iTunes 7 Music Backup

This is a cool feature. If you’re like me and have lots of music and don’t want to lose it due to a faulty drive (even if it’s backed up) then you can automatically backup your music with iTunes’ new backup feature. The “Only back up items added since last backup” is the best, I wish I had that when I first backed up my music.

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Just go to File > Back up to Disc

-BOB-

Final Cut Pro Universal Test Video

j1.jpgVIEW MOVIE (sound)

FCP is complicated. But it’s fast. Still can’t get Flash Video Exporter to work on this computer, so everything is QT for now.

Movie is 450 at 16:9, 600 video kbps, 1-pass. 30 second video compressed in less than one minute. Tekno music is Thievery Corporation. File size is a seriously low 2.3 jigabites. Any skipping in music is the source file, has nothing to do with FC or compression.

On another nerdy note, I just installed Flash player 9 with Action script 3.0, woo hoo. And I’m eyeing Flix On2 FLV exporter. I highly recommend upgrading to an Intel Mac if you have the fundage. Just my opinion.

_BOB_

AirPort Security

I just learned how to lock my wireless network down another notch. You can allow access to specific computers, even with an existing WEP or WPA password on the wireless connection. Now, only these two computers can log in. I found this, after searching for “wireless host monitor” in Google to see if anyone else was connected. App didn’t work, so, this ought to do.

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This is located in the Airport Admin Utility under Access Control if anyone has an Airport Express.

-BOB-

News

- Installed all my music apps (and will start with other apps) to skip the “wait time” for UB. Windows runs them at full speed (Sibelius, Pro Tools, Adobe, etc).

- Google Video and Google cache (cached pages) now load in China, wonder in my POP3 JV mail works now.

-BOB on WindowsXP-

Update:

Sibelius, Reason, and Pro Tools run on Windows lightening fast. It’s kinda wierd, Tom just switched to Mac, and it looks like I’m switch to Windows (in the interim until Mac goes UB). There are a few little things, like you have to wait extra long for the CD to read, and sometimes everything freezes up for a few seconds while it thinks about something else. I have to say, if the program is the same, it really runs basically the same on a PC. So all that marketing about “Macs are for creative people, blah blah” is just marketing. Same programs dude.

Faint White Spots on my Powerbook 17"

I never even knew this was covered. But apparently, it’s a worldwide recall on Powerbooks that have this problem. I’ve been putting up with/ignoring this issue for about two years as the screen got progressively worse. (To this day, slowly, more spots are appearing.)

I guess I’ll try to get it fixed now (free) either in China or in the States. I wonder if that means I’ll get a brand new screen. That would be pretty bad ass.

-bob-

Windows eXPerience

images.jpgOkay so I re-installed Windows and my mistake last time is that I didn’t immediately install the “Mac Drivers Disk”.  That takes care of the Wireless internet, trackpad, video card drivers, etc. 

So everything worked right away.  But damn the system font is terrible, and when you turn on “ClearType” it looks like you’re looking at a screen after you’ve worn your contacts for 17 hours straight.

But it is Windows, and it does work, so I’m happy.

Bob

Update:
- If you want Parallels for your new Intel machine, I have it. It’s a simple install, and you do not need two licenses of Windows XP to run Parallels and Boot Camp. Just call Microsoft and tell them your legit activation code, and they’ll give you a another code for whichever you need. Perfectly legal. So now I have Windows XP and Parallels activated.

- Flight Simulator is pretty sweet! I’ll have to limit the time so to not interfere with music.

- Download 30-day trial of Contribute 4 to see how it works.

-BOB-