2010年8月31日星期二

How to convert DVD, Movie, Music to iPhone ringtone and put ringtone on iPhone, iPhone 3G

Everyone wants his iPhone ringtone to be personalized,and sometimes want to make iPhone ringtone from a clip of their favorite DVD, movie or songs. Here I found a easy way to achieve this target for iPhone ringtone, hope it helpful.

The tools you need are Aiseesoft DVD to iPhone Suite and iPhone PC Suite (free), download links are as following:
Aiseesoft iPhone Converter Suite:
http://www.aiseesoft.com/downloads/dvd-to-iphone-suite.exe

iPhone PC Suite (Totally free)
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/iPhone_PC_Suite.htm

Note: iPhone PC Suite has to run under Microsoft .NET Framework, you can download it from: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=333325fd-ae52-4e35-b531-508d977d32a6&DisplayLang=en

The iPhone ringtone guide is composed of 3 parts:
1. How to extract audio to ringtone from DVD?
2. How convert audio and video to iPhone ringtone?
3. How to sync/ put ringtone to iPhone without iTunes

Part 1 How to make iPhone ringtone from DVD?
Install Aiseesoft DVD to iPhone Suite and run it. For Windows Vista user, you may have to run this program as Administrator, right click the program shortcut and click “Run as Administrator”.
Run the DVD to iPhone Converter load your DVD by clicking “Load DVD” button, you also can load IFO file from your hard drive by clicking “Load IFO File” button.
Click drop down list and select iPhone supported format (AAC, MP3, WAV, etc.) you want:Convert DVD Movie to iPhone - format

You can also customize the sample rate, bit rate and other parameters of your iPhone ringtone by click “setting”

Convert DVD movie to iPhone - settings

To extract a clip from DVD to iPhone ringtone, you can click button “trim”, set the start time and end time.

Convert DVD movie to iPhone - trim

Then click “Start” to extract iPhone ringtone from you DVD, Done.

Part 2 How to make iPhone ringtone from videos and songs?
Start Aiseesoft iPhone Movie Converter, then click “Add” button to load video file which you want to extract iPhone ringtone from(You can also load audio file to convert music to iPhone ringtone).

iPhone Movie Converter


Click drop down list and select iPhone supported format (AAC, MP3, WAV, etc.) you want:

iPhone Movie Converter - output

The operation is similar as extracting iPhone audio from DVD with DVD to iPhone Converter, set sample rate, bit rate and other parameters of your iPhone ringtone by click “setting”

Most users’ iPhone ringtone are always short, so you may want to convert a clip from movie to set as ringtone. Click button “trim” to set the start and end point of your iPhone ringtone.

Then click “Start” to convert a clip to iPhone ringtone from your movies or songs.

Next part: How to sync/ put ringtone to iPhone/iPhone 3G without iTunes

Free Trial: Download Aiseesoft DVD to iPhone Suite

2010年8月30日星期一

Addressing the Lack of Women Leading Emerging Tech

Female technology executives increasingly are banding together to solve what they say is a problem in their own midst: a dearth of women in top positions at emerging tech firms.

Only about 11% of U.S. firms with venture-capital backing in 2009 had current or former female CEOs or female founders, according to data from Dow Jones VentureSource. The prestigious startup incubator Y Combinator has had just 7 female founders among the 102 firms it has funded.

The “where-are-all-the-women” meme is a familiar one, and not confined to the technology world. But in start-up land, where the good idea is supposed to trump social status and everything else, the lack of women in positions of authority stands out.

Read the rest of this post on the original site »

2010年8月29日星期日

HP’s New Bid For 3Par: $30 per Share. 3Par’s New Share Price: $31.44.

Oh, it’s really on now.

Hewlett-Packard increased its bid for data storage vendor 3Par to $30 a share this morning–about 90 minutes after Dell matched its previous offer of $27. HP’s (HPQ) latest play for 3Par (PAR) values it at $2 billion, an 11 percent premium over Dell’s $1.8 billion offer, which 3Par accepted shortly after it was made.

Fascinating. Recall that this all began with a $1.15 billion, $18-per-share deal between Dell and 3Par in mid-August. Six bids later, we’re at $30-per-share and $2 billion. Meanwhile, at $31.44, 3Par’s stock is up well over 20 percent this morning. This bidding war may well go another round or two.

Said Jayson Noland of investment firm Robert W. Baird, “The valuation is so extreme now, there’s not really a benchmark where you can say, ‘OK, they’re going to stop here.’ ”

HP Announces Revised Proposal to Acquire 3PAR for $30 per Share in Cash

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug 27, 2010 — HP (HPQ 38.10, -0.12, -0.31%) today announced that it has increased its proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of 3PAR Inc. (PAR 31.57, +5.54, +21.28%) to $30 per share in cash, or an enterprise value of $2.0 billion. The proposal represents an 11 percent premium above the most recent price offered by Dell Inc. of $27 per share. HP’s proposal is not subject to any financing contingency and has been approved by HP’s board of directors. Once approved by 3PAR’s board, HP expects the transaction to close by the end of the calendar year.

2010年8月27日星期五

NYT Blogger and New Author Nick Bilton Talks About the Future (Where He Apparently Lives)

Yesterday, BoomTown headed on down to the metalish-tube-clad HQ of the New York Times (NYT) to pay a visit on “Bits” head blogger Nick Bilton.

Bilton, who is one of the few tech reporters with programming cred, brings a geek-flavored sensibility to the newspaper’s online tech coverage.

Consider a recent story about a product called E-mail Classifier with the adorkable lede:

“My e-mail inbox is a dejected, endless morass. It’s a desolate wasteland of unanswered messages that continue to appear like a never ending game of Tetris.”

Happily, the tone of his new book–“I Live in the Future & Here’s How It Works: Why Your World, Work, and Brain Are Being Creatively Disrupted”–is much more tech-friendly.

In fact, he said in a chat yesterday, one of its aims is to beat back some of the scarier books blaming the dumbing-down Internet for everything except the BP oil spill.

2010年8月24日星期二

How to copy DVD to ISO file for Mac

ISO file is an unattached file format (like RAR and ZIP): it merges a series of files into one single file according to a definite format. So they are stored in an uncompressed format., then it is more practicable to to transfer it over the Internet or via a LAN connection.

There lists the capabilities of DVD Copy for Mac on ISO file:
Copy: the ability to copy DVD to ISO file for Mac.
Burn: the ability to burn ISO file to an optical Disc.
Extract: the ability to copy the content of ISO file to a hard disc.

Free download this DVD Copy for Mac to have a try!

Buy NowFree trial(Intel PPC)

Let’s take the example: How to copy DVD to ISO file for Mac

Click “Full Disc ” button or “Main Movie Mode” button on the main interface to select the copy DVD mode.

Select the source: Select the DVD-video disc here to copy your DVD file.

Choose the target: Choose the ISO image target here for copying your DVD files as ISO file.

Start to Copy:Click the “Start” to begin your DVD copying to ISO file on Mac.

learn more on: how to edit DVD file or ISO file with DVD Copy for Mac.

