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Apple iPod the world’s best digital audio player is liked and owned by many music lovers. In this post I am writing some tips that helped me get most out of my 30GB video iPod’s (5G) battery. Apple claims that 30GB 5G video iPods give about 12-14 hour of listening experience but in reality it is much lower as these tests are done in standard test conditions which are far different from real conditions, by using these tips you will able to get those claimed figures.
Pre-requisite:
iTunes 7.0 or later. Get the latest iTunes from here.Update the your iPod’s firmware to Version 1.2 Apple iPod ofcourse is needed.Tips to get most out of your 30GB Apple video iPod (5G) battery
1. Always update your iPod software (firmware) to latest available
The latest firmware for 30GB iPod (5G) is version 1.2 which gives you better power management features which the latest 5.5G iPod come pre-loaded.
2. Use the Brightness Control Setting
Once you update to the latest firmware i.e Ver.1.2 then you should be able to access brightness control for you iPod’s screen, brightness control can be accessed by “iPod menu>Settings>Brightness”. The screen brightness is one of the main power draining factors, reduce the brightness of your screen when you are only listening to songs. I have set my screen brightness to the minimum possible level when I am listening to songs, that saves lot of battery power. When watching videos in a dark environment you can set the screen brightness to 50% that will boost your video playback to great extent. Given below are some photos which show screen brightness control.
Click on the images to enlarge
iPod screen brightness at max
iPod screen brightness at around 30% of max setting
3. Set the Backlight Timer to Minimum
Set the backlight timer to minimum as this will reduce the time that your iPod takes to switch of the backlight for the screen. The backlight timer setting can be accessed from “iPod’s menu>Settings>Backlight Timer”. I have set it to 2 seconds that means my iPod’s backlight will switch off after two seconds of inactivity. I usually set the backlight to OFF state when I am using the iPod in bright areas where there is enough light that makes iPod screen readable even with backlight switched OFF.
4. Use the Hold Switch
Always enable the hold switch which is provided in the top left corner of iPod which prevents the accidental switching ON of your backlight when buttons are pressed. Whenever you are not using iPod always enable the hold switch so that iPod does not wake up from its sleep if any of the buttons are pressed accidentally.
5. Avoid Frequent Change of Tracks
The iPod’s advanced cache mechanism always reads ahead the upcoming tracks and stores them in its memory so that it need not spin up the hard drive thus saving battery power, so if you keep on changing tracks frequently iPod’s hard drive will be spinning frequently there by reducing the battery life. Create playlists that can help you from this trouble.
6. Always put iPod to sleep when not using it.
Always put iPod to sleep mode when you are not planning to use it, this can be done by pressing the play/pause button continuously. Don’t forget to enable the hold switch.
7. Disable the Equalizer
If the equalizer of your iPod is ON then it forces the iPod’s processors to process the songs so that the desired sound effect is achieved there by decreasing the battery life. I personally don’t use this tip as I love the sound equalizer but I am giving this tip for those people who are contended with the default setting. The equalizer setting can be accessed by “iPod Menu>Settings>EQ”.
8. Use smaller size files for your tracks
iPod’s advanced caching mechanism works best when the track size is less than 9MB, so if you got a large track then try to compress it or split it into smaller chunks so as to make best use of iPod’s caching mechanism.
The Apple iPod uses lithium ion batteries to prolong your lithium ion battery’s life I highly recommend you to read this article written by Isidor Buchmann.
Some tips suggested by Isidor Buchmann for improving lithium ion battery’s life
Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.Batteries with fuel gauge (laptops) should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely.Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.Consider removing the battery from a laptop when running on fixed power. (Some laptop manufacturers are concerned about dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing.)Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing dates. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.If you have a spare lithium-ion battery, use one to the fullest and keep the other cool by placing it in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the battery. For best results, store the battery at 40% state-of-charge. What measures do you take to improve your iPod’s battery life? If you feel that I have left out some tip then please feel free to let me know via comments.
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Whatever your problem is, it’s caused by the same thing: A scratch. A scratched CD or DVD is just annoying!
So I took it upon myself to perform an experiment, to determine the very best
way of dealing with a scratched disc. The limit I set myself, though,
was that whatever I did it with must be somewhere in my house, and
can’t take longer than 5 minutes, including waiting time for things to
dry, etc.
I thought of three main ways to cope with scratches:
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What follows is a list of thirty pieces of software that are the
cream of the crop of open source software for Windows. Not only is
every piece of it free, almost all of them directly replace expensive
software packages.
