Audio Tape Transfer - How to Transfer Cassette Tapes to Computer, CD and MP3 Using Audacity

To transfer a cassette tape to computer you will need the following:

• Working Cassette Deck

• Cable to connect the cassette deck to your computer

• Computer with a sound card

• Software application that lets you record stereo audio

The most important factor in a good transfer is the quality of the analogue playback machine, i.e. the tape deck you're using. Try to find or use the best quality and best sounding one to your ears that you can. If you have or can borrow a 3 head machine especially a Nakamichi and it's working well that should give you excellent sound on playback. It's a good idea to clean the heads, capstans and pinch rollers with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and a q-tip.

They often become dirty with tape oxide that can muffle the high frequencies and give you a dull sounding recording. Gently rub the heads with the wetted cotton bud until no more brown gunk comes off. Most computers and laptops have sound cards with 3.5mm, minijack connectors on them.

If you have a more specialised sound card it may have larger 1/4" jacks or even XLR connectors but you probably won't need this article if you have one of those! You will need a cable with two phono connectors at one end, for the tape deck, and a single 3.5mm mini stereo jack and the other. These cables can be bought very cheaply and are often used to connect media players to stereos. Plug you cable in and get ready to record! There is a wealth of recording software for Windows, Macintosh and GNU/Linux to choose from, some of it expensive, some cheap and some free!

We're going to use the free software, which is actually very good. Point your web browser to the Audacity website and download and install the version suitable for your operating system. Once you've got Audacity installed and working you'll need to check in the Preferences Audio I/O menu that you have the correct playback and recording inputs selected. If that's ok then press the big round, red record button and then start your tape running. If you see the meters moving up and down and a waveform being drawn across the screen, well done it's recording your tape! It might be a good idea though to stop and check it sounds ok as very low or very loud recordings will not sound good. You will need to be very careful of what's called clipping. Digital recorders can't record 'into the red' like your old tape deck could.

Once they go over 0dB you'll get clipping. This sounds terrible so it's best to check your levels and give yourself a bit of breathing space and record lower. This breathing space is called headroom. If the recording has gone ok, it's safest to save the file first before you do anything to it, using the File Save As menu. Now you can play it back, edit it, burn it to a CD or convert it to an OGG or MP3 file for your media player. If you've any large gaps at the beginning or end, it's a good idea to trim these. Just use the 'I' beam tool and select the flat looking bits of waveform at the start and end of your recording, then press backspace just like you would to delete a word or paragraph in a wordprocessor.

If your recording is over 80 minutes and is destined for a CD you will have to split the file by cutting the section for side 2 maybe and pasting this into a new stereo Audacity document as 80 minutes is the most you can burn on a CD. If you want a CD with track points you will need to create 'markers' in Audacity speak at each gap between tracks. If your recording has neat gaps between the tracks then it's pretty easy as your can use Audacity's Find Silence command which will place a marker at every point in the file that the volume falls to a certain level for a certain length of time. This may need a bit of trial and error to get right but it's worth persevering as it saves much time over the manual method of listening to the whole recording an inserting markers at the point between songs or tracks. If everything's fine, you're almost there.

The last stage before putting your recording on CD or converting it to a compressed format for your media player is to Normalize the file. This looks at the whole file, finds the loudest section and then increased the volume of everything in proportion until the loudest part is just as loud as it can be before it clips. I usually Normalize to 98% or -0.3 dB. Now it's time to make a CD or file. From the File Export menu choose the type of destination file you need. For CD choose, WAV, AIFF and for your media player choose Ogg Vorbis, FLAC or MP3. Now sit back and let it create the final file.. If you have created markers for track points in your CD, you'll need to use the File Export Multiple command which will export each track as a separate file. If you need to make a CD use the WAV file or files in your favourite CD burning application and it should burn one perfectly and you can sit and listen to your recording safe in the knowledge you can make as many digital copies now and play it back forever with no fear of the tape wearing out or getting 'chewed'!Auda

By Adrian Finn

Adrian Finn is the founder and proprietor of greatbear, a UK business that specialises in helping individuals and organisations adapt and make the best use of the Digital Age. This includes web design and development, computer support and audio and video transfer services to CD and DVD

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Wi-Fi Cameras - The Next Big Thing?