How to put movies on an iPod

How to put movies on an iPod is always a problem that most iPod users are confused about. There are many tools can help you to convert video on iPod, such as avi iPod Converter for Mac, Mpeg 4 iPod Converter, 3gp converter for iPod and so on. Those tools can help you to put avi, wmv, 3gp, Mpeg on iPod easily. This is the easiest way to put movies on an iPod. You can also put movies from one iPod to another one and from computer to your iPod directly with iPod transfer tools.

This guide includes two Parts:
Part 1: How to put movies on an iPod for Windows (convert & transfer)
Part 2: How to put movies on an iPod for Mac (convert & transfer)

Part 1: How to put movies on an iPod for Windows
A. With Converter
Step 1: Download and install Aiseesoft iPod Video Converter.

put movies on an iPod for Windows With Converter

Step 2: Add Video
Click “Add File” button to load your movies that you want to put on iPod.
Step 3: Choose output format
You can choose your output format according to your iPod’s generation from the drop-down list named “profile”. You can also adjust the settings of your output video by clicking “Settings” button.
Step 4: Start Conversion
Click “Start” button to begin your conversion.

B. With Transfer
Step 1: Free download Aiseesoft iPod Transfer.

put movies on an iPod for Windows With Transfer

Step 2: Plug iPod
Plug your iPods or iPhones to computer
Step 3: Find movies
Find the movies that you want to put on your iPod from the other iPod.
Step 4: Transfer
Click “Transfer” button

Part 2: How to put movies on an iPod for Mac
A. With Converter
Step 1: Download and install Aiseesoft iPod Video Converter for Mac.

put movies on an iPod for Mac with Converter

Step 2: Add File
Click “Add File” button to load your movies that you want to put on iPod.
Step 3: Profile and Settings
Choose your output video’s profile from a drop-down list and you can also adjust the settings of your output movie.
Step 4: Conversion
Click “Start” button to begin your conversion.

B. With Transfer
Step 1: Download and install Aiseesoft iPod Manager for Mac.

put movies on an iPod for Mac with Transfer

Step 2: Plug
Plug your iPod via USB cable.
Step 3: Find Movies
Find your movies you want to put your iPod from your local disk.
Step 4: Transfer
Click Transfer button to begin your transfer and seconds later you will get your movies on your iPod.

2010年8月22日星期日

The iPod Family(Part 1)

We're hard pressed to say the iPod family's fallen on particularly hard times, but being under such excruciating public scrutiny can take its toll on any dynasty; especially in a year like 2005, the family shaken to its core by so many tragic deaths. From the humble beginnings of the iPod that began the legacy so many years back, all the way up to the tragic loss of the iPod mini just yesterday, we felt it might be time to take a visit to the iPod family cemetary on this early autumn afternoon.

iPod Family
iPod family Tree

2001

first generation iPod
The first generation iPod-October 2001 - July 2002

2002
second generation iPod
The second generation iPod-July 2002 - April 2003
But a few mournful months after the passing of the 5GB iPod and the birth of the 10GB iPod, came a new 10GB iPod and the 20GB, which started at $499. Perhaps one of the least well-remembered of the iPod family, this iPod included the first non-mechanical (solid state) scroll wheel, though the center and circumference buttons remained tactile. Perhaps most groundbreaking was the official Windows support (via Musicmatch Jukebox, ironically), though the wired remote, calendar, and artist search were all significant as well. Eventually this iPod would undergo tattoos by Beck, No Doubt, Madonna, and Tony Hawk before being committed to history in April of 2003.

2003
third generation iPod
The third generation iPod-April 2003 - July 2004
This was the iPod—born of humbler pedigree—that grew up, provided for itself a higher education, and made its own way in the world. The third generation of the family rid itself entirely of mechanical buttons on its body, shed some of its baby fat around the waist down to 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.62-inches, and came forth at $299 for 10GB, $399 for 15GB, and $499 for 30GB. This was also the first iPod child to feature a remote connector and dock connector—which finally enabled USB 2.0. In September the 30GB iPod was priced at $399, and a 40GB model was released for $499.

Related theme:
The iPod family(part 2)
The iPod family(part 3)
The iPod family(part 4)
The iPod family(part 5)

Recommended Products For you:
DVD to iPod Converter for Mac
It's a specially designed iPod conversion program to Convert DVD to iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano, convert DVD to iTunes on Leopard.
iPod Video Converter for Mac
It can convert MP4, MOV, 3GP, AVI, RM, MPEG, ASF and FLV to iPod video with high output quality and various features .

Verizon Tablet Rumored to Get Chrome Finish

In a May interview with The Wall Street Journal, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam said the carrier was working with Google to develop an iPad rival. “We’re working on tablets together,” he said. “We’re looking at all the things Google has in its archives that we could put on a tablet to make it a great experience.”

So a report making the rounds today claiming Google (GOOG) is working with Verizon (VZ) on a tablet isn’t exactly noteworthy. But its claim that the tablet will run Google’s Chrome OS, not Android, is. The expectation had been that it would run the latter, though Chrome–in a future-perfect form–would obviously be perfectly suited to the task. In any event, sources tell Download Squad that HTC is building the device and Verizon is looking to launch it on November 26–Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year.

2010年8月20日星期五

Will Facebook Debut a Foursquare-Lite Location Feature or a Real Competitor–or What?

Later today, as BoomTown previously reported, Facebook is likely to show off what it has been working on for a while now in the geo-location arena.

We’ll see whassup at 4:30 pm PT, when Facebook will hold a “news event” at the social-networking powerhouse’s HQ in Silicon Valley. (I will be liveblogging from it, natch.)

While most agree that the unveiling of the powerful social-networking site’s geo-location plans will have big impact, it will be much more interesting to see precisely what Facebook will do and how it innovates.

The company has certainly been talking about some sort of location feature for a long time–even as start-ups such as Foursquare and Booyah have grown like gangbusters–so much so that it has become a mini-waiting game in Silicon Valley.

But how Facebook integrates the hot trend into what it has built rather than bought–Facebook considered buying the New York-based Foursquare–is full of all kinds of complexities and possible sand traps.

Here is what I think it might–and should–show off:

NO PLAYING GAMES

There is plenty of that kind of silliness offered by others, and the badge, mayorships and general gaming is not really Facebook’s style.

In fact, gimmickry, which eventually becomes tiresome, is not really one of the tools in Facebook’s arsenal. Creating features–such as the Wall–that have become daily helpers is the ticket here.

In fact, it would be great if Facebook could go radically useful with a check-in feature, which would be for the rest of us who are not interested in broadcasting our presence at New York clubs into the wee hours.

Still, it would be nice to get all kinds of offers and freebies for using the service and giving up even more personal information to the hungry maw of this–still–Mark Zuckerberg production.

SEAMLESS THIRD-PARTY AGGREGATION

A must, given Facebook is all about integration and coordination for its users. It has already easily welcomed in all kinds of third-party services, and it must give developers on its platform geo-location capabilities.

So, any Facebook offering would need to integrate all the current location services, both on the Web site and in its mobile app.

That said, it is also important that Facebook also has a strong and effective offering of its own.

