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This has happened to everyone- you hear a song, absolutely love it, but have no idea what it is or who it's by. There are many mobile apps that will do that, but what if you're using your computer and hear, say, a song on a YouTube video that you like. Rather than cranking up your speakers and holding your phone near them, I have a better way.
First, download Tunatic from http://www.wildbits.com/tunatic/ (compatible with Windows and Mac OS X). This handy app can identify songs and then offer quick links to iTunes, where to get it as a ringtone, or lyrics for that song.
Tunatic will use your default audio input device to identify the song, which is probably your microphone (which doesn't get us any better results than a mobile device). We need to fix that, so here are instructions for the Mac OS and Windows since this is a cross-platform application.
Windows XP: Open the Start menu, choose Accessories, then Entertainment, and open Volume Control. Open up the Options menu and choose Properties. Select the Recording radio button, and place a checkmark next to "Stereo Mix" in the list below. Unfortunately, if this doesn't appear your hardware isn't capable of doing this. Now press OK and you should see the Recording Control window. Place a checkmark next to "Select" in the Stereo Mix section. Make sure the Stereo Mix volume is turned up. Now, open Tunatic, play the song you want to know about, and press the magnifying glass button in Tunatic.
(XP screenshots courtesy http://www.fxaudioeditor.com/xp_recording_problems.htm)
Windows Vista/7: Right-click the Volume icon in the system tray area of the taskbar and choose "Recording devices." Right-click in the white area of the list that appears and select "Show disabled devices." Find "Stereo Mix," right-click it, enable it, and remove the checkmark next to "Show disabled devices." Unfortunately, if this doesn't appear your hardware isn't capable of doing this.
Now, choose Stereo Mix and click the "Set Default" button. Select Stereo Mix again, click the Properties button, choose the Levels tab, and make sure the volume is up.
Then press OK and OK again. Now, open Tunatic, play the song you want to know about, and press the magnifying glass button in Tunatic.
Mac OS X: To do this on OS X, you must install Soundflower from http://www.cycling74.com/downloads/soundflower. Make sure to install the correct version for your version of OS X. Then, open Soundflowerbed from the Soundflower folder that was installed into the Applications folder on your hard drive. It will open as a menu bar item. Choose its menu bar icon, and select your output device in the menu (probably Built-In Output if you use your Mac's speakers or speakers connected via an audio jack).
Then, open the Sounds system preference pane (see last week's tip for shortcuts to doing this) and select Soundflower (2ch) for your Output and Input.
Now, open Tunatic, play the song you want to know about, and press the magnifying glass button in Tunatic.
That's it, enjoy!
Apple and its exclusive US wireless provider AT&T could soon deliver new carrier-specific features to iPhone users through a future software update in a bid to increase customer satisfaction.
At least one of the enhancements, according to those claiming knowledge of the matter, would be similar to the Visual Voicemail feature made popular on the iPhone two years ago, in that it may require AT&T to tailor changes to its network.
In particular, the two parties are said to be mulling the possibility of enabling the following capabilities through an update to the iPhone's software that could arrive before year's end:
- Overage Alerts: A proposed new setting under the iPhone's "Phone" preferences would allow users to customize a push notification -- in the form of a badge, message, or sound -- to be issued when they're in danger of exceeding their monthly anytime minutes.
- New Voicemail Options: A new "Voicemail" setting, also proposed as an addition to the touch-screen handset's "Phone" preferences, would provide a means for users to disable the custom Voicemail greeting -- as well as AT&T's standard Voicemail introduction -- heard by other users.
Similarly, the same feature would also make it possible for users to automatically bypass Voicemail greetings, AT&T's standard introduction, and other automated instructions when placing calls to other AT&T customers.
The proposals are said to be a collaborative effort between AT&T and Apple based off customer feedback. In addition to boosting customer satisfaction with both the iPhone and AT&T's wireless network, the additions could also serve as a steppingstone for additional carrier-specific features, those claiming knowledge of the situation say.
[ Source ]
The real goodies in Mac OS are the ones that aren't obvious. I'll go over some things about adjusting audio in this tip so convenient that you will end up wondering how you lived without them.
All of these tips only work in Leopard or later except the last one which requires Snow Leopard. There isn't much to say here, so I'll just run down with a list:
Adjust volume without the 'blip' sound - Hold down the shift key when using the volume buttons on your keyboard. Note that there is a setting in the Sounds preference pane that is permanent.
