software update

GIMPshop
want to try photoshop? don't want to pay $300 to learn that you suck at it? go and give GIMPshop a try.
GIMPshop which is a fork of the GIMP and that has a G.U.I. made to look like photoshop. it is open source, (i.e. free) and it runs on windows, osx, and Linux.

Vienna...
...is a open source rss/atom feed reader for osx, which is one of the best rss readers i have used on osx, it has an integrated tabbed web browser, can filter downloaded posts, and a lot more then im giveing credit for. but is (at least for now) osx only.

Better Browsing Part 1 "OpenDns"

dns in a nutshell is how you computer knows how to find a web site.

example: you want to go to "www.Google.com" but theres not a server named "Google" instead its "name" is a number called an ip address. your computer asks your isp's dns server for the ip address, the your computer (using it newly found ip address) connects to googles server. then loads the web page. (there is a bit more to it, but thats the basics.)

the problem is that most isp's dns servers are underpowered for the number of users they have
so you get (among others) timeout errors, the answer to this? OpenDns its (in most cases) faster, It blocks Phishing sites (as does Firefox), its easy to set up and its free.


how to set up OpenDns on:
Windows
Mac osx
Linux
or on you home network

This Weeks Project "howto rip cd's to you're computer the right way"

note: you will need iTunes 7.0 it you if do not have it already

This ones fairly easy but time consuming if you have a lot (30+) cds, thats why this is a week project.

step one: setting your settings.
open the settings page (on mac os x: iTunes>settings on windows: Tools>settings (i think)
you will want to set iTunes to to rip your cd's as mp3's, because almost (if not) all daps and phones play mp3's, plus there are a lot of software mp3 players on most operating systems.

set the quality to high, (160 kbps). because the more kilobytes per second you use the better the mp3 will sound.

click "get cd names from the internet" "use cd error correction" and "crate track names with nu mber", and then click ok.


step 2: riping you cd's
with iTunes open insert you're cd and wait for iTunes to get the track names. (if iTunes dosent do this for you then click "advanced>get track names) then click "import"

step 3: adding art work



Go To albumart.org and type in the name for the album you are looking for (in my case it was Relient K's opes Mmhmm) hit search and wait for the art to load, after you find it left click the picture and click on view image.

select EVERY song in the album (osx: cmd (apple logo) click, windows: control click) and right click the songs and click "get info" (This may be different on windows i'm not sure) then drag the art work from Firefox (or whatever you are using) to the settings window, click ok and your done.

quick note: yes i know iTunes 7 will get art for you but it will require you to sign up for the iTunes store, and will NOT embed the art into the id3 tag. (part of a mp3 that stores the track name, singer etc. etc.) so if you want to change media players (windows media, xmms, whatever) or if you get a mp3 player thats not an iPOD your art wont go with you.

helpful but not "necessary" step: making a "needs art playlist"
when you add the art work set the "user rating" to 5, then click on file>new smart playlist.
and set the rule to "user rating is more then" and click 0 and hit okay, name the playlist "needs art" and your done.

This week in software

all the things (maybe) will need for this weeks posts.

Firefox 2.0 [web browser]
Even if you have Firefox 1.0 or 1.5 (or not at all) you will need to upgrade to 2.0.
this will be for the weeks how-to "securing your internet".

and

iTunes 7.0 [media player](again if you have iTunes 5 or 6 you will need to upgrade)
this will be for this weeks project "riping your cds to you computer the right way".

you may or may not have them on your computer and you can use other programs, but the projects and how-to's will use these programs.
both are free and on osx and windows.

Things To Come

welcome to the first week of TECHblog! I'm still trying to figure out how every thing will work out as far as posting is concerned, however heres what to expect for this week.

• Mondays

week projects

• Tuesdays

how-to's

• Wednesdays

software
week projects help +(if needed)part 2

• Thursdays

consumer electronics

• Fridays

week projects end
video games, movies, TV, and all things fun and pointless

there will be news, web sites and other tid-bits every day. plus the day main posts. weekends will have the "Things To Come" post and the "this week in software" post for the the next week.

Intro

intro

name: TECHblog, (or how to pose as a computer nerd.)

and yes i know that there are a lot of blogs
with the name "tech blog" but i didn't know it 'tel after i set up the blog and email.

mission: to bring technology to the non-computer geeks.

why im doing this (you can skip all of this if you want): there are a lot of non-geeks, and a lot of different aspects of computers/tech/whatever that can be confusing. and there are a lot of company's (both good and bad) that want your (and my) money.
and thats where i come in, i love to teach people how to use there computer best, i have no agenda, i don't work for a computer company. (yet) i just want to teach people how to use there computer.

what to expect: there will be a schedule, but as of yet i dont know what it will be. and for the few days i will be adding content, and on Monday(ish) will be moving to said schedule.

how to get a hold of me: email tips.techblog@gmail.com

since of humer : dry