Archives for December, 2004
coverXP
coverXP is a very unique tool that takes all of the labor out of printing your own CD and DVD Covers. It has templates for many different covers, layouts, and so on. In what time it took me to print 2 DVD Covers previously (using Photoshop and ACDsee), I was able to print 12 (using only coverXP). Obviously I had some catching up to do, printing 12, but this program made that process very very easy. I’m surprised this is the first tool I have found that does this type of work for you, but I’m sure the rest of the world could care less about printing their own DVD Covers. More info can be found at their site.
Renee Olstead
If you like Norah Jones or Diana Krall, you’ll love this artist. Reneé Olstead belts out the jazz classics and some good swing tunes like no one her age or any other age for that matter. You may recognize her from the sitcom, Still Standing. Check out her album here [Amazon]
DivX to DVD: Problem
Apparently I have a buggy DivX avi file. I’ve tried everything I can think of to get it converted to DVD format, but no luck. I have converted over 20 different (DivX) files to DVD, but this has stumped me. Here is what I have tried:
- dvdSanta - straight conversion: program closes itself about 15% into the file
- Intervideo DVD Copy 3 - straight conversion: program crashes and wants to send error report to Microsoft
- NeroVision Express 3 - straight conversion: program just hangs and requires killing of the process (about 15% into the file)
- Sony Vegas 5.0 - convert to DVD MPEG file: appeared to go well, though taking 6 hours to render. In the end, my 43 minute video was a 2 hour 5 minute video with nothing shown for the last hour and 22 minutes.
I’m thinking it is time I give up on this file and either move without completing the project or attempt to download a replacement file that perhaps doesn’t contain this bug.
Update: 02-Jan-2005 I redownloaded the file and tried it again, this time using NeroVision Express 3s Export feature. I exported the file as a DVD compliant MPEG movie, then proceeded using NeroVision to complete my DVD project. There is the slim chance that the Export feature, previously unattempted, could have solved the problem in the first place, but downloading the file again seemed like a good idea.
NeroVision Express 3
After getting 3 Windows failures with dvdSanta, I decided to dig through the Nero 6 Enterprise Edition suite of products and I came across this wonder. Apparently, this so-called Express product is not that at all. Not that it is slow, but it is packed with options. I was able to take three DivX encoded television recordings and make a DVD out of them including a fully customizable menu and chapter creation (automatic or manual). So far, this is one of the best products I have seen from this group of programs.
OpenOffice version 2
OpenOffice.org (OOo) is readying its version 2 release and in it they are including a database application similar to Microsoft’s Access. In fact, OOo’s Base will be compatible with most Access Databases (.mdb). Also in this release, you’ll find more MS Office compatibility and better XML Support. This is the perfect productivity suite for a business or indidivual who is on a budget. See some screenshots here.
InterVideo DVD Copy 3
InterVideo may have out done themselves with this release of DVD Copy. They have included several features now that eliminate the need to other programs. To see what features they have included, go to their site. This release is definitely well worth the investment.
Samba, Nautilus, and Windows: Update
I did a full update of all available packages for Fedora Core 3 and somehow one of the updates fixed this problem. Now when I select ‘Network Servers’, I get a list of available computers in the workgroup, which is actually better than before because now I don’t need to drill down to the workgroup anymore. This is one of those features that is taken for granted until it is not available.
Scaling Spreadsheets in OpenOffice Calc
This didn’t take very long to figure out, but it would be nice to know right away. If you’ve ever scaled any pages in Excel to fit a certain page size, then you’ll know that in M$ Excel, you go under File–>Page Setup, then adjust the Scaling percentage.
In OOo’s Calc, you’ll find the same features under Format–>Page–>Sheet [tab]. This, once again, proves that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a very good product.
Russell Peters
This is one hilarious comedian. If you have Real Player installed, check him out: russellpeters.rm
Thunderbird Reply Cursor
Apparently, it is bothering a lot of people that Mozilla didn’t think to make the default cursor position above the quoted email. Here is how to fix it, as found at Phil’s Blog:
In Thunderbird:
- Under "Edit"
- Go to "Account Settings"
- Select "Composition & Addressing" for the account in question
- Check the checkbox in the Composition group that says "Automatically quote the original message when replying".
- Once the combo box below is enabled select the option "Start my reply above the quote"
Thanks, Phil.
MySQL Upgrade
Okay, I finally got through the MySQL upgrade from 3.53 to 4.17. I pretty much uninstalled 3.53 and reinstalled 4.17, which went fairly smoothly except for one hiccup. When trying to upgrade the php-mysql package, I got an error stating dependecy on libmysqlclient.so.10. I found this to be detrimental for any php with mysql code. To fix this, the legacy libraries need to be put back into place by installing the MySQL-shared-compat package. For 4.17, the package can be found here. After this package was installed, everything worked as it should (from what I could tell).
dvdSanta
dvdSanta is a straight-forward program that will take almost any format video and create a DVD out of it. The most notable conversion I have made was taking 3 Divx encoded TV shows and cranking out one fine DVD with very good quality.
While this application is not free, it most certainly will not break the bank.