Tao’s Blog

Several days ago, I mentioned the use of sound editor Audacity in my blog. I also read about another Mac OS sound editor called Amadeus from a Tidbits article. I have not yet tried this editor, but it’s good to know such an option.

iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It

Came across this Palm GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition Review by Kris Keilhack. An interesting read.

Also, a TomTom Navigator 6 Updated Maps Review by the same author.

Currently, I am using a Mio 168 RS Windows Mobile GPS unit. It’s a nice gadget, I like it very much. It is my first Windows Mobile handheld, but I am still a Palm OS fan. Just like I use and service Windows all the time, but remain a Mac fan. I just enjoy play with all sorts of gadgets. However, regarding purchasing of them, I am a pragmatist.

Recently I decided to digitize all my audio cassette collection into MP3. However, I am a sort of audio newbie, knowing little about the art of audio engineering. Internet is my best friends, and here I discovered a nice tutorial on this topic:

Alpha Geek: How to digitize cassette tapes from Lifehacker.com.

A very important tool of the process is an audio editing software called Audacity, which can be downloaded from Sourceforge. It even has a Wiki page.

Also, here is a tutorial on how to reduce noise with Audacity, Cleaning Up Audio Files with Audacity By Scott Nesbitt.

All I need is a lazy Sunday afternoon, maybe a couple of them, to resurrect my old tunes.

Read Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun’s Foreign Policy article, The Merchant of Death. Quite a story.

Someone wrote this piece on how to calibrate the battery of PowerBook.

Actually, I am not quite care much about the battery life of my PowerBook, because I usually don’t travel that much to areas without a power plug. However, it is good to know how to Getting The Most Out Of Your Laptop Battery.

Note:

For some reason, those links in this blog entry no longer worked. For more authoritative information about Apple batteries, see Apple’s Battery Page.

Somehow, suddenly I remember this wonderful British comedy, Yes, Minister, for no good reason. I remember I watched this TV series when I was in high school in Wuhan, China. Of course, that’s a dubbed version, I am sure a lot of subtleties are lost in translation.

I suddenly have the urge to get those complete episode and watch them in its entirety in English. It seems British shows have a totally different sensibility than their American counterparts.

Just added Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them to my reading list. I think it’s growing a little bigger longer than I preferred. Only if I can find enough time to clear the list!

When I was in high school in the Chinese city of Wuhan, I read a book of biographies of mathematicians. I still remember the chapters on Tartaglia, Bernhard Riemann, of course, Gauss, and Euler.

However, the mysterious non-existent Bourbaki is most intriguing. He’s the avatar of a group of French mathematicians devoted to revitalize mathematics in the early 20th century. Amir D. Aczel’s book The Artist and the Mathematician: The Story of Nicolas Bourbaki, the Genius Mathematician Who Never Existed gave us quite a good history on this non-existent mathematician.

Parents’ Guide to Camcorders and Videography.

Camcorderinfo.com Column. Edit to the Maxx A nice tutorial on Avid Free DV editor.

PapaJohn’s Newsletter Archive, some nice Windows Movie Maker Tutorial.

How Video Editing Works

Non-linear editing system from Wikipedia

Digital Video Editing Techniques from digitalmedianet.com.

Final Cut Pro 5 Essential Effects by Larry Jordan