PLEASE MARK, I WANT SOME MORE

Location-sharing needs to be more than location-sharing, IMHO.

That’s because check-ins can become as inane as some Twitter posts.

In my bedroom! Now, in my bathroom! Now, in my kitchen. Hey from the 7-11! Aaaaaagh!

In fact, what is most useful about Foursquare is a part the service seems to give little attention to–user-generated info about various places.

Facebook could give truly helpful on-the-go info if it did a good job here, letting me know–for example–that I need to avoid the shrimp-puff appetizer at all costs or alerting me to the joys of some esoteric spa service.

Best of all, it would be nice if this info were not generated just by my friends, but by everyone. Because my friends are really boring.

WHAT HAPPENS ON FACEBOOK CHECK-IN, STAYS ON FACEBOOK CHECK-IN

Facebook has a long-running and much-deserved reputation for not treating privacy issues with enough concern and care.

While it is one thing to have a status update that you are enjoying 43 cold ones by the Jersey Shore with Snooki, it is quite another to geo-locate your trashy sojourn without a terrific level of control.

And, of course, controls that are comprehensible and easy to use.

Thus, some rules:

Any location service must be opt-in only.

Any location service must be set to private to start and allow users to change settings with each update.

Check-ins must be verified, so people cannot lie and manipulate the system.

The entire Facebook community of 500 million users must know exactly where Mark Zuckerberg is at every moment–wait, that’s just my secret wish.

Well, not a wish: All Facebook execs should publicly and actively be using the check-in services to let us all know that everyone is on the exact same page.

2010年8月18日星期三

HBO Headed to iPad, but Not Netflix

Netflix (NFLX) subscribers hoping to stream HBO series through the company’s Watch Instantly service may have a long time to wait. The deal that would allow them to do so is looking increasingly more unlikely. Evidently HBO would prefer to keep its programming–along with films from Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures to which it holds the rights–to itself. “There is value in exclusivity,” HBO co-president Eric Kessler told Bloomberg. “[People] are willing to pay a premium for high quality, exclusive content.”

Especially if they’re cable subscribers. HBO has about 29 million of them, and they generated $3.9 billion in sales for the company last year. So rather than seek out new distribution outlets–even those willing to pay close to $1 billion for the privilege–the company plans to expand the ones it already has. Soon we’ll see the HBO Go online video service rolled out to all major cable providers and supported on new devices like Apple’s (AAPL) iPad. Which is great for current and future HBO subscribers, but disappointing for folks hoping to do all their video viewing through a single streaming service.

2010年8月17日星期二

The iPod Family(Part 1)

We're hard pressed to say the iPod family's fallen on particularly hard times, but being under such excruciating public scrutiny can take its toll on any dynasty; especially in a year like 2005, the family shaken to its core by so many tragic deaths. From the humble beginnings of the iPod that began the legacy so many years back, all the way up to the tragic loss of the iPod mini just yesterday, we felt it might be time to take a visit to the iPod family cemetary on this early autumn afternoon.

iPod Family
iPod family Tree

2001

first generation iPod
The first generation iPod-October 2001 - July 2002

2002
second generation iPod
The second generation iPod-July 2002 - April 2003
But a few mournful months after the passing of the 5GB iPod and the birth of the 10GB iPod, came a new 10GB iPod and the 20GB, which started at $499. Perhaps one of the least well-remembered of the iPod family, this iPod included the first non-mechanical (solid state) scroll wheel, though the center and circumference buttons remained tactile. Perhaps most groundbreaking was the official Windows support (via Musicmatch Jukebox, ironically), though the wired remote, calendar, and artist search were all significant as well. Eventually this iPod would undergo tattoos by Beck, No Doubt, Madonna, and Tony Hawk before being committed to history in April of 2003.

2003
third generation iPod
The third generation iPod-April 2003 - July 2004
This was the iPod—born of humbler pedigree—that grew up, provided for itself a higher education, and made its own way in the world. The third generation of the family rid itself entirely of mechanical buttons on its body, shed some of its baby fat around the waist down to 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.62-inches, and came forth at $299 for 10GB, $399 for 15GB, and $499 for 30GB. This was also the first iPod child to feature a remote connector and dock connector—which finally enabled USB 2.0. In September the 30GB iPod was priced at $399, and a 40GB model was released for $499.

Related theme:
The iPod family(part 2)
The iPod family(part 3)
The iPod family(part 4)
The iPod family(part 5)

Recommended Products For you:
DVD to iPod Converter for Mac
It's a specially designed iPod conversion program to Convert DVD to iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano, convert DVD to iTunes on Leopard.
iPod Video Converter for Mac
It can convert MP4, MOV, 3GP, AVI, RM, MPEG, ASF and FLV to iPod video with high output quality and various features .

2010年8月15日星期日

How to download free youtube, yahoo, google, stream video for free

This step-by-step guide will show you how to download video from YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo and other video download website. Videos come from those websites are streaming videos. You need special software to capture steaming videos. Today we take YouTube video for example, write a guide about how to download streaming video to computer for free. This guide provides two methods:
1. with free online flv converter;
2. with firefox
This guide is also fit for other video websites as follow video list:
http://www.aiseesoft.com/article/free-download-video-list.html
3. How to transfer the downloaded youtube video to iPod PSP Zune iPhone Cell Phone and other MP3/MP4 player?

1. With free online flv converter
Step1. Open this website: http://vixy.net/. It's a free online FLV converter.
Step2. Then go to YouTube http://www.youtube.com and find a video that you love. Copy the URL that in the Red box. Like this format: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdUUx5FdySs

free download youtube guide - download youtube to iPod, youtube downloader, convert youtube to zune

Step3. Paste your video file URL to the input box (figure as follow), choose the right format you want. If you want to edit the video, AVI is a good choice. And MP4 is fit for iPod, PSP, Zune, Apple TV and other MP4 players. This online converter also can rip audio to MP3. Then wait for the conversion.

free download youtube guide - download youtube to iPod, youtube downloader, convert youtube to zune

Step4. When the conversion finished, we got the download link of the output video. Click the download link to download the video and save in your computer (remember where you save it in). Done.

free download youtube guide - download youtube to iPod, youtube downloader, convert youtube to zune

2. With Firefox
If you have Firefox browser, you can follow these steps.
Step1. Install the videodownloader extension. This is a free plug-in for Firefox. It enables you capture streaming video from website. Here is the Download link:
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2390
Step2. After installing videodownloader, restart Firefox. In the bottom right, you'll see a little box. Go to the video you want to download, double click that little box, and select download link. Then you could download the streaming video you want. (Note, you have to rename the file extension from “html” to “flv”)

free download youtube guide - download youtube to iPod, youtube downloader, convert youtube to zune

free download youtube guide - download youtube to iPod, youtube downloader, convert youtube to zune

You have to rename the file extension from “html” to “flv” when you save the link. (Make sure your compute is show file extension)

free download youtube guide - download youtube to iPod, youtube downloader, convert youtube to zune

