Music and Audio Blog

Archive for February, 2010

As companies expand and grow they have at their disposal several tools that have been created to help with their success. One tool in particular that may not be as widely known as others is call tracking. Call tracking technology, features, accessibility and user interface has improved dramatically over several years.

What is call tracking? Call tracking is a system that has the ability to differentiate where calls come from. This tool is helpful for companies to separate their individual ad campaigns allowing them to see if the ad is actually working for them. Companies may be spending thousands of dollars on advertisements that are not contributing to their growth. Before call tracking systems came into being companies had to rely on surveying customers in order to find where they saw their ads. The ability to recognize and segment your calls or prospects has many other advantages also. Companies may choose to answer their calls differently, quote different prices, or even answer multiple types of calls on the same line.

There are several businesses out there that can help a company with this process. Among them are Who’s Calling, Call Source, Telemetrics, Estara, Voice Star, If By Phone, and Call Bright just to name a few. There is a new player to the field who is boasting that while they weren’t the first they took their time to be the best. That company is ACI Call Tracking.

Call tracking companies for the most part will offer many of the same services and features and will charge differently for it. What stands ACI Call Tracking apart is their desire to hand over the keys and have you use their system the way that best meets your needs. They have combined inbound and outbound call tracking with web analytics giving you a complete array of services. Create your own phone numbers, customize your own reports, and manage your business the way you want it to be, putting you in total control. ACI Call Tracking has created their system to give you the information you need while being incredibly user friendly. ACI Call Tracking is equally innovative for being easy to do business with. ACI Call Tracking does not require a long term contract, has no set up charge and no account minimums.

Simplicity is a feature all businesses look for when applying new technology. One company had this to report about ACI Call Tracking. “I’ve owned my own business for over 25 years. I started out writing everything down and using typewriters, keeping records in binders. As technology improved I’ve had to upgrade but still preferred the comfort of my old typewriter. Needless to say I’m not the most technological savvy person out there. I knew my company needed ACI Call Tracking and what they had to offer but I was shying away from having to learn to use yet another computer system. I was put at ease very quickly when learned how easy it was to use. It was very easy for me to get the information I needed. It was right there in front of me and all I had to do was click a button.” Dave J., Business owner 27 years.

As you look around for tools to help your company call tracking is a service that can give you valuable information and save you money. If your business engages and communicates with customers and prospects by phone, I recommend you investigate call tracking services.

Digital camera lens repair is as common as LCD repair, but it’s #2 on my list because it’s harder to repair a digital camera lens and there are so many different types of lens problems whereas a broken LCD is a broken LCD no matter how you look at it.

Basic Lens Care Tips:

- Do not leave the batteries in your camera in the camera bag. The power button can be pressed accidentally causing the lens to extend and get jammed because it cannot open properly inside the bag.
– Refrain from dropping the camera when it’s on or off.
– Don’t ever pull or twist on a lens that is not working 100% properly, you will just break it.

I think I’d have enough to fill a book about lens problems (hey.. what a great idea!) so I will try and keep it simple and informative.

The lens is made up of many different parts… Let’s start with the several pieces of glass referred to as the lens elements. The outer lens element is prone to being scratched and scuffed, and usually has a special coating on it that you DO NOT want to clean off with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), or Windex or something similar. Nothing to worry about if it’s not there, it’s not a big deal. Just keep the lens clean (why are there fingerprints on your lens anyway??) and scratch free.

The inner-most lens element is responsible for the fine focus and resides directly in front of the CCD. When you press the shutter button half way down to focus, this part moves forwards and backwards till it’s in the correct position and your image is in focus. You won’t be messing with this part of the lens… unless you feel like removing the lens from the camera and then tearing down the lens to get at it’s ‘guts’. It’s kinda fun the first time, but uh… Good luck putting it back together properly. The tearing apart stuff is fun, the putting it back together is a drag!

