Posts Tagged ‘music’

I have met many a Social Media Club members from around this great nation. About a year ago, I toyed with starting the Madison chapter, but we already had a great community in Web608. However, a group has officially created the Social Media Club of Madison and their first kick-off party will be on Feb 23rd.

Good Morning!
Just wanted to let everyone know that we have scheduled our first kick-off event for tomorrow, Tuesday, February 23 from 5:30-7PM at Brocach Pub on the Square. We have the whole upstairs reserved with music, swag and drink specials. Event details are located here: http://madisonsmc.eventbrite.com/
I hope to see you there! Please spread the love in any way you can!!!
Best,
Janie

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Janie Winston
Network Administrator (membership)
Social Media Club of Madison

This should be a great time and I encourage anybody in the area to check it out tomorrow.

Apparently there is a new iPhone application out there that lets me monitor my sleep cycle by simply sleeping with the iPhone at the corner of the bed. The application is called Sleep Cycle by Lexware Labs. It is currently a $0.99 app in the iTunes store as an introductory offer.

This is my sleep cycle for Feb 15

The application is simple: Set the alarm for your wake time. For me, I don’t usually set an alarm – When I want to get up, I wake up. Nonetheless, I did setup the alarm for testing sake.

I set the iPhone on the corner of the bed. They say you need to plug in the device to maintain power, but I am not ready to sleep with 115 Volts sitting by my head just yet. I had the phone charged up, so I left the cable on the computer. It did go through about 50-60% of battery life during the evening. They say you could drain your battery and the alarm won’t go off, but they do suggest that if you don’t want to keep it plugged in, you might want to set another alarm so you don’t miss your wake up time.

Where to put the iPhone while sleeping

I suppose if you also have one of those foam beds that don’t transfer motion, you will not be able to use the application – It would be cool to try, though. I should ask a friend who does have one of those beds to try out.

The program uses the accelerometer to judge when you move on your bed. The phone will then determine what part of sleep you are in. I know when I wake up in the middle of night, the first thing I will do is flip sides.

This also means you have to sleep alone – or in a King Bed with 2 spring mattresses for this to work properly.

There are some other limitations – You cannot play any other music while this program is running. If you only have an iPod, you won’t be able to use this app. It’s a limitation of iPod – when the device turns off, the accelerometer does, too. I don’t know if it will work with iPad, but I would guess the same thing goes with the accelerometer.

So I used no cable, I did get about 8 hours, although it got tougher around 8 A.M. to sleep. I just don’t sleep that much. I also left my case on, which could change the numbers. You have to put the phone face-down, in which I placed it right on the spring of the bed for best use.

It was the first night of sleep, so I will try this for the next few nights. Will see what my sleep cycle says.

Do you buy music from iTunes, Amazon or other areas? Having a problem organizing those purchases? Well you might want to check out Dazzboard – it manages your online media.

Android users have another advantage with the partnership that Dazzboard has. You can back up applications on your computer so you can restore them later. Also you can download directly from partners like GetJar.

Andy McCaskey talks with Taro about this great software. This is a program for IE and Firefox and will soon have support for Mac and Safari. It’s a browser extension Web based application, therefore it’s free.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (59.6MB)

Apparently I missed the bombardment of the CableClamp from QA Worldwide, but it was a good thing that happened. Halfway through the hall, Rob’s bag strap broke at the metal clasp. He instantly grabbed a couple of the clamps and patched his bag back together. I guess another good use of the Cable Clamp…

I have actually had the large clamps for a few years. They hold together some of the big wires I have in my music rigs where velcro doesn’t quite cut it. They also work great for suspending a wire up on a hook.

Well, CableClamp has a new “small” version in the CableClic. With a new clasp system, they can make the clamp smaller so you can organize or hold groups of wires. Todd Cochrane talks with Mark on the Cable Clamp and CableClic. Under $10 you will have a plethora of clamps that are “Forever reusable”.

Sponsor:  You need this in your IT Toolbox – GotoAssist Express free for 30 days – GoToAssist.com/techpodcasts.

Get this content on TiVo, Roku and Boxee – Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and Check out Techpodcasts.tv

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (32.6MB)

You want to take items off your computer and play them on your Flatscreen TV. Photos, Videos or even music. That is where Iomega ScreenPlay Director comes in. It’s a HD Media Player and it brings HD media to your living room.

Andy McCaskey talks with lauren about this great device.With 1TB of space you have a portable hard drive that can be connected to your network, or taken to a friends house to enjoy memories together. You can also use Cinema Now to rent or buy movies. Look at the catalog and with Progressive Download, you will have the movie right on the machine. Retail is at $249.

Sponsor:  You need this in your IT Toolbox – GotoAssist Express free for 30 days – GoToAssist.com/techpodcasts.

