Rip MP3s with iTunes

You can have iTunes rip your CD collection into mp3s instead of their AAC format with just a few mouse clicks. Here’s the procedure.

Edit – Preferences – Import Settings – Import Using – change this to MP3 Encoder.

Western Digital – Get Your Act Together

Do you own one of those small external hard drives from Western Digital? They are great for storing large amounts of data in a small space and only need a USB port for power.

The problem however comes when you try to move a large file, say over 4.5 GB, over to the drive. It won’t move!

It turns out that the problem is that WD continues to format this hard drive with FAT32. FAT32 used to be ok in the old days, but now we all use NTFS which allows for the larger files which we all need for backup and video.

They say they do that so that MAC users can use the hard drive, yet they make an external hard drive formatted for MAC – the “My Passport Studio.”

Why they don’t make an external portable hard drive formatted for the Windows world is idiotic.

While you can reformat the drive, it’s another time waster. They should come that way in the first place.

Another aggravation I incurred with WD was when I called them up to complain about this problem and the CSR asked for my serial number. The number and letters are so small that I had to guess.Even when you scan it in, the ink is not sharp enough to get a clear impression of each of the letters. Please just print out the serial numbers large enough for the average person to read.

Western Digital – Get Your Act Together!

Download YouTube Video

KEEPVID.COM

Here’s another nice site which allows you to easily download Youtube Video. It even gives you the option of getting the higher quality version.

LCD TV vs. LCD Monitor

If you’ve ever wondered if you could just buy an LCD TV and use it instead of buying an LCD monitor, the picture above shows you the difference. The LCD TV while being viewable has a much fuzzier picture than the LCD Monitor. While it would probbly be fine for viewing videos, for day to day use, I’d buy the monitor to get that crisp text.

Clear Type on Your Monitor

I’m in the process of moving to a new computer and the screen type is terrible. I remembered that Clear Type, from Microsoft is a great tool to make your screen look much more legible. You need to use Microsoft Internet Explorer to install this. (CLEAR TYPE)Click on the picture to see the difference.

Below is a picture which shows the dramatic difference.

How to View a Folder Tree in My Computer-Win Explorer

One of the aggravating things for my about “My Computer” or “Windows Explorer” when they first run is that they start out with just one panel showing the files in the right column and miscellaneous information on the left. I want to drag and drop files and in this view, it doesn’t work.


HOWEVER if you use the option – View – Explorer Bar – Folders

I get the view which I want.

YouTube Notes on Quality

I recently uploaded a movie to Youtube and here’s how they compressed it:
Original MOV file – 2926 KB (640×480)
Flash Movie – 449 KB (320×240)
MP4 movie – 876 KB (480×360) – This is when you add &fmt=18 to the end of the URL.
Note – they actually play the movie in a 480×360 window

How to Turn Bare Bones Hard Drive into USB

If you have an old bare bones hard drive you want to use, but don’t have a way to connect it to your computer, try this solution from Newertech.com
It will connect most 2.5″ and 3.5″ drives, SATA and PATA.

Newertech.com

Cartoonr – Free Video Plugin

If you’d like to spice up some of your video with weird effects, give Cartoonr a try. Right now, it’s a FREE plugin for Adobe Premiere, Pinnacle, Sony and Ulead.
http://www.newbluefx.com/cartoonr/

I’ve posted a short video which shows the basic effects on YouTube.