The future is now--almost.”

Imagine a digital camera with the same functionality you get from your camera phone—but with the quality-control functionality that you expect from your regular camera. The future is now—almost.

Wireless digital cameras are arguably the next big thing in the photography world. A marriage between Wi-Fi technology and digital cameras allows the photographer to connect to a wireless network without needing cables. Photographers can download the pictures to a computer, save the pictures directly to a computer as they are shot, send images to a printer, or share photos via a cellular network the same as with a camera phone.

Take last summer's World Cup, for example. As fans screamed, professional photographers sent pictures of Zinedine Zidane head-butting Marco Materazzi flying to photo editors' screens around the globe. The cameras' Wi-Fi transmitters sent the images wirelessly to a nearby colleague with a laptop, who in turn sent them zipping around the world.

The Wi-Fi advantage for professional photographers is apparent—but what about the rest of us? Do we have a use for this feature? Camera manufacturers are betting we do. Increasingly, wireless technology is incorporated into high-end digital cameras, as well as in the point-and-shoot models available to the home consumer. Kodak set the ball rolling by announcing a wireless-enabled, point-and-shoot digital camera at the CES trade show in 2005. Nikon and Canon threw their hats into the ring shortly afterward. Sony came on board in March of 2007.

A Must-Have Feature?

I'm predicting it won't be long before we think of Wi-Fi as a must-have feature when we shop for our next digital camera. Picture the next big corporate event, where the office's rising star snaps pictures of schmoozing executives and projects the images on the wall via a projector hooked to a laptop. Imagine making a huge splash at your kid's birthday party when you snap pictures of arriving guests, wirelessly zoom the images to a printer, and tuck the picture into the kid's goodie bag moments later. Or, how about your next vacation, when you instantaneously send your vacation pictures to a Web page or to someone's computer?

Even better, consider that Wi-Fi cameras use 802.11b and g computer networking technology to connect to a wireless network. If your home computer is Wi-Fi enabled, you can connect your wireless digital camera to it and download your photos. Say goodbye to card readers and USB cables.

However, there are a couple of things you need to be aware of. First, Wi-Fi-enabled digicams are still new technology—so expect some bugs to iron out. Secondly, Wi-Fi-enabled cameras "talk" only to their manufacturer's propriety software, restricting you to use of that one particular element. (Oh, where have we heard this complaint before in the technology world?)

And lastly, the Wi-Fi capability adds about $100 to the price of the camera, so expect a reduction in camera features as the manufacturers try to make the cameras affordable to home users. Prices vary, but the cameras are more reasonable than you might think.

Today's Technology

Nikon's CoolPix P2 5.2 MP camera is Wi-Fi-capable, and sells at Amazon for around $200. The camera can transfer your saved images to a printer (no computer required), or to a wireless-equipped computer, or can send the images directly to the computer as you take them.

Amazon consumer reviews vary, with some saying the camera works fine, but the Wi-Fi is a dud, and others claiming the Wi-Fi is fine, but the camera is flawed. Still others rave about both, but claim that the Wi-Fi connectivity is difficult to set up. A Photo.net review of the CoolPix P2 and its sister camera, the CoolPix P1, points out that the Wi-Fi support permits sending pictures to a computer fewer than 100 feet away, and that this computer must be running Nikon's photo-management software. Also, when in the wireless mode, the camera offers pure "point-and-shoot" functionality—a fact that will irritate more experienced photographers.

On the plus side, however, the camera supports "slide show" functions, so you can do that corporate party thing mentioned earlier. Imaging-resource.com calls the camera a good choice for beginners or for experienced photographers wanting a "take-anywhere" camera.

Kodak's EasyShare One takes a more ambitious approach. This camera uses a touch screen and a Wi-Fi adapter card (sold separately) so you can plug into any Wi-Fi hotspot and send the pictures wirelessly to any e-mail address stored in the camera. The 4MB camera sells at Amazon for about $175.

