Global Update

I should have known better than to plan a podcast on the 4th of July weekend. Expect to see one rolled out next weekend or Monday. Thanks for listening!

WAV is a very advantageous audio format that is created by Microsoft. Now, WAV is a standard format in a computer environment. It is known to be used in games, system applications, sound on CDs, etc. The WAV format can be played virtually by all Windows applications which can support sound. Audio files that are saved in WAV format are distinguished by a perfect sound. Unfortunately, a very important drawback is the size of these files. Usual WAV files weigh five times more than MP3 files. That is why MP3 format has become one of the most well-spread file formats, in spite of the fact that it provides a slightly worse sound quality. You have more disk space saved but get a slightly worse sound quality. It is really worth to convert wav to mp3

. One of the reasons is the possibility to burn the whole album instead of only one song!
On the other hand, in case you have to create an audio compact disc, you will need to convert MP3 to WAV. Usual CD burning software cannot always manage to perform this procedure, but a truly good wav converter
wav converter can cope with any challenge easily.
Additionally, you have to deal with wav files if you want to edit audio files, extract their fragments, or change certain sound effects. It is very simple to convert WAV to MP3 or MP3 to WAV, of course if you use a reliable wav audio converter . The best programs of a kind make it possible for you to convert MP3 to WAV, change stereo or mono channels, flow and frequency. Additionally, there is a feature of the simultaneous files conversion available. It makes no difference how many files you are going to convert, the process will be simple.
After completion of converting, the files of the selected type can be played. The application can automatically shut down your PC. You can even leave your computer, leaving the program running!
Besides, the converter can be run from the command line. It allows working with many files simultaneously and enables you to use utilities of other applications.
When purchasing a high-quality converter, you get not only one converter. The point is the software converts such formats as MPP, MP, OGG, APE, CDA, MPP, FLAC, WMA, RA, etc.
The converter is very handy and comfortable to work with. And it doesn’t cost a lot! The software application has few different settings and asks only several additional questions. Once install the software application on your PC, you will see the most convenient popup menu. All you have to do is open the files you are going to convert to the main window, and click the button. As a result, you will enjoy your music within the shortest time! Moreover, you can play it on the embedded player.
For converting the file, just right-click on it. You’ll see “Convert” in the popup menu. In such a way, you do not even have to run a program for converting audio files to WAV!
You do not even have to run a converter for rendering of the audio files to WAV format!
Built-in CD ripper makes it possible for you to rip your compact discs and convert CDA tracks to WAV ones. Get the best WAV Converter right now! Why miss your chance?

Nokia have unveiled their latest touchscreen music phone, the 5530 XpressMusic, aimed at being a strong mass market phone on par with the Finnish Manufacturer’s best selling 5800 that was released in early 2009. Touchscreen enthusiasts will no doubt be wondering what the differences are between the 5530 and its bigger brother.

The 5530 XpressMusic boasts an almost identical display to its predecessor with a TFT touchscreen interface offering 16 million colour variations, 640 x 360 pixel’s and a downsized 2.9 inch screen size compared to the 5800’s 3.2. 5530’s design is also considered trendier with slimmer dimensions and newer stainless steel material, presented in a glossy finish and silver curves similar to that of the LG Arena.

The 5530 runs off the same Symbian OS as the 5800, the S60 5th addition, providing compatibility with all of the 5800’s apps already available through the popular Ovi store. One notable new addition is a scrolling contacts bar on the home screen which lets users add up to 20 of their favourite contacts. There is also added support for accessing social networking sites.

Memory stands at 4GB rather that 8GB of the 5800, but this is reflected in the fact that the 5530 is comparatively cheaper than the 5800 whilst still boasting the same design and touchscreen interface, and in line with such rival phones as the LG Cookie in terms of price.

So far, one might think that the 5530 is holding its head high against the 5800, but it is in the phone’s connectivity where the 5530 falls short. Whilst still compatible with GPRS, EDGE Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the 5530 XpressMusic does not support 3G or GPS capability for faster web browsing and utilizing location software.

Overall the 5530 XpressMusic is more compact and sleeker than its predecessor but will still be described by most as a sort of 5800 Lite, a cheap successor touchscreen media phone that still offers the same features that made its older brother such a huge success.

Episode #57 was hosted by:

Katie Floyd - The MacCore
David Sparks - Mac Sparky
Steve Stanger - The Mac Attack
Tim Verpoorten - Mac Reviewcast

Topics for this episode:

Are iLife and iWork worthwhile upgrades? Our experiences so far with the new software.

Trojan found on bittorrent downloads of iWork ‘09.

Seagate drive issues.

iTunes Plus - Upgrading iTunes purchased songs to DRM-free, higher bitrate music. Are we going to do it?

The Mac turns 25 and we remember our first Macs.

Our favorite iPhone / iPod Touch time wasters:
(These links will take you to the iTunes App Store)

LED football
Topple
Vector Blaster
Tap Defense
Virtual Zippo
Lightsaber

Episode #58 was hosted by:
Katie Floyd - The MacCore Twitter
Bart Busschots: International Mac Podcast Twitter
Don McAllister: ScreenCastsOnline Twitter
Victor Cajiao - TypicalMacUser typicalshutterbug.com
Allison Sheridan NosillaCast at podfeet.com Twitter

iMac vs. Mac Pro
is the Mac Pro worth $1000US more than the iMac? and with the iMac you get a 24″ monitor too!

MobileMe replacements
iDisk - implemented large file sharing option just now apple.com/mobileme, can password protect and set expiration date
Dropbox for 2GB is free from getdropbox.com, back up REAL folders, not one blob like iDisk or 50GB for $99, must be careful in transferring packages in Dropbox
Google sync - can sync Google contacts and addresses to your iPhone - erases your data but it’s beta!
Foxmarks to sync bookmarks across Windows/Mac and Firefox/IE/Safari - foxmarks.com

Microsoft Stores - why?
Can they help build brand loyalty by working with customers?
Could they educate more? teach tools? one on one services?
Maybe they could show off hardware - like the Zune and XBox 360?
Macworld mocks the Microsoft Stores macworld.com
Sony mocked by the Onion theonion.com

IBM on Apple security
macnn.com
IBM did the story, and they have a horse in the race
the article talks about percentage of vulnerabilities fixed, not about the severity or how many.
Premise is true however, that Apple has a poor record of patching!

New toys
Katie - Dictate from Mac Speech
Victor - Cylon Detector battlestarextras.com
Bart - DOF master dofmaster.com
Don - NSConference in the UK (AKA Mac Dev Conference) nsconference.com
Don - TweetDeck new version tweetdeck.com
Allison - People who create scripts for me - Connor wrote script to turn off Time Servers to fix Skype dropouts, and Will wrote a script to set up Garageband automatically turning off stupid settings