3. How to transfer youtube video to iPod PSP Zune Phone and other MP3/MP4 player?
For iPod: if your download youtube video already is MP4 video, drag it to your iTunes library (or click iTunes "file" -> "add files to library"), plug in your iPod to computer, and then select your iPod device on the left panel of iTunes, click "Movies" tab, check the videos you want to sync and click "Apply", done.
If your downloaded YouTube video is not MP4 video, you have to convert it to iPod format at first, take a look at this free iPod converter, it embeds an iPod manager that can convert and transfer YouTube video to iPod directly without iTunes, here is a step by step guide about it:
http://www.aiseesoft.com/article/ipod-movie-converter.html
For PSP: PSP is the same as iPod, they are both support MP4 video, if you have converted the YouTube video to MP4 with above method, you can copy the MP4 video directly to the "Video" folder in your memory stick (if there is no "Video" folder in your memory stick, you can create by yourself). If your downloaded YouTube video is not MP4 video, you have to convert it to PSP format at first, take a look at this PSP Movie converter, it t can convert and transfer YouTube video to psp directly, fully support all firmware version of PSP, here is a step by step guide about it:
http://www.aiseesoft.com/article/psp-movie-converter.html
For Zune: Zune can play WMV video, if you have converted your download YouTube video to zune format, then open the Zune software, drag the wmv video to your Zune software, plug in your Zune to computer, and then Zune software should detect your Zune automatically, then click "Start to sync", the video will be transfered to Zune player.
If your downloaded YouTube video is not WMV video, you have to convert it to Zune format, take a look at this free Zune converter, it can convert video to Zune format, it can also convert YouTube video to MP3 for other player, here is a step by step guide about it:
http://www.aiseesoft.com/article/zune-movie-converter.html
For cell phone: Cell phone accepts 3GP video and MP4 video, just convert your downloaded YouTube video to the proper format, connect your cell phone to computer, and then copy the videos to your cell phone memory card. If you don't know how to convert video, take a look at this step by step guide:
http://www.aiseesoft.com/article/total-video-converter.html

Top 5 Best DVD to iPod Converter Review

You may haven’t figured out how to rip your DVD to your iPod, and played in the right resolution for your iPod. And often, you are confused about which software is the best one. Everybody has its own opinion about that. Here, I give you top 5 best DVD to iPod Converter Review. You can choose what you think the best DVD to iPod Converter among them. I will take 6 points into review.

1) Cost/Performance: Everybody wants to gain more with less money.
2)Video Quality: Someone often uses the video iPod to watch movie, so the output video quality should be considered seriously. Top DVD to iPod output without any loss in the video and image quality of the exports. To enjoying the high definition video is of great pleasure. Or else, not only your eyes may get hurt; the annoying jumpy and mosaics will also bother you.
3) Speed: Convert DVD often takes time, an hour DVD movie takes around thirty minutes to convert to MPEG-4 movie, if you have multiple DVDs to be converted, a high speed converter would be your best bet, or else, you will waste much time on the conversion, and your computer will be tied to the process.
4) Quality of DVD: Sometimes, rip DVD to iPod according to the original DVD quality, or the types of the DVD to determine the ripped file quality.
5) Easy to use: There are still many iPod users knew little about computer, so complicated parameter settings will strain their brain, as a result, a application with simple interface and steps is the acceptable.
6) Personal Demands: For example, someone just wants to convert part of the DVD video, or others want the special output video format like Apple TV compliant forms and etc.

Concerning the above factors, I've selected five DVD to iPod converters for reference.
DVD to iPod Converter for Windows Review:
First: Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Suite.
Second: Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Converter.
Third: Tipard DVD to iPod Converter.

DVD to iPod Converter for Windows Review

Comment: After you install Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Converter, You will be greatly impressed by its friendly interface. In addition to its top conversion function, it provides the function to optimize your conversion file, set the parameters for you, crop video, trim video, select subtitle etc. If you have many DVDs must be converted and cropped. Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Converter meet your needs.

We tested Tipard DVD to iPod Converter, it is amazing that Regardless of the DVD media we used, the ripped files looked and sounded great. It is also combined with many useful features, trim your video clips; crop the play region of video; set the video effect. If you care about the Cost/Performance, and you care about the video/ audio quality, Tipard DVD to iPod Converter is suit for you.

As for Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Suite, It is the top favorable software, I believe. The reason is that it combines DVD to iPod Converter, iPod to Computer Transfer and iPod Movie Converter into one. With this powerful software, you not only can rip DVD to your iPod, but also convert any video formats to your iPod supporting one. As well as Transfer music and video from iPod to computer. If you want to Rip DVD and convert your favorite video including the FLV format to your iPod with one and inexpensive software, Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Suite is the best one.

DVD to iPod Converter for Mac Review:
First: Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Converter for Mac
Second: Tipard DVD to iPod Converter for Mac

DVD to iPod Converter for Mac Review

Comment: Similarity, the above two Mac software is same on the main function. As for the interface, it’s up to you preference. Frankly, Tipard DVD to iPod Converter for Mac take a little shorter to convert, but considering the video quality, Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Converter for Mac ripped DVD video is more remarkable. Of course, you can test it by yourself. You would found the video conversions are just as clear as the original, sometimes even better.

2010年8月13日星期五

Google Tries Explaining Its Network Neutrality Non-Deal With Verizon, Again

On Monday, Google and Verizon rolled out a “policy proposal”–not a “business arrangement”–that explained the way they’d like to see telecommunications traffic regulated. Or not regulated, as the case may be.

That didn’t go well, at least by blogosphere standards. The hive mind quickly concluded that search giant Google (GOOG) and telco giant Verizon (VZ) were trying to fool Americans by proposing a deal where the old Web stayed “open,” while giving them the go-ahead to lock down a new “private” Web, as well as the wireless Web.

In addition, Google itself got a big heaping of scorn for seemingly flip-flopping on previous assurances about its plans for the mobile Web.

Not so! says Google. And it has published yet another policy statement to try to make its case. Best to read the thing in its entirety here. But on the most contentious points:

Google can’t argue that it hasn’t changed its stance on wireless. Because it has.

From Google’s post: “It’s true that Google previously has advocated for certain openness safeguards to be applied in a similar fashion to what would be applied to wireline services. However, in the spirit of compromise, we have agreed to a proposal that allows this market to remain free from regulation for now, while Congress keeps a watchful eye.”

Telco lobbyist Richard Whitt goes on to explain his company’s reasoning, which boils down to: Wireless is different from wired.

Google will have a hard time explaining the nuance of its stance on the “private” Web.

On Monday, Google and Verizon struggled to explain why broadband providers should be able to build out a second tier of Internet-like services that aren’t on the Internet and aren’t subject to “open” requirements. Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, pressed for examples, suggested that the new private Web would be great for 3-D video. But it’s hard to argue that bandwidth-intensive uses shouldn’t be subject to the same regulations as the rest of the Web. Getting this one through could be a real challenge.

2010年8月11日星期三

Time Warner Fesses Up: Jack Griffin to Head Time Inc. “At the End of September”

Time Warner has finally sent out a press release announcing last week’s news: Meredith (MDP) magazine head Jack Griffin will take over Ann Moore’s role as the head of Time Inc. The only news here is the timing: Moore will be running the show until “the end of September.”