Consumer reviews, for the most part, rave about EasyShare One. The camera uses Wireless B (rather than the faster G), but sends at a good rate of 11Mbps. The initial setup is somewhat complicated, however. First you calibrate your screen, next you set the date and time, and then you provide your EasyShare Gallery account information. This free service allows you to upload images to share online via e-mail notification. Finally, you bring up the Wi-Fi system and look for wireless hotspots. When you select one of the hits for a protected hotspot, you enter a password. The camera remembers it for the next occasion. Image-resource.com rates this model as suitable for the novice to the experienced amateur.

The Canon PowerShot SD430 5MP Digital Camera with Wi-Fi capability sells at Amazon for about $300. This camera includes an automatic wireless image transfer and wireless control of camera-shooting functions from a PC. An included wireless printer adapter permits direct printing to any Canon PictBridge-compatible printer. It requires no configuration to print, since the camera is pre-configured to recognize the print adapter.

This camera also provides an interesting Remote Capture feature, which gives you a live view from your camera transmitted wirelessly to your computer screen—where you can use the keyboard to do various configurations. Imaging-resource.com rates this camera as good for the novice and experienced amateur, and a good "take-along" camera for the experienced user.

* * *

Wireless digital cameras have come a long way since 2004, when Concord released the Eye-Q Go, a Bluetooth-enabled digital camera selling for about $130. Allegedly, the camera transferred 7MB of images in 15 minutes. (A USB cable provides an 8-second transfer.) PC World included the Eye-Q Go in its list of the 25 worst tech products of all times, saying, "The Bluetooth was a bust, the camera was crude, and the pictures were awful. Aside from that, it was just fabulous."

By June Campbell

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Imagine Taking Great Pictures

With Your Digital Camera...

In Less Than 30 Minutes!

http://www.startmydigitalphotography.com

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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Getting Free Photoshop Tutorials

The Photoshop software is truly a big deal for most people. It pays to have this program in your computer in order to manipulate your pictures as your desire. With this at hand, you can be sure that you get to improve those digital images you have taken even before they get printed. This is more reason for you to give away beautiful pictures to friends and relatives.

However, it is not enough that you have the Photoshop program installed in your computer. It is a must that you have a basic knowledge in Photoshop so you can do the things that you want. As such it is very important to get a Photoshop tutorial.

There are options such as to hire a tutor or enrol in program where you can learn Photoshop skills. You can also choose to buy books that will teach you the aspects of the program. These are options that are open to you. However, it may even be a better choice for you to get a free Photoshop tutorial. Here, you get to learn a new skill without having to spend the extra money in your pocket.

The Free Photoshop Tutorial

There are many ways for you to get a free Photoshop tutorial. Be sure that you get to use these options because it sure is a good thing to save your extra money instead. If you can have something for free, then just grab it and make the most out of it.

Ask a Friend for Help in the Photoshop

Some people are fortunate enough to have friends and relatives who are skilled in the Photoshop application. If you happen to have a friend of your own, then ask him or her to teach you basic Photoshop. This is a good way to get the free Photoshop tutorial. You can even use that extra time of learning as a bonding activity.

Explore the Photoshop Program

If it happens that you cannot access any friend to give the tutorials, you can explore the Photoshop program. The manufacturers do provide basic tutorials with the installation. You can easily check the options for the basic tutorials. This can explain to you how certain commands work and when to use them. You can read on the instructions and the step-by-step processes. There are also editions in the Photoshop software that can actually give tutorial using visuals. You will definitely enjoy viewing how a project is developed.

Download Files Online

You can also get free Photoshop tutorials online. There are numerous web sites that will give help for free. You can access the tutorial in PDF format and see the instructions. You can also browse through the sites to find the discussion on a particular topic. You may even love the options of seeing the tutorial in video format.

Ask for Assistance Online

The manufacturer can provide an option for you to get help online. However, you may find it even amazing to explore the different discussion boards and forums where other Photoshop users converge. This can be an opportunity to get free Photoshop tutorials from them. You can post your question and you can expect the other users to give you the advice you need.

