MacInTouch Reader Report: Audio Conversion - Digitizing LPs, DAT tapes, others

MacInTouch Reader Report: Audio Conversion

Macintouch reader threads are usually pretty good, but this is by far the best discussion I've ever seen on digitizing audio. It explains why this is so hard to get right, and why so many play with it a bit and then give up.

I've personally had reasonable results, given my low standards, using an iBook, iMic, and Amadeus II with OS X 10.2.6 to digitize cassette tapes. The iBook is pretty marginal -- you really want a G4. Even with a faster CPU the proces is still somewhat tedious, but to my tone deaf ears it sounds ok on my iPod.

Sometime I have to update an ancient page of mine with some photos of my setup and the particular settings I've used.

Mac OS X speed FAQ

Mac OS X speed FAQ

A very straightforward and excellent summary of tips for speeding OS X performance.

O'Reilly

NY Daily News - Ideas and Opinions - Bill O'Reilly: Calling Al Franken a satirist is a farce: "Now Fox News is striking back by putting the demonizers on notice that they will be held responsible when they violate trademarks or launch defamatory personal attacks on Fox personnel."

Pathetic.

Symantec Security Response - W32.Sobig.F@mm

Symantec Security Response - W32.Sobig.F@mm: "Creates the file, %Windir%\winsst32.dat."

I'm getting tons of this virus in my email (actually tons of notices of the virus being deleted by my ISP). Highly annoying.

Jon Udell: The future of online community

Jon Udell: The future of online community:

From Jon's Weblog (emphasis mine, including the shameless plug ...

I used to think I knew what online community was all about. I thought it had something to do with discussion forums, like the one here at InfoWorld I've recently tried to colonize. Having spent too many years, keystrokes, and brain cells debating the pros and cons of various discussion technologies, I'll just cut to the chase. This WebX thing is not working for me. It's not simply that the software mangles URLs, doesn't preview messages, and handles topics and threads in a way I find awkward. What's broken, for me, is the idea that an online community is a place where people gather, and a centralized repository of the discussions held in that place. In that model, I've concluded, the costs are just too high. It's expensive to join. It's expensive to participate, because interactive discussion demands a lot of attention. And it's expensive to leave, because the repository has your data, and may or may not (probably won't) preserve its linkable namespace or hand the data back to you in a reasonable form.

The weblog model reduces all these costs. It's single sign-on: just log into your own blog software. There's less pressure to participate: you can acknowledge other blogs that comment on your stuff, or not. You control the data and can, if you choose, ensure that your namespace persists.

There are tradeoffs, of course. People do miss the feeling of direct interaction. Comment trails attached to blog items are one attempt to recreate the feeling of a discussion. Trackbacks/pingbacks are another. For me, neither quite manages to restore that sense of place and belonging that is lost when you switch to blogging's more loosely-coupled mode of interaction. But I think we'll get there. And when we do, virtual community is going to be even more virtual than we think of it today.

For a couple of years, Steve Yost has been pushing the idea of ThreadML -- that is, a way of representing discussions as portable XML objects. When I went back and looked at the column where I first mentioned Steve's idea, I found it to be a quilt woven from many threads. It began with a wonderful essay posted by John Faughnan to my newsgroup -- which I'm glad I quoted in the column, because the newsgroup is now defunct. The column went on to weave in discussion at Steve's QuickTopic site, on the Yahoo Groups syndication list, on Rael Dornfest's weblog, and elsewhere.

I found the above when testing Google's indexing of my personal blog. In the midst of discovering that Google still wallops Teoma/AskJeeves and AltaVista I came across Jon's essay.

I quote it here not only because Jon speaks of my "wonderful essay". Ok, so I think Jon's a genius and it tickled me no end to have him mention me. I also think Jon has hit it on the nose.

The blogger movement has a funny name, but it feels to me more like the original visions of Vannevar Bush's Memex and Tim Berners-Lee's WWW than all of the Amazons and MSNs put together. Google, with its acquisition of Blogger and their fascinating extensions to the Google toolbar lays just claim to being the home of the modern memex. (Apologies to the valiant efforts of Ted Nelson and Project Xanadu.)

I've failed a LOT with online project collaboration (exactly one success in 10 years or so). Jon's track record is far more extensive. Now I'm trying Blogger with a course I'm teaching and as part of a web development project at my son's primary school. I actually think it might just work. I love the speed and simplicity of how blogger works. (Of course I also want built in thread searching, alternative queries, effective metadata views, back links, etc. etc. But that doesn't have to make the basic UI more complex, that's all value add.)

I'm really looking forward to having moveable type class dynamic backtracks and comment threads that work with Google's painless blogger and that aren't IE specific. I'm reasonably hopeful that will happen.

DEVON Technologies EasyFind for OS X

DevonThing freeware: "EasyFind is an alternative to or supplement of Sherlock and finds files, folders or contents in any file without the need for indexing -- and therefore immediately. This is especially useful if you are tired of slow or impossible indexing, outdated or corrupted indices or if you are just looking for missing features like case sensitive or insensitive search, boolean operators, wildcards or searching for phrases."

