Tired of your old stagnant wallpaper? Tired of having to right-click on the desktop, find the appropriate settings and changing the image you want to display on your desktop?

Today I found a random wallpaper changer that allows you to set the images (must be in one folder) and time of randomization. It is a small program, easy to download, install and barely is noticeable in your system tray.

You can read more about it [here]. You can also download if from their site, or if you are trusting click to download.

It works with all versions of Windows, including Vista (sorry MACkers). And yes, folks, it's FREEWARE!!!

Labels: computers, photography

I have recently been pretty anal about keeping my iTunes organized, including the album artwork for each song.

I have had the album cover displaying properly while playing in iTunes but I discovered that a number of my songs were displaying the album artwork instead of the default mp3 icon while some songs were not displaying the album art, and instead had the drab default mp3 icon when viewing in Windows Explorer.

I discovered the easiest way to make sure that the ID3 tags for each file (the tags that tell the computer what to display such as song title, album, track number and of course album artwork). For some reason some audio programs, such as iTunes, display the artwork (iTunes keeps artwork in a seperate folder) but some programs don't show the album artwork even if you right click on the mp3 in an audio program (such as winamp) and view the ID3 tag data. If you go that route Winamp will show that the proper album artwork is displayed and registered in the ID3 tags; however, it isn't completely stored properly unless the icon for your mp3 file displays the album artwork instead of the default mp3 icon.

Here are two pictures to illustrate the point:


Here you can tell what my audio files looked like in Windows Explorer before making the changes (not resizeable).


Here is what my audio files now look like after applying the changes (not resizeable).

Here are the steps you need to take in order to make certain that the ID3 tags are written correctly. This is assuming you have the latest version of everything (iTunes).

1. When viewing main iTunes window, Press CTRL+A or Edit>> Select All in the menu.
2. Right click
3. Choose Convert ID3 Tags...
4. Check the first option (ID3 tag version:
5. In the drop down menu choose v2.3
6. Click OK (that will convert the tags of all selected songs to version 2.3. We use v2.3 because version 2.4 doesn't display the album artwork over the default mp3 icon) (click image below)
   

To make sure all songs in your iTunes get the album artwork into the tags we need to do two more things.

For multiple songs from the same albums:

1. Press ALT+G to display album artwork
2. Play a song from the album
3. Right click on the album artwork (this is providing that you have downloaded the artwork from iTunes automatically)
4. Click COPY (see below)
   
5. Select all songs in the album
6. Right click on the songs you just selected, which will bring up a list
7. Select GET INFO at the top
8. Right click on the section that says Artwork
9. Select PASTE (see below)
   
10. Click OK

That will past the artwork for all songs in the album.

Now, if you have just one song from an album you just right click on the artwork being displayed as the song is playing, select COPY then right click again and select PASTE. That will paste the album artwork into the ID3 tags permanently and you should have a Windows Explorer folder of mp3s that look like my second photo.

If something didn't work out for you, email me (which can be found on my About page) and I'll be glad to help.

Happy Listening!

Labels: computers

The wonderful application known as Facebook has once again reunited family members.

I am 28 years old and sad to say that I am "almost" addicted to Facebook. Not to the point where I can't live without it, but like email I check it religiously throughout the day. I use it mostly for keeping up with what my family and friends are doing.

Tonight I got a 'friend request' from my cousin Mandi (private) who I haven't seen in a long time. That started the trickle-down effect...her older sister Kimberly then found me and through their blogs I was able to find their little sister's blog and also the fact that my recently new aunt, Dena, and my mom have been sharing a blog since January and I knew nothing about it.

That's wrong.

In this world that we live in where mass communication is the norm and everyday way of life, it is always fun to keep up to date with friends and family with relative ease.

That brings me to the Internet.

Last night at work we were forewarned that the IT gurus would be doing routine maintenance on our email server and that it would be down from 8-10 am. No problem.

Except for the fact that at that same time, in a different part of Florida, the Florida Marlins internet server decide it wanted to be down too - and crashed. No internet. No email. Lots of work to do with not enough hours to do it in.

Trouble.