Conclusion

Get your free Photoshop tutorials and learn the basic skills needed to operate the program. This way, you can turn out your nice images into fabulous pictures.

by: Mario Churchill

About The Author

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information about an excellent small business marketing checkout http://www.prophotosecrets.com

article source : www.articlecity.com

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Grab That Photoshop CS Tutorial

Photographs have a way of fascinating people. The vibrant colors and the ideas conveyed can surely mean a lot to those who get to appreciate it. Technology has even given people the opportunity to improve on their pictures. You will see magazines all over the place with very fabulous images. Professional photographers are responsible for such. However, with the Adobe Photoshop program, you can do the same magic yourself.

The Adobe Photoshop CS

Many people are aware that there are computer programs responsible for making fabulous pictures. However, they do not know everything there is to know to get around such technology. As such, it is best to be familiar with the Adobe Photoshop CS.

The Photoshop CS is the better version of the Adobe Photoshop program. This has more advanced features that you cannot find in other versions. This is the best way to organize your pictures and make those precious albums. With this software and your computer, you can make as many projects with your images.

The Adobe Photoshop CS Tutorial

Of course, it is not enough that you have the Photoshop CS program installed in your computer. It is equally important that you get to know how to use it and maximize the benefits it brings. There is no need to worry if you feel like you do not know much about Photoshop CS. Just get the proper tutorial and you can surely move your way around the program.

Tutorial Centers

You can find centers in your locality that can give a crash course or a specialized program that can provide Photoshop CS tutorials. You can enroll for a series of session so that you can be trained to do Photoshop CS as well for other programs. You even have the choice to join a class or get a personalized training.

Self-Help Tools

There are also self-help tools that you can buy. You can go to the bookstore and find a material that can give you Photoshop CS tutorial. You can choose to read books to learn. You can also get those releases in cassettes or CD so that you can listen through the instructions. Choose this option if you are more comfortable of studying on your own than getting a tutor.

Go Online

The online community also offers a wide range of choices for your Photoshop CS tutorials. There are web sites that can let you download e-Books with instructions and tutorials in PDF format. You can read the explanation from these together with illustrations so that you can easily identify the commands in the program. You can even choose to get an eSeminar. This setup is just like a classroom method, only you do things through the computer.

You can also choose to explore some sites in their forums and discussion boards. You can ask members for advice and most of them are willing enough to give their help. This serves as a peer-to-peer discussion where specific questions can be answered directly. Try exploring too the site of the manufacturer. They often provide help to their clients to help you enjoy the program you purchased.

Conclusion

Get to learn the basics of the Adobe Photoshop CS. Make sure you develop your skills well with the Photoshop CS tutorial. This way you can do the amazing images through your own efforts and make a project album that you can be proud of.

by: Mario Churchill

About The Author

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information about an excellent small business marketing checkout http://www.prophotosecrets.com

article source : www.articlecity.com

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Making Picture Changes - Getting Help With a Photoshop Tutorial Effect

While a picture speaks a thousand words, those words tend to have one main meaning – with the possible exception of the still-mysterious Mona Lisa. But what if you had the chance to change those words? Are you interested in having that chance? If so, all you need to do is get help with a Photo Shop tutorial on effects.

Adobe Photo Shop today is the world’s leading digital imaging software program, and it allows users to edit their pictures with an amazing array of tools.

Tone – With just a click of your mouse, you can immediately turn your 100% colored photo into a black and white picture to make it seem older. You can also choose to give it a sepia look for a similarly quaint but more artistic impact.

Text – With the help of an Adobe Photo Shop tutorial on effects, you can also add cute text or captions to and within your photos. Unlike older programs which require you to copy and paste text with white backgrounds, Adobe Photo Shop has a transparent background so that only the very shapes of the letters are pasted on your photo. With this option, the text you’re adding will be made a part of the very photo.

Selection – Sometimes, you wish to create an effect on only one part of the photo. Adobe Photo Shop anticipates this need, and even better, lets you choose the shape of your selected part. When you’ve selected which part of the photo you wish to edit, all subsequent changes will then take effect on that part alone. It’s as easy and simple as that!

Mosaic – Remember your old art lessons in primary school and you had to create a mosaic project? Well, how about doing a mosaic version of your photo? It seems to require harder work with only your keyboard and mouse, but think again. Thanks to Adobe Photo Shop, you can create your own mosaic with just a click and even choose the cell size for your photo.

