5 posts tagged “apple”

 12/13/2008 18:04:52  ♥ written by vu ()

FREE STREET FIGHTER II HD REMIX SOUNDTRACK
I'll have to admit, I was pretty good back in the days of Street Fighter II as Guile or Ryan/Ken. I saw that the "HD Remix" game finally made its way to downloadable Playstation Store (incidentally, I tested out "Home" and although it looks fantastic - but what exactly is the point?).

The game, as a download, is very expensive at $14.99, more than most PS1 games! Come on, Capcom, there's no cost of manufacturing to order discs, this should be priced at $8, that's reasonable. If you're not going to buy it, like me, you can get the next best thing: a free downloadable soundtrack.

The only downside is that they want you to do the torrent thing, and if you don't have a torrent client, you'll have to download each track individually. It's a painfully slow task (I mean, it's not too much to ask them to zip all 66 files in one big file, you know?)

The soundtrack is more electronized/modernized, but you'll recognize most of these songs - even if you haven't heard these in years.

The next few items are all for tips for your iPod Touch, since I have been spending a lot of time with it.

UPDATE YOUR VOX WITH YOUR IPOD
Although Six Apart did developed a mobile version for their TypePad, there's no Vox support. In fact, if you read the reviews, people are complaining that it's "free, but not free"... since you need a paid typepad version to get some millage out this application.

Well if you're looking for a free iPod version, check out Shozu! I did some tests here and it looks pretty decent for a mobile updater. There's some drawbacks, like the limit of number of words you can write! Weak!

Pownce users should check it out since you guys are into the moblogging thing.  It's free, so if you don't like, just throw it out.

TURN YOUR IPOD INTO A PORTABLE VOICE RECORDER
This is quite easy to do, first you'll need an iPod/iPhone-compatible mic (this means the plugin needs to have a mic and stereo headphones in the same jack). Something like the cheap Philips iPhone Microphone Adapter for $10 will work. You'll also need to get the free version of Griffin's iTalk Recorder (don't bother paying for the "professional version", which is the same software but no advertisements).

Audio recording is so-so, but you get what you pay for I reckon. Supposedly you can transfer the audio files to your computer using their syncing wifi software. Unfortunately it does not seem to work for me. I got it to connect to my iPod, but the file I drag-and-drop just turns up as a folder instead of a file. Perhaps it's just my computer's securities?

TURN YOUR IPOD INTO A PHONE
Using the same mic as above, download the free Fring on the iPod. There are several VOIP option on Fring, but the one I'm using and I found best of all, is Skype. If you already pay for Skype out, you can now call regular telephones, if you're using the free Skype version, you are limited to only other Skype users.

I found in my testing that the audio is poor (possibly due to cheap mic), and there is a slight delay - but otherwise usable.

If you don't use Fring for its voice feature, it also doubles as an IM Client - works with Aim, Messenger, Yahoo, etc.

WATCH TV ON YOUR IPOD (WELL SORT OF)
Get Joost on the iPod/iPhone and you'll be watching full episodes of really old televison shows. Don't bother browsing through their menu, the best way to find something is to do a search on the application. As for the shows that I'm interested and have seen on Joost on the iPod is Macgyver (wow these shows aren't very realistic), V, and Jericho.

Unfortunately the software is buggy, and it's not uncommon to have the software crash on you. Very annoying when you're 80% into the show and it crashes. Quality and audio is decent, watchable, but by no means a replacement for the big television or computer monitor. I just hope they improve stability.

I just wish Hulu was on the iPhone! Please make this happen!

GET VIDEOS FOR YOUR IPOD
Using keepvid.com or various ways to download youtube videos, you can them as *.FLV (flash video). If you are super lazy, you can install Real Audio and it will offer "Download This" as an option over any Flash video.

Once you have the videos, you can get the free iPod Video Converter to convert any video file to an iPod compatible format.

So there's this legal question about downloading music videos. To me, these are promotional videos, they are meant to be seen by many people as possible... and why would anyone care how you watch them, as long as you're watching them? And obviously you love it enough to want to permanently add it to your iPod to watch forever and ever.... Besides the videos you download off youtube is often pretty low quality.