Long story short, we were without those everyday 'necessities' until after noon, but managed to run around like crazy getting everything done we needed to in time, slightly late, but before the game started, which is the most important thing.

It just made me once again realize how dependent our society has become on the Internet. Most companies would cease to function without the Internet. I can't even think how a lot of people would get any work done without the ease and comfort of the Net.

Labels: computers

Sometime ago I discovered a neat little program/side project brought to the cyberspace world by Steven Gould called Cleanup!. It is a small, free application that erases all the files that build up on your hard drive while browsing the Internet.

These files include cookies, temporary Internet files, web content, recycle bin, as well as unused cached registry files. Little do most users realize, but these files can build up over time, utilizing unnecessary hard drive space.

CleanUp! frees disk space and reduces the "clutter" on your computer helping it to run more efficiently. I have Cleanup! set to run everytime I turn off my computer. Without fail it finds and erases tons of unnecessary "junk." I just ran it on one of my work computers and found 1.1 gigabytes of reclaimed space! Yes, 1.1 gigabytes.

To download your free copy of Cleanup!, follow the link below and take back your hard drive.

Cleanup! my hard drive today

Labels: computers

Recently I showed my iPod to a friend and he saw that crappy film protector that came with my Marware silicone case.

He suggested that I go with this product called invisibleSHIELD [link]. It is considered the top military-grade scratch protection film available. The film has its origins in the U.S. military, where it was used to protect the leading edges of helicopter blades from wear and tear while traveling hundreds of miles per hour. The film is a clear, urethane plastic (invisible, invincible) with unique properties that allow it to provide self-healing qualities and unparalleled abrasion resistance. The invisibleSHIELD is available for your iPod, camera, smartphone, cell phones, laptop, gaming systems, MP3 players or watches. The invisibleSHIELD is also completely removeable.

They offer free shipping except for those including laptop SHIELDs or iPod accessories. Here is their lifetime guarantee [link].

Watch the video below to see invisibleSHIELD in action.



(Quicktime is needed to watch the video)

Labels: computers

Two neat add-ons for Firefox that I have recently installed are Google's Send to Phone and Mozilla's Send 2 Cellphone (Images only).

The former installs a little cellphone icon in the upper right-hand corner of your browser and lets you send short text messages of web page content to your mobile phone.

So say you come across something on CNN.com that says "Earlier this week, martial arts star Chuck Norris questioned John McCain's ability to serve as president." (Which is true).

After selecting your text, click on the cellphone icon in the upper right hand corner of the browser. This will open a new window where you can send the text you just selected as a text message.

Fill in the number you wish to send the message to and select the appropriate carrier. Click the 'Send Message' button to send the message.

You can even send it to other people's cellphones as long as you know their carrier and phone number!

###

The second little feature, Mozilla's Send 2 Cellphone, installs in your context menu (right-click for PC users). To use: When on a page with an image you would like to see on your cellphone, first select the image, then right click and choose the "Send 2 Cellphone" option from the context menu. Follow the simple instructions.

That easy!

After transferring the picture to your cell phone you can view it, use it as a wallpaper or send to a friend via MMS.

Happy Firefoxing (can that become a verb like Googling is now a verb??).

Labels: computers

There are many methods for downloading videos, especially embedded ones such as youtube.com videos, all over the Internet.

To be honest I started this post with the intention of showing steps on how to download a youtube video using http://www.downloadyoutubevideos.com and then convert them to MPEG-4 (so they will play on your iPod) using Videora's iPod Converter. Then I had a brainiac idea -- Google How To Play Youtube Videos On Your iPod and I found a lot faster way to get the job done: iTube:

iTube is a simple, easy to use Windows program that enables you to download movies from major video sharing sites (YouTube, DailyMotion, Metacafe, etc) and use them on your desktop. It will automatically convert it into either MPEG (plays on every computer) or MP4 (plays on iPods) and save it for you. iTube can also optionally import the file into iTunes, so that on the next sync it will appear on your iPod Video.

Simply enter in the YouTube page URL and iTube will download the file, convert it, and then import it directly into iTunes. The next time you plug in your iPod video it will automatically transfer. If you don't have an iPod video, you can still watch the movie in iTunes.

iTube is 100% free and does not have any spyware or adware. No personal information is collected, stored, or transmitted by iTube.

