Record ANY Audio on Your Computer!!!

I wanted to find a way to record streaming audio, like anything from Pandora to Reverbnation, for my own personal listening.  Of course, always support your favorite artists since they put a TON of work into the music they create!

First, get a simple stereo audio patch cable (stereo headphone jack at both ends).  Plug one end into your computer's audio out jack (usually colored green) and the other end into the mic input jack (usually pink).

Then download Audacity (and the Lame MP3 plugin to export your recordings to mp3 format). Install both and launch Audacity to begin.

The video below will illustrate the rest but I've typed up a quick explanation so you know what's going on.

As an example, I fired up Winamp to have some music playing.  First, I click the microphone meter region to "Start Metering" so that when audio is playing, you can see the signal bars jump.  Click the red record button and then start playing the audio you want to record.  The mic signal bars should start dancing.

After you are done recording, click the stop button in Audacity.  Use the mouse to highlight the captured audio you want to keep.  From the File menu at the top, select Export Selected Audio.  Save the file, type in your tags in the Metadata dialog box that appears next and then you're good to go!

Go full screen and change to 720p resolution to see details!

                                                                                  

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A Clean Computer is a Happy Computer

If you've noticed that your computer has been freezing up, shutting down unexpectedly, or very warm to the touch, it may be clogged with dirt, dust and grime.

Many computers I come across to clean malware, optimize performance, reinstall the operating system,etc. are dirty.  Some more than others.  This doesn't only apply to desktop computers either - it could be a game console (like one I recently cleaned out because of exactly this reason), a laptop, and other devices like audio mixers.

Electronic devices such as these emit EMR, or electromagnetic radiation, that attracts dust like flies on dog shit.  It clogs the case fans and main processor fans, coats the main board and other components and sometimes evens causes a funny smell from your computer.

If you feel up to it and it's not too dirty, power off your computer, open the case and keep in contact with it to stay grounded (so you don't statically shock it to death).  Take a vacuum cleaner with a brush-head detailing attachment (very small) and gently wipe/vacuum away the dust.  Be careful around the main board components so you don't break a connection.  You may need to take some of the fans off to clean them out adequately.

If you aren't the hands-on type or don't trust yourself to do this, or if your computer is as dirty as this one, email me for some help!

As you can see from some of these photos, computers can get quite dirty and just need some TLC.

                                                                                  

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Redbox Rip and Return!

NOTE:  I am not promoting or condoning piracy in this blog post.  For private use only according to federal copyright laws!

Here's a tip: text DEALS to 727272 to get an occasional promo code from Redbox!

In fact, I just got one this morning, like this:


So I stopped a Redbox on my lunch break and rented Son Of God but unfortunately I don't always have time to watch a movie before having to return it the next day (or else start paying $1.27/day).

Fortunately, I know how to use VLC Media Player to rip a DVD movie onto my computer to watch any time after returning the disk. =D

If you don't have VLC Media Player installed on your computer, you can download it for free at www.videolan.org.

Put the DVD into your CDROM drive and fire up VLC Media Player to get started.  If you get a Windows Autoplay window that appears, just close it.

Once VLC Media Player launches, click the Media menu at the top-left and choose Open Disk...





On the Open Media window, put a check in the box next to No Disk Menus to avoid having them appear in your final video file.






At the bottom of the window, click the small down-arrow next to the Play button and choose Stream instead.





On the Stream Output window, click Next and then on the next window, click Add to add a new file destination.  Name the file and then click the Browse button to choose a location on your computer to save the video file to.  Click the Next button.

On the next window where it shows the Transcoding Options click Next to accept the defaults.

On the next window click the Stream button to begin streaming the video from the DVD to your file you specified.

That's it!!!  Wait a few minutes and you should see the progress bar moving as if the movie is playing. Depending on how fast your computer is, it may actually encode the DVD to your file faster than normal play time.  Mine encodes slightly faster than real-time play speed so a two hour movie might finish encoding in, say, an hour and a half.