The lens has two small motors with their own gears that connect to the two main parts of the lens. The larger motor drives the lens barrel in and out when zooming. The smaller motor drives the fine focus element mentioned above and controls the focus. If you get ONE GRAIN of sand in these gears, they will jam and the lens will “error out” as we like to say. Open it up and clean it out if you like, but it’s not easy. Typically the main motor of the lens has 5-6 different gears that must be set and aligned properly to function. But hey, your lens is already jammed, why not see how it works, right?

Then there is the CCD, “charge-coupled device” which translates the light that enters the lens into a digital signal that the camera can record.

There was a very large CCD recall for digital camera lens repair over the past few years that covers many manufacturers like Canon, Fuji and Nikon and not just Sony, but Sony provided the CCDs to many other manufacturers for their cameras so they do have a large amount of defective cameras on the list themselves. The defective CCD’s cause the camera to take solid black photos, or purple/pink “dripping paint” photos, or they have repeating white horizontal or verticle lines on the images. If yours has this problem then you can call up the company that made it and ask if they are still honoring the CCD recall even if your camera is 4-5 years old! IF it’s on the list, you might get your camera repaired for free.

Got spots on your images that get bigger and smaller as you zoom in and out? Most likely there is a spec of dust on your CCD. You will need to remove the lens and then remove the CCD from the back of the lens and clean it off. Don’t lose the gasket that goes around the CCD, don’t get any other dirt inside the lens and don’t leave any fingerprints! Tall order I know, sorry, I’m demanding. =)

Let’s see… what else? Your lens is part way out, stuck at an angle because the camera was dropped while turned on. Now please read that carefully; the lens must be stuck part way out or all the way out, and one section of the lens MUST be stuck at an angle. The lens must not move freely at all for this section to apply, and you may follow this advice AT YOUR OWN RISK. The following repair trick works, but I am not responsible for your actions or anything you do to your camera.

Alright then, the lens is jammed at an angle and you think it’s worthwhile to attempt to fix it yourself. No problem.

Hold the camera with the angled part of the lens resting against the edge of a table, and the rest of the camera hanging over the side. Do not place the camera facing down with the “Canon Zoom Lens…” metallic front section down flat on the counter. The rounded edge of the lens must be what makes contact here. Now… here is the tricky part… press the angled part of the lens back into alignment by pushing down on the lens on the edge of the table. Put your fingers on the LENS below the angled part to support it and press firmly but still gently (how do I do that? I don’t know.. you just do it) and the lens will either POP!! back into place and work perfectly or it won’t budge and no harm will be done, -OR- one of the “guide pins” that run inside a small track in the lens barrel will break off and you have just destroyed the lens.

I told you it was at your own risk!! Digital camera repair is great… right?

Alright, enough information for today about lenses? I think we have covered most of the basic problems, and possible solutions. You may buy a lens to repair your camera in several ways; the most expensive would be to call the manufacturer as they typically will charge $150 or more for the lens assembly.

Do a Google search for “digital camera repair” and you will see at #1 the only site that has affordable digital camera repair and DIY parts… Darntoothysam.com!

Technorati Tags: broken lens, camera repair, digital camera, digital camera repair, photography

When shopping for APC batteries, it can sometimes be a little overwhelming browsing through the hundreds of ups suppliers on the internet. Searching every electronics store in the area to see if they sell APC batteries is feasible, but the fact still remains, that people prefer to shop online. The article is hoping to simplify the process of identifying a great APC battery retailer.

Shopping for APC batteries is not only about making sure you’re buying the best product, but making sure you’re buying from the best distributor, as well.

An APC battery seller needs to show some customer courtesy, it’s not just a website or a store, so remember this when you are looking for a seller. In short, you are supporting them, so they should support you. As a guide, please see below a list of points which will help you to know what you should expect from any ABC battery distributor you do business with.

An APC battery seller and what you should look for.