JACK GRIFFIN NAMED CEO OF TIME INC.

Succeeds Ann Moore, Who Is Retiring After 32 Years at Time

NEW YORK, August 9, 2010 – Time Warner Inc. (TWX) Chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes today announced the appointment of Jack Griffin as Chief Executive Officer of Time Inc.

Mr. Griffin will succeed Ann Moore when he joins the company at the end of September. Ms. Moore, who is retiring after 32 years of service at Time, will remain as Chairman through the transition, after which Mr. Griffin will also assume that role. Earlier this month, Mr. Griffin left the Meredith Corporation where he had served as President of its National Media Group.

In making the announcement Mr. Bewkes said: “I am delighted that Jack is joining Time Inc. He is an exceptional executive who knows how to expand the reach and relevance of strong publishing brands, and he will be a champion of our high-quality journalism. As CEO, Jack will further advance our lead position in the industry and accelerate the expansion and innovation of our titles on all platforms.”

Mr. Bewkes continued: “On behalf of all our colleagues, I want to thank Ann Moore for her 32 years of distinguished service at Time Inc. She has made so many contributions over that period, including launching some of our biggest brands and diversifying our advertising client list, and, most recently, advising me on recruiting Jack. And she has done a remarkable job of leading the company over the past eight years, a challenging time in publishing. Ann has also been a visionary in digital, leading the industry to innovate across all emerging platforms. And through it all, she proved to readers and advertisers that there is great value in both the old and the new publishing formats.”

At Meredith Mr. Griffin nurtured and aggressively expanded the company’s titles while also creating highly successful advertising and marketing programs. He played a significant role in helping acquire publisher Gruner + Jahr USA, overseeing its integration into Meredith Corporation, which doubled the size of its magazine business.

Mr. Griffin said: “I am honored to join Time Inc., the world’s pre-eminent branded content company. Time Inc. has a strong culture of excellence and leadership, and I look forward to working with the great team there to continue moving the company forward. It is a great privilege to follow in the footsteps of my friend and colleague Ann Moore, who has done so much for Time Inc. and the industry.”

Ann Moore said: “I have believed for some time that Jack is the right person to be the next CEO of Time Inc., and I couldn’t be more pleased that he will lead this Company into the future. It’s a vote of confidence in our strategy that Jeff and the Board have landed one of the most experienced leaders in our industry.”

While President of the Meredith National Media Group, Mr. Griffin oversaw the company’s portfolio of media and marketing properties, and managed the company’s Brand Licensing and book publishing operations. He is well known for creating Meredith Integrated Marketing (MIM), the company’s digital marketing services unit. MIM tripled in size under Mr. Griffin’s leadership, becoming an industry leader in CRM and multiplatform marketing programs. Prior to Meredith Corporation, Mr. Griffin was at Parade, a division of Advance Publications, from 1999 to 2003, where he became its President.

Mr. Griffin has won many awards and industry honors – including being selected as the Publishing Executive of the Year in 2005 by Advertising Age and receiving the AAF Jack Avrett Award for industry and community service. He has also received the National Human Relations Award from the American Jewish Committee in 2005 for his charitable work. Mr. Griffin is currently Vice Chairman of the Magazine Publishers of America, Director of the Internet Advertising Bureau and the Audit Bureau of Circulations, and a member of the AAF Hall of Achievement.

Mr. Griffin graduated with a BA in philosophy, cum laude, from Boston College and received his Master’s Degree from the Yale School of Management. He is a former president of the Yale School of Management alumni association and a director of the Yale Center for Customer Insights.

Meet the Prankster Brothers Behind “Jenny,” the Whiteboard-Using, Farmville-Exposing, HPOA Girl

Yesterday, everyone on the Internet loved Steve Slater, the Jet Blue flight attendant who quit his job by cursing out his passengers and bolting out of his plane using the emergency slide.

Today, our favorite job quitter is “Jenny”–”a girl” who left her job by sending co-workers a series of photos where she uses a whiteboard to insult her boss and expose his fondness for Farmville.

We know that the Steve Slater story is true. But what about Jenny’s story?

Almost certainly made up.

The story showed up this morning on theChive.com, a dude-centric site run by brothers John and Leo Resig, who own a series of photo/humor sites. (That’s Leo on the left.) Before that, the Resigs ran a site called Derober, which features doctored photos of celebrities in their underwear.

And Derober’s moment in the spotlight came back in December 2007, when it made up a story about Donald Trump leaving a $10,000 tip on a $82.27 bill. The story was convincing enough to fool Fox News and the New York Post (both of which are owned by News Corp., which also owns this site).

So Jenny is a fake, too. Right, Leo Resig?

No, Resig says over the phone. “Jenny’s very real.”

Really? Really, Resig says.

He says Jenny is with his brother John at this very moment, and that the three of them are trying to figure out the best way to identify her and tell her story.

Jay Leno wants Jenny on his show, Leo Resig says. “Good Morning America” wants her, too. He’s not sure the best way to proceed, because “we’re trying to be respectful of that girl.”

But don’t worry, Leo says. The brothers plan on identifying Jenny “tomorrow morning around 10 am. We’re not exactly sure who or how we’re going to release it. Obviously it will be on thechive.com as well.”

Okay. But you’re the same guys who gave us the Donald Trump story, and that was fake. Is this one different?

Pause. “Good homework. That was a good time.”

Ah. So is Jenny’s story real, then? “This one is to be determined. People are kind of making up their own stories.”

We go on this vein for a bit. Since Leo won’t tell me the story is real, and the Trump story definitely wasn’t, I’ll assume that this one is make-believe, too. “If you want to assume that, you can. We have a track record.”

True!

Another thing about the Resigs that is true: Their site has a real audience.

The brothers claim their four related sites–theChive, theBerry, theBrigade and theThrottle–gather a monthly audience of 5.6 million uniques. And comscore (SCOR) says theChive, the only site big enough to register on its radar, has 1.3 million uniques. Given the vagaries of Internet measurement–the brothers say their data comes from Google (GOOG) Analytics–it’s possible that their numbers are at least truthy.

So good for the brothers, I guess, for proving yet again that people will believe anything they see on the Internet.

But Jay Leno’s bookers may want to hold off.

UPDATE: After I published my story, Leo Resig emailed this comment, which he says he wants attributed to both brothers (I double-checked with him before I published): “Although we like Jack Daniels whiskey, we prefer Jim Beam because bourbon is better.”

2010年8月9日星期一

MKV file, MLV player, Free MKV Converter and MKV Burner on Mac OS

What is MKV file?
.MKV is a container format developed by Matroska. Matroska file types are .MKV for video (with subtitles and audio), .MKA for audio-only files and .MKS for subtitles only. The most common use of .MKV files is to store HD video files.It can hold different types of video and audio. For example, there might be an .avi file contained within the .MKV file. High Definition movies in 720 or 1080 pixel width format are often encoded and packaged as a Matroska format video with a .MKV file extension.

