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Hi Everyone:

I am beginning the process of creating a basic digital music server (upgrades to come later). I plan to use a windows based laptop running Windows xp (later upgrade to Vista Ultimate) from a Sony Vaio to the new Cambridge DacMagic , with a two terabyte Maxtor Turbo III as storage (right now I am not concerned with having a wireless application). I have already ripped most of my CD collection to various Western Digital HD’s and plan to copy all content to the Maxtor. I used a Soundblaster Audigy2 ZS to do the original ripping. I have since joined this site and read some comments that suggest that this soundcard may not deliver the goods in terms of “bit perfect” copies of CD’s. My question is how do you determine if you have a bit perfect copy or if your copy has some how been upsampled to 48KHZ? When I go to properties and look at a file it shows 1411 bits which I thought corresponds to the 44KHZ normal CD standard.

Next, I see a lot of references to the much dreaded “kernel mixer.” My question with respect to this is does the kernel mixer have a deleterious effect with regard to the initial ripping or is the damage done during the playback, or both? How do you disable the kernel mixer? If It would be best to re-rip these files to get the highest quality sound possible given my initial set up, what ripper do you recommend? Although, I dont relish re-ripping the hugh number of files I would need to do over, I am dedicated enough to the best sound quality to do so if necessary. Certainly I would compare the current version of my files to files ripped pursuant to various recommendations prior to making a decision to actually take that arduous path.

I would also like recommendations on what kind of graphical interface to use in terms of storing and manipulating my music files.

I know I have probably not covered some topics because I don’t (at this point) know enough about the subject, so all pointers, helpful hints, and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks for your time and help,

Larry

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Early last night, with a full moon beaming out there, it looked like the stars were lining up nicely. I’m going to be in Boston next week for Avaya’s global analyst conference, which is the news item in this post.

I last attended their global analyst event in 2006, but a lot has changed since then. Am not sure why I didn’t go last year, but I did attend their Canadian Analyst Day last December here in Toronto.

I’m really looking forward to attending, with two reasons standing out in particular. First, they’re a private company now, so these events become more important for staying informed and getting insights as to how they’re doing as well as their strategic roadmap.

Second is seeing Charlie Giancarlo at the helm - which a year ago would seem about as improbable as seeing Carl Ford moderating at the IT Expo last month. That sure will be interesting - so will the flip side of things, when I attend Cisco C-Scape in December. Oh, and speaking of improbabilities…

Back to the stars lining up. Going into last night’s game, there was reason to believe for the Red Sox. Wakefield would stymie the Rays, the bats would come alive, and they’d put the 9-1 embarrassment behind them. Clean slate - series tied 2-2, good momentum going into Game 5, and a chance to regain control over those “pesky Rays”. Quick aside - I promise never to use that term any more. Johnny Pesky’s number was just retired, but more troubling is the fact that it simply isnt’ true any more. Ugh.

Well, that train of thought got derailed about 10 minutes into the game, and the beating was even worse than Game 3. Boy, do the Rays ever look good - just pick any “team of destiny” moniker from any major sport, and they fit the bill. Pretty hard to see them not going all the way. I love what the Phillies are doing, but how can they possibly match the Rays? They have dominated the Red Sox in every facet of the game, and they sure have youth on their side. In contrast, the Sox sure look tired and broken down. And awfully white. In this day and age, they really look like a throwback to the fifties, when there was hardly any racial diversity in the game. They sure could use a Carl Crawford or B.J. Upton. These guys are g-o-o-d.

I digress. Sure, they could eke out a 2-1 pitcher’s duel with Dice-K tomorrow, and go to the Trop with a faint ray of hope. Sure, pull out another miracle like last year with Cleveland or the Yankees in 2004. Not gonna happen - even if Lester and Beckett pitch well. Last year they were clearly the best team in baseball from Day 1. They had home advantage and could win on the road. Gee, that sure sounds like the 2008 Rays to me.

This time the opposite is true. No way they can win 2 big ones on the road against the best team in baseball. Last year they had Manny and Lowell leading the offence. I don’t care how good Bay is - he’s not Manny. Unless Ortiz, Ellsbury, Drew, Kotsay and Lowrie wake up and take the weight off Youklis and Pedroia, it’s over in 5, and Dice-K’s luck will run out big time. Of course, you can still believe in miracles, but I think we’re seeing a changing of the guard here.

So, had the stars lined up as I was hoping, the Avaya conference would have coincided with the beginning of the World Series. And should the Sox advance, they would open at home thanks to another AL All Star win this summer. Last year I was in Boston when they won the World Series, which was just great. This time around, it sure looks like I’m just going to be attending a conference, and casually watching the Patriots struggle to generate some offence against Denver Monday night. Oh, what could have been…

And just to tie this post up nicely, there are some notable parallels to Avaya and the Red Sox. Though not by design, Avaya’s corporate color is a bold red, just like the Sox. They’re also a long time team sponsor, and believe it or not, Avaya provides the telephony infrastructure to the Red Sox organization. Bet you didn’t think there was a VoIP angle to this story, huh? How’s that for convergence? There, I’ve covered all the bases now, and it’s time to get my mind off of baseball…

Technorati tags: Avaya, Boston Red Sox, Jon Arnold

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Been trying to get this out all day - just one thing after another.