Adjust volume more granularly - Hold down both the Option and Shift keys while using the volume buttons on the keyboard. Instead of the volume increasing by one "block" on the HUD, each "block" will take 4 key presses to fill or empty, giving you a much finer control.
Quickly open the Sounds preference pane - Press any volume key on the keyboard while holding down the Option key. For Leopard users, this is the most convenient way to change audio sources.
Change volume sources from the menu bar (Snow Leopard only) - Hold down the Option key when clicking the volume icon in the menu bar. This lets you change the audio input and output devices and has a button to go to the Sounds preference pane.
I hope you find this tip useful! To contact me for comments, questions or suggestions, just email me: sam -at- scj -dot- me.
For the following to work, you will need to download and install Google Chrome from the Developer Channel (Available at the end of this post). This guide is purely for Microsoft Windows, however you can use it to guide you on Mac/Linux if you so choose.
First off, let's fire up that browser.
Then, let's thrust the mouse on the 
button located on the top right-hand corner.
From there, pound on the 
menu.
Throb onto the Personal Stuff tab, and wallop the 
button. A page that resembles below should magically loom.
Once you're on this page, find the most appealing, beauteous, beautiful, boss, charming, cheerful, cher, comely, cute, dainty, darling, delicate, delightful, dishy, dreamboat, elegant, eyeful, fair, fine, foxy, good-looking, graceful, handsome, looker, lovely, neat, nice, picture, pleasant, pleasing, pulchritudinous, tasteful theme, and impel your mouse onto the "Apply theme" button of your choice.
The theme will automatically download and update the UI before your eyes.
Any problems? Let us know in the forums.
Don't have Chrome? Don't use Chrome? Download it here for Windows.
Silicon Alley Insider is saying that Loopt (a social network tool that sends your location) has worked with AT&T; to allow it to almost run in the background, sending updates on location 24/7 (assuming that your phone is on 24/7!).
Thanks to AT&T; and your permission, Loopt will be using server-server to communicate your location whenever you have a working network connection. It appears to work in the background, since it is all background server-server workings, but Apple does not allow the application to be physically running in the background, causing the possibility of memory shortages. The CEO of Loopt claims this is their most requested feature.
Loopt, which was highlighted at the App Store launch at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2008, allows users to track the locations of their friends and offers several related social networking features. But until now, Loopt and other similar services such as Google Latitude have required iPhone users to be actively using their applications to locate other users. Despite the fact that Loopt currently only updates a user's location every 1-2 hours, implementation of an "always-on" location tracking service will lead to more useful tracking of friends and development of additional location-based features as the technology continues to develop.
Loopt is offering a free 14-day trial of the background service for a 5,000 user trial. Always-on service beyond the initial trial period will cost $3.99 per month and will appear on users' AT&T; bills.
Intime, a member of JCXP since 2007 has previously released many popular WindowBlinds themes for Windows XP. He released the popular theme, AeroTime which was a theme for Windows XP to turn your desktop into a Windows Vista computer - without the heightened system requirements. Now, he is back with releasing the Beta of Aero Xtreme 7 - a WB visual style to make your Windows XP desktop to look like Windows 7.
A full list of features is available on the Deviantart page for Aero Xtreme 7. In the last few days of its first month on Deviantart, it got up to the #1 most popular WB visual style for the month. Now, it's been over a month since its release, and it is no longer on the list, however - it's a fantastic achievement to achieve.
Any user who is still using Windows XP is urged to try out this great visual style.
Download from Deviantart, here. Also, feel free to discuss it on JCXP, here.
Although InTime did not ask for this showcase, I decided that his dedication to our community and the great work that he outputs - makes it worth it to be showcased here. Think your work deserves to be showcased? Feel free to PM me in the forums.
Gmail is a very powerful web-based email solution with free IMAP access. I’m not going to go over reasons to switch to Gmail in this tip, just a way to ease your transition.
The problem every time you switch email services is that you have to switch your address at every site you use and notify all of your contacts that you have a new address. Oh, and you lose all of your mail.
Gmail includes a really nice feature: it can receive email from your old address and plop it right into your Gmail inbox, as if it were sent to your Gmail address. This means that you don’t have to switch your address anywhere if you don’t want to bother.
