional format conversions or recompressions can result in noticeable quality loss. The solution is to loslessly compress the data. Losless compression (the most common example people use daily is the Zip format) can be returned to its orginal form with 100% of the data intact. However Zip and other generic file compressors are not optimized for audio. Though there are several losless file formats optimized for audio files, the most widely currently is the FLAC (or Free Lossless Audio Codec) format.
In the article after the jump, I answer 2 questions that came up recently when working with some FLAC files (the latest Nine Inch Nails album generously provided free of charge by Trent Reznor). The first question is how to play the files using MPC-HC (my preferred media player) and the second is how to convert them to MP3 for playback on my iPhone.
In the article after the jump, I answer 2 questions that came up recently when working with some FLAC files (the latest Nine Inch Nails album generously provided free of charge by Trent Reznor). The first question is how to play the files using MPC-HC (my preferred media player) and the second is how to convert them to MP3 for playback on my iPhone.
Many older wireless devices aren't supported under Vista. There is no technical reason for this. For the manufacturers it simply does not make economic sense to backport drivers and support to older devices (especially when they would love to sell you a new device).
One device that falls into this category is the Dell TrueMobile Wireless 1450 USB. This adapter is a quality 802.11g device and is available cheaply secondhand through eBay or Amazon
. But it is not officially supported under Vista. Click read more to find out how I got it working under 32 bit (x86) Vista. I was not able to make the device work under 64 bit Vista, unfortunately.
One device that falls into this category is the Dell TrueMobile Wireless 1450 USB. This adapter is a quality 802.11g device and is available cheaply secondhand through eBay or Amazon
. But it is not officially supported under Vista. Click read more to find out how I got it working under 32 bit (x86) Vista. I was not able to make the device work under 64 bit Vista, unfortunately.
08/29/08: New OTA Channel 39.3 in San Diego
San Diego residents will want to rescan their over-the-air digital recievers as NBC has added Universal Sports on channel 39.3. The channel shows current and classic Olympic-type competition.
08/29/08: FLV Flights of Fancy
You may have thought about, or already downloaded Flash Video Content (FLV) from the likes of YouTube or other sites. Recently I grabbed a concert video from the BBC (which is tricky for those not in the UK - which may be a subject for a future article). Now I was left wondering how to play the file in a fresh build of Vista Home Premium.
I found out a lot about flash video. To see how the playback was accomplished, click the read more link below.
I found out a lot about flash video. To see how the playback was accomplished, click the read more link below.