Technology

Behringer Unveils iNuke Boom and New Consumer Electronics Line

Behringer, one of the largest and most successful pro-audio companies, has major plans for the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2012) in January. The company will be unveiling the loudest iPad, iPod, and iPhone dock in the industry, the limited-edition iNuke Boom. This monstrous iPad dock is 8 feet wide by 4 feet tall and weighs over 700 pounds. According to Behringer, the iNuke Boom produces over 10,000 Watts of power.

But that’s not all Behringer will be unveiling at CES 2012. While Behringer specializes in producing audio equipment for musicians and audio professionals, the company announced the launch of a new consumer electronics brand featuring 50 new products. EUROSOUND, the new brand, will include four product lines: Home, Live, Portable, and Creation. Consumer electronic products under this brand range from docking stations and wireless speakers to small PA systems and headphones.

If you want to check out the new iNuke Boom as well as the company’s latest consumer products, don’t forget to purchase your tickets to CES 2012. The convention will be in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 10-13.

Add and Set Ringtones on your Android Smartphone

If you have recently purchased an Android smartphone, you may be wondering how you can add additional ringtones, alarms and notification sounds to the phone. To clarify the three types of tones that can be added: ringtones are used for incoming phone calls, alarms are used by the alarm clock application, and notification sounds are used by applications such as email and SMS for alerting you of incoming messages. The three types of tones are available on separate lists so you cannot, for example, assign a tone from the ringtone list to an alarm.

Other applications may choose to use one list or the other for their sounds depending on what is appropriate for that app. There was probably no documentation that came with your phone that explained how to add these tones to your phone, but it is an easy task to accomplish. Some of the methods described below only apply to ringtones, others apply to all three types. The simplest application solution for adding a new ringtone is to use Android’s built-in audio player.

This will allow you to set any song you have installed on your phone as the current ringtone. While you have the audio player application open, pressing on a song will result in a popup menu being displayed. That menu contains an option to assign the selected song as the phone’s ringtone. This will not only add the song to the ringtone list but will make the song the current ringtone at the same time.

A drawback to this approach is that the built-in audio player will not let you add a song to the alarm or notification sound list. There are also many ringtone applications which can be found on the Android Market by searching the market for “ringtone”. Most of these apps can be downloaded for a small fee. Some of the ringtone applications allow searching and selecting from large directories of commercial ringtones, while others only provide a single ringtone or a small related set of them. These applications vary in whether they will allow installation of just ringtones or all three types of tones. Be careful to read the description of the application as well as the comments to understand exactly what is provided and what the costs are. Another approach is that offered by the free Ringdroid application.

Ringdroid allows you to select any song that is on your phone and then choose exactly which portion of the song you wish to use as your ringtone. You can then save that portion of the song to any of the three lists of alarms, ringtones, or notification sounds. This is probably the most flexible solution for creating and saving tones if you already have the song you are starting with on your phone.

You may already have existing ringtones on your computer or have received some via an MMS message or email. It’s possible to turn these sound clips into ringtones, alarms, or notification sounds, although it takes a bit more manual work than the approaches discussed above. The first thing you will need to do is create the appropriate directories on your phone’s SD card. If you’ve used Ringdroid or one of the other ringtone applications then the directories may already exist, but if that’s not the case there are two ways to create them: either using your PC or through a file manager application on the phone itself. In order to create these directories with your PC, connect the phone to your PC with the USB cable.

You should be prompted on the phone to mount the SD card, which will then make it available as an external drive on the PC. Once you’ve done that, you can access that external drive as a folder on the PC. What you will see in this folder is the contents of your phone’s SD card. Now you want create the following folders on your phone’s SD card, just like you create folders on your PC.

These folders may already be present and if so, just click into them in order to verify that all of the folders needed are present. At the top level of the SD card, create a folder named “media” and click into it. Within the media folder, create a folder named “audio” and click into that. Finally, within the audio folder you will need to create three folders: “alarms”, “notifications”, and “ringtones”.

What you should wind up with are three folders: “media/audio/alarms”, “/media/audio/notifications” and “/media/audio/ringtones”. You can also create these directories on the phone itself using one of the file manager applications available for Android phones, such as Astro or Linda. There are many of these applications available, but any of the highly rated ones should have the capability of creating folders on the SD card and then moving files to them. Once you have created these three folders you can copy your existing tones, stored as either mp3 or ogg files, into them. As mentioned above, there are three different selection lists of tones available: ringtones, alarms, and notification sounds. The folder you choose to put a sound file into corresponds to which selection list the tone will show up on.

If you want the same tone to show up in more than one of these selection lists you will need to copy it to each of the appropriate folders. If you have these tones on your computer, you can drag and drop them to the appropriate one of these three folders while your phone is connected with the USB cable. If you have the tones attached to a MMS or email message now, it may be a little more complicated. For an MMS message, you can usually press on the message to get an option to save the attached audio file to the SD card. Then you’ll need to find the file and move it to the ringtone directory.