Apple sells music videos, which I think is way overpriced at $1.99 per video. I recommend buying a music DVD you love and ripping it yourself, since you'll stil have a higher quality version on DVD as a backup. As an example, here is the video for Kaiser Chiefs (kaiserchiefs.co.uk/myspace.com). The latest video and single is called "Good Days, Bad Days" and features what looks like it's stop-animation. I think it comes off as sort of choppy. If you like all-things-rocknrolly, they are a bit energic live, from what I remembered of them in 2007, so be sure to check them out in 2009:

01/19/09 Columbia Halle Berlin
01/20/09 Tonhalle Munich
01/21/09 Palladium Cologne
01/23/09 Rockhal Luxembourg
01/24/09 AB Brussels
01/25/09 AB Brussels
01/27/09 Zenith Paris
01/28/09 Transbordeur Lyon
01/29/09 Razzamatazz Barcelona
01/31/09 Coliseum Porto
02/01/09 Coliseum Lisbon
02/02/09 La Riviera Madrid
02/05/09 Alkatraz Milan
02/06/09 Volkshaus Zurich
02/07/09 Gasometer Vienna
02/09/09 Alter Schlachthof Dresden
02/10/09 Phonixhalle Mainz
02/12/09 VEGA Copenhagen
02/13/09 Sentrum Oslo
02/15/09 Sportshalle Hamburg
02/16/09 Heineken Music Hall Amsterdam
02/22/09 Trent FM Arena Nottingham
02/23/09 Sheffield Arena Sheffield
02/24/09 NIA Birmingham
02/26/09 Corn Exchange Edinburgh
02/27/09 AECC Aberdeen
02/28/09 Metro Radio Arena Newcastle
03/02/09 MEN Manchester
03/03/09 Echo Arena Liverpool
03/04/09 CIA Cardiff
03/06/09 Wembley Arena London

HOW TO REMOVE AUDIO BOOKS FROM MUSIC
Finally, as a tip for audio book listeners, you may want to check out MP3 to iPod Audio Book Converter. This wonderful free software converts your audio book MP3 into the correct audio book format, and you can put it in as one big long file. You may ask why you would want to do this, well the answer is simple: since all MP3s are considered as music files, when you put your library to shuffle, occasional an audio book file will pop up! Since audio book files are treated differently, you won't see these in normal music now. Unfortunately, these M4P files aren't universal as MP3s, so you may want to keep your original MP3 files.

That's it for now, if you've got a great iPod tip, please let me know. Software developers, please consider doing more with downloadable maps (that does not require internet access)! I will pay (but not over $10) for a great Minneapolis/Minnesota map with bus or train information. That's not asking too much is it?

 11/13/2008 10:02:54  ♥ written by vu ()

Guess what? I have an iPod Touch Second Generation. I love it. I mostly use it for an internet device (checking email or surfing the web) while being mobile (watching television). This device is just like the iPhone, minus the AT&T expensive phone contract and camera and mic.

What I absolutely love about the iPod Touch is the built-in speakers. Seriously, all iPods should have built-in speakers.

If you are interested in getting movies you own from DVD, I recommend the paid DVD Fab and for free, I hear Handbrake does a great job (although I've never used it). Set pixels to 480x* to optimize for the iPod or iPhone.

Oh, yeah besides the internet, watching movie, and games, it also plays music. If you're in the market for a new music device, you may want to reconsider getting the Touch. The cheapest model is 8 gigs for $229, it's cheaper than most Netbooks so keep that in mind if you are thinking of getting a net device for travel.

PRICE: $229, $299, $399
PROS: Too many to mention, see description above. 
CONS: You have to use iTunes.  You must use its touch interface, so if you have no fingers, you're out of luck.  I also don't like that you can't play videos in 'sleep' mode and there is no controls in landscape mode for audio (seriously, WTF is that about?).  The chrome back is easily scratch (as with all iPods) so you must spend another $30 on a iPod case.  The cost associated with any Apple products is unbelievable too. So before you dive into Apple, make sure you can afford it.

Below is my guide to ten applications that I love (mostly free too!). PLEASE send me your suggestions... I am a cheapskate, so I prefer the free ones.

 09/15/2008 00:36:32  ♥ written by vu ()