To enable this feature, first log in to your Gmail account. Open Settings, and select the “Accounts” tab. Under this tab, you’ll see a section labeled “Get mail from other accounts.” Click “Add a mail account you own.”
Enter your old email address, press Next, and enter in your old account’s POP settings (you can find these either around the net or by looking at your desktop email client’s settings or just calling your ISP if your email is through them.)
After that, you’re done. Gmail will check that account frequently and you’ll be receiving emails from your old account right into your shiny new Gmail inbox.
Feel free to email me though my site (http://scj.me) for any questions, comments or suggestions!
Apple today announced that Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard will go on sale Friday, August 28 at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers, and that Apple's online store is now accepting pre-orders.
"Snow Leopard builds on our most successful operating system ever and we're happy to get it to users earlier than expected," said Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "For just $29, Leopard users get a smooth upgrade to the world's most advanced operating system and the only system with built in Exchange support."
Snow Leopard is available as an upgrade for users of Mac OS 10.5 Leopard for $29 as a single user license and $49 as a family pack. For users of Mac OS 10.4 Tiger and earlier, the Mac Box Set includes Mac OS X Snow Leopard, iLife '09 and iWork '09 for $169 as a single user license and a family pack for $229. (prices in USD)
News Source: MacRumors
This week's tip is for OS X users:
If you're like me, you use the "Get Info" pane a lot. It's great, but after looking at a few files I end up with 10 Get Info panes on my screen, causing lots of unneeded clutter.
If you use the Option-Command-I keystroke rather than plain old Command-I, you will see the Get Info Inspector. This is one "Get Info" window which will stay present and change to whatever file or folder is selected in the Finder. Just click on an item while it is open, and the inspector will change. (Bonus tip: the arrows on the keyboard work well for items in the same location.)
If you're on the Chrome developer channel, you just got a new feature- bookmarks syncing.
To use it, just use the "--enable-sync" command line flag.
Note that this only seems to be working for Windows users, according to TechCrunch:
"Bookmark management appears to have been temporarily disabled on the latest versions of Chromium for Mac, after they were first turned on last week. When they come back, hopefully this syncing will work for Macs as well."
According to Google, the bookmarks are stored on your Google account and are synced via the jesus protocol XMPP.
Source: TechCrunch
In case you haven’t heard, Apple is rumored to be having a keynote event on the week of September 7th. Apple’s September event normally features iPod and iTunes updates, but just what will be updated? Let’s take a look.
Lately, we’ve been covering a lot of news about the Apple Tablet (possibly called the iPAD) ranging from mockups to release dates. Unfortunately, it’s been recently reported that Apple won’t be releasing the iPAD until sometime in 2010.
iPod updates are obviously expected. Many people are suspecting that the iPod Touch’s price and size will be realigned to compete with the upcoming Zune HD. It’s also been rumored that the iPod Touch and even the iPod Nano will feature a camera. There’s been very little word on what Apple plans to do with the iPod Classic, the last iPod to retain a HDD.
Finally, iTunes 9 may be released at this event, which adds Blu-ray support, the ability to sort iPhone applications, and social networking integration as shown in iPhoto and QuickTime X. Screenshots and more details about iTunes 9 can be found here.
What are your predictions for the September event? Feel free to share them in our community forums.
Microsoft may be trying to draw iPhone and iPod touch developers away to develop apps for the Zune platform. Daring Fireball's John Gruber describes an e-mail he received from an iPhone developer in response to a previous article from Gruber on the Zune HD outlining how Microsoft had offered the developer "a bucket of money" to port his Twitter app to the Zune.
After my post, I got an email from the developer of an iPhone Twitter client. He was contacted by Microsoft a few months ago, with an offer to port his app to the Zune in exchange for "a bucket of money". He turned them down, but assumes, as I do, that Microsoft reached out to the developers of multiple popular iPhone apps.
My source is certain the offer was for the Zune, but because he turned it down early on, he doesn't know the details regarding the OS or SDK. If any other iPhone developers have gotten a similar pitch from Microsoft, I'd love to hear about it.
Officially announced in May, the Zune HD is set to be released on September 15th. It will feature a 3.3-inch OLED touchscreen with multi-touch capability, an integrated HD radio receiver, Wi-Fi, and it will be capable of putting out HD video to a connected HDTV. Coming with either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage, the Zune HD will also have a web browser and is poised to compete directly with Apple's iPod touch. The Zune HD, however, will likely be at a distinct disadvantage relative to the iPod touch given the vast offerings of Apple's App Store that increase the iPod touch's functionality well beyond those of standard digital media players.