Now, if only there were an open version of The Sims 2, I might go the whole way and switch to Linux…
1. Firefox
http://www.getfirefox.com/
Replaces Internet Explorer
If you haven’t switched to Firefox for your web browsing needs, do it now. It stops annoying popups and it has tons of amazing plugins
that can make surfing the web even better. I could evangelize all day
about Firefox, but one thing’s for sure: the first thing I do on any
new Windows machine is run Internet Explorer just long enough to
download Firefox.
2. Thunderbird
http://www.mozilla.org/thunderbird/
Replaces Microsoft Outlook or Eudora
Thunderbird is an email client that has five big things going for it:
it’s free, it’s full featured, it’s lightweight and runs quick, it has
an unparalleled spam filter, and it protects you from those ridiculous
phishing attacks by clearly indicating which emails send you to a bogus
website. If you’re not already using a web-based email solution,
Thunderbird should be your client.
3. Sunbird
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/
Replaces Microsoft Outlook’s calendaring functions
Might as well get the Mozilla trifecta out of the way by mentioning
Sunbird, which is the Mozilla Foundation’s calendaring program. It’s
extremely easy to use (I figured out everything I needed in a minute or
two) and easy to share your calendar with others. I consider a
calendaring tool to be essential if you’re using a laptop, and this is
no different.
4. Abiword
http://www.abisource.com/
Replaces Microsoft Word
Want a good word processor but find Microsoft Word too expensive?
AbiWord is my favorite replacement for Word. It’s lightweight (meaning
it runs quickly) and includes pretty much every feature that I use
regularly in a word processor, plus it can save files in formats that
you can exchange with Word and WordPerfect users, plus open any of
their files, too.
5. OpenOffice
http://www.openoffice.org/
Replaces Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint
If you want to replace the rest of the Office suite, your best bet is
OpenOffice. It includes very nice replacements for Excel and PowerPoint
(and workable replacements for Access and other Office elements). In
fact, I actually prefer their Excel and PowerPoint replacements to the
real thing.
6. ClamWin
http://www.clamwin.com/
Replaces Norton AntiVirus or McAfee
ClamWin is a slick anti-virus software that’s quite easy to manage and
is unobtrusive while keep your system free of viruses. That’s pretty
much all I want from a package, so why pay money for McAfee to keep
bugging me all the time?
7. Gaim
http://gaim.sourceforge.net/
Replaces AIM, Windows Messenger, etc.
This is a very clean instant messaging program that allows you to be on
AOL Instant Messenger, Windows (MSN) Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger
simultaneously with one program. There are other free packages that do
this, but Gaim is stable and clean and simple.
8. BitTorrent
http://www.bittorrent.com/
Original but essential
From their website, “BitTorrent is a peer-assisted, digital content
delivery platform that provides the fastest, most efficient means of
distributing, discovering, and consuming large, high-quality files on
the Web. Our mission is simple: to deliver the content that entertains
and informs the digital world.” In other words, BitTorrent allows you
to download large media files and also use your bandwidth to help
others download these files. Search for media files you want and
download ‘em.
9. GIMPShop
http://www.gimpshop.net/
Replaces Adobe Photoshop
This is a version of the GNU Image Manipulation Program that does a
pretty solid job of imitating Adobe Photoshop - a regular user of
Photoshop (like me) can adapt to it quite quickly. It’s very richly
featured and runs quite well - in fact, I see no reason to ever go
back, even if Photoshop were free.
10. Gnucleus
http://www.gnucleus.com/Gnucleus/
Replaces LimeWire, BearShare, etc.
Sure, LimeWire and BearShare are free, but why not just get the same
basic software without all of the spyware? Gnucleus is pretty much
identical to those software packages - but without all that extra junk
that slows down your computer.
11. VLC Media Player
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Replaces Windows Media Player, Quicktime, RealPlayer, etc.
If you get tired of having tons of media players on your computer, get
this package that runs pretty much every media type you’ll run across
without breaking a sweat.
12. Juice
http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/
Unique but essential
Juice lets you effortlessly subscribe to podcasts, organize them, and listen to them at your convenience. In conjunction with PodNova, I find it easier to use Juice to organize podcasts than using iTunes itself.
13. Audacity
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Unique but essential (for some)
If you’re interested in recording your own podcast (or just want to
make your own voice recordings for whatever reason), Audacity and a
microphone are pretty much all you need to get the job done. I’m not
much for podcasting (let’s just say I don’t have a radio voice), but I
use Audacity for other voice recording purposes.
14. RSSOwl
http://www.rssowl.org/
Unique but essential
RSSOwl is one of many open source RSS readers. In other words, it
enables you to use one program to keep track of the content of a lot of
different blogs; if you read a lot of blogs, it’s the only way to keep
tabs on all of them without devoting hours jumping from site to site.
