| Apps: EasyWMV, Curio, Fracture
EasyWMV 1.3 ($15) converts or resizes WMV, ASF, AVI, MPEG, MOV, FLV, NSV, SWF and VOB files. Resulting videos are saved in the MPG or MP4 formats, and can be specifically tailored for iPod, iPod Touch and iPhone using H.264 encoding where possible. EasyWMV creates video compatibles with QuickTime, iPods, iPhone and Apple TV. Other features include iTunes integration, drag-and-drop, batch processing, and independent adjustment of audio and video quality. Version 1.3 adds support for iPod Touch and iPhone. The program is a Universal Binary for Mac OS X 10.3 or later. [Download - 4.3MB] Curio 4.2 ($100) note taking, mind mapping, brainstorming, and project management application for Mac OS X 10.4 and above. Curio 4.2 now includes an integrated audio/video recorder for easy meeting and class lecture recording, and for making quick annotations.
The scoop on ‘green’ computers
Dear EarthTalk: As an online gamer, I spend a lot of time in front of my computer. What's the environmental impact? And are "greener" PCs available? -- Bob Grant, Burlington, VTOnline gamers and other heavy computer users are definitely leaving an environmental mark. Depending on when it was made and how it was designed, a standard desktop PC can use anywhere from 60-300 watts when in use, while an inefficient gaming PC with powerful graphics card, multiple hard drives and optical drives, flash memory reader and a 30-inch LCD might consume as much as 750 watts, or about as much as a typical refrigerator. Until July of 2007, government Energy Star requirements only measured a computer's energy use while in standby mode, which allowed the majority of brands to carry the label. New stricter efficiency requirements have brought greener models.
More Obama substance!
But so far Obama isn't close to meeting the Joe Klein Piss-Someone-Off Test, despite the efforts of his press boosters to claim he has. Tom Maguire points to a comical attempt by the New York Times, where a mini-profile by Jefff Zeleny declared: He has demonstrated an occasional willingness to break from liberal orthodoxy, including his vote to confirm Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state, which at the time infuriated liberals (13 Democrats opposed her). Wow! As Maguire notes: "So Obama boldly stood with a mere 86 fellow Senators .... " P.S.: What's the word for trumped-up contrarianism? Sister Fauxjah? ... **--Thanks to commenter "Trevor" on bloggingheads for the link. 2:08 P.M. link Sunday, December 24, 2006 On to New Hampshire! The mighty Hillary juggernaut closes its vise-like grip on the post of Senate Majority Leader.
BEA’s stance on Oracle deal pummeled
The reaction to BEA's rejection of a $17 a share takeover offer from Oracle is brutal. Of course, billionaire Carl Icahn has issues. But analysts aren't too thrilled either. Either BEA knows something the rest of us don't or is delusional. A sampling of comments: Credit Suisse analyst Jason Maynard, in a research note titled 'Hope isn't a strategy,' wrote: BEA's shares could easily trade back to the $12-$14 level absent activist pressure and Oracle's bid. While BEA has reduced expenses, it still hasn't offered a sustainable strategy and demonstrated consistent execution to warrant a standalone share price above $17 let alone $21. We think the $17 per share proposal is more than reasonable, and certainly worth the time and effort of BEA's management team to begin earnest negotiations.
Turn bath time into spa experience
The citric acid in the lemons will help fight bacteria and balance oil production. And yes, they will make your bath be filled with a wonderful aroma as well as being therapeutic," she explains. Jacobs pours citrus massage oil straight into the bath to soften skin -- wearing her hair piled on top of her head -- and a mud mask on her face. The heat coming from the bath helps the mask get deeper into the skin, she says. Kinnaird, meanwhile, also multitasks in the bath, putting a deep conditioner on her hair, showering to rinse her hair after the soak. Jacobs also encourages a post-bath cool rinse because while it's good for skin to detox in warm water you will want to close the pores afterward and cool water will do that. And, she says, you must lather in moisturizer after you've gently toweled off.
The newsgathering potential of voice-to-text conversion service ...
A technology that first found the light of day as a neat device for converting voicemail to an email could improve searches for online video content and become an important tool for news providers, developers claim.
Voice-to-text service SpinVox converts speech to text using an automated speech recognition system.
Simon Crowfoot, the company's strategic business development director told Journalism.co.uk that voicemail was just one of a range of applications for the technology.
SpinVox, he said, could be used to make video and audio clips more easily searchable by detailing the words contained in the audio rather than relying on tags and titles assigned by publishers.
"Hypothetically you could go to YouTube and say, show me all the clips containing the word London, and it would bring up not just the clips that have London in the title or tags, but those where it's contained in the audio itself," explained Crowfoot.
VIDEO: We love our new Skulltrail
Intel loaned us the Skulltrail motherboard and two upcoming Core 2 Extreme processors, so we still have to procure the rest of the computer like a decent power supply, case, hard drives and graphics cards. Well have this baby up and running in a week and will start cranking Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere rendering jobs through the system. We might throw a synthetic benchmark in just for kicks, but the emphasis will be how will eight cores benefit the average video editor? Our Theo Valich couldnt contain himself and started caressing the board on the convention floor. The board also sat as an honored guest for our post-GDC Dennys dinner. Hopefully we can get the board through San Franciscos airport security. .
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