The Zune HD is available for pre-order from Amazon at $219.99 for the 16 GB model and $289.99 for the 32 GB model, compared to $299 for the 16 GB iPod touch and $399 for the 32 GB iPod touch. Apple, however, is widely expected to update the iPod touch at a keynote event rumored for early September. Gruber has mentioned that he sees Apple releasing new camera-equipped models in 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB capacities at price points of $199, $299, and $399 respectively.
Source: MacRumors
If you've been following the seemingly endless line of rumors for Apple's tablet, you won't be surprised to hear there's been yet another delay. Apple's tablet was expected to be released alongside the iPods at the September Keynote, however The Loop is now reporting "very reliable sources" have stated it won't be out until 2010, missing the 2009 holiday season.
The Apple tablet in short is expected to be a bigger iPhone with enhanced functionality at a steep $700-900 price point.
Very reliable sources familiar with the product have said speculation of the tablet being introduced during the September event are flat out wrong. The Apple tablet, they said, would not see the light of day until the first part of 2010.
The event in September will be focused on music, which means we could see new iPods and perhaps some updates to iTunes. The tablet computer will not even be mentioned as part of the event, my sources said.
News Source: The Loop
Microsoft today announced that the next major version of Office for Mac will see the replacement of its Entourage for Mac e-mail client with Outlook for Mac. The company has also deployed a Web Services Edition of Entourage 2008 for Mac beginning today, offering users the ability sync Tasks, Notes and Categories.
Outlook for Mac will bring to the next major version of Office for Mac a number of new features, particularly targeted at enterprise users, designed to enhance productivity.
- Cocoa. Built from the ground up using Cocoa providing users with improved integration with the Mac OS
- New database. A high-speed file-based database with support for backing up files with Time Machine and Spotlight searching
- Information Rights Management. Helps prevent sensitive information from being distributed to or read by people who do not have permission to access the content
The Loop reports that the next version of Office for Mac is scheduled for launch in the "Holiday season 2010."
Microsoft also announced the introduction of Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition, scheduled for release on September 15th. The new edition will replace the existing Standard Edition and Special Media Edition packages with a single suite offering support for Microsoft Exchange. New features in the Business Edition include:
- Entourage 2008 for Mac, Web Services Edition. Improves performance, brings new features and support for the latest version of Exchange Server
- Microsoft Document Connection for Mac. Helps improve access and browsing to documents on SharePoint Products and Technologies and Microsoft Office Live Workspace
- New art. More than 200 business-related templates and professional clip art
- lynda.com training. Training for beginning to advanced users by lynda.com Inc.
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition will be available for pre-order beginning August 18th at a price of $399.95 for the full version or $239.95 as an upgrade. The existing Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition will continue to be offered at $149.95.
Source: MacRumors
Facebook has turned on a new feature for select groups of Facebook users (mainly in India) called "Facebook Lite" which is essentially a cut down, faster loading edition of Facebooks user interface that scarily looks more and more like twitter (or even friendfeed).
Users who are being offered a place in the beta are receiving the message:
We are building a faster, simpler version of Facebook that we call Facebook Lite. It's not finished yet and we have plenty of kinks to work out, but we would love to get your feedback on what we have built so far.
The site for the feature is http://lite.facebook.com. If you're not part of the beta you'll just see the normal Facebook interface. Users are pointing out that at the moment, it doesn't seem that different for them, but there still is more to come. A twitter user tweeted: "Heh! Facebook Lite looks like a simplified version of twitter with comments enabled. On 2nd thought, it looks like simplified FriendFeed." Ironically enough, Facebook just got finished buying Friendfeed earlier this week.
Users are reporting that Facebook Lite is much faster, and easier to use, though still has many kinks to work out (as seen in fourth screenshot below).
When TechCrunch asked Facebook about the Lite test, they replied:
"We are currently testing a simplified alternative to Facebook.com that loads a specific set of features quickly and efficiently. Similar to the Facebook experience you get on your mobile phones, Facebook "Lite" is a fast-loading, simplified version of Facebook that enables people to make comments, accept Friend requests, write on people's Walls, and look at photos and Status updates. We are currently testing Facebook Lite in countries where we are seeing lots of new users coming to Facebook for the first time and are looking to start off with a more simple experience.