If you have a laptop, it’s preferable to using sites like Bloglines,
but if you’re on a desktop, a web-based feed manager might be better.
15. Filezilla
http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/
Replaces WinFTP
Many people occasionally have a need to FTP files to other computers;
if you ever have the need to transfer files in such a fashion,
FileZilla will do the job slickly and quickly.
16. Keynote
http://www.tranglos.com/free/keynote.html
Unique but essential
Keynote is basically designed specifically for the task of taking notes
on a laptop. If you ever find yourself in a meeting or a presentation
with your laptop open and want to jot down notes and organize them just
a bit, Keynote is unquestionably the program for you. It’s not good at
quality word processing, but that’s not the point. In my professional
work, I find myself using Keynote almost as often as any other utility.
17. MusikCube
http://www.musikcube.com/
Replaces iTunes
If you’re not already committed to downloaded music from the iTunes
Music Store, then MusikCube is the best choice available for a music
organizer and player. It organizes your mp3s, makes it really easy and
really fast to find them, and allows you to make some incredibly clever
smart playlists.
18. Handbrake
http://handbrake.m0k.org/
Unique but essential
Handbrake enables you to stick a DVD in your DVD drive and have the
contents of that film stored to your hard drive in a form that can be
read by pretty much any media player. I often use it to put a few
movies on my laptop for travel purposes, so I don’t have to worry about
keeping track of DVDs while on the road.
19. X-Chat 2
http://www.silverex.org/
Replaces mIRC
X-Chat is a free IRC client. For those unfamiliar with IRC, it’s a
place for technical people (and, as my wife loves to point out, nerds)
to meet and discuss topics in an open environment. I often find it very
useful when piecing through difficult technical issues.
20. KeePass
http://keepass.sourceforge.net/
Unique but essential
KeePass is a program that securely stores and manages the abundance of
passwords we all use on a daily basis. I have literally hundreds of
usernames and passwords spread out all over the place; KeePass keeps
them all for me and keeps them safe.
21. TrueCrypt
http://www.truecrypt.org/
Unique but essential
TrueCrypt enables you to convert a memory stick into a strongly
encrypted data storage device, meaning that you can store personal data
on it without worrying about losing it and having personal information
get out and about. I use it to keep some of my most personal data off
of my laptop and strongly secured, just in case.
22. PDFCreator
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/
Replaces Adobe Acrobat
PDFCreator creates a virtual printer on your computer that, if you
print a document to it from any program, creates a PDF of that document
that can be read on any computer with Acrobat Reader on it. After
installing PDFCreator, all you have to do is print like normal and out
comes a PDF!
23. Freemind
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/
Unique but Essential
Freemind is a “mind mapping” software program. In essence, it enables
you to brainstorm and link together ideas quickly, creating “maps” of
concepts similar to what you might do on a whiteboard. I find it
incredibly useful when putting together ideas for new posts or planning
small projects or assembling the backbone of a writing project.
24. NASA Worldwind
http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/
Replaces Google Earth
WorldWind is very similar to Google Earth in that it allows you to
browse the globe. While it isn’t strong for creating maps (but why not
just use Google Maps for that?), it is utterly incredible for viewing three-dimensional landscapes of any place on earth.
25. Notepad2
http://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html
Replaces Notepad
Notepad2 is a replacement for the traditional Windows Notepad that just
adds a few sweet little features: multiple documents; line, word, and
character counts; and some highlighting of tags. In fact, I’m using
Notepad2 as I draft this post (after using Freemind to organize it).
26. HealthMonitor
http://healthmonitor.zucchetti.com/
Unique but useful
HealthMonitor enables you to keep an eye on the health of your
computer. It identifies slowdowns and other system issues quickly and
lets you know (for example, it gives a popup if your system memory gets
to a certain percentage of fullness, or if your hard drive has only 10
GB free). This can keep you out of trouble and also give you clues to
problems your machine might be having.
27. Workrave
http://www.workrave.org/
Unique but useful
Sometimes late into a writing session, my wrists get sore from too much
repetitive movement. Workrave basically jumps in before this happens
and locks down the computer for a while, preventing me from working too
much and causing repetitive stress injury. Since I’ve started using it,
it hasn’t significantly hurt my productivity at all and my wrists are
thanking me!
28. GanttPV
http://www.pureviolet.net/ganttpv/
Replaces Microsoft Project
If you do any project management (or have a need to dip your toes in
the water), GanttPV does a brilliant job of managing the task quickly,
easily, and freely. If you need to move to MS Project later, you can
export from GanttPV to Project, but once you start digging into
GanttPV, you’ll likely have no reason to use Project.