1. Safe Disposal of Used APC Batteries
Used APC batteries cannot simply be thrown in the ordinary trash as most states have laws against this. You can dispose of your used batteries yourself if you know where to take them, but ideally, whoever you are buying your APC replacement batteries from should have some sort of service offered for convenient disposal. Disposing of your old batteries can be time consuming and expensive if you are not careful, so try and buy from a retailer who offers an inexpensive disposal service. The box the new battery comes in can then be recycled to return the old one, which does include postage.

2. Variety
While most manufacturers of computer equipment that uses an APC battery will try to use only the most common dimensions, many manufacturers might change the dimensions of APC battery without notice, or use uncommon dimensions. Rarer sizes can be offered upon enquiry, by good APC battery retailers, although of course, they will tend to stick with the more popular batteries.

3. Warranty
An APC battery is expected to last about one year, so the first good reason we would provide you with, is to shop with retailers who provide a warranty. You do not want to find out the hard way it is dead, so at this point, it is usually wise to replace it. Your ups systems need to be protected at all times.Your APC replacement battery will then be protected throughout its entire life cycle with a one year warranty.

4. Delivery needs to be speedy
Hopefully, an APC battery retailer should offer one day delivery and shipping insurance. If not, tracking in some form for your shipment should be offered. While perhaps not as much a necessity as the points listed above, this is simply the extra mile gone by any retailer that truly values their customers.

It does not have to be a hassle shopping for APC batteries. Shop with a retailer who shows the customers a degree of courtesy and meets the above qualifications. Having ups power supply has never been simplier, just simply follow the advice.

 

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Dad has just bought a new Sat Nav and I am going to take you through the positives and negatives. Although he luckily got it through his company for free we have had a few teething problems with the Sat Nav itself.

The product is a brilliant idea for anyone who is bored of getting out a map at every corner or perhaps on the verge of a divorce because the wife is still giving out the wrong directions. There are a couple of times that the Sat Nav took us in the wrong direction and then decided that it was out fault so told us to turn around post haste. There has even been an instance in which it attempted to lead us onto a road that wasn’t there.

Another issue with the product is that it is being used for the simplest of trips and because you are busy waiting for the voice to say “turn left” or “speed camera” it actually ends up taking longer than it would without it. I

The Sat Nav is best used in foreign countries where you have no idea where to go at all. Sometimes it can be nice to hear directions from a person who speaks english when you are abroad and providing it points you in the right direction it can be useful for that.

Replacing them is not easy either which is why some form of Sat Nav Insurance will need to be taken out to avoid nasty replacement costs. Of course you could get gadget insurance as this actually sets out to cover you against other things like phones and games consoles. Sometimes you do not need to take out that extra camera insurance

Replacing them is not easy either which is why some form of Sat Nav Insurance will need to be taken out to avoid nasty replacement costs. Of course you could get gadget insurance as this actually sets out to cover you against other things like phones and games consoles. Sometimes you do not need to take out that extra PDA insurance

Technorati Tags: gadgets, iPhone, Sat Nav

To many PC users, UPS are a key tool in their office or home work station. To some, the whole concept of an uninterruptible power supply seems too complicated and expensive to get into. Here we attempt to put that myth to rest. Providing yourself with a UPS can, in fact, be a simple, easy and inexpensive process, as well as an investment.

While home computer users may be able to neglect the need for an uninterruptible power supply and only experience minimal repercussions for it, anyone who is in charge of maintaining a communications network or workstations at the office would be unwise to go without a UPS.
Sooner or later, there will be a problem. Either a power outage, a surge, or a blown fuse. In any event, problems with your power supply can destroy an entire day’s worth of work, or worse, destroy the workstations themselves. It only takes a single power surge at the wrong time to completely fry a hard drive. The same goes for those running communications networks. If you’re running a Wifi hotspot at your coffee shop and it goes out, there’s a good chance that your customers will find somewhere else to get their work done.

A UPS, then, serves as an insurance policy against these expected occurrences. Although many seem reluctant to make the investment, it will certainly save you quite a bit of money in the long run. You can obtain a basic UPS unit for under forty pounds. This is a much lower price than what you would pay to repair a damaged computer and hire a computer recovery team to salvage whatever files they can from the hard drive.

