LeechFTP finally refused to cooperate with my Windows setup.  After trying various work-arounds, disabling all firewalls, etc. I have come to the conclusion that it just won’t play nice with Vista.  I had it working for about 7 months with no problems.

Tonight I had to install FileZilla just to download some files from a website.  Let me tell you - I do not like the UI (user interface) in this program.  To me, nothing beats the UI in LeechFTP and I am going to sincerely miss this program.  I will say that FileZilla has improved the site management over the past few years, so that will make one part of this program much easier to use compared to the past.  I think their management of the threads is annoying.  I also do not like that the program cycles through the remote folders when it traverses them to download their contents.  I cannot find a way to turn this off.  I’ll keep working with FileZilla for awhile and see how it goes.

Goodbye Leech.

Wake up, Jan Debis.

Today I purchased an album by the Doves on iTunes Plus.  I didn’t have the time to burn a CD, so I just threw my DRM-free tracks on my portable HD and headed into work.  Then I tried to play the files in Windows Media Player.  No luck.

I researched the iTunes Plus file format (.m4p) and discovered that WMP doesn’t play this type of file.  This is somewhat astonishing to me.  Obviously, it is good for Apple to not have their tracks playable on Microsoft software such as WMP, a direct competator.  But what made me frustrated is their DRM-free label.  A quick google search reveals various converters and even some “codecs” that I have read varying degrees of success about.  But why, Apple?  Why not give us what we all want…???

…the MP3

I guess I’ll go back to Amazon.com’s MP3 store.

I discovered that someone (probably a bot) decided to take-over pieces of the site.  I lost a post or two in the process and I also became the host of a large number of adult links.  This has all been undone (other than the content I lost) and WP has been upgraded to the new version.  Hopefully, I will take some interest in this or take it down in the future.

I was directed to this album by recommendations by my music player based on my current library.  My conclusion?  The boot fits.  Get this album if you like mellow experimental music!

Until June released its first full-length album (self-titled) this past week after years of hard work to get their name out there.  Signed to Flicker Records in late summer of 2005, this band shows promise for a new generation of music from Flicker.  Their sound is somewhat subdued, mimicking the lighter rock that’s been emerging in recent years (Coldplay, Keane) especially from the UK.  Vocals are flawless and smooth, with excellent falsettos and harmonies.  They almost sound like Watashi Wa with smoother (and probably better) vocals.  I have enjoyed my initial listening experience with this album.  I would not call it a smashing hit, but it does earn a respectable 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion.  Herdman of Flicker should be proud.

http://www.untiljune.com

I had no idea that burping cows produced nearly 1/3 of all methane in the atmosphere.  Methane, as luck would have it, warms the earth 20 times faster than CO2!!!  And there are other factors: 2/3 of the world’s ammonia emissions come from cattle (causing acid rain); emissions from producing fertilizer and transporting meat total 9% of all CO2; deforestation from overgrazing is creating deserts in many areas; and cattle use a lot of water - 990 liters per liter of milk produced!

It gets worse, those little buggers don’t even say excuse me!  Meanwhile they are slowing destroying our planet with no end in sight.  I propose a compromise.

According to Colorado State University, one cow can belch more than 50 million metric tons of methane gas each year.  I say we find a way to capture this gas and use it to meet our fuel needs!  Methane cars, power plants, and even batteries.  Your neighborhood cow, Betsy, could be used to recharge your cell phone.  Now, where’s the number for my patent lawyer…

Sources:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_176.html
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2062484.ece

Persuader takes Reacher deep under cover into a world of crime lords and dirty bosses.  His assignment is to get dangerously close to a powerful family with plenty of secrets.  Reacher must find a missing government agent all the while pursuing an elusive character that he had given two .22-caliber bullets to the head a decade before.  With twists and turns at every corner, this story kept me entertained right down to the last page.  It’s a must for all the men out there.

My SVN client software of choice is TortoiseSVN.  This program installs in Windows and creates a new menu when you right click any file or folder.  You can create your own repository or connect to an existing external repository.  The repository is the place where your stuff is stored and accessed.  Files are “committed” to the repository along with a note.  This creates a revision.  You can “update” you files to download the latest revision.  When you’ve reached an acceptable stable “version” of your software, this can be “tagged” and stored in its current state for easy access later on.  TortoiseSVN also includes a decent diff tool which shows you the differences in two side-by-side files.  This is great for comparing a new file to an old revision or merging two new files together.  Access can be controlled to your SVN as well.  There are so many features and options it is impossible to describe them all here.

Currently, the SiteX project uses Sourgeforge.net for our SVN hosting since it is integrated with some nice project management tools all bundled via their website for free.

SVN is so popular that there are now server hosts that specialize in private, backed up SVN packages which include ticket management (like Bugzilla and Trac).  If I had an extra $30 laying around each month, this would definitely be a good investment.  Many include great features like cluster computing, RAID 5, and 10 minute backups.  I’ve even found one host that has a free account (no tracking or web-based SVN browsing included).

I personally am beginning to use SVN for more than just SiteX.  I’ve now expanded my personal repository to track revisions of documents and other web projects.  That way I always have a record of changes.  If you’ve never tried out SVN and you manage any sort of code that changes periodically, you simply MUST check it out!

TI has developed a micro DLP array which is much smaller than your standard projector chip, while maintaining enough quality for smaller screen viewing.  Want to watch a movie on your 2012 flight to Europe?  Forget wearable OLEDs in your shirt.  Project your favorite digital TV station from your iScreen on to the seat in front of you.  Think portable digital TV is far off?  Think again.  That’s already in a new phone developed by Samsung.  The phone includes both analog and digital receivers.

Now, somebody needs to get TiVo in on this and we’ll be all set.

I initially tested my device by recording about 40 tracks from old analog voice recorder tapes that I’ve made over the past 10 years.  The device is straightforward to use.  After recording, I snapped off the battery case and plugged the recorder directly into my USB port - no cables required.  Copying everything to my computer was easy, but here is where I found the first glitch.  The device had a few tracks that got “stuck”.  My computer reads the files as corrupt disabling me from moving them to my computer.  I unplugged the device and listened from the tiny on-board speaker… no problems on the playback end of things.  So that problem has me stumped.  I read that cutting power to the device while recording can cause problems, but I can assure you that I didn’t do this.  Since this one incident I started using another “folder” on the recorder (there are 5) and have had no problems so far.

I put the device back together after transferring the WMA files onto the computer.  Another glitch.  The device totally lost the time/date.  This is annoying because it tags your files with the time/date.  I would imagine that this could be fairly important for most people.  I have continually found that this device cannot hold the clock for a long period of time of after mucking with it at all in the USB port.  Basically, check your time/date every day that you use this device.  Maybe others don’t have this problem?

The device has mic holes in the front and back and on both sides (stereo).  I found this very frustrating because it is impossible to twist the device to avoid the wind noise when outside.  You have to use it in a windless environment or on a calm day.  Bad for outdoor use.

I am pleased with the device, however, I think mine may have a few annoying glitches (corrupt memory, time/date problem).  If these problems were fixed, I would give this device a 4 out of 5.  With these problems, it gets a 2 out of 5 for total unreliability.