This post is more of a public service announcement instead of the usual trail-blazing thought leadership you find here - but still of interest, at least to Canadians!

So, we finally have DNCL - our Do Not Call List - to keep those pesky telemarketers away. This just came out about two weeks ago, but it really only popped into my mind yesterday.

It’s funny how I spend most of my time with emerging technologies and following trends that may disrupt the world of telecom as we know it - but something as pedestrian as DNCL in my own backyard completely eludes me. Why is that???

I’ve seen this mentioned here and there in the news and the blogs, but never gave it a thought for what it means to me as a consumer. Yesterday, though, I happened to catch a tiny item in the paper about it, explaining DNCL and how to register. Duh - well, OF COURSE I SHOULD DO THIS. It may get lonely working from home, but it’s not so bad that I look forward to hearing about the latest time-shares or home security deals or adult dating services, etc.

So, it took all of about 2 minutes to visit the National DNCL website and register our number. Done. Seems like a good use of taxpayer dollars to me.

They say it will take about a month for this notice to take effect, so I’m hoping these calls will tail off by then. Working from home, I have to tell you, we get about 3-4 of these every day. For those of you working in offices, you have no idea what you’re missing, and what goes on during this quiet time at home. Thanks to the magic of call display, any time I see a toll free number calling, you just know it’s from one of those people. I always let it ring through to VM - I wonder why they NEVER leave a message??? Hmm.

However - and here’s the rub - the DNCL only protects us from Canadian telemarketers. No surprise there. Did you know — that a lot of these stupid calls come from the US? You know, those area codes from places you barely recognize, like Colorado, Idaho or South Carolina. Nobody I know is calling our house from these places - ever - and the DNCL isn’t going to catch them. Not much you can really do there, but DNCL is definitely a step in the right direction.

So, for those of you who didn’t know - and need to know - now you know - and I’d encourage you to sign on ASAP. Happy Thanksgiving!

Technorati tags: National DNCL, Jon Arnold, telemarketers

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Hello all. I have rarely posted but always enjoy reading the latest info from Chris.

Having had a variety of Macs over the past 12 years I feel I really ought to know the answer already but I figured it is best to ask the real experts here…

I am currently piping my music collection into two rooms.

Setup: iTunes on the home office iMac, music library on an external Iomega USB2 HDD, fed into the lounge and bedroom via Airport Express (AE) and HomePlug ethernet. When I want music in the lounge I can wirelessly access and control iTunes via my Macbook or more often than not, I simply select a playlist on the iMac, select remote speakers and let the music play with no control. Similarly when we play music at bedtime I don’t want to be sat with a laptop so again it is a playlist piped via AE into the digital input of an Onkyo receiver. The Onkyo has a sleep timer so we can have it switch off after 10 - 90 minutes. The iMac switches off but the HDD keeps spinning all night.

I was planning on purchasing the new LaCie Network Space 1TB NAS and ideally I wanted to put iTunes on it and control it on an iPod Touch wirelessly. In other words, can I get away with having no computer switched on??? or do I have to buy maybe a headless Mac Mini ? I only ever play the music in one room at a time.

http://www.lacie.com/UK/products/product.htm?pid=11090

Thanks for any input.

Ian

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I’m quite offended by this new Sprite ad. A lot of ads seem to be offending me these days. No, it isn’t because ads have suddenly become offensive, it’s because I’m watching more TV, and being increasingly appalled by what popular culture is shoving down our gullets.

To come back to the baki-sab-bakwaas drink, the ad features a guy telling his lady love that he must leave. When she asks Juliet-like why he has to go so early, he replies,

I’ve a date with my other girlfriend.

*Giggle giggle at boyfriend’s mischieviousness*

Cut to boyfriend sliding into seat facing girlfriend no.2 who inquires pettishly, why he’s late. And he drawls,

Had a date with my other girlfriend.

*Giggle giggle at boyfriend’s mischieviousness*

Underline the “At least I’m honest!!” line along with the standard all-else-is-crap funda. Ting tong.

Tell me again why it’s cool to be a cad? Of course I’m peeved by the sexism in that played up by popular culture. Anybody remember an Indipop song a few years ago featuring Lara Dutta double-dating two guys? The song was quite tellingly titled,

Tu chaalu hai re…

Then let me tell you what pisses you off the most. Having to have the following conversation with a close girlfriend:

She: Why on earth do we fall for men like this??
Me: Simple. Lousy taste.

It’s not a crime to be a cad, but it should be. Just recently I was called on to testify in one such case (if we may look at things in that light). It’s hard to tell whether my testimony would have swayed the verdict but the evidence certainly was damning. And yet, the culprit walked off scot-free. Damn him, damn his ilk. Don’t bother telling me that men aren’t all the same, please. One rotten creep is enough to ruin the entire barrel of trust. So, how you ask, did I speak? I didn’t. Like I said, I doubt my testimony would have changed much.

Lousy taste is something we’re all guilty of and I suppose we should be in handcuffs for it, in the same moment that the cads hang.

listen to country music : 2008 : June