This evening, the test was temporarily exposed to a larger set of users by mistake. We have not opened up access to lite.facebook.com to all users at this time. People who are not part of the test and are trying to access "Lite" will be directed to Facebook.com as usual."
Screenshots after the break...
Can anyone tell us why the heck that picture on the right is used for reporting feedback?!
This image shows that when Events is clicked an error is generated, indicating that the events section is not ready for Facebook Lite yet
Images courtesy Techcrunch
Real or not? You decide...
So, I'm going to start writing tips with anything that could do with computing here every week. They could be software, hardware, Mac OS, Windows, anything.
I'll start off with a tip specific to Windows:
ClearType, the sub-pixel font rendering technology present in Windows since XP, makes fonts look great on LCD displays. Learn more about ClearType here.)
Unfortunately, it doesn't always look so hot. Some drivers (or lack thereof) can cause ClearType's rendering to be lighter than is optimal. In XP, this was much more common and needed tweaking on many machines before looking acceptable (probably the reason it's off by default in XP; you'll find the setting in the Effects dialog from the Appearance tab in the Display control panel).
In XP, you can to download the ClearType PowerToy or use the online tuner to tweak ClearType.
In Vista, you must use the online tuner.
In Windows 7 however, there is a brand new tuner included with the operating system. To access it, open the Control Panel and select the small or large icons view mode (category mode is a mess). Open Display, and then find "Adjust ClearType Text" on the sidebar. Open it up, and follow through the steps.
Make sure to carefully choose the settings that look the best to you. Remember, this is what you will be looking at all day, and nobody wants sore eyes.
I'd love feedback and tip suggestions, so please contact me via PM :)
MediaMemo reports on claims from music industry sources that Apple is planning a keynote event for the week of September 7th.
Time to get the rumor mill kicked into high gear: Multiple music industry sources say Apple executives have told them the company is planning one of its famed keynote events for the week of Sept. 7. Given that Apple has tipped off music industry executives, itÂs a fair bet that the event will incorporate music in some way. Perhaps it will show off the new ÂCocktail format that Apple has been working on, which bundles full-length albums with other goodies like album covers and interactive bells and whistles.
But in true Apple fashion, the company has been noncommittal about the exact date of the event and what it will be showing off.
Apple has traditionally held media-focused keynote event each September to introduce new iTunes features and iPod updates, making the announcement of a similar event this year an unsurprising move.
- 2008: Apple held a "Let's Rock" event to introduce iTunes 8 and new iPod touch, nano, and shuffle models.
- 2007: Apple held a "The Beat Goes On" event introducing the original iPod touch alongside updates to the remainder of the iPod line, an iTunes 7 update, and iPhone price drops.
- 2006: Apple offered the "It's Showtime" event introducing iTunes 6 and iPod updates, as well as a sneak peak at the "iTV" that launched several months later as the Apple TV.
- 2005: Apple's "Here We Go Again" event introduced the Motorola ROKR mobile phone with iTunes support alongside the release of iTunes 5 and saw the introduction of the original iPod nano to replace the iPod mini.
Source: MacRumors
So, as I went to go searching today - I noticed that Facebook had updated the way we search, adding a few new features along the way. I was greeted with this lovely Facebook message at the top of the screen, and given a new layout to the search itself.
The new options to search from are no longer shown on the top of the page, but instead on the left side - to match how the home page is.
As it was before, Bing is still partnered with Facebook to provide Bing searches to Facebook. However, they are back to showing ads on the right side, instead of searches there as well.
It appears they might have improved which results show first, as when I searched for myself, new results came up then what used to come up with the old system.
The default search filter that is shown is "All Results" and that will show results in groups rather then all mixed in as it used to be. This way things should be easier to spot. If you are looking for a specific event, you can either see if it shows in one of the top three events shown in the All Results section, or if you want to click to show all events from the left filter.
Two new filters they have added are "Posts by Friends" and "Posts from everyone". This allows you to type in something, whether it be a person's name or some keyword and allow you to find posts about that from either your friends, or all of Facebook. This is a great feature, and I think it's a real improvement from the old search.
Check it out! (Obviously, this requires an account)