The free download only supports YouTube videos. To support other sites, you will need plugins available here

iTube requires the .NET framework to be installed on your computer in order to function. If you do not have the .NET framework, you will be taken to a free download in order to obtain it when you attempt to install iTube.

Easy as that.

Labels: computers

I am a big fan of all things Google (well, except for Picasa Web Album...it loads too slow so I use Flickr -- that's right I plugged a Yahoo! product in a Google blog post. Sue me.)

One of the neat things I like about Google's search engine is the iGoogle - which is not related to Apple products by any means but is a personalized version of the search page. Instead of having a mostly white body with a Google logo and a small search box, iGoogle gives you widgets that allow you to view and access some of your popular sites and information, such as email, movie listing, calendar, news clips, etc.

But the coolest thing iGoogle is in my opinion is the various background images which can be set up as themes for your page...these aren't just any old background images embedded in a hidden table.

No. The background images actually change with the time of the day. For example you could choose a group of cartoon folks at a bus stop and throughout the day the horizon will go from sunrise to sunset to midnight blue. That one is also affected by your local weather. It's a neat little feature.

Now, on to the part that makes me sad.

I am currently using the planet set which is really cool to look at. I am not into the sciences by any means but the images Google uses are spectacular.

However what makes me sad is that Google only has eight planets cycling through -- no Pluto. It's still sad to know that I was supposedly lied to my entire grade school years, being told there were nine planets.

In school we learned the order of the nine planets with this catchy phrase:

"My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas"

TMC's Call Center CRM blog has suggested maybe kids can learn them now as "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles."

It's just sad to me that Google doesn't offer a Pluto image. Just one more shred of evidence that Pluto is not regarded as a planet by anybody.

Below are the eight images Google cycles through during the day. (Click to view original file).


Mercury

Venus

Third Rock From The Sun

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

The Late Great Pluto

Bonus Images:

The Sun

The Moon

Labels: computers

This post is a bit overdue but completely interesting --

I was recently on a flight headed back west to the wedding I just blogged about and had a 40 minute layover in Dallas' Love Field Airport. As I exited the jetway I took an immediate right, headed towards my next gate. What caught my eye was something I had never heard of and was pleasantly surprised to see.

An iPod vending machine.

That's right.

Evidently Apple has over 21,000 distribution points for its iPod vending machine and a lot of airports have landed them, including Dallas, Atlanta, San Francisco, among others.

According to AppleInsider, a blog about all things Apple, "With a swipe of your credit card, the Zoom Shop machine -- also stocking batteries, digital cameras, and other photo accessories -- will be willing to serve up an iPod mini or shuffle. And the best part: there's no checkout lines or pesky Apple sales staff pushing you to invest in an AppleCare extended warranty."

What a novel idea!

It took everything I had to resist pulling out the old Discover card and swiping myself an iPod Nano.

Here is a flickr photo of the vending machine in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport:


Photo credit: sbisson

Labels: computers

My 28th birthday is Tuesday.

Getting older mean two things:
1. your present/gifts get more expensive
and
2. birthdays aren't that exciting anymore, because if you want to buy
something when its not your birthday you can go ahead and buy it.

This year I know what I'm getting. A new laptop. A Dell laptop. This
will be my first Dell computer. It is a Dell Vostro which recently came
out. Through a friend here in Miami I was given a link towww.slickdeals.net which gave the user a $303 discount on the Vostro
1500, dropping the price pre-tax to $599! Not too shabby for a laptop
with: Pentium 4 core duo processor (1.4 Ghz), 120 GB hard drive, 1 Gig
of RAM (easily upgradable to 2 Gigs), Nvidia 128 MB video card, 8x
cd/dvd burner, 4 USB 2.0 ports, 15" screen, and a partridge in a pear tree.

It does come with Windows Vista though, so I will have to get used to
that. Val's work laptop uses Vista and someday soon all PCs will use
Vista, so why not now?

I'm excited mostly because I will have a much faster laptop with 4x the
storage capacity!