Conclusion

I've done this several times since I seem to get lots of promo codes via text from Redbox and while I haven't run into a movie I couldn't rip to a video file, I can't really say that this will work for ALL movies.

Enjoy

                                                                                  

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boost Boost BOOST !!!

ReadyBoost

Unless you are lucky enough to have a brand-spankin' new computer or one that has a solid state hard drive, you may benefit from some extra speed.

Windows 7 includes a seldom used feature called ReadyBoost.  Take an extra USB flash drive sitting around and plug it into your desktop computer.  You may see an AutoPlay window pop up showing an option near the bottom of the list called Speed up my system using Windows ReadyBoost.  Click this option.

If you don't see this AutoPlay window appear when you plug in a flash drive, you can right-click the drive letter of the USB drive, choose Properties, and click the ReadyBoost tab to get to the same place.

You can choose to dedicate the flash drive to maximize the performance increase, or if it's a large flash drive, you can choose to allocate only part of it to ReadyBoost and leave the rest for storage.

I used to use this all the time!...  Until my hard drive died and I got a new solid state drive!  If your computer isn't brand new and you have an extra USB stick laying around, try this for a speed boost.  =D

Cheers

GOD MODE!!!

Windows 7 God Mode

Well, not really God-like, but this trick certainly puts many of the commands, tools and options across all areas of Windows 7 at your mouse tip within a single folder.  

Everything from display settings to devices and printers to accessibility options can easily be found in one place.  Ah, yes, gone are the days of searching for that elusive option...  

I've never seen anyone except a techie use this, but hey, maybe that home power-user out there will like it.

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select Start !

Create a New Folder anywhere you want, like on your desktop.

Copy and paste the line below and then change the folder name by pasting this in place of "New folder":

GOD MODE.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Press ENTER to accept the name change.  You will notice that the character string in the folder name will disappear and the folder icon changes to a control panel icon.  Take a gander inside!

There are 261 commands, tools and options in this folder!  It may be easier to find stuff in such a large list by using the search bar or by collapsing the groups (right-click the group name Action Center and choose Collapse All).

Enjoy!

Show Me Your Problem... Literally! =D

What is the Problem Steps Recorder?

Very few people know about a nifty little tool in Windows 7 and 8 called the Problem Steps Recorder.  If your computer isn't totally dead (and doesn't boot), this tool may help you to help me fix your problem.  Basically, it records your mouse clicks, key presses and grabs screenshots of whatever it is you are trying to do that fails (like an error message).  Record with this tool while you click through the motions to generate the error message that you get stuck at.

You can email me the the file it creates and then I can get a good picture of where you're running into a problem.

Try It Out

Click the START MENU and then type 'psr' (for Problem Steps Recorder).  In Windows 8, press ALT+R, type in 'psr.exe' in the run box and press ENTER (jump down two paragraphs).

At the top of the start menu click on PSR.EXE to open the Problem Steps Recorder tool.

A small window will appear on your screen that looks like the picture below.  It will look styled slightly different if you are running Windows 8 but it's basically the same.

Click the START RECORD button and then proceed to click through whatever you are trying to do that causes an error.  In other words, reproduce your problem for me.

Example

I am trying to play this MP3 music file in Windows Media Player...

...but when I do, I get an error that it can't play the file =(

So if a home user ran into this problem and didn't know why, he/she could use the Problem Steps Recorder to record this and send it off to someone like me who can help fix it.

Of course, this is a very simple example that may not even warrant recording the problem steps but more complex issues could certainly make this useful!

After recording your problem steps, click the STOP RECORD button on the Problem Steps Recorder tool.  A SAVE AS dialog box appears so you can save the recorded problem steps.

Name the file and save it somewhere so you can find it.

After you save the problem steps, double-click it to open and then drag the file within it to your desktop so that you can email it to me. (This step is to ensure the file gets to me since most email systems block ZIP files).

Conclusion

That's it!  If you ever have a problem that has you stumped, try out the Problem Steps Recorder tool in Windows 7 or 8.  Send me the problem steps recording file and you'll be well on your way to resolving your problem!