How to play MKV file s on Mac?
I recommend trying either MPlayer OS X or VLC Media Player. They are all free.
These excellent and free multimedia players can tackle many of the video formats unknown to QuickTime. They contain a decoder to decode the .MKV files. They will also play many of the formats you will find inside the .MKV file.
How to convert MKV to DVD, MP4, AVI, etc on Mac for free?
I recommend VisualHub to convert MKV to MP4, AVI, etc on Mac. It can convert MKV to iPod Nano, convert MKV to iPod Classic, convert MKV to iPod touch , convert MKV to iPhone, convert MKV to Apple TV, convert MKV to Xbox 360, convert MKV to PSP, convert MKV to PS3, AVI, convert MKV to MP4, convert MKV to MPEG, convert MKV to Flash, convert MKV to WMV and convert MKV to DVD.
Techspanion (The developer of VisualHub) has closed shop and after an outcry from fans, VisualHub, the popular video converter on Mac OS X have now gone open source. It has got new name Film Redux. You can download its open source and built it by yourself. Here is a tutorial: How to build iSquint and VisualHub?

Convert MKV on Mac

Step 1, Run Film Redux (VisualHub)
Step2, Load MKV videos
Insert your MKV files from your Mac .Click the Add files button to load your MKV videos.
Step3, Convert MKV to MP4, AVI, iPod, etc.
Here is the list of the formats that VisualHub can convert MKV
They are iPod Nano, iPod Classic, iPod touch , iPhone, Apple TV, Xbox 360, PSP, PS3, AVI, MP4, Quicktime, MPEG, Flash, WMV. Choose the format you want to convert MKV to and click Start.

VisualHub - convert MKV list

That’s all. Now, we have converted MKV to iPod Nano, iPod Classic, iPod touch , iPhone, Apple TV, Xbox 360, PSP, PS3, AVI, MP4, Quicktime, MPEG, Flash, WMV.
How to convert DVD to MKV on Mac for free?
I recommend you use Handbrake to you to convert DVD to MKV on Mac . HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 converter. It can convert DVD to MKV on Mac eaisly and for free.
Step 1, Download and Install Handbake
Download the free program Handbrake. Check to see if your Mac has the system requirements; click on the apple icon in the top left corner and About this Mac. Then install HandBrake.

Handbrake - convert DVD to MKV

Step 2, Run it and insert DVD.
Select your favorite DVD disk and put it in the disk drive. Then run HandBrake and click Detected Volume to choose source. Click Open and you will be able to see many titles included in this DVD disk. Choose the longest title if this is a movie DVD, or choose your favorite chapter if this is an episode.
Step 3, Select Output setting
Select MKV files as output format and select other settings such as video quality, audio track, Audio Sample Rate, bitrate, Picture Settings, etc. Handbrake - select output setting

Step 4, Rip DVD to MKV on Mac
Check all settings and click Rip. A progress bar will show its ripping speed; depends on many factors like speed of Mac, filesize, etc.
That’s all. We have converted DVD to MKV for free now.
Note: Handbrake can not rip encrypted DVD movies. If you want to rip encrypted DVD movies, you can use this DVD Ripper for Mac. You can also use Mac the ripper which is free.

2010年8月8日星期日

iPod Compatible Video

This article is divided into four parts separately introduce what is iPod Compatible Video, which video format is better for Apple iPod Video, is my video iPod compatible and how to make the video compatible with your iPod.

Part One: What is iPod Compatible Video?
Part Two: Which video format is better for Apple iPod video?
Part Three: Is My Video iPod Compatible?
Part Four: How to make the video compatible with your iPod?

Part One: What is iPod Compatible Video?
Firstly, I will introduce you what is iPod Compatible Video, iPod Nano Compatible Video such as iPod Video MP4, iPod Video H 264, the specifications page lists the following:
Apple iPod video specifications from their official website:
H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats;
MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.

That’s a little confusing, but there’s only a few numbers you’ll need to remember for each format.

iPod H.264 Video formatThe highest video bitrate with the H.264 codec is 768 kilobits per second. The biggest picture size for your H.264 movie is 320 pixels wide by 240 pixels high, the exact dimensions of your iPod’s screen. Your iPod can play H.264 video at framerates up to 30 frames per second. Every one of the applications that we’ll be using encodes with the Baseline Profile. Your audio needs to be encoded as AAC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48 kHz, and it can be in either stereo or mono. As long as you follow all the guidelines, your movie can be a QuickTime movie or an MPEG-4 movie file.

iPod MPEG-4 Video formatYour other option, MPEG-4 video, supports a much higher bitrate than H.264 video - 2,500 kilobits per second. Using higher bitrates will also create larger files. The result: you’ll have less space for additional songs and movies. The biggest picture size for your MPEG-4 video is 480 pixels wide by 480 pixels high - three times as many pixels as your iPod’s screen is capable of displaying. Your iPod will shrink the picture proportionally so that everything fits on the screen. Again, the iPod can play videos up to 30 frames per second and our audio and file format options are the same as H.264 video.

Part Two: Which video format is better for Apple iPod video?
That’s a tough question. H.264 is arguably better because it offers high quality and a much smaller file size when compared to MPEG-4. However, both formats look quite good when you encode your video at the higher supported video settings. One thing that most people will agree on is that H.264 video takes longer to encode than standard MPEG-4. This means that converting a two hour movie to iPod video can take considerably longer using the H.264 codec (especially with QuickTime Pro’s pokey Export: Movie to iPod video option). Still, I prefer the H.264 codec in most instances.

Part Three: Is My Video iPod Compatible?
Some of the video files that you download from the web or from file sharing networks like BitTorrent may be iPod compatible - even if they’re not marked as such.

The easiest way to determine whether a video can be played on your iPod is to open the file in QuickTime and select Window: Show Movie Info. In most cases your video should be iPod-ready if the format is H.264 or MPEG-4, the audio is AAC, and the size of your video is 320 x 240 (or smaller) for H.264 or 480 x 480 (or smaller) for MPEG-4. Also, look at the data rate and make sure it’s not over 900 kbits/sec for H.264 or 2600 kbits/sec for MPEG-4.

QuickTime info for iPod Video

Part Four: How to make the video compatible with your iPod?
If you have QuickTime Pro ($30 and worth every penny) or the latest version of iTunes (free!), this is, by far, the easiest conversion that we’ll talk about.

In iTunes, after you’ve added your video to the library, right click it. Select Convert Selection for iPod. iTunes will let you know if your video is already in the correct format. If it’s not, your video will slowly be converted to an H.264 video.

UPDATE: I’ve heard several complaints of iTunes creating iPod videos without sound. You should probably avoid using iTunes to convert your videos.

In QuickTime Pro, open your movie and, in the file menu, select Export… and in the export drop-down, select Movie to iPod (320 x 240) and click Save. QuickTime will create an optimized H.264 video with AAC audio.

You may want to go pour yourself a cup of tea or take a nap. If your file is large, QuickTime’s slow conversion process can take several hours.

If you’re an inexperienced user, I recommend using QuickTime Pro or iTunes because they’re absolutely foolproof. However there are other much faster, more powerful applications for converting your videos. Read on!

