Did you download a audio file and/or a video in a format you may or may not have seen before?  You try them, but they don’t work on your media players you have installed.  Did you try VideoLan VLC Media Player?  VLC Media Player is a free, open source that supports large number of codecs, sure I can list them all, but there is just way to many!  But, the people at VideoLAN has created a page for you that lists them all that are supported by VLC.  You can check that out here. I decided to create a little review about VLC, because I have asked a few people about VLC and they never heard of it, but they didn’t know that it can play just about every type of media format.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: cross, fast, Linux, Mac, media, open, platform, Player, portable, simple, Software, soruce, VideoLAN, VLC, Windows

Do you have a fairly large hard drive and only having about 2-5gb left of space?  Wondering what’s taking up all of the space?  But you can’t find where these files are located.  I been there before and I use a free program called TreeSize Free.

TreeSize will tell you precisely where these large files are.  You can start TreeSize from the context menu of a folder or a drive and it will show you the size of this folder, including it’s subfolders.  You can select KB, MB, and GB for size options.  You can also expand this folder just like you can in explorer and you will see every size of ever subfolder.  When TreeSize is scanning your files, you can see the results in real time.  Also, TreeSize works well with Windows Explorer. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: clean, delete, Drive, Explorer, files, free, hard, organize, Scanner, size, Software, tree, treesize, Windows

Do you have another computer right next your main machine?  I do, I have little file server right next to my main machine and I was looking up KVM switches a while back and I just wasn’t sure that it would work with my set up, I have a Logitech G15 gaming keyboard and I have heard that people had a few issues with using it on a KVM switch.

So I recently stumbled upon a virtual KVM switch called Synergy, this is open source and they even give you the information and other stuff to help you edit the build if you would like to, But I see no need into doing it, unless you have a good reason.

It works on Windows 95 all the way to Windows 7, Unix, and Mac OSX.

Synergy lets you easily share a single mouse and keyboard between multiple computers with different operating systems, each with its own display, without special hardware. It’s intended for users with multiple computers on their desk since each system uses its own monitor(s).

Redirecting the mouse and keyboard is as simple as moving the mouse off the edge of your screen. Synergy also merges the clipboards of all the systems into one, allowing cut-and-paste between systems. Furthermore, it synchronizes screen savers so they all start and stop together and, if screen locking is enabled, only one screen requires a password to unlock them all.

Learn More

Download

The set-up of this program is really easy. Just follow the instructions at their website.

The Configuration

You can even set it up to auto start when your computer starts up so you don’t have to worry about it.

You do have to have a TC/IP network set up in order to use this, but most of use would have this set up if they have multiple computers in their office/bedroom.  It is a great application if you have a windows machine, Mac and a linux box hooked up to 3 different displays and only wants to use one mouse and one keyboard, it works great!

If you want to learn more about it, just go to their website at http://synergy2.sourceforge.net

Heres another great review about Synergy http://techjohnson.com/synergy-software

Tags: Keyboard, kvm, Linux, Mac, mouse, Networking, Software, synergy, tc/ip, Video, Windows

A while ago you may saw my older post about a Microsoft Powertoy-Image Resize clone.  Of course this was just a clone of the program to be use with Windows Vista.  I have used it many times and it works well but the quality of the photos really degrade and it bothers the heck out of me. 

I recently came across a new program for Windows XP or Vista called VSO Image Resizer – this is one great handy program.   VSO Image Resizer is a free program, but they do have a paid version.

With this free resize image software, you can create e-mail friendly versions of your images, load them faster, move them easily from folder to folder, change their format, edit large numbers of image files/batch image resize and thus save space on your hard drive. Using high resolution 1600×1200 for creating wallpaper or file-sharing you can save your memory. VSO Image Resizer can also change file names using a template and you can add your own watermark with transparency support.
VSO Image resizer is integrated into the Windows explorer shell, right click on your pictures and start working on your pictures !

I have not noticed any degrade of image quality and it works very well when you are doing batch jobs.  How ever if you do a ton of photography like I do, then this isn’t a very great way of resizing photos because though it might look alright, but there could be lost of data.  So use Photoshop or something similar!

This is the interface, as you can tell it is very clean and easy to use.  Also you can see all the neat features it offers!

 

And this is the processing box.

 

 

So if you have a ton of photos to resize for facebook to increase upload time, this is the program to use!  I know you will like it and it is a better tool than the powertoy one. So download it now!

http://www.vso-software.fr/products/image_resizer/

Tags: Image, Microsoft, photos, Powertoy, Resize, Resizer, Software, Vista, VSO, Windows, XP

When I first started playing the Electric Guitar I didn’t have enough money at the time the purchase a decent amplifier and So I did some research and I found some Audio interfaces that were like 200-600 bucks and that’s like buying a amp! I did some more research and I found a really cool Audio Interface called ‘RockFrog” and the price was right! ($75) and so I checked it out and thought about it for a while and decided to buy it, boy was I please when I got this.  It had a USB plug for plugging it into your desktop/laptop, it had a plug for your guitar and then another plug for head phones or speakers.  Depending on your headphones or speakers you may need a 1/4" to 3.5mm stereo adapter.

The Jammate RockFrog even came with Amplitube AMP simulator software which works very well. However, it comes with Full version of GUITAR COMBOS from NATIVE INSTRUMENTS now. If your a newbie to guitar playing, I highly recommend this, and even if you are a experienced guitar player, this audio interface is really great for practicing in your room/house or even private practicing.

Here’s some of the specs:

- 1-in 2-out multi purpose USB audio interface
- 1/4” direct instrument input for Electric guitars and Basses
- 1/4” Stereo headphone output
- One channel recording and two channel playback at the same time; full duplex
- Zero latency Monitoring
- WDM, MME, ASIO, and DirectSound support

Plug & Play with USB
  With the JamMate RockFrog, you don’t need to mess with audio cables, effectors, and guitar amps.
  You are finally free from the analog guitar world. Just plug your electric guitar or Bass guitar to
  your PC or Mac through the RockFrog and you are ready to play.
• No amp needed: your computer is the amplifier
  Make music directly into your PC. You don’t need a microphone or audio interface card.
  Connecting RockFrog to your guitar is all you need.
• Support both ASIO2.0 and WDM at the same time
  You can listen your guitar sound with amp simulator’s effectors and the MP3 files through the output
  jack of RockFrog simultaneously.
• The lowest latency
  You can feel more natural guitar sounds without reducing attack & sustain after picking guitar string.
• Clean, professional digital sound
  The audio signal from your guitar will be instantly converted to a digital signal.
  Then the signal travels through the USB connection without any loss or noise.
• The best practice environment ever with the built-in Headphone amp!
  The RockFrog has a built-in Headphone Jack. You can monitor your playing with headphones
  directly from your guitar.
  The built-in stereo audio output is also provided for connection to other line level gear.
• Native Instruments® Guitar Combos Amp simulator software included
   Full version of 3 popular vintage guitar Amp simulators are included;
   Plexi Combo, AC Box Combo and Twang combo.

 

If you really do plan on buying RockFrog Audio Interface, it is really hard to find this product, but trust me it is really awesome device! I bought mine off eBay from a music store some where’s in New York and they sell many of them they said, so I highly recommend searching on eBay for it.

Tags: Amp, Amplitube, ASIO, audio, Electric, Frog, Guitar, Guitarist, Interface, jam, Jammate, Mate, Player, Rock, Rockfrog, simulator, Software, sound