From a financial standpoint, it is simply a question of whether you want to spend a little bit of money now, or a lot of money later, as it is not a question of whether or not you will eventually have a power related problem, but when.

If you use a reliable UPS unit, then these problems are solved for you before they ever occur. Even the most basic uinterruptible power supply backups will provide you with several minutes of power, if the power was to go out, in order to save what you are working on and safely shut the computer down.

In short, an uninterruptible power supply is simply an insurance policy against the inevitable power problems that we all experience sooner or later, and by spending a little bit of money now, you can potentially save hundreds, if not thousands in the long run. Anybody in charge of maintaining workstations, running a Wifi network, or, pretty much just about anyone who relies on computers in order to make a living would be wise to make the investment.

 

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An Epson printer, along with Epson compatible ink cartridges, can give you years of trouble-free operation with some regular maintenance. The convenience of inkjet printers is that they are quite affordable. Fuzzy printing, lines on the page or a blackish haze on the entire page are some of the most common problems with inkjet printers. Another problem is that when not used, the ink dries up, clogging the nozzles. Cleaning can help. You can also replace the print head. Using your printer regularly prevents this condition from building up. By using your printer regularly you can probably spot the symptoms of problems before the happen.

It’s an experience that many of us have had.  After a particularly intense or inspiring musical event, we discover a desire to play an instrument for ourselves. Many amazing musicians began by emulating their favorite bands by picking up a guitar.  Even if it seems unlikely, it is easier than you think to teach yourself to play guitar.

If you’ve investigated the self-teaching options available, it’s likely you’ve come across a Learn and Master Guitar review. There are a lot guitar tutors out there that have various materials to help you in your quest to master the guitar.  Steve Krenz offers a DVD program, a particularly appealing format for lesson delivery.  The advantages of using a DVD program are pretty evident, since it is easy to watch the teachings.   It offers a level of visual detail even the most comprehensive manual can’t quite replicate.  

When reading a Steve Krenz review, it’s pretty certain that there will be mention of his extensive professional history.  Krenz, a professional performer, lives and works regularly in “Music City” Nashville, Tennessee.  He’s played alongside symphony orchestras as well as big band jazz outfits in addition to working with many acclaimed artists of all kinds.  

Solid self-teaching guitar programs start with the basics which then move toward advanced techniques.  It’s important to start with foundational techniques, since one must learn the right way to hold a guitar and pick to truly play well.  From this point, one learns basic chords, making the way to advanced chord techniques.  Ever heard of the “three chord” tune?  Hundreds of popular tunes are built on the three-chord structure, which means that it doesn’t take too long to begin playing a favorite song or two.  This is one of the advantages of learning an instrument such as the guitar; the learning curve isn’t as steep as other instruments.  It’s possible to begin learning the guitar as an adult, even if you never took a lesson as a kid.

Other skills generally taught in a good guitar course like Steve Krenz’s “Learn and Master the Guitar” include ear training, strumming technique, scales, alternate chords and how to create chords, as well as reading music.  It sounds a lot, to be sure, but most great courses structure the skills in a logical manner, one building on another.  In far less time than you think, you can learn to play the guitar.

Technorati Tags: Learn and Master Guitar Review, Steve Krenz review, teach yourself to play guitar

Others always seem envious of the ones who have the magic ability to play a musical instrument like the guitar. When you can play a song that someone can immediately recognize, it’s somewhat captivating for them to listen to rather than if it was straight from a cd, mp3 player or radio.

If you’re interested in being one of these magical people who can play the guitar and delight your family and friends, here are some suggestions that you’ll want to consider.

As with anything worthwhile, it’s going to need commitment and perseverance to push through the initial learning part and trust me, it’s definitely the most demanding element on your sanity. You’re going to need a lot of practice but if you’re stubborn and stay with it, you’ll be able to play songs that you couldn’t play before.

