Although not an application itself, this audio compression file format has some great advantages over other formats like Mp3 particularly for people looking for a higher level of digital audio quality or those looking to retain the full quality of their digital recordings when transferring files (e.g. ripping Cd's) to Computer. As you will have probably guessed from the picture, FLAC stands for 'Free Lossless Audio Codec'. Being lossless, FLAC does not remove information from the audio stream, as lossy compression formats such as MP3, AAC and many other popular formats do... Click the read more link below for more information and to download FLAC for free. Just like mp3, FLAC is suitable for everyday audio playback and archival, with support for tagging, cover art and fast seeking. There are many free applications which can be used to playback, rip or edit flac files. FLAC reduces bandwidth and storage requirements without sacrificing the integrity of the audio source. A digital audio recording (such as a CD track) encoded to FLAC can be decompressed into an identical copy of the audio data.
A small file called a 'CUE' can optionally be created when ripping a CD. If a CD is read and ripped perfectly to FLAC files, the CUE file allows later burning of an audio CD that is identical in audio data to the original CD. This is great as it means that if you lose the original CD, then you can make an exact copy that is not of reduced quality, but is in fact an exact duplicate of the original. Bare in mind however that FLAC files are considerably larger than Mp3 files however still no where near as as large as uncompressed audio data in WAV format.
After using FLAC for while now I have really started to notice the difference in audio clarity and depth particularly when playing music on large sound systems. Digital Dj's may find it particularly useful as a compromise between a laptop disk space saving and maintaining high end digital audio quality. Highly recommended.To download FLAC for free and for a whole hosts of FLAC related applications and ripping programs click the following link:
Although we haven't seen a solo album from Tip in over 6 years, it would seem that his long absence from the game was well worth the wait. With the legendary J.Dilla (R.I.P) offering the posthumous production, this track entitled 'Move' is an absolute gem. The video pays tribute to the Michael Jackson classic 'Rock With You' and also features samples from the Jacksons' tune 'Dancing Machine'. Be sure to look out for 'Getting Up' too, another strong track from the impending album which will be entitled The Renaissance and is scheduled for release on Universal Motown on November 4th.
SmartQ, one of the few companies to shake the 'iPod clone' stigma attached to many Chinese media player manufacturers has been hard at work again on a new player called the 'TAO'. The TAO sports a tidy 3.3 inch 480x320 resolution, 262,000 colour display (not a touch screen), a perfect balance between size and pocketability. You also get a huge array of audio/video and image format support. On the audio side, you get MP3, OGG, FLAC, AAC, APE, WAV & WMA support. Images are viewed in a scrollable carousel format, similar to apples 'Cover Flow' (except for photos instead) which has been originally named 'PicFlow 3D'. BMP, JPG, PNG & GIF file formats can be viewed, the player also supports album art.
Finally to top it off you get support for high res XVID and DIVX (upto 720x576) video files as well as RM/RMVB, FLV, WMV, ASF, 3GP, MPEG & DAT. An eBook reader & sound recorder are also included as well as a range of sound manipulation, presets and EQ options. The player has no internal memory but supports cheap as chips SD/SDHC cards up to 16GB. Battery life is rated at 20hrs for audio and 6hrs for video. Importers are pricing the TAO at around $150 /£85 (with 8GB card) however in China it is significantly less. Click the links for stockists, videos and additional info:
It seems that nike has really started gettting their act together on the BW front. Favouring the clean traditional solid colourways and classic materials as opposed to this type of cheap looking junk that we have become accustomed too. An embossed tongue just like the original would have been nice but you can't get everything I guess. The obsidian, cayman and grey combo certainly ticks the right boxes and what looks to be a tidy nubuck and mesh material selection completes a nice effort all round. The damage? a relatively wallet friendly (well for the uk, anyway) £75. Available now in the UK @ MainSource and @ Proper in the US.
The Soul/R&b group Honey Cone was the premier female group for Hot Wax Records, operated by the legendary Holland-Dozier-Holland writing and producing team in the early 1970s after the team departed from Motown Records. They clocked up a string of hits throughout the early 70's with their 1971 singles 'Want Ad's' & 'Stick Up' both going straight in at No.1 on the US R&B charts. This track is taken form their 1972 album Love, peace & Soul, which was their last album before the unfortunate demise of Hot Wax Records in 1973 after the label experienced serious cash flow problems. The opening bars of the song were also sampled by Kanye West on Commons' 'Testify' which featured on his sparkling 2005 album 'Be'.
Bit late with this one but anyway...London based artist INSA is certainly no stranger to the fashion game. After a string of high profile collaborations, crazy customs, limited t-shirt runs & commissions he has decided after much pressure to officially drop a limited run of stiletto's featuring variations of his classic high heels print. Teaming up with Fashion/Shoe designer Ruth Shaw he pays homage to his London roots by naming each variation after an area of London. Gold/Black for Chelsea, Baby Pink/White/Black for Hackney and Electric Pink/White/Black for Lewisham. All the shoes are made from premium leather andfeature a high gloss finish. Best hurry if you want a pair though as they are moving fast! Priced at £200. Click the link for more info and ordering.
Remember the days when a laptop costed £10,000 and you needed a forklift to carry it? Things have certainly improved a bit since then. In October of 2007 South Korean Computer manufacturer Asus introduced the world to its Eeepc. What separated this device from other ultra portable computers on the market was that fact that while it was still very small it was also very cheap. The 701 was the first model to be released and featured a 7 inch 800x480 resolution screen, 2GB of solid state memory, 512mb of ram, Wi-Fi, an SD card slot & 2 USB ports all for the meagre price of just $299! (UK obviously saw a slight price bump).
The device was no slouch in the processing department either, packing a throttled 900 MHz Intel Celeron processor and eventually shipping with the choice of either Windows XP or Xandros Linux operating systems. The Eeepc would go on to become an overnight hit as the masses clambered to grab a piece of ultra portable low cost computer goodness. Click the link to read the rest of the article.
Since then almost every well known computer manufacturer on the planet has flooded the market with a whole range of low cost ultra portable laptops. On June the 3rd 2o08 intel introduced a line of processors specifically designed for use within these types of machines which called the Atom. A large percentage of the newer machines now utilise this processor. While clock for clock it is actually slower than the original 900mhz Celeron used in the Eeepc, the first version to ship was the 1.6ghz version which is said to have a similar clocked speed to the 900mhz Celeron yet also incorporates improved hyper-threading technology which helps when running multiple applications at once and is also said to be less power hungry. I have put together a round up of some of the new and upcoming models which are definitely worth taking a look at if you’re thinking of investing. Bare in mind, pictures can be deceptive, these things are pretty damn small.
1. MSI - Wind U100: Slightly larger and a little more expensive than some net books on the market, the Wind is a sharp looking device. It pack the 1.6Ghz Intel Atom processor, a 10inch (1024x600 res) screen, 1GB of DDR2 ram, an 80/160gb hard drive, 802.11B/G Wireless, Bluetooth 2.0 , 3 USB ports, 1.3mp camera, SD card slot and a the option of a 3/6 cell battery. It is available in black/white/pink colour ways and comes with the choice of Windows Xp or Linux. The Wind has received glowing reviews across the board and is said to be a strong performer. Prices range from £280 - £370 depending on the configuration and where you buy. The Wind has also been rebranded under a number of different name including the Medion Akoya and Advent 4211 (available for £279.99 @ Pc World).
2. Acer - Aspire One: Renowned forselling some of the cheapest laptops available Acers entrance into the net book market was always going to start with a low price tag. Like the wind the Aspire One is nicely styled and comes with a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom. It packs a smaller 8.9 inch (1024x600) screen to the wind as well as 802.11B/G Wireless, 3 USB ports, a 0.3mp camera, SD card slot and a 3/6 cell battery. It is available in a number of configurations with 512/1 GB of Ram, A 120GB Hard Disk / 8GB solid state disk and Linpus Linux and XP flavours. It comes in a range of 2 tone colour ways, black/blue, white/black or brown/black (and solid black in some countries) Again the Aspire has received positive reviews and has good build quality. The mouse button configuration is slightly strange though as they flank the track pad as opposed to being placed in the standard position, below. Prices start as low as £229 and max out at £300.
3. Asus - Eeepc 901: Asus’ latest incarnation of its ground breaking EeePC differs quite significantly in both looks and spec from the earlier models. Again we see the 1.6 GHz atom on board and an 8.9 inch (1024x600) display plus the usual SD and USB ports. Asus have in addition offered a couple of distinguishing features. As well as the standard 1GB or ram, you get the options of a 12GB/20GB sold state disk; no hard disk options are available however. Asus have thrown in Bluetooth though coupled with the faster 802.1.1N standard (as well as B/G) plus a 6 cell battery said to offer over 6hrs of juice! Colour options are white, black and, pink. Os options are XP/Linux. All this does not come cheap though; prices start at £300 and can hit £375 at certain retailers.
Asus have also released a whole host of variations of the EEE which is are actually very difficult to keep up with. There is the 1001 which is similar to the 901 but just with a larger 10 inch screen and keyboard. We also have the 904 and 904HD which feature a 8.9 inch display in a 1001 chassis and a hard drive option. We even have variations of the older 900 model except now with the new Atom processor and Hard drive option. See Asus' website for more details as it's all got very confusing!
4. Lenovo - Ideapad S10: Only just announced recently the S10 will not be released in the UK until November/December, however it looks like it will be well worth the wait. As well as an Atom processor the display is a 10.2 inch (1024 x 600) LED backlight panel, and the touchpad includes multi-touch (meaning it accepts multiple finger inputs, like the iphone). WiFi, Bluetooth, Express Card, 4-in-1 card reader and a 1.3 mega pixel webcam are all included too. The device will ship with either 512/1GB of ram as well as 80/160GB hard drive options in a number of colour ways. A 9-inch screen version with the same chassis to the 10 inch will also be available in Europe and a few other territories. Lenovo have a great reputation and always produce devices of a high standard, definitely one to watch.
5. Dell - Inspiron Mini 9: Dells net book effort will fit in to the low budget category. Intel’s Atom is present again and Dell have opted for a choice of 8/16GB solid state disk options. You can also expect the usual 802.11B/G Wireless, 3 USB ports, integrated webcam, SD card slot and a 4 cell battery. Prices are said to start at around £269.
6. Samsung - NC10: After a long period of silence Samsung finally decided to show their cards and the result is the tasty looking NC10. Nothing particularly unusual here but of course given their industry clout you can always rely on Samsung to put together an attractive package. The spec is actually very similar to the Lenovo S10, A 1.6GHz Atom 270, 1GB ram, 160GB Hard Drive, SD card slot, 1.3MP camera, Bluetooth 2.0, 10.2 inch (1024x600) screen. Samsung have however been kind enough to chuck in a 6 cell battery said to offer an up to a claimed 8 hours of battery life. This one is also said to be priced pretty aggressively with Samsung looking to bring it in around the £300 mark. Colourways will be black, blue and white. Said to be releasing in November.
With so many options we really are spoilt for choice. Be sure to look out for the Gigabyte 912M, Toshiba NB100 & the ECSG10IL (being sold @ PC world re branded as the Advent 4213), they look promising too. For in depth reviews, info and chat about net books and ultra portable computing devices I recommend visiting www.umpcportal.com it is a top site.
Easy peeps, My name is Nicky and welcome to my blog! Seeing as my 'freelance' status allows me to spend a pretty meaty portion of the day 'working' on the net, I thought I'd share some of the stuff that I like. Hope you enjoy.
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Although not an application itself, this audio compression file format has some great advantages over other formats like Mp3 particularly for people looking for a higher level of digital audio quality or those looking to retain the full quality of their digital recordings when transferring files (e.g. ripping Cd's) to Computer. As you will have probably guessed from the picture, FLAC stands for 'Free Lossless Audio Codec'. Being lossless, FLAC does not remove information from the audio stream, as lossy compression formats such as MP3, AAC and many other popular formats do... Click the read more link below for more information and to download FLAC for free.