Get this content on TiVo, Roku and Boxee – Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and Check out Techpodcasts.tv

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (62.3MB)

What has amazed me in the last year is the return of the turntable. Not for some ambitious DJ to turn your old Dark Side of the Moon album into a scratching post worse than your cat could actually do, but for audiophiles old and new to listen to music the way it used to be heard. Scratches and pops abound.

Todd Cochrane found that Audio-Technica was showing off the USB LP-120 turntable. Of course, this style was the professional back in the day (minus the USB of course). Convert your albums or just spin some discs the old fashioned way. All starting at $429.

Sponsor:  You need this in your IT Toolbox – GotoAssist Express free for 30 days – GoToAssist.com/techpodcasts.

Get this content on TiVo, Roku and Boxee – Subscribe to the YouTube Channel

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (37.1MB)

1996 – Steve Jobs started Apple. When he left Apple, he started NeXT. When Apple started to fall, Steve Jobs came back. Of course, having 2 computer companies is not a good idea – So why not buy it out?

That is what Apple did. In a $400 Million deal, they got a new OS and Steve Jobs. Of course, Jobs did not become CEO of Apple again – he reported to current CEO Dr. Gilbert F. Amelio.

NeXTstep OS would ultimately become Mac OS X.

Mozy Unlimited Backup – $4.95/Month! Use code “Geek” for 10% off!

Please add to your favorite aggregator. RSS Feed – iTunes – Stitcher

Other Day in Tech History items:

• IBM 7040 and 7044 released
• CIS wins $1 Billion from Spammers
• Warner pulls music from YouTube

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:03 — 4.1MB)

Geekazine is proud to present the Madison Tweetup – December 2nd at the Dry Bean. Festivities will start at 7 PM and will go until 10 PM or until we choose. Come on down and talk with other local social mediates.

Frank Busch (MSB) will be providing the music for the evening. We will be giving away some great prizes throughout the night. Second Harvest Food Bank will have a barrel where you can drop a non-perishable food item.

Anyone interested in wanting to help, feel free to contact me at 608-205-4378 or geekazine@gmail.com.

Tweetup – a Social Network event where people meet to talk to other Social Networkers. Tweetup comes from Twitter, where “Tweeters” would get together to meet face – to – face.

Prize sponsors:

• Pegasus Games
• Westfield Comics etc.
• Vitense Golfland
• Raven Computers
• The Dry Bean

What a difference a day makes….

Apps

Well, not really. I am still happy with my purchase. Last night I spent some time working out some of the settings. I also have been getting apps for the phone. The Bug Spray app was not that great. Was really razzing people with the iHandgun app. Drum Kit Lite to rock out and of course Pandora for music.  Can’t forget Stitcher for downloading podcasts (BTW – PODCASTERS – you need to make sure you are on Stitcher). Oh yeah – Peanut Butter Jelly Time.

Just so you know, I haven’t paid for any apps yet. I want to get a handle on the store before I started getting the Beer app.

Batterrrrrrryyyy…..

In 6 hours, I pretty much had to put it back on the charger. I haven’t found a car charger yet – I want a retractable cord charger. I have the Griffin FM transmitter which is doubling as the charger.

I saw the “Extra battery” case at the Apple store but wasn’t too impressed. If it was Solar powered, I would have gotten it. Is the Solar powered case still around? Might have to look into it.

I ended up going to Wal-Mart and getting a lower priced case and screen protector. I saved about $15-20 in doing that. And it’s not like the case itself is cheap, just the price.

The recharge is quick, though. That helps.

Brightkite Makes More Sense

I think I used Brightkite more than I ever have. Little concerned over people knowing where I am and – more to the point – where I am not at.

Now I know why Facebook is Beating MySpace

I didn’t have any apps for my 8125 for MySpace and Facebook. So far I have uploaded a few pics and status updates right there, right now. I don’t have the MySpace App, but the Facebook app is really impressive. Add the better camera and I was uploading a few things before lunch.

Tweetdeck

That is my Twitter App. I know there are a couple others out there, but this one I have worked with before and enjoy using. Also using Twitter more.

Where’s the Phone?

I tried making a call today. Not really intuitive; I had to run up to it a couple times. Once I got up to speed, I was making calls quick and easy. Like I said – not very intuitive for someone who hasn’t used an iPhone.

iTunes Transfer

I had a lot of iTunes songs on a previous computer. I backed it up years ago – I should find it and get the songs transferred. Nonetheless I have not been able to transfer over a song that I didn’t get from the library. Once again – not obsessed with getting music over, but it should be a simple drag and drop method.

*UPDATE*I got it to work.

I See Where Flash is Needed

It’s surprising how much we rely on Flash. Now that I am part of that limitation, I am finding sites I cannot use simply because of the flash content. The biggest problem with this is weather radars. My favorite local news page looses out, too.

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Will be more playing over the Weekend. I am still impressed with this device.