Buying your first guitar

Purchasing a guitar is the initial obvious step you need to do. Getting a classical nylon string guitar to begin with is something I strongly suggest. You can always move up to a nicer electric or acoustic afterwards, once you’ve proven to yourself that you’re not going to give up learning the guitar. Besides, it’s great to have a good incentive to reward yourself right? .

Getting guitar training

Next, you have to get trained up on learning how to specifically play. Learning to play guitar by DVDs, private guitar tuition, books and online guitar courses are just some of the methods available. Each method has their pros and cons depending on learning style and what suits you best.

Investing in an online guitar program can be one of the cheapest ways of learning to play guitar. You are educated using video, audio and print which is a much more interesting way to learn when compared to just a normal book, it makes it a lot easier for a beginner guitarist to understand what is being taught.

Jamorama is an example of one the best rated internet guitar courses that are available online. Check out this Jamorama guitar lesson review to discover more about this learn guitar course. There is a lot of learning material to study through that can help make your guitar playing better and it’s inexpensive.

There are many other top online guitar courses about too, Jamorama is just one example. Not all courses are the same so the most ideal thing you can do is Google guitar lesson reviews to find out which one suits you.

You’ll soon know what the best online guitar lessons are after a little bit of investigating.

Prac, prac, prac! 

With consistency and loads of practicing, you’ll get the most benefits from using what you learn.Just like when you were learning to ride a bike and you needed to do things slowly with the learner wheels on, learning to play guitar is just the same. Attempting to co-ordinate your hands and fingers may appear like this huge mission to start with but it gradually gets easier with the increased skills you develop. The amount of time to can allocate to practicing is one of the important elements to your quicker improvement in guitar playing.

If another person only practices half as much as you, it’s very likely that they’ll improve only half as fast as you. It’s how much you’ve been playing guitar thats counts, not how long, keep that in mind.

Technorati Tags: Best Guitar Lessons, guitar lesson reviews, Jamorama Review, learn to play guitar

One discovery I have made is that DSLRs are perfect for portrait photographers and wedding photographers. Why is it then that they are slower to switch to digital SLR cameras? For some reason portrait photographers have been slower to switch to digital cameras than the average commercial photographer has.

My guess is that maybe they’re afraid? Afraid of the learning curve and afraid that the quality just isn’t there unless they spend an ungodly amount of hard earned cash on some scary looking gigantic array of confusing and awkward, let alone “how am I going to learn how to use this stuff” equipment.

The truth of the matter is all you really need is a 5MP digital camera. The quality is there, I’ve proven it over and over and I know anyone can replicate the same results. Yes, even if you have only a 5 or 6 MP camera.

There are many reasons, here are 5 good ones.

1- Service

These days a real camera repair shop is very hard to fine and service for film cameras is evaporating even more rapidly. Most camera stores will just send your camera to the manufacturer and then charge you more than the flat repair rate that you would get from Sony, Canon or Nikon etc. yourself. If you look online you can still find a real digital camera repair shop including ones that specialize in digital SLR camera repair and charge much less than the $250-300 flat rate repairs that the manufacturers offer.

There are many repairs that the consumer can do themselves including replacing battery doors, memory card doors and parts like the zoom switch. Some consumers do replace their own broken LCD screens and lenses, but many still leave that to a professional.

The real problem with finding good Sony digital camera repair for example is lack of knowledge. Most any store you go to and ask about repair will tell you to throw the camera in the garbage and buy a new one. The reason they tell you this is because they have no idea that affordable digital camera repair and do it yourself options actually exist! A couple simple searches on Google will go a long way to help you find a reputable repair shop for your Sony digital camera repair.

2- Quality

The quality of images captured with a high quality lens, properly exposed and well posed is more than enough, even if you shoot JPEGS. Yes, I said JPEGS not RAW. Over 90% of the more than 30-40,000 exposures I put through my camera every year is shot in JPEG mode. Why would anybody want to use JPEG mode instead of shooting in RAW? The answer is simple: It works.

