I found this site today while trying to see if a fax machine was working correctly. It is always tough testing a fax because you have to have a friend who is home, with a fax, and willing to help. Thanks to a commenter, you can try this test fax service from HP as well.
This site lets you enter a fax number and, in a few minutes, you will receive a test fax.
Cutting edge technology is great. I love to see the newest trends in technology.
Cutting edge is one thing, bleeding edge is a totally different story. Bleeding edge is a term used for techno test pilots, those who adopt a new technology before it is ever around long enough to be considered a new trend or standard.
For example, cutting edge people are just now adopting HD TVs, hybrid cars and websites like YouTube. Bleeding edge people are buying BluRay DVD players, computers with two dual core processors and buy their groceries on the Internet.
Some technology that I consider bleeding edge has been around for a long time.
I've been using Windows Vista for a couple of weeks now and although I have found some redeeming qualities about the upgrade, I'm still not sold on it by a long shot. One confusing issue for me is the massive amount of computing power that will be required to run the software. And that's not just me and thousands of others saying that, Microsoft will tell you straight up how crappy your computer is with their "Windows Experience Index" score. The score breaks down how your processor, memory, graphics card, and hard drive all handle the massive Vista system by assigning each a score.
This article is a repeat from the newsletter last week, but I thought I would post it all by itself for two reasons. First, I have had a lot of comments on it this week. Second, all these tech names will create more yahoo search terms and we will make a few cents from it. Here it goes…
I bought a new computer last week. The new system is dual core, 1 GB of RAM, 200 GB hard drive and DVD burner and card reader.
I remember the first two or three computers I purchased. I remember how exciting it was to
This tip isn't for every situation, but it helps when you are short on time or to recover from a small crash (yes there is a such thing).
Rather than completely reboot your computer, instead go to Start -> Turn Off Computer. Instead of Turn Off or Restart, choose Log Off. This will close all of your running programs and stop anything attached to your account.
To get back in, just click on the user name and Windows will take you right back in.
This process is great for recovering from lockups. I don't recommend it to replace a standard reboot after you have installed a piece of software in hardware. Those types of restarts need to completely shutdown Windows so that changes can be made to the registry.
This afternoon I started downloading the beta version of Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista. I pay for a 1.5mb DSL connection. At that speed, the download is estimated to take about 7 or so hours. Cable users with a 6mb connection would be able to download it in about 2 hours. Dial up users aren't even allowed to try…it would take almost six days on a dial-up connection. I could have ordered the DVD installation disk, but why wait three weeks when I can get it today.
We have bashed the upcoming upgrade to Windows repeatedly here at the site and on the show. I plan on putting the OS (operating system) to the test by installing it on an older computer that I have. For those of you in Grand Junction who attend our monthly User Group, I hope to have the new computer system up and running by the October meeting to demonstrate for the group.
I missed a Shotgun article or two this week, but this should make up for it. Here is a great little demo video showing some of the powers of one build of Linux. I don't know much about it, but the video speaks for itself.
Tune in for our Interview in the third hour of our show with Kevin April, CTO/Co-founder of SpyMac.com – the world's largest Mac cult!
Before I moved here to Colorado in 1995, I visited a large circus tent in a Seattle suburb parking lot. The tent said, "Start" in large letters at the entrance. Once inside, I was greeted by extremely cheerful, almost giddy, representatives from Microsoft. I estimated about 30-35 computers were setup with twice that many Microsoft reps showing curious visitors to the tent what Windows 95 was and how it would change the world of computing. One enthusiastic rep gleefully showed me some shortcuts with the Windows key that did impress me and stuck with me from that day until I purchased my first Windows 95 machine nearly a year later.
One of my customer's today was using an older Windows 98 machine to try and transfer LP's to her computer so she could then burn CD's. I will have some links at the end of this article for products that help perform this feat, but first I want to put into perspective the time involved:
Taking these four factors into consideration, if you have a four minute song, it will take about 16-20 minutes to complete the process. Multiply this by the number of songs you have and the time investment is HUGE. Yes it is possible, but don't be surprised at the time involved. Factors that will decrease (or increase) this time include:
All that being said, here are some products to consider when deciding to transfer your old 8-tracks, LP's, and cassettes to CD: