Monthly Archives: July 2010

Must Have Political And News Android Applications

Posted by Steven Swafford on July 21, 2010

If you’re looking for that app that keeps you connected to the daily news and events that occur in real time then the following applications you may find very beneficial. This is a list of apps that I personally use on a daily basis however, there are one or two that I uninstalled for reasons that I will not go into at this time. The Android phones, which are growing in market share and supported apps, can be host to several politically-driven mobile apps which can help you stay on top of the news and know exactly what is happening around you at all times. If you missed my previous post titled Ten Must Have Android Applications be sure to visit it for other applications that you may find useful.

Congress

Congress is an open-source community of developers and designers aimed at opening up government to make it more transparent, which is aimed at getting Android users more involved in government. This app empowers you in a way that you feel like you are connected to your local congresswomen and congressmen by finding out where they are and also being able to contact them.  You can also see what they are tweeting. Great way to keep tabs on the elected officials.

Visible Vote

Your Vote Now Counts Past Election Day! Visible Vote is a free application created to empower Facebook, iPhone, Blackberry, Google Android and Windows users to advise congress on how to vote on the major upcoming legislation, follow current events, understand their legislators voting records, and compare the records with their own personal belief systems. After you advise congress on how to vote on your behalf the application will cross compare your vote to your representative after they vote and provide you feedback on their performance. Every week the application compiles the users voting record and sends this information to the appropriate legislator clearly indicating whether or not their constituents support or oppose their views on particular issues.

Fox News

Fox News already available on most mobile phones — launched its Android application Wednesday allowing smart phone owners to access the latest headlines with the touch of a button. And it’s completely free. The app features Fox News alerts with breaking developments on the day’s most important stories, news from the U.S. and around the world, Fox News talk radio, photos and video. A shows section features highlights from Fox programs.

New York Times

The New York Times is one of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands in news. The application has a simple interface that’s clean, well organized and simple to use. It has a gray, black, and white color scheme to deliver news from the Times which also includes photos, video, sharing tools, font size adjustment, and the ability to cache articles for offline reading.  If The Times is one of the news sources you read then you will not want to miss this app.

Huffington Post

Take the Huffington Post with you via your Android Phone, and get the latest news and opinion wherever you are. The Huffington Post Android app is absolutely free and it can be downloaded from the Android Market and installed on your Android device. The Huffington Post App syncs via WiFi or cellular network and downloads the latest news and blog posts directly to your mobile device. It is well designed to take advantage of the advanced capabilities and rich user interface of the Android.  The app allows yo the ability to read any of the content that you would be able to find on the actual Huffington Post website all from you device.

CNN

CNN Mobile has  major categories to include Headlines, My CNN, Video, and iReport, with headlines being the default. Under the headline section there are number of sub sections, Top Stories, World, U.S. Politics, Justice, Entertainment, Health, Tech, Travel, and Living. Top Stories is the default for headlines, of course. It is organized by a featured story which shows a larger picture. Once you choose a story you see the full image and a few main talking points concerning the news article. If you’re an die hard CNN reader then this app is for you.

How To Use Your Wii As A Media Center

Posted by Steven Swafford on July 17, 2010

Many people are turning to streaming media and sharing photos over the internet and if you own a Nintendo Wii or a XBox 360 with very little effort you can be streaming your media both within your home and anywhere else that you have access to the internet.

Amazon Image To get started go to Orb and download the client software. Installation is straight forward and during the installation process you will be prompted to create your account. Once the software has been installed on your computer, you can access Orb’s configuration via the system tray. From here you  can make all the necessary changes to best suit your needs. Now fire up your Wii, and go to the Internet Channel. Browse to MyCast and login. You will see your personal MyCast page where you can select from photos, audio, or video. Select the category and then choose the desired file. The image, song, or video will then start playing. If you encounter any problems on your Wii make sure you’ve either installed or updated the Opera-based Wii browser so you’ve got the latest available web browser on your Wii. So unless you’ve got the latest Opera browser on your Wii, head to the Wii Shop channel, find, and download the browser.

You can also access your MyCast page from other computers, and your smartphone. The Orb Live app is available in the iTunes App Store or the Android App Market for $9.99. The iPhone and iPad apps are optimized for those devices, and the Android app is designed specifically for Android smartphones. Both give you a more intuitive browsing experience while you search the shared folders and media on your home computer. Alternatively, you can use the browser login and view your media over the Web from almost any Web-enabled device. While I cannot speak to the experience on an iPhone, I can say that on my Android device works well over Wi-Fi.

Another option is PlayOn and in the event you missed my article titled Fire You Cable Provider And Save Your Money With PlayOn then you may want to give it a read as well.

The iPhone Antenna Song

Posted by Steven Swafford on July 16, 2010

Jonathan Mann posts a song here every single day. It’s a mixture of folk, happy pop, dirty rock and other stuff. Take a moment to listen to a couple of his videos and I am sure you will find his work extremely entertaining. What is interesting is that the recent Apple press conference today Johnathan’s video was played. Nice to see Apple has a sense of humor.

Song A Day #561: The iPhone Antenna Song

So what do you think?

Free Video Rippers, Converters, and Encoders

Posted by Steven Swafford on July 15, 2010

Transcoding is the direct digital-to-digital conversion of one encoding to another. This is usually done to incompatible or obsolete data in order to convert it into a more suitable format. To maintain your favorite clips how you want them no matter it that means the DVR, iPod, PSP or even a laptop or desktop you will need the best utility to convert this media into the format that works given your environment. While the are many commercial video software solutions and they come at a cost that may not fit your budget, have you considered free and open source solutions? Put DVDs on your iPod, YouTube videos on DVD, or convert any video file with a number of video rippers, encoders and converters.

Free Video Converter: Any Video Converter

Free Video Converter: Any Video Converter

Any Video Converter Freeware – the Free Video Converter – is the most renowned free video converter for converting video files between various formats, with fast converting speed and excellent video quality. This powerful free video converter application makes video conversion quick and easy.

This FREE video converter software can clip any segments and optionally merge and sort them to make a creative movie. And even more, Any Video Converter Freeware can crop frame size to remove any unwanted area in the frame just like a pair of smart scissors.

HandBrake

Handbrake

 

HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.

Supported Sources:

  • Any DVD-like source: VIDEO_TS folder, DVD image or real DVD (unencrypted–protection methods including CSS are not supported internally and must be handled externally with third-party software and libraries), and some .VOB and .TS files
  • Most any multimedia file it can get libavformat to read and libavcodec to decode.

Outputs:

  • File format: MP4 and MKV
  • Video: MPEG-4, H.264, or Theora
  • Audio: AAC, CoreAudio AAC (OS X Only), MP3, or Vorbis. AC-3 pass-through, DTS pass-thorugh (MKV only)

VLC Media Player

VLC

The media player that fills all your needs. It can handle DVDs, (S)VCDs, Audio CDs, web streams, TV cards and much more. You don’t need to keep track of a dozen codec packs you need to have installed. VLC has all codecs built-in. It comes with support for nearly all codec there is. And what is more it can even play back the file or media if it is damaged! Missing or broken pieces are no stop to VLC, it plays all the video and audio information that’s still intact.

Product Review: Sony Noise-Canceling Headphones

Posted by Steven Swafford on July 12, 2010

Recently I found myself tired of my ear-buds that I have been using for both my Zune and Android devices when it comes to listening to my media and I was in the market for headphones that performed well while at the same time was not going to cost me a fortune. The ear-buds worked fine but the quality simply was not there and I had grown tired of hearing every noise that was occurring around me and a good set of headphones would achieve both of these goals.

Features

  • Top-of-the-head design for a secure fit and foam ear cushions for comfort
  • 38mm drivers for deep bass; neodymium magnet
  • 87.4% noise reduction
  • Foldable and swivel design for convenient portability
  • Included in-flight adapter makes air travel more enjoyable
  • Frequency response: 30Hz – 20kHz
  • Sensitivity: 102dB/mW
  • Impedance: 40 ohms at 1 kHz
  • Includes carry pouch, in-flight plug adapter, manganese AAA battery and extension cord

Review

I want to be up front and let you know that I am not a fanatic when it comes to my music as some people are that I know. With that said the price for these headphones was just right which at the time I bought them the cost was just shy of $30.00. Along with the headphones came a felt case that comes in very handy during transport. Another great feature is that these headphones fold up nicely both for storage and transport without the fear of breaking them.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary

I was really surprised how comfortable these are and the sound quality is a lot better than I expected them to be. If you are looking for a boost in the volume and base then it is worth stating there is a power button on one of the ear pieces that provides this boost in volume should you need it. Now as far as the noise-canceling is concerned these do not work as well as some of the more expensive headphones and rightfully so. I love the fact that I can wear them at the workplace and drown out the conversations and other noises. Also be careful if you’re looking to purchase at Best Buy or other brick and mortar locations and you may find yourself paying $10.00 to $20.00 more than if you purchase them from Amazon.

Vendor Details

Name: Sony
MSRP: $49.99, purchase at Amazon for under $30.00

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