Update 7/15/09: Six years later EasyFind is no longer an alternative to the long forgotten OS X Sherlock. It's an alternative to Spotlight. Recommended universally, if you download it do pay attention to the ReadMe file. There's no associated Help file (it's free), so the ReadMe is where you learn about syntax and search. I filed it in one of Document folders.

Fixing iBook and Mac odd problems -- reseting via OpenFirmware

iBook 2001 Part 11: "August 19
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 12:23:29 -0500
From: Rick Hazey
Subject: iBook sleep problems"

From Macintouch:

I am submitting this summary of a recent iBook sleep problem I experienced that macintouch.com readers may find of value. The iBook is a dual USB model running MacOS 9.

The iBook would immediately go to sleep once the finder appeared after booting. Pressing the space bar to come out of sleep would cause the screen to flash and then immediately go back into sleep mode. A control-alt-power would cause a reboot but the screen would remain black and I could hear the disk whirring as it booted. Removing the battery and unplugging a/c would bring the screen back to life on the next power up and then it was back to sleep mode. Basically, the iBook was unusable.

My troubleshooting started with resetting the PRAM and NVRAM by holding down option-command-p-r at startup. Booting without extensions allowed me to access the finder but only for about 90 seconds before freezing. Launching an application within the 90 seconds would immediately initiate sleep mode. I tried several variations on the above....

Here's what Apple support had me do:

1) reboot while holding option-command-o-f (boot into open firmware)
2) type reset-nvram
3) type reset-all
4) reboot the iBook

Much to my surprise, this fixed the problem ... Since resetting via open firmware fixed the problem where option-command-p-r did not, I can only conclude that the two procedures are not equivalent. In the future, I will be resetting PRAM via open firmware as well as from the keyboard.

Microsoft Weighs Automatic Security Updates as a Default (TechNews.com)

Microsoft Weighs Automatic Security Updates as a Default (TechNews.com): "'I have always been a fierce enemy of the Microsoft update feature, because I just don't like the idea of someone else -- particularly Microsoft -- controlling my system,' said Bruce Schneier, co-founder of Counterpane Internet Security Inc. 'Now, I think it's great, because it gets the updates out to the non-technically savvy masses, and that's the majority of Internet users. Security is a trade-off, to be sure, but this is one trade-off that's worthwhile.'"

Schneier's opinion counts for a lot among the geek community. I'd come to the same conclusion. Owning a Microsoft PC means outsourcing it to Microsoft. You might own the hardware (one day I think home leasing will catch on), but Microsoft owns and maintains the rest of it. The user will sort-of-own their data, but Microsoft will offer backup services.

This is an interesting variant on Ellison and McNealy's vision of the "network as computer". Theywanted to make the terminals dumb and the servers smart (they sell server software and hardware). Microsoft, which always wins, has bet on an alternative vision, where processing power lives at user sites, but software is an extension of Microsoft.

As part of this vision Microsoft will be leasing future versions of their office software (.NET distributions, stop paying and your software stops working), distributing movies, reliably handling all transactions (purchases, etc) via their Palladium infrastructure, providing spam proof communications, handling all voice and video communications (IP telephony) and delivering all digital content (films, etc). Microsoft has room to grow.

In a wonderful example of either super-genius, serendipity, or something more subtle, Microsoft's extraordinarily lighthearted approach to security has enabled this vision. The 1990s Java vision, or the 1980s TeleScript vision before it, was built around a secure model. If Microsoft had followed that track then we would not have had the security plague of today -- a plague which will drive consumers to a fully outsourced Microsoft computing model.

Any analogies to the relationship between Al Qaeda and the controlling ambitions of the neocons is purely coincidental.

If you want to live in any other world, consider Linux or a Mac. But you will still need a Microsoft machine.

New Therapies Pose Quandary for Medicare

New Therapies Pose Quandary for Medicare: "But health economists and medical experts say the treatment, however alluring, is part of an unsettling trend: new and ever pricier treatments for common medical conditions that are part and parcel of aging ... procedures that could potentially benefit tens of thousands of patients, at a total cost that would far exceed the kind of prescription drug benefit now being considered by Congress. "

In the future the wealthy will get first dibs on new therapies. This may be a mixed blessing, new stuff is often risky. The rest of us will get it when development costs are paid.

Internet Storm Center

Internet Storm Center

A nice little tool. There used to be more of these, but most have gone away. I'll add it to my news page in the weather section ...

294871 - Description of the Automatic Updates Feature in Windows

294871 - Description of the Automatic Updates Feature in Windows: "Description of the Automatic Updates Feature in Windows"

I had a surprisingly hard time figuring out how to turn this on in Windows XP. I've decided that part of the price of owning a Microsoft computer (ie. a computer that runs Windows) is giving Microsoft total access to the machine and auto-installing anything Microsoft wants to have on the machine. In other words, out-sourcing the machine.

If you don't like this, buy a Mac or a Linux box for personal use, but resign yourself to also owning a Windows machine as a pre-requisite for living in this world.

PS. Since future versions of Microsot Office/Mac will require VirtualPC/Microsoft, anyone installing any Microsoft product on a Macintosh will be also making their Macintosh a Microsoft machine.