My HP tablet tc1100 has a 30 GB hard drive (18 GB of which belongs to
mp3s) and only spins at 4200 revolutions per minute. This new one will
spin at 5400 RPM, unfortunately there was no option for a 7200 RPM hard
drive in the deal.

So I got the Vostro for a total of $640 (free shipping) and will off-set
the cost of it by selling my tablet on ebay or craigslist once I
transfer all my programs and files to my new laptop. I have seen the
same model of my tablet PC on ebay for $350 so if I was to sell mine for the same price, it would make the total price on my Vostro come to $290. Tough deal for the specs mentioned above!

Also, the same friend here in Miami got me playing Battlefield 2 with him in a LAN at his place and decided to buy me the game for my birthday ($20) so we can play over the Net on a private server. Brings me back to my days of playing Counter-Strike - which was fun but took up all my time. Very addicting to play with other humans in cyber space...so now I am just reserving my online gaming to bots. Unless of course I'm playing with a friend on a private server and even then we're on the same team and playing versus bots.

So that's my birthday gift(s). I'm excited. The PC should be here on
Tuesday. If it is, I won't be here to get it and will have to pick it
up on Wednesday - Val and I will be in Key West on my birthday.

Labels: computers

I am a baseball fan, and also an avid fantasy baseball player (I like to think 'expert' - I'm pretty good).

So last night I went to yahoo's fantasy baseball page to see when they will start allowing the public to set up fantasy baseball leagues. Under the help section I found the following:

Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball runs throughout the entire 2006 baseball regular season, which begins on Sunday, April 2, and is scheduled to end on Sunday, October 1.

Full season sign-ups begin on Thursday, February 2 and continue until Saturday, April 29.

So after realizing that Thursday the 2nd of February was in 2006, I figured that the sign-ups must be starting right around that time this year as well too. You would think so, right?

Think again.

I took the liberty of emailing yahoo's customer care. I wrote:

Your website FAQ says the season registration starts Thursday, February 2nd (which occurred in 2006). It has never been updated for 2007....I would think that registration would be right around the same date in 07.

What is the projected date for registration signups?

I expected them to write back with something to the effect of: "you will be able to sign up for leagues beginning on [date]".

What I got back from yahoo's customer care center was the following:

Hello Nathan,

Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Fantasy Sports.

We are currently in the planning process for our future offerings and cannot announce any release dates or game information at this time.

Please keep checking the Yahoo! Fantasy Sports home page at the
following URL for more information on upcoming offerings:
http://fantasysports.yahoo.com/

Whenever you have further comments or questions, please feel free to
email us again.

Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.

Regards,
Marshall
Yahoo! Customer Care

What is that? Some top secret Yahoo! subject? Ooh, the release date of fantasy baseball signups can't be leaked to the public for fear of people getting excited!?

Strange.

Labels: baseball, computers

^ That is the title of an email I received tonight in my trusty gmail account from one Graham Henderson, who hails from "across the pond" in the United Kingdom (I'm gonna assume England).

Graham sent an email with the following body:

I was the unfortunate victim of the Alcra-b infection on my pc, neither my antivirus (Norton 2007) or antispy could delete the files, in desperation i searched the net using copernic agent and it found your site, using the information,and acting on it i noticed that my machine booted up normally where it was taking ages and touch wood it seems to be behaving,

I would like to Thank you for the information that helped me get rid of the work,

Graham Henderson UK

What Graham is referring to on my site was a post I wrote on June 29, 2005 entitled "My bout with Alcra/Alcan.B". I had an annoying worm on my big PC (Chloe) that would not let the task manager utility open. Then, through the magic that is Google, I discovered regedit.exe wouldn't open either. I had been infected by the worm known as Alcan.B (a.k.a. Alcra.B).

You can read the post if you want to know what Alcan.B does and how to remove it.

The moral of the story is this kids: Google is a wonderful tool. One of my only regrets in life is not knowing about it's stock early on in Google's infancy. I could be a rich, rich twentysomething.

[On a side note, it looks like if you were to google (I guess the verb form is a lowercase 'g') Alcan.B and my website, it will lead you to this page where towards the bottom of the page you will notice a link to my original post.]

Labels: computers, hardware