Blur – Faded patches in a photo are interesting, and you can intentionally make such patches on your photo if there are none to begin with. Under the same category of tools – Filter – in which you’ll also find other effect options like Mosaic and Pointillize, you can use the Blur option and apply it to a selected part of your photo or all of it. Keep pressing the Blur button until you reach your preferred degree of blurriness.

Color Pencil – Have you ever imagined what your photo would look like if it had been drawn using colored pencils? Imagine no more with the help of Adobe Photo Shop. Under the colored pencil function (still in the Filter category), you can also choose the degree of stroke pressure, paper brightness, and pencil width applied to your photo.

Neon Glow – Do you want your photo to outshine everything else in its vicinity? You can literally achieve that with the neon effects of Adobe Photo Shop. Once more, it can be a part of or the whole photo that could be changed with this option. The impact of this function can be modified according to neon color, glow, and brightness.

There are many other effects that Adobe Photo Shop can provide you and to change your photo, but self-study and self-exploration won’t get you anywhere fast anytime soon. If you want to learn now, find the best Photo Shop tutorial in the Internet and start watching.

By Mario SG Churchill

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For a free photo shop tutorial and or to purchase a video photo shop tutorial checkout his website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mario_SG_Churchill

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Learn Photoshop Like A Pro through Photoshop Tutorials

At the dawn of computer generation, image editing was made more efficient and remarkable by various photo editing software. But when people talk about the world leader in digital image editing, Adobe Photoshop takes center stage.

Photoshop is, above all else, a superior image editing tool, one that will always be remembered best as the software that forever changed the way the world looks. In many ways, Photoshop has become almost indistinguishable from photo or image editing. And as technology advances, it has become one of the most proficient tools in creating web-based images.

For all of their bells and whistles, however, Photoshop still serves best when used with Photoshop tutorials. Many people are familiar with Photoshop but not all of them are fully capable of managing the tricks and tips of the program. Hence, Photoshop tutorials can facilitate the full use of the software for better image editing.

There are so many websites that offer Photoshop tutorials nowadays. The best thing about Photoshop tutorials is that people can access them for free. Hence, they can learn many things about photo editing and other services needed to enhance the images.

When it comes to Photoshop tutorials, there are so many factors to consider in order to get the lessons you need to know. Some may go for the advanced tutorials while others may find basic Photoshop tutorials beneficial. If you really want to learn the basic tips and tricks in Photoshop, you may find these Photoshop tutorials useful:

1. Photographic effects

With the help of digital cameras, photographers nowadays can really make wonders on their images. However, with the help of Photoshop, they can truly create a new perception of the world. Professionals know how to do their thing but ordinary people cannot. Hence, with the help of Photoshop tutorials, they can create different photographic effects in their images the way the experts do.

2. Lighting

With light, you can create different moods in the picture. Through the use of lenses, flares, and other lighting effects, images may appear surreal, romantic, or morbid. Photoshop tutorials can teach you the basic tips in creating different lighting effects to achieve the mood that you want.

3. Touch ups

This is the most basic section of Photoshop tutorials. In fact, this is what Photoshop is all about. People would want to enhance their pictures. If the camera may not seem to do the tricks, Photoshop can fix it. All you have to learn is to identify the basic steps in doing touch ups. With Photoshop tutorials on touch ups you can even make an old picture look new or arrange some flaws and make it more appealing.

4. Image presentation

Photoshop tutorials can give your picture a good lift from the ordinary. You can make two people appear together in the picture even if they were taken separately. Photoshop tutorials will teach you various means of presenting your picture — totally different from the way you have captured the moment. You can mix and match, combine and contrast, or simply create a new background without having to take a new shot. You just need to learn the basic Photoshop tutorials on image presentations.

So if your books and magazines cannot tell you more than what you need to know about image editing, hook yourself to the Internet and learn the different image editing tips and tricks through Photoshop tutorials.

By Mario SG Churchill

Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For a free photo shop tutorial and or to purchase a video photo shop tutorial checkout his website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mario_SG_Churchill

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