PPS. Update 8/19: I'm told that even this version of automatic update requires user interaction, because of the need to sign an EULA indemnifying Microsoft in the event of system damage, bugs, etc. I guess we need to sign a global EULA with Microsoft that basically outsources our computer to them. Look for this as an update to the "Windows Update" service to appear within a few months.

Selling Gadgets in a Wal-Mart World: Disappearance of "middle class" electronics

Selling Gadgets in a Wal-Mart World: "In this model store, as Circuit City calls it, customers grab merchandise from metal shelves and toss it into shopping carts. The staff on the floor are now hourly workers rather than higher-paid commissioned sales clerks. The front of the store is filled with forklift pallets piled with $45 DVD players and $99 televisions..."

Being near ancient, I remember when calculators went from $300 to essentially free, then became pointless. I thought about 8 years ago that we'd see Palm type PDAs do the same thing (though they have not, probably because it turns out that very few people want a PDA at any price). Sand (silica based electronics) and plastic doesn't cost much - especially if environmental costs are ignored.

Now that so many of our goods are "sand and plastic", they are all following the calculator trajectory. Unlike calculators, however, DVD players and DV cameras are complex devices that once came with manuals and that require an investment to learn to operate. There's not enough profit margin to support that now.

Of course the market could produce ultra-simple products that didn't require manuals and much user study, but consumers don't choose such devices. They choose the flashier, fancier product. Since the incremental cost of the feature-filled product is very low, that's what manufacturers must provide. Without, however, manuals or quality control or support or service or product testing.

Which would be "fine", except these low cost unsupported devices have eliminated the "middle class" device -- the well made, well documented, and reliable standard of years past. How can a $300 DV player compete with an essentially disposable $50 player with the same features and theoretical performance? Absent the middle class, the tiny percent of consumers who want something reliable, well designed, and well documented, must pay luxury prices.

The nature of technological change does create a case for the low end choice. Within a year or two the well made product is obsolete, and is in some ways truly inferior to the disposable product selling for less than $50. We may be doomed to an endless stream of very unreliable, undocumented, very cheap, disposable electronics. (In a related story, I have a very lovely 600 dpi Laser printer that was last sold @ 1994. It's built like a tank and could last another 10 years. Unfortunately the consumables are no longer produced, soon it will be junk.)

Signs of hope?

1. Consumers will actually start to value extreme simplicity, so at least we'll get by without manuals and without having to study products. This will take a while, but it may restore the "middle class" product.

2. Legislation will require consumers and manufacturers to pay the real environmental costs of these products. Alas, that would require two impossibilities -- replacement of the Bush administration and a Chinese environmental movement.

3. A few vendors will decide to "own" the middle ground. It will be a touch space. The only vendor who's tried this so far is Apple. (SONY is often thought of as being here, but they've gone too far into the low end.) This space needs a super-strong brand and more than a bit of fashion sense. Extensive warrantee services and customer support services are a prerequisite. Prices will be 200% to 400% higher than the low end. A brutal space.

4. Stores like Nordstroms sell clothing at sub-luxury price premium, kind of upper-middle class. They deliver reasonable quality in a small nice market.

Arms and the Man

Arms and the Man: "A U.S. government adviser in Kiev told me, ''Odessa's an open sewer and criminal outlet.'' Eight hundred shipping containers are off-loaded at the port every day. Among other contraband like cigarettes and bootleg pharmaceuticals and CD's, weapons are smuggled in and then transferred from ship to ship or ship to plane. ''We've had a hundred seizures of radioactive material over 10 years,'' the adviser said ''But we don't know what we're getting because we don't know what we're missing.'' "

This NYT Magazine article really is quite fascinating.

Arms and the Man: The Curse of Africa

Arms and the Man

Why did Africa "crater" in the 90s? The usual explanation is demographic stress (Rwanda), climate change, HIV, and the end of the cold war.

Why was the end of US/Russian rivalry bad for Africa? The usual explanation is "lack of interest".

This fascinating NYT article suggests a related but deeper reason. When the Soviet Union collapsed, a vast array of weaponry became available at bargain basement prices. Out of the rubble a weapons distribution system emerged, and a network to process diamonds and other forms of payment.

The result was a flood of high tech weaponry into smoldering war zones; gasoline on a fire.

Without this last insult, might Africa have started to thrive in the 90s, the way I expected it to?

An Industry Trapped by a Theory: Market failure in the power utility world

An Industry Trapped by a Theory: "In the search for the source of Thursday's blackout, the underlying cause has been all but ignored: deregulation. In principle, deregulation of the power industry was supposed to use the discipline of free markets to generate just the right amount of electricity at the right price. But electric power, it turns out, is not like ordinary commodities. "

It's hard for markets to price reliability, and in a competitive environment it is exceedingly hard for any corporation to invest in something that its customers cannot measure and do not value.

I suppose we could respond to a fully deregulated power marketplace by making individual quality investments, such as purchasing a home generator. That doesn't help with keeping the street lights on.

Nuts. Regulation has a place.