If you are using the default text message application, then the file will probably have been saved to the “download” directory on the SD card. Similarly, if your tone is in email, the email program on your phone may offer a way of saving the attachment to your SD card. If it doesn’t, then simply access the email on your PC and save the audio file to the appropriate directory on the SD card while the phone is attached to the PC with the USB cable.

With the techniques described above, you should be able to set any song or sound clip you’d like as a ringtone, alarm, or notification sound on your Android smart phone. One thing to be aware of is that if you’ve set a tone to a sound file that is stored on the phone’s SD card, that sound file is not available to be used by the phone while the card is mounted to your computer as external drive. In that case, you will most likely hear a default tone in its place. You will need to disconnect the phone from the PC before the tones on the SD card are available for use.

 

Choosing a Good Computer Configuration for your Business

No matter what kind of business you’re in, you will most probably need to buy a computer to run it. Choosing a computer for your business is a bit different than choosing a home PC. Although computer prices are continuing to fall, ¡t is still important to strike the proper balance between low cost and true value.

Review Available Systems and List Your Needs

Look through the sales fliers for your local big box stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart. Also check with warehouse clubs like Sam’s Club and Costco if your business has a membership.

Make a list of the components you need in your business computer, including memory, hard drive space, processor speed and networking capabilities. When shopping for a business computer, avoid value and entry-level computers. These PCs are designed primarily for home users, not for businesses. Check that the computer you are considering has at least 1 to 2 gigabytes of RAM, the more the better. Additional memory will help the computer run more quickly and help your business avoid wasted time.

Think About Security

Consider the security implications of removable media when deciding whether to purchase a computer with a CD or DVD writer or just a reader. Giving front line workers the ability to burn CDs and DVDs could inadvertently cause the loss of proprietary information if that media is lost or stolen. Locking down the USB drives with a physical or software lock is a good idea as well.

Plenty of Space

Select computers with a large hard drive, but do not focus too much on storage capacity if you will be using a network. Business users should keep their files on the network for backup and security purposes, so a computer with a 60-80GB hard drive should be sufficient.

Dual Monitors

Consider choosing a computer with a video card that supports dual monitors, or buying an add-on card for the computer you choose. Having two monitors available can boost productivity and make the screens easier to read.

Network Capable

Choose a computer with a wired network card, even if you plan to use a wireless network in your business. Having a wired network card in place provides additional flexibility and makes it easier to share information. When choosing a network card, be sure the card supports 1Gbit communications, even if your existing network is limited to 100 Mbit. This gives you more capacity for growth without the expense of replacing equipment down the road.

Shop Around

Enter your specifications into the website of a major computer manufacturer like Dell or HP. Make sure all of the specs are correct, then price the PC you have just built. Keep in mind that you might be able to negotiate a lower price on each unit if you plan to purchase multiple computers.

By using the above checklist, you can ensure that you get the best possible computer for the least amount of money. Chances are that money is tight in your new small business, so finding the best deal on a computer will leave you with more money to invest in your new enterprise.

 

Picking an eBook Reader

Dedicated ebook readers are hot sellers these days; prices are dropping and ebook files are readily available, so more consumers are taking advantage of dedicated readers. People like ebooks because they don’t require storage space, are instantly available when people make the purchase, and are easy to take out in public with an ebook reader or smartphone. Which reader should you buy? There are lots of manufacturers offering devices these days and each reader has its own pros and cons.

Before you invest your money in any of these offerings, consider these factors.

Screens. Not all manufacturers use the same technology. How important is the screen quality to you? Do you want to read outside, possibly in direct sunlight? Do you find that screen glare from “traditional” materials and technology strains your eyes? Also, screen size can matter. If you’re used to reading on a smartphone, getting a paragraph or two of text on the screen at onetime is standard. However, what if you want more text at once?

Battery life. If you plan on recharging your reader on a regular basis, this probably isn’t as important as other factors. However, long battery life can be great if you’re going on vacation or simply forget to recharge your device. Speaking of batteries, remember that some devices use internal batteries while others use plain, disposable types you can easily find and replace on your own.

Storage space. Some ebook vendors, like Amazon, will archive your ebooks; you can grab them whenever you want assuming you can connect to the service. Storage space isn’t top priority in this case, but what if you want to keep your collection on hand? What if you’re not planning on syncing your device in the near future? Some readers have external, removable storage, which might be important.

File compatibility. If you do most of your ebook shopping at Barnes & Noble’s website, you probably don’t want a Kindle, and will most probably get the Nook. Before you buy a reader, make sure you know which files will work on it so that you don’t have to buy another version of the same book or do without.

Extra features. Do you want a full keyboard for making notes? Does a color screen appeal to you? Do you like the idea of being able to walk into Barnes & Noble with your device and get coupons and other bonuses? Do you want to temporarily loan ebooks to friends and family? Read company information about each device you’re considering and decide which additional features are important to you.

Price. Even though prices are falling, an e-reader is still an investment. Finding a device that fits your budget and is expected to give you quality service for years is one way to make your dollars work hard for you.

