Jeren
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Home page: http://www.joshspadd.com
AIM: JoshHrach
Posts by Jeren
Making an iPhone Ringtone in iTunes
2So, you’re the owner of an iPhone and you want a nice ringtone. All you see, though, are ones you have to pay for. What about making your own? After all, you have all of your music to choose from!
Well, it’s actually a fairly simple process. All you need is iTunes. Here’s how to do it:
- First, we need our audio clip. Presumably, you have an audio track in iTunes already that you would like to use. I’ll be using a song by Chameleon Circuit for my example.
- Now, you can use a whole song as a ringtone. Likely, though, you will only hear a few seconds of it. For this song, I only want to hear the first few seconds before it repeats. So, I go into the song’s info window and choose the “Options” tab. There, I’m able to set when the song stops playing.
- Once you’ve made those changes, right click on the song and choose “Create AAC Version”. This will create a duplicate listing in your iTunes library. However, you’ll notice that the new item will only be as long as the selection you had made.
- Take this new item and export it from iTunes. The easiest way to do this is to simply drag the song from iTunes onto your desktop.
- Now navigate to the file on your desktop. You’ll notice that it has a file extension of .m4a. Rename your file so that it now uses a .m4r extension.
- Once you have changed the extension, simply drag the newly renamed file from its current location into iTunes. iTunes will import the ringtone into your library, where you can now sync it with your iPhone.
Simple enough? I think so! Feel free to try it yourself and leave some comments and feedback about this post.
Review: Baseball Superstars 11
0The latest in the Gamevil baseball series, Baseball Superstars ’11, delivers a good strike to the classic ballgame. Having played both of the previous titles, I can say that this one truly is an improvement.
Months ago, I did a small post regarding a classic NES baseball game: RBI Baseball. Playing Baseball Superstars ’11 reminds me of RBI baseball. The game is easy to play, allows for you to just pick up where you left off, and overall is a very enjoyable experience.
You’re able to play multiple game modes, from single exhibition games to full careers with a character. As before, RPG elements are included, allowing for you to improve your player’s skills and abilities as the game progresses.
With some humorous elements thrown in via a subtly laid story, simple baseball gameplay, and the ability to stop and resume playing a game at any point, Baseball Superstars ’11 is definitely worth checking out.
Review: iOS 4.2 Changes [PHOTOS]
0Although iOS 4.2 4.2.1 has been out for over two weeks, I figured I would share some of the changes that are included in this release. Some of them are subtle, while some might find a few of these changes to be very important.
The simplest of changes is the color of the Voice Memo icon. It is now blue (formerly red). Other than that, the default home screen remains unchanged.
One of the major updates is the ability to print. Now, there are some finer points about this that prevent some printers from operating right now. However, the option to print will pop up in some familiar places.
For instance, what if you had an email that you wanted to print out? Clicking on the icon used for replying to an email now provides one other option: “Print”. This is also true with Safari, as well. The button that brings up your bookmark options now includes the print option.
Some small UI changes have come, as well, to bring the iPhone and iPad closer together. As introduced in iOS 4, double-tapping the home button will bring up the multi-task bar. Swiping to the left still displays the orientation lock button, as well as the music player controls. However, swiping over to the left reveals a volume slider, allowing for the easy adjustment of the volume level.
Other changes include the ability to change the text-tone for each contact, much like you can change a contact’s ring tone. Restriction settings now include the ability to prevent someone from deleting apps (as a separate option from installing them). The Safari search, as well, as been expanded to allow for the searching of a term within a web page itself. This feature, something many use on their desktops or laptops, now makes it easier to locate certain information within a web page.
For a full list of changes, see Apple’s Knowledgebase article.
4 Ways to Protect Your Online Accounts
1It seems that more and more people are finding their Twitter accounts hacked unknowingly. If you use Twitter, you undoubtedly have seen it. Your friends post a reply or a direct message (DM) with a link to you but from out of the blue. ‘Why would they care about my IQ?‘ you may ask yourself.
Well, here are X tips to help you stay safe on Twitter (and other online sites)!
- Never give out your password – This is the most important rule. Even if someone claims to be a Twitter owner, do NOT give out your password!
- Don’t click links from strangers – Remember when your mom would tell you not take take candy from someone you didn’t know? Well, even though you’re older, live on your own, and have a job, the rule still applies. Watch what strangers send you. If you get a random @reply saying “Hey, I saw you in this pic. http://badlink.com/haha”, don’t click it!
- Watch for odd links from friends – Just because you have followed so-and-so for a long time doesn’t mean that all that they post is ok. Make sure that what they send is in line with what they usually send. Do they never DM you, but you suddenly receive a DM with a link? (As a side note, I’m not saying to click on links from your friends. If it’s a legitimate link, they’re sharing it with you for a reason!)
- Avoid Phishing Scams – What do I mean by phishing scam? Well, let’s say someone wanted you to think you were signing in to Twitter. It may even be identical to the real login page! But, the URL might say login.twitter.com.someothersite.net. That is how you can tell if it is fake. So, how can you stay safe from this? If you need to login in a site, make sure that you’re truly at the site before you log in! For example, if you are signing in to Facebook, make sure you’re at Facebook.com before entering in your password.
In short, think before you do anything. It’s always better to play it safe. Common sense is the big key. Keep some of that and you’ll be safer already!
