Recent Posts

151

Living Room / Re: CD archive and copying

« Last post by Fred Nerd on June 30, 2009, 08:10 AM »

A lot of interesting information

@Carol, I didn't actually change anything on Imgburn, I just looked at the settings and thought "how would I know if the default settings are what I want, there are too many options which I don't know"
Thanks for doing my testing for me.

So it looks like I want the impossible, as usual.

As much as FLAC would do the job as good as would ever want be required, it still isn't what I really wanted.

I wanted my cds to become totally redundant except for the writing on the top. I could put all my cds on a Terabyte external HD (thinking same size file as a CD) and if a fire ever got them, I still have the original on HD.

But if it is only 99.9% the same, then there is still reason to keep the original. It means that it would eventually get accumulated error of a significant size. Of course no-one would ever copy on and off that often, but the possibility is there.

So I'm just waaaay too fussy.

I still like the idea Imgburn: something preserved in that format would burn off to as good as I can get with CloneCD (I think) so that may have to do me...

Thanks

152

Living Room / Re: CD archive and copying

« Last post by Fred Nerd on June 29, 2009, 05:54 AM »

Thanks for your help,
Imgburn seems to do what I want, but I will have to verify it when I get time. I.e. Make an archive, copy it onto disc, re-archive it and make sure they are identical to the bit. And a bit more.

I still don't like all these settings. If it can be done identical, why do you need to change it? In my opinion cd copy software should have 1 button for read, 1 for write, and combine the two with a third for copy. No settings shold be needed....

As for ripping. NO, I want everything to be the identical, exact same. I don't have a collection of tracks, I have a collection of albums, some have hidden subtrack information, some have cd text some are enhanced, I want to preserve it all or its not worth trying.
FLAC is meant to be lossless, so it shouldn't matter which program rips it, since it does, I wouldn't touch it for a permanent archive.

I might have to write my own someday.

Thanks everyone, when I test Imgburn, I'll let you know the results.

153

Living Room / CD archive and copying

« Last post by Fred Nerd on June 28, 2009, 06:36 AM »

Hi, just seeing if anyone could point me in the right direction for software

I have a large cd collection, and want to archive to HD in a way which
a: is a perfect archive, i.e. not just lossless tracks, I want exact album. If it has an enhanced part then that will still be there, and all tracks in order, exact gap in between as original etc.
b: the original album can be burnt to cd with as little or no data loss of any sort.

I don't care if I can't play them on the HD, but I was hopeing I could use a virtual drive for it.

I'm currently using an old version of CloneCD (back when licences were permanent) However I dislike 2 things about it:
a: the cost, not so much for myself, but I can't give a copy of the program to a friend or two so we could have a communal archive HD
b: too many settings, if its set right, it does a great job, but isn't guaranteed identical. And should it be set in Raw-Dao, Sao or whatever it has. I take a pot guess.

So what I want is sort of a music cd imaging program complete with virtual drive. But as far as I know, music cds don't turn into ISOs.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

154

Living Room / Re: What annoys you to no end?

« Last post by Fred Nerd on May 28, 2009, 07:04 AM »

Back to big words
(never use a long word when a diminutive one will suffice)..........

I worked out a routine for a female friend of mine to try out next time some bloke was hitting on her at a bar..
'Despite the impression you may derive from my presence in this locality, it behoves me not to acquience to your request'
(him): 'I don't get it'
(her): *smug* 'Exactly'

155

Living Room / Re: Most Wiki'd Item? HTTP 404

« Last post by Fred Nerd on April 06, 2009, 08:20 AM »

Facebook/myspace probably went under.... those users would be stumped.

They'd go into shock withdrawl symptoms

156

Living Room / Re: The horror that is my kitchen upgrade project

« Last post by Fred Nerd on April 06, 2009, 08:18 AM »

One more thing: is that fibro sheeting? and does it contain asbestos? Better watch out if it does, I don't know what its like in US, but over here its a big worry, and there's a lot of it.... deadly stuff..

157

Living Room / Re: The horror that is my kitchen upgrade project

« Last post by Fred Nerd on April 06, 2009, 08:13 AM »

Fun to read, as a carpenter, I have done similar, and seen some crazy things..... walls shorter by 10 inches..... lucky its not "floor lower in one corner by 10 inches" or wall leaning by 3 inches......

Bugger about the measurement stuffup. I have a the client do the measuring/ordering and had to cut the lining off the wall to fit the kitchen cupboards..... there are always stuffups on every job, just like coding except you only get one shot in carpentry....

Those lazy susan corners look like an excellent idea. Until something falls off at the back......