Ultimately, the final decision depends on your budget, preferences, and needs. There are lots of devices on the market, just like there are lots of people reading ebooks, so you’re bound to find one that’s nearly perfect for you.

 

Getting the most out of your Laptop

Laptop computers rarely perform up to the levels of their desktop counterparts. A complete desktop replacement laptop will typically cost 2-3 times more than a desktop with similar specifications. Fortunately, there are some ways of improving the performance of a laptop which cost little or no money. Upgrading a laptop is far more complicated than upgrading a desktop. This is because most of the components are integrated.

In most laptops, the only upgradeable part tends to be the memory. In many laptops it is also possible to upgrade the CPU or even the graphics card (providing it is not an integrated model). Beyond upgrading the memory, laptop upgrades tend to be prohibitively expensive and hard to come by. The process is often too complicated for the average user. The following tips will help you to improve the performance of your computer easily and cheaply.

1. Adding More Memory. Upgrading the memory in a laptop is often the only practical option for improving the performance. While laptop memory is more expensive than desktop memory, it is not drastically so. Most laptops can handle at least four gigabytes of memory and, provided you have a 64-bit operating system installed, this is often worth doing.

The process is much the same as installing new memory in a desktop computer. You will need to have exactly the same type of memory as your existing memory if you are upgrading. If, however, you are replacing the memory entirely, you will have more options at your disposal. There are many online retailers which specialize in laptop memory. They can help you to find the perfect memory upgrade for your specific machine.

2. Increasing Graphics Memory. To get a little extra performance in video games on laptops with integrated graphics processors (IGPs), increasing the amount of RAM to be used for video processing can be done easily. You can normally do this by entering the BIOS when you turn on the computer. On most laptops, the BIOS can be accessed by pressing the F2 key at startup. The option to increase the available graphics memory can usually be found in the ‘Integrated Peripherals’ page of the BIOS, under a setting called ‘AGP aperture size’. On newer computers, you should find a setting called ‘UMA Frame Buffer Size’ or something similar to ‘Shared Video Memory’.

Do not set this too high, since the available RAM for your computer will be used for video processing. On machines with 2GB of RAM or more, 256 MB of allocated video graphics is often ideal. If you don’t use your laptop to play games, setting this to the minimum amount of memory is fine. Increasing available graphics memory only applies to integrated graphics processors rather than those which have dedicated memory.

3. Overclocking a Laptop. Overclocking a laptop is riskier than overclocking a desktop. Laptops tend to run hotter than desktop computers due to the cramped space into which the components are installed. Overclocking will also void your warranty. If you still want to try overclocking, you should ideally have a decent laptop cooler, which can reduce the temperature of your laptop. There are a lot of tools for overclocking, which you can find on Google and specialized websites. Sometimes, this can be done within the BIOS as well. You should only overclock with small increments and make sure to test everything so that it works well (no overheating, lockups, blue screens, etc).

The above steps are practically the only things you can to do to get the most performance out of your laptop – anything else is not possible or practical. The good news is that you can get a considerable increase in performance, so it’s worth trying, especially if you have an older laptop.

 

Make your Computer Whisper Quiet

Have you just built a brand new gaming PC only to find that as soon as you play any games, it starts sounding like a helicopter? With standard cooling, most computers are noisy when they are running on full load. This is because the stock cooling solutions which come with Intel or AMD CPUs are normally noisy and relatively inefficient. Improving your computer’s cooling system can make it run cooler and quieter.

Indeed, there is now a big market for silent computer cooling solutions. There are even entire online retailers which specialize in providing everything that you need to make your computer as quiet as possible. The following provides some tips on how to make your computer run as quietly as possible.

1. Clean the Computer. You may have noticed that older computers tend to be noisier than newer ones. This rarely has anything to do with the age or the specification of the computer. More often than not, it is due to a buildup of dust inside the computer. An excessive amount of dust forming inside a heat sink and on the fan blades adds a thermal layer which causes fans to run faster than they would otherwise need to. Regularly cleaning your computer will keep it running cooler and quieter. It will also prolong the life of your hardware. Cleaning the inside of a computer can be done using cans of compressed air or even a vacuum cleaner.

2. Acoustic Dampening. Some retailers sell acoustic soundproofing kits which you can fit to the inside of the case. You can also make this yourself without too much trouble, but you will need to take care to purchase the right type of material. Many materials may help to deaden the sound, but they can also cause your computer to run hotter by absorbing and building up heat. Some high-end cases designed specifically for the quiet PC market already have some acoustic dampening built in, but these can be prohibitively expensive.

3. Replacing Fans. Stock cooling solutions tend to be very noisy when a computer is running on full load. If you want to have a quiet PC, you will almost certainly need to avoid using the stock heat sink and fan which comes with any new CPU. Replacing a CPU fan does not have to be expensive and a new fan can normally be installed in a matter of minutes. You can also purchase silent case fans and graphics card coolers. For case fans, you may want to go for one which has a built-in speed control.

The above three factors contribute to about 95% of all the noise a computer makes, and if you follow the tips, you can easily make it whisper quiet, possible with no investments, as well!