Don’t have QuickTime Pro? Aiseesoft iPod Video Converter!
Aiseesoft iPod Video Converter supports so comprehensive video formats including converting MPG, MPEG, MPEG2, VOB, MP4, M4V, RM, RMVB, WMV, ASF, MKV, TS, MPV, AVI, 3GP,3G2, FLV, MPV, MOD, TOD to iPod Video MP4, iPod Video H 264. You can customize your own output video by the settings function. For example, if you want a high quality video you can raise the values of Video Biterate, Audio Biterate and Audio Sample Rate, if you want a smaller file you can reduce the value.

Settings

If you want to make your DVD compatible with your iPod and even transfer your iPod video to Computer, you can choose Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Suite which is an all-in-one solution to convert DVD to iPod Video MP4, iPod Video H 264 and convert video to iPod Video MP4, iPod Video H 264. Moreover, it can transfer video from iPod to computer. You don’t need to worry about losing anything.
For Mac user, you can choose Aiseesoft iPod Video Converter for Mac and Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Suite for Mac.

2010年8月6日星期五

How to get songs, pictures and videos from iTunes, iPod, iPhone to computer and then to Zune

This is a step by step guide to tell you how to get all songs, pictures and videos from iPod, iPhone to computer (including windows PC and Mac OS X) for free. In the event that you accidentally delete your music from your computer, it is possible to recover your songs from your iPod as long as you follow this tutorial. And then you can put these songs, pictures and videos to Zune, PSP, Sandisk, Pocket PC, PowerPoint, Cell phone, Creative Zen, PDA, Archos, iRiver, Apple TV, Xbox 360, PS3 and other MP4 player. If you want to put the iTunes videos to Zune and other mp4 players, You can transfer iTunes videos to iPod touch, iPod classic, the latest iPod nano and iPhone(iPhone 3G) firstly.
This guide includes two parts:
Part 1, How to get songs, pictures and videos from iPod, iPhone to computer for free
Part 2, How to put iTunes videos, iPod and iPhone videos to Zune, PSP and other MP4 player.

Part 1, How to get songs, pictures and videos from iPod, iPhone(3G) to computer for free
1. How to get songs, pictures and videos from iPod, iPhone to Windows PC for free
ml_iPod is a Winamp plugin that enables music to be loaded onto and off of an Apple iPod without using iTunes via Winamp's Media Library. One of the main attractions of the plugin is being able to transfer files from the iPod to your computer which is not possible with Apple's iTunes software. Winamp's newest iPod plug-in can indeed copy files from iPhone in Windows without jailbreaking. It also supports Creative Zen and PlaysForSure certified devices.
Download and install Winamp if you haven't yet. And then use it to get songs, pictures and videos from iPod, iPhone to Windows PC.
2. How to get songs, pictures and videos from iPod, iPhone to Mac OS X for free
Step 1,Download Senuti.
The latest version only works on Mac OS X 10.4 or higher. For OS X 10.3.9 users download Senuti 0.33 from the link at the bottom of the page. It always copy music from regular iPods to your Mac, and a new version now supports the iPhone and iPod touch.
Step 2, Install Senuti. Drag the Seunti application to your Applications Folder. Drag Senuti into your dock or save a copy on your desktop if you wish. Eject the Senuti disk image and clear your download folder.
Step 3, Make sure you have iTunes. Open iTunes.
Step 4, Plug your iPod into your computer. Set your iPod to "Manually manage music and videos" in iTunes.
Step 5, Open Senuti. Songs with a note next to them are already in iTunes. However if you changed song information separately in your iTunes library or your iPod, it will think the same song is two different ones.
Step 6, Go to "Preferences" and then "Copying" in Senuti. Choose the iTunes Music Folder as the "Save Location" for copied music. Otherwise two copies will be created of each song and will fill up hard drive space.
Step 7, Highlight and drag songs from "Library" into "iTunes". You can also drag and drop playlists from your iPod into iTunes. Make sure all the songs look normal and that there are no double copies.

Part 2, How to put iTunes videos, iPod and iPhone videos to Zune
If you want to put iTunes videos to Zune, you can transfer the iTunes videos to iPod or iPhone at first and then get the videos from iPod and iPhone to Computer. Now we can put the videos that have got from iPod touch, iPod Classic, iPod Nano and iPhone to Zune.

Zune only supports the follow video formats:
Windows Media Video (.wmv)
MPEG4 video (m4v, .mp4, or .mov)
H.264 video (.m4v, .mp4, or .mov)

If the videos are the zune format files, you can transfer the videos to Zune using zune software.
Here is the steps:
1. install zune software, you can download it from here for free
2. plug in your zune player to computer
3. drag the wmv video to zune library
4. click "start sync" to sync your zune. OK.
If the videos are not the zune format, You need use Total video converter to convert the videos to Zune format so that you can put the iTunes videos to zune. And then you need to use zune software to transfer the videos to zune.
The total video converter can also convert videos for Apple TV, PSP, Pocket PC, Creative Zen, Archos, and a lot of MP3 players and audio players. So you can also put the iPod videos, iPhone videos and iTune videos to Apple TV, PSP, Pocket PC, Creative Zen, Archos, and a lot of MP3 players.
If you are a Mac user, use this video converter for Mac to put iTunes videos to Zune and other MP4 players.

There as also many other applications and methods for copying music from an iPod to your computer as there are iPod models themselves, which makes finding a sure-fire, free solution a matter of tedious trial and error. Whether you're a Windows user looking to yank tunes from an iPhone, a Mac fan backing up an iPod classic, or a Linux enthusiast trying to get into your new nano, we've got you covered. Follow along for a detailed look at the best ways to transfer songs from your iPod to your computer, no matter what hardware or operating system you're rocking.
1. Floola (Win, Mac, Linux) - portable iPod manager.
Features: (1) move audio and video to/from iPod, (2) manage and import/export playlists, (3) last.fm support, (4) multi-lingual, (5) lyrics and podcasts support, (6) search files, (7) iPod troubleshooting, (8) manage notes, (9) sync files between PC and iPod
2. YamiPod (Win, Mac, Linux) - yet another portable iPod manager.
Features: (1) playlists import/export (PLS,M3U), (2) PC to iPod autosync, (3) built-in music player, (4) last.fm support, (5) search, (6) song list export and more
3. Sharepod (Win) -
Features: (1) move files to/from iPod, (2) built-in music player, (3) search, (4) create winamp-style playlists, (5) network file sharing (office, college, etc.), (6) built-in music player and more
4. Ephpod (Win) - not as flexible as the ones above but has couple of cool
features: ultra-fast song transfer, powerful playlist creation features, one click sync, winamp support, bunch of extras (news, weather, movie listings, etc.)
5. Rockbox - open source replacement firmware for mp3 players.
Features: (1) dynamic playlist creation, (2) multiple themes, (3) gapless playback, (4) in-built clock, (5) tagging, (6) plugins and more
6. Amarok (Linux) - iTunes alternative.
Features: (1) manage, create playlists , (2) podcasts support, (3) last.fm support more
7. Rhythmbox (Linux) - integrated music management application (inspired by iTunes)

2010年8月4日星期三

On the Web’s Cutting Edge, Anonymity in Name Only

You may not know a company called [x+1] Inc., but it may well know a lot about you.