Good on you and good luck.

158

Living Room / Re: Who else is sick of difficult word verifications on the web?

« Last post by Fred Nerd on March 29, 2009, 03:51 AM »

Here's a good one......

159

Living Room / Re: Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras 09

« Last post by Fred Nerd on March 09, 2009, 05:42 AM »

Not wanting to start a flame war on a sensitive subject..... just adding one to the anti vote......
Sorry, but we are a Christian society (our laws stem from Christian values) and it does happen to mention something on the subject. And not very supportive....

160

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Google Translator Tray App

« Last post by Fred Nerd on March 08, 2009, 10:42 PM »

Got it: gTrans
Unfortunately its not free anymore, as far as I can see anyway.

http://www.mcrenox.com.ar/gtrans/

Is this what you were looking for?

161

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Google Translator Tray App

« Last post by Fred Nerd on March 08, 2009, 05:40 AM »

I had one at one stage, I just can't remember where I got it from. Worked really well, except I didn't need. So its gone now and I can't remember its name. Probably have the setup file somewhere, but it would be impossible to find.
One day I'll have to run all my downloaded programs and see what they all are and wonder why I thought I'd need them..
I'll have a think for you.

162

Living Room / Re: New Ipod/ cleaning mp3s

« Last post by Fred Nerd on February 11, 2009, 04:40 AM »

You could sell anything to an apple fanboy, so you'll probably do alright.

But I won't buy it: nothing could fix my rotten apple ijunk

PS, it is a stupid thread title

163

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by Fred Nerd on February 11, 2009, 01:17 AM »

We'll all be millionaires

164

Living Room / Re: Firefox getting forgetful

« Last post by Fred Nerd on February 10, 2009, 05:48 AM »

I don't have any privacy apps (don't think so) I wear a tin hat and let the computer fend for itself. Maybe its the wrong way to do things, but that sounds like me......

165

Living Room / Firefox getting forgetful

« Last post by Fred Nerd on February 10, 2009, 04:45 AM »

Hi,
I've used Firefox 3 for a long time,  but recently I noticed it hasn't saved any history, and visited links are not coloured as such and the address bar doesn't have any recently visited sites.

I have AdBlockPlus, Flashblock and a couple of other minor add-ons (Foxytunes, forecast fox)

Any idea what is causing it? I could try turning one or the other off, but I think just disabling them doesn't help, and I like them too much to uninstall.

I have checked settings and its set to remember history for 90 days.

thanks

166

Living Room / Re: New Ipod/ cleaning mp3s

« Last post by Fred Nerd on February 10, 2009, 04:40 AM »

I'll have to look into that, I would like the best quality practical, and I still want them in a common format to make them transferable/shareable. Any recommendations for settings/ format?

167

Living Room / Re: What may you be missing?

« Last post by Fred Nerd on January 13, 2009, 04:03 AM »

$34 in 45 minutes.
A good muso in a busy area should do a lot better.

I never do, but I only do it for fun in the busker's area at festivals. So no-one expects to make money, the best they hope for is to be talent spotted. Or in my case meet new people, have fun etc.

Maybe we are used to the media making such a big fuss over anything that we have lost the art of finding our own way.
Its 'The Emperor's New Clothes' (Grimm fairy tale) all over: when people are told that someone is worth $100 a ticket, they believe it. But they won't see that is just the same as the free version.

Bit like people think Windows is better because it cost money, but Linux is worthless.

168

Living Room / Re: How does one keep multiple computers sync?

« Last post by Fred Nerd on January 12, 2009, 05:56 AM »

I remember reading an article on something called Briefcase which is part of windows hidden somewhere. Basically it syncs all listed files to a portable drive, then resyncs then to the next computer you plug it into.

Sounds like what you want IF you can fit it all on a flash drive

169

Living Room / Re: What may you be missing?

« Last post by Fred Nerd on January 11, 2009, 04:41 AM »

Yeah, you should always give to buskers, and write your phone number on the back of a note if you think they are either: going to be successful, or are good looking.

As a busker myself, I will add: always give money, and put your phone number on a note if you're young, female and hot. 

170

Living Room / Re: New Ipod/ cleaning mp3s

« Last post by Fred Nerd on January 11, 2009, 12:12 AM »

Rockbox is on the right track, but I still want features which don't exist.

Since even PC based media players never do what I want, I suppose I can't complain about iPod.

Does anyone else out there ever want features such as:
Some tracks listed as 'not to be played unless specified' (e.g. all the comedy tracks/outtakes etc)
The rest is a playlist which can be sorted by artist or album or shuffled at will.
Tracks can be found by searching or via artist/album/song, and after they play, it continues to the rest of the playlist.
1 or 2 tracks can be queued to play next, then resume the playlist......