Review: Rock Band 3
1Yesterday was the big release of Rock Band 3. Well, for some, it was midnight Monday night. Either way, I’ve finally had the chance to play the latest musical installment and have a few things to say.
I only played the game for about a half hour, but it was enough for me to experience a few things.
First, the career mode is different than before. I’m not sure how to really describe it, but it seems like it’s easier to play in shorter sittings. Most of the sets I’ve had to play were just two songs each, which you can easily do for 15 minutes if that is all you have available.
The next change, which I really like, is that new costume and customizable options become available after achieving goals in game. There is no more money in game. This makes it much easier to gain new looks, in my opinion. You just need to unlock the gear, not see if you can play enough songs to make enough money to open something up.
The ability to instantly join a song or drop out is an amazing feature. I’ve had friends play Rock Band 2 that want to drop out mid song and, when they did, we’d all complain about having to restart the song. Now, that’s not a problem. And if someone does drop out, join in, or change any settings, the game will rewind the song a few seconds so that everyone can catch up.
The song list itself is pretty impressive. Even when doing random pop and 80′s songs, I’ve found ones that I know and can play. If you haven’t checked out the song list for Rock Band 3, yet, you should!
Lastly, there’s the new instrument type: the keyboard. A full 2-octave midi keyboard is provided with the game. You can choose to play either in the standard 5-color mode, or you can go into Pro mode and actually try to play the keys that are shown on the screen. Beware: This is harder than it looks if you can’t play the keys already! But it is also quite fun!
In short, Rock Band 3 looks like it’ll be a great successor to the already great Rock Band 2. I’m looking forward to playing the keys more, which will add a little change to the game. (Note: Only Rock Band 3 songs have the option for keys, so don’t expect to be able to play them in your already massive Rock Band song library.)
The only thing I have not tested is the new Pro guitar, as I did not purchase one. However, you can easily find reviews for that online.
Have you tried Rock Band 3 yet? What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
FaceTime Beta for Mac Now Available
0One of the things Steve Jobs just announced at the “Back to the Mac” event was the release of FaceTime Beta for Mac OSX. That’s right! You can now engage in FaceTime video chats with your friends that may have an iPod Touch or iPhone 4!
If you’re a Mac user running Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.4 or later, then go here and check it out: http://www.apple.com/mac/facetime/
How Do YOU Use Social Media?
2I’ve been thinking about social media and how it has expanded in recent years. In the days before Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter, social networks seemed to be much smaller groups of individuals. You would have your Livejournal, Xanga, or ezBoard (now Yuku) collectives, but none of them have the reach that social media seems to have today.
In today’s online world, with just under 10% of the world’s population on Facebook alone, social media is playing an important role in the modern world. Businesses are finding more and more use for social media networks to relay information and communicate with customers.
I’m curious how other individuals and businesses use social media. Please take the time to comment on this blog and answer the question: How do you use social media?
RBI Baseball
2So, I decided to go old-school today. It has been a while since I blogged, so here I will try and catch you up with the past. And by that, I mean going back to 1987. That’s when RBI Baseball was released for the NES.
I don’t know when I originally bought the game for my NES, but I still regard it as one of my favorites. It’s simple approach to baseball just makes it one of those games that I like playing for a few minutes if I need a break from something.
And so, as I take a break from work, I thought I would just put that little tidbit out there for everyone. Now, I’m off to play 5 minutes of baseball before getting back to work.
And don’t worry. I will talk all about the past few months soon.
The New Doctor Who: New Foreshadowing?
1Alert! This post will contain spoilers! Beware of what is below!
So, I know I have yet to talk about the new Doctor Who episodes, starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, but I thought I would already post some ideas about possible themes that I have caught in the first two episodes of season five (that is, “The Eleventh Hour” and “The Beast Below”).
- Zero – “The Eleventh Hour” dealt with an alien named ‘Prisoner Zero’. Obviously, the concept of zero was important in that episode. However, in “The Beast Below”, I heard zero mentioned at least once, making me wonder if this was an element worth keeping track of.
- Silence is Falling – The alien in “The Eleventh Hour” said that silence is falling. What does this mean? I’m not sure right now, but I think this may be something that comes up again, if not in the season finale, then during another episode in the season.
- A Crack in the Universe – This one is blatantly obvious in the new season so far. When we first meet Amelia Pond, she has a crack in her wall. We later see that crack on a monitor in the TARDIS before the Doctor and Amy disappear. We then see this crack on the side of the ship in “The Beast Below”. Clearly, this is some kind of obvious foreshadowing (or a red herring). In either case, it is blatant in these episodes.
As we see more of the new Doctor Who season airing, we’ll see what else comes along. If you have noticed some more trends, please post them below!
Twitter Approaching 10 Billion Tweets?! Amazing!
0It’s hard to believe that Twitter is already approaching the 10 billion tweet mark. It seems like not too long ago, we were faced with the Twitpocalypse. But, in under two days, Twitter will break past 10 billion tweets.
That comes out to lots and lots of messages that are being sent across Twitter! Want to get a visual on just how fast tweets are coming in? Check this link out! Hundreds of tweets are generated each second. That’s so hard to believe.
Of course, with all of this happening, I just have one thing to ask: If Apple can reward someone for buying their 10 billionth song, can Twitter give away a $10,000 gift card for sending the 10 billionth tweet? Just saying.