A couple weeks ago I was interviewed by Rich Albertoni for the Isthmus. It was for the article: Plugged In: In music and spoken word, local culture is embracing the podcast era. The article came out today in the Isthmus – which is a tabliod style magazine that comes out weekly in the Madison area.

In it, Rich talks with a good friend of mine in Mike Huberty of Sunspot about how and why they podcast. Other casts included were:

• The Partially Examined Life
• Kim and Jason
• Higher Ground
• Mad Toast Live
• No, THIS Is What I Call Music
• Elimination of the Snakes

It was a great time talking with Rich. I wished he would have used more content from our discussion, including the name of the Monthly meeting – the Madison Podcasters Group – part of the group Web608, along with what Geekazine really does, but with word limit constraints of conventional papers, it is what it is.

If you want to know more about Podcasting in Madison, check it out.

Busy Week
Thanks for coming to the site. We had another great week – busy week. It was a lot of fun and really productive.

Post – HPTF

Of course, we went to Vegas the week before to cover the HP Technology Forum Expo. Andy McCaskey, Kara Karsten and myself were working hard with interviews, product reviews and more. This week was planning to get some of the videos out to you. So far, we’ve posted the HP POD video on Friday and have a lot more coming soon.

Summer of Podcasts – Podcast Carnivale

This is what really took up the majority of the week. The last month I have been working hard in getting prizes together. Now it’s time to put a contest together. That is where the Summer of Podcasts comes in. Each week, Podcasters will be giving out codewords during their shows. We will be giving away a USB wireless VGA from IOGEAR (See the video below), a WebAround Web privacy screen and a lot more. The best part is a lot of prizes are from the Podcasters themselves. Caffination is giving some Coffee, Bageltech News gave a NYC canvas print, Bwana.org is giving Team Fortress 2 for PC and a T-Shirt, SDRNews is giving a MagicJack, Techpodcasts (Geek News Central) is giving an iPod Touch: there is a lot more.

Wednesday, July 1st is when the contest starts. Check out the site before hand to which shows are giving codewords for the week.

Bands

It’s summertime, so the band ramps up in it’s playing. It’s all well and good – I enjoy taking the trips and playing the gigs. This last weekend I played 3 shows and it wasn’t even Sunday. This afternoon is one more show. Next week is just about the same.

Interview

This last week, I was interviewed on the Isthmus – a local tabloid – style paper in the Madison area. The interview will be out next week, when that happens, I will post it.

PC/Mac Smackdown

Had lunch with Cal last Wednesday. He said – “Hey, why don’t you come on the show”. I said “Sure, why not?”. Therefore, I was on the PC / Mac Smackdown with Cal Davis and Rachel Baker.

Windows 7

Pre-Orders of Windows 7 means a significant discount. I have Windows 7 RC on my Dell D600 and really like how it works. What is even more interesting – Windows 7 works a lot better on that machine than when I put on Ubuntu 9.04. Ubuntu would lag when I was working – and I mean REALLY Lag. I would litterally select something, count to 5, then watch it execute.

I am really impressed with this OS, so I am excited this is coming out.

MJ, FF and EM AND BM

It was a sad week for a lot of people. Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson took the Trifecta this week as all three passed. Ed McMahon was the sidekick of Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show, Farrah Fawcett was the poster girl of the 70’s and of course, Michael Jackson was the King of Pop. While I was never a big MJ fan, I do appreciate his music and also how he let Weird Al Yankovic to make fun of his music.

I remember when I first heard “Eat it” 0n the radio. While I never listened to “Bad”, I did have the “Even Worse” album which featured “Fat”.

*Update – Just as I published this, the Internet found out that Billy Mays – the Oxy Clean promoter (as well as Mighty Putty, Big City Sliders, Kaboom and a lot more) was found dead at his  home. He was 50. I guess it’s more than a Trifecta…

Studio

This week was a lot of work with the studio. Only problem – I can’t find my staple gun. I had it, then it dissapeared. I am not sure where it went. AUGH!

Still, the new studio is doing well. I am hoping to record the first video there by Mid-week. My bedroom is getting cluttered with PC stuff and that needs to head down to the Dungeon. The door to that room is the main reason why I call it the Dungeon.

Looking at Phones

I have to admit, I have been looking at the iPhone 3GS. The one thing I like is I have fatter fingers. I was able to use the screen a lot better than with the 3G. For instance, when I hit the “N”, on the 3G, I would always miss and hit the “M”. However, with the 3GS, I have not done anything different and seem to be hitting the “N” key and actually getting an “N”.

I still have some tests to go. I am also looking at the Palm Pre, but in order to do that, I would have to switch to Sprint, which I don’t know if I am ready to do. Android is a possibility, but I really don’t want the G1. I am waiting for the Lenovo version.

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That’s pretty much it this week. Keep watching the site for more info on the contest. Of course if you want to give a prize for the contest, let me know.