I just want it to be always playing music, I don't want it to play some things unless specified, and I want to be able to play the song I want at the moment, then not have to go back to the original playlist when it stops after one song.

I've got many thousand songs here, so I don't really want to have to add all to a playlist, or scroll through them all just to find one particular one.

Maybe I'll have to write it myself. <pulls out Python for beginners and turns to page 1>

171

Living Room / Re: New Ipod/ cleaning mp3s

« Last post by Fred Nerd on January 10, 2009, 11:43 PM »

Because I want to be able to delete files when they are not meant to be on there without having to plug it into my computer.......

And a whole lot of other things that are missing.

A decent search feature from WITHIN a playlist. Make auto playlists from rules (e.g. all songs except those tagged with "too slow for at work")
And a tag on the fly system to go with it.

And lots more.

As I pointed out before: if my cheap digital camera can edit photos and videos on the fly, and reorder folders, etc; why can't the industry leading music player have any portable functionality at all?????????

The answer is a lemon an apple...

172

Living Room / Re: New Ipod/ cleaning mp3s

« Last post by Fred Nerd on January 10, 2009, 06:15 AM »

You're all right: Ipod is probably the worst out there. BUT its the only with the space I wanted. I've got probably 500 cds to go on. And I want them in the highest possible MP3 quality. So I need my 120GB.
So far I've worked out that iTunes is good for ripping and retrieving album data (except artwork, bastards) and then I've loaded Floola onto it which make it transportable to any computer, and I can work with the songs inside the iPod.
I've also turned off syncing and transfer songs manually (drag from media library in itunes to the ipod icon on the side. It works smoothly.
Then I can delete the music from my hard drive to free up precious space.

Album cover art is still a problem. I've been trying out third party apps, but they aren't the best. Floola does a good job adding art when you manually find the pictures. Which might mean I'll end up with a scanner. On some I'll have to: I have cds which have no cover art anywhere on the net, and sell for over $100US because of how rare they are.

I'll soldier on, but its still CRAP, and apple is rotten to the core. 

Why can't I reformat and run Puppy Linux on it??????

173

Living Room / Re: New Ipod/ cleaning mp3s

« Last post by Fred Nerd on January 09, 2009, 04:40 AM »

Haven't found out about syncing, but how's this for crazy...... to get cover art you need to have an iTunes account. To get an iTunes account you need to enter your credit card details before you even get there.
Get a life, apple. You're not getting my credit card number unless I want to buy something, and rest assured that I still want the hard copy cd. (lots more pictures to look at, lots more info and personal notes from the artists.... and NO DRM  )

I'll try winamp
I use it already, so it should do nicely.
 

174

Living Room / Re: 10 reason to deploy Vista (and 10 why not to)

« Last post by Fred Nerd on January 09, 2009, 04:20 AM »

Looks to me like the 'not to' wins big time.
You're really scratching the barrel if you think conversation topic is a valid reason for a OS change 

175

Living Room / Re: New Ipod/ cleaning mp3s

« Last post by Fred Nerd on January 09, 2009, 03:26 AM »

I've heard vague rumours of ipods bricking with some songs from Limewire, on some tech help website some people were wanting help with it, but I never found out if they really knew why it bricked.
So thats why I wanted to know.

I know I shouldn't have gone apple, but when you want to put 500+ cds on, and a few concert dvds, and still have room to play with, there's no other option. not in Australia anyway.

A bit of research has turned up a few other options which sound interesting.

I just really hate this piece of rotten apple.
WHERE IS THE SETTINGS SECTION?????????

the settings are not what I call settings, I want to be able to control folder view, the size of the font, why the screen is half taken by album cover art which it can never find so why have a blank half.......

And the scroll volume....... give me a break, if you think thats a good feature..... try changeing it with one finger like you can a nice 2 button volume. Oh and then you can't change the volume unless you are in the now playing section......

If anyone invents a windows or Linux or android based mp3 player with 120GB, they'll make a fortune.....
I don't know about Zune: we can't get it here.

Anyway, it will do me, but I'll never love it; my cheap digital camera has more, easy to use features.....

And do I get the impression that you need to have your entire collection on your computer to sync it to the ipod?
So, since I only only have a few GB free, I can't use most of the ipod, (except by using third party software)....

Apple = mad

Sorry about the rant, but $339 is a lot for a piece of **** in a shiny cover. (at least mine isn't that annoying old white :p)