Most of the time the average portrait photographer doesn’t need an extremely high resolution image to work with. If they have in the past, they’ve always degraded the image through retouching and other means. It’s ironic if you think about it? You can still shoot in RAW mode if you wish, but it isn’t really needed.

3- Control

People want their photos fast. We live in a drive-through world and minutes count. Even a small studio can create a slide show of the clients session within half an hour of taking the pictures. Our customers love it. Customers get the results instantly. If the customer is there waiting to view the shots from the shoot is already planning on spending money then sales will go up. Their is ample evidence that when you show the images sooner, and you create large projected images, which is a cinch with digital, sales go up. Using a DSLR it gives portrait photographers greater control over the sales flow and this means and increase in profits.

4- Retouching

Let’s face it, people want to look good. What used to take hours and whole lot of aggravation with spray booths, smelly and dangerous lacquers, is now possible with absolute ease. Even when I decided to farm out all my retouching because I had had enough, it still took weeks or months, and huge retouching bills.

Not to mention the loss of control I had over the retouching aspects. It was up to the subjective interpretation of the retouching artist to enhance the images the way I wanted them retouched. Now, with a few basic skills, and all those years of retouching experience all transferred over to the new darkroom, my computer, I can easily retouch to any degree I like. In mere minutes. With absolute astounding results. This ultimately translates to satisfying a basic need that needs to satisfied in our clients, their vanity. They want to look good, and they want it fast.

5- Innovation

I could go on for days when it comes to what new products, ideas, services, sales processes, packages, etc, etc. . . I have been able to create because of digital photography.

I am once again excited about photography and the new possibilities. When you apply the power of digital, and get a handle on it in your workflow, you can create new and exciting products like never before.
I’ve seen it and experience it every week in our busy little small-city studio. The proof ultimately boils down to net profits, doesn’t it?

After all, we are in business first, and creative artists second, right? We are in business to make money and survive. We need new and exciting angles, ways to stay afloat, so we can pay our bills, keep the bankers happy and provide for our families. We don't know how digital photography is going to change in the future, but my guess is that with it all the way.

Anyone remember when color film and paper was introduced as a mainstream commodity? I don’t, I was just a wee lad, but I heard stories about the many studio owners closing their doors and packing it in because they didn’t want to keep up with the demand and latest craze that color film and color paper had created.

Personally I used to love film and thought I would never switch, but I am now a firm believer in digital photography and can’t imagine going back.

Technorati Tags: digital camera repair, digital photography, photography

A4 printers are extremely useful and popular. However, due to the increase in sales of high quality digital cameras and the cost of printing hardware falling year on year, the popularity of A3 compatible printers has also increased.

There is now an expanding range of quality and affordable A3 printers available to buy online by established manufacturers such as Brother, Hewlett Packard, Oki, Kyocera, and Canon. Epson A3 printers are also some of the most popular available.

There are many different types of A3 printers now available. Photo printers, laser and inkjet are three different types. Sizes of A3 printers range from compact desktop, to huge freestanding all-in-one office style units. Therefore, if you are upgrading to an A3 printer from an A4 size, you need to check the dimensions before you buy to ensure you have enough storage space.

Like many modern printers, most A3 models will generally have a built-in screen to aid you in previewing prints and control operations directly rather than using the computer driver software.

It is also worth looking out for an A3 printers that allows you to select and print images directly from your phone, digital camera or memory card. This means you can enjoy the benefits of large poster and photo printing without having to go through the computer first.

Wireless printing has become very popular in recent years with the introduction of wireless networks in the home to share broadband connections between devices. If wireless capability is not built-in on your model of choice, adaptors can be used to add this functionality.

Other factors to consider are print resolution (dots per inch) and whether you require features such as borderless printing and budget as prices can escalate quickly depending on the spec required. Whether you are looking to print out your latest masterpiece or just your short term car insurance policy, you should be able to find an A3 printer to meet your needs.

 

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