From a single click on a web site, [x+1] correctly identified Carrie Isaac as a young Colorado Springs parent who lives on about $50,000 a year, shops at Wal-Mart (WMT) and rents kids’ videos. The company deduced that Paul Boulifard, a Nashville architect, is childless, likes to travel and buys used cars. And [x+1] determined that Thomas Burney, a Colorado building contractor, is a skier with a college degree and looks like he has good credit.

The company didn’t get every detail correct. But its ability to make snap assessments of individuals is accurate enough that Capital One Financial Corp. uses [x+1]’s calculations to instantly decide which credit cards to show first-time visitors to its website.

In short: Websites are gaining the ability to decide whether or not you’d be a good customer, before you tell them a single thing about yourself.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

2010年8月3日星期二

Gulf States Worried About Offshore BlackBerry Leaks

If you can’t scan them, ban them.

The United Arab Emirates late Sunday said it will suspend BlackBerry mobile services like email, instant-messaging and Web-browsing unless Research in Motion (RIMM) agrees to make them easier to surveil. “BlackBerry data is immediately exported offshore, where it’s managed by a foreign, commercial organization,” the country’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in a statement. “Blackberry data services are currently the only data services operating in the UAE where this is the case. Today’s decision is based on the fact that, in their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national-security concerns.”

Ironic that RIM’s encryption system, one of the chief reasons for its success in the enterprise world, is working against it in countries whose governments view it as a potential threat to national security

Saudi Arabia appears to be following the UAE’s lead. Sources in the kingdom’s Communications and Information Technology Commission tell Reuters it is ordering a suspension of BlackBerry messenger services as well.

Analysts estimate that together the two gulf states have between 500,000 and 1 million Blackberry subscribers. That’s not a huge number–about two percent of RIM’s subscriber base– but it’s large enough that the company will almost certainly work out an agreement before the bans go into effect.

2010年8月2日星期一

Microsoft Quashed Effort to Boost Online Privacy

The online habits of most people who use the world’s dominant Web browser are an open book to advertisers. That wasn’t the plan at first.

In early 2008, Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) product planners for the Internet Explorer 8.0 browser intended to give users a simple, effective way to avoid being tracked online. They wanted to design the software to automatically thwart common tracking tools, unless a user deliberately switched to settings affording less privacy.

That triggered heated debate inside Microsoft. As the leading maker of Web browsers, the gateway software to the Internet, Microsoft must balance conflicting interests: helping people surf the Web with its browser to keep their mouse clicks private, and helping advertisers who want to see those clicks.

In the end, the product planners lost a key part of the debate. The winners: executives who argued that giving automatic privacy to consumers would make it tougher for Microsoft to profit from selling online ads. Microsoft built its browser so that users must deliberately turn on privacy settings every time they start up the software.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

2010年8月1日星期日

Downgrade PSP to version1.5 using PSP battery

Lots of users downgrade their PSP to version 1.5 because they can upgrade their PSP to any version from 1.5. And if you upgrade your PSP to version 3.51, you can play any downloaded games and run any applications. Do you know that you can downgrade your PSP system to version 1.5 all by yourself by turning your PSP battery into a pandora's battery? All you need are an original PSP battery (with more than 50% charge) and a Memory Stick Pro Duo with 1GB memory or above.

I. Get ready (Reformat PSP memory stick)
Before you get started with the downgrade, you need to reformat your PSP memory stick. If you don't know how to reformat it, you can refer to the steps below:
1. Press the HOME button on the bottom left of your PSP.
2. Use the arrow keys to move to the Settings area, then move the up and down keys to go to System Settings.
3. Push the "X" button (or the "O" button, depending on which button is the "Enter" button of your PSP) and scroll to find the "Format Memory Stick" option. Push the "X" button again to select this option.
4. Your PSP will now confirm that you want to reformat the memory stick, choose yes and your PSP will be physically formatted in a few seconds.
To do the downgrade, you also need to download an application pack. After the downloading is finished, what you get will be a compressed application pack named "pandora", decompress it to the root directory of a hard disc, say Disc H. In this "pandora" folder, you can see four folders including mspformat, msinst, battery and installer, and a file named UPDATE.PBP.
Now you are ALL ready to turn your PSP battery to a Pandora's battery and use it to downgrade any PSP!
II.Turn your PSP battery into a padora's battery
Step 1: Logically reformat your PSP Connect your PSP to your computer. And your PSP will be recognized as a new hard disc, say K. Then click Start -> Run, input cmd in the popped up dialog box, and click OK to enter DOS system. Use the below commands one by one to run the mspformat file: Input "H:", and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. (Here H is the disc where the "panndora" folder is located) Input "cd pandora" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. Input "cd mspformat" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. Then input "mspformat.exe K" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. (Here K is the name of the disc that your PSP is recognized on your computer.) After these commands, your PSP will be logically reformatted in a minute.

 PSP downgrader - Downgrade PSP

Step 2: Open the recognized PSP hard disc on your computer, create a new folder and name it "PSP", open this "PSP" folder, create a new folder and name it "game". Copy and paste the "installer" folder and the "battery" folder into the "game" folder. Then copy and paste the UPDATE.PBP file to the root directory of the PSP hard disc on your computer.
Step 3: On your PSP, switch to the Game option, press X or O (depending on which is the "Enter" key of your PSP). Go to "installer" and press X or O to run it.

PSP downgrader - installer

In a few seconds, a file named "msipl.bin" will be created on the root directory of your PSP memory disc. And now, you should take out your memory disc and then put it back in, which seems to be useless but is a very necessary step.
Step 4: Connect to your PSP back to your computer. Then enter DOS system as mentioned in Step 1. Use the below commands one by one to run the mspformat file:
Input "H:", and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard
Input "cd pandora" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard.
Input "cd minst" and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard.
Then input "msinst.exe K K:\msipl.bin " and press the "Enter" Key on your keyboard. (Here K is the name of the disc that your PSP is recognized on your computer.)
When you see a popped up message asking if you are sure, click "Yes".
Step 5: Go back to your PSP, switch to the Game option, press X or O (depending on which is the "Enter" key of your PSP). Go to "battery" and press X or O to run it, press X or O to OK every popped up message to finish running the battery application.

PSP downgrader - battery

Now, your pandora's battery has been created!

III. Use the created pandora's battery to downgrade your PSP
After you turn your batter to a PSP downgrade battery (pandora's battery), you can use it to downgrade your PSP by following the instructions below:
Take out your PSP Memory Stick and battery, then put back in your PSP Memory Stick first, and put your battery back in.Turn your PSP power on, when you see three options; select the Downgrade option, your PSP will be downgraded in a very short time and it will be automatically shut down afterwards.Turn your PSP on again, and you will see a blue screen. But no worries, you can just press the O key, and your PSP system is already version 1.5!
Note: The above process will turn your PSP battery to a pandora's battery that can be used for PSP downgrade. But the pandora's battery cannot be used to play PSP games, videos or music. And the process is not reversible. You will need to get an additional PSP battery for regular uses. However, you can use your pandora's battery to downgrade any PSP to version 1.5 or even repair you PSP.

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