29. GnuCash
http://www.gnucash.org/
Replaces Microsoft Money or Quicken
GnuCash is a slimmed-down version of the bloated Microsoft Money and
Quicken packages, but it contains all of the features I want for
managing my money. The interfaces are incredibly simple - it functions
much like a checkbook ledger on your computer - but there’s a lot of
meat hidden throughout the software.
30. True Combat: Elite
http://www.truecombatelite.net/
Replaces Quake IV, Halo, etc.
After all this downloading, you’re going to need to blow off a little
steam, and I’ve yet to find a more enjoyable free game than this one.
It’s basically a third person combat game, but the graphics are
spectacular and the game is quite engrossing.
If you’ve downloaded and installed all of these, you’ve got access
to all the productivity software you’ll likely need, clean and open and
best of all free.
Courtesy of thesimpledollar.com
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by Brien M. Posey MCSE | Tech Republic
You can't boot Windows XP from a floppy disk the way you used to be able to with DOS. One handy way to easily boot XP is by using a USB flash drive. Here's how to make it work.
Almost everyone who has worked with computers for any length of time at all has run into at least one situation in which a problem left a PC unbootable. What if you could return the machine to a bootable state just by inserting a USB flash drive though? Believe it or not, it is actually possible to install a bootable copy of Windows XP onto a flash drive and then boot a PC off of the flash drive. From there, you can use applications that you have installed on the flash drive (anti virus, anti spyware, disk repair, etc.) to fix the PC's problem. In this article, I will show you how.
What's the catch?
As with most cool new techniques, there are a few catches. For starters, not every PC is capable of booting from a USB flash drive. For the most part, computers manufactured within the last two years are generally able to boot from a flash drive. Older systems may require a BIOS update, or might not be able to boot from a flash drive at all.
Another catch is that not every flash drive will get the job done. The primary factors that limit your use of a particular flash drive are capacity and speed. Technically, speed isn't really a limiting factor, but booting Windows will be painfully slow unless you use a flash drive that supports USB 2.0.
The flash drive's capacity is actually a limiting factor though. Surprisingly though, there are size limits on both the upper and lower end. Your flash drive can't be too large or too small. There isn't really a documented minimal size for a flash drive. You just need something large enough to hold Windows XP and a few applications. As you probably know, Windows XP normally consumes over a gigabyte of disk space. Later I will show you how to use a free utility to trim the excess fat off of Windows XP and make it a whole lot smaller. Even so, I still recommend that your flash drive be at least a minimum of 256 MB in size.
As I mentioned, there is a maximum size for the USB flash drive that you can use. Currently, USB flash drives exist in sizes of up to 4 GB, and 8 GB flash drives are expected to be available by the end of the year. As nice as it would be to have 8 GB to play with, the flash drive that you use for this project can be no larger than 2 GB. The reason for this is because you will have to format the flash drive using the FAT-16 file system, which has a 2 GB limit. Presently, you are stuck using FAT-16 because most computers will not recognize a flash drive as being bootable if the drive is formatted with anything other than FAT-16.
Preparing your Windows installation CD
One of the requirements for creating our bootable USB flash drive is a Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installation CD. If your Windows XP installation CD doesn't already include Service Pack 2, then you will have to make a CD that includes Service Pack 2 through a technique called slipstreaming.
Other requirements
In addition to your Windows XP installation CD, there are a couple of other things that you are going to need. For starters, you will need the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. You can download this tool for free.
Another utility that you are going to need is Bart's Preinstalled Environment Bootable Live Windows CD / DVD, or BartPE for short. You can download this utility for free from the BartPE Web site.
In addition to the software requirements, you must verify that the PC that you will be using to create the Windows deployment has 1.5 GB of free hard disk space (minimum) and supports booting from a USB device. I also strongly recommend that the PC be running Windows XP Service Pack 2. Prior to Service Pack 2, Windows XP sometimes had trouble interacting with USB storage devices.
Read more about this article on Tech Republic!
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Web2FTP is back, it is one of the most useful tools a mobile blogger could ever need. With this service you can access any FTP account through a Web interface - no matter whether there is a firewall or not. You can use webftp for the complete administration of your homepage, downloading files or just making small changes.
Unfortunately there’s a filesize limit, but still be useful in an emergency.
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Pilot Watch Advertisement
An advertisement by Jung von Matt/Alster for watchmaker IWC. Bus straps have been fashioned from images of IWC’s Big Pilot’s Watch to allow bus travellers near the airport to try before they buy at Berlin, Germany. Ambient advertising at its best!
Heineken Advertisement
An innovative idea on a large billboard in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Want to get that ‘Heineken’?
Unicenter Shopping Mall Advertisement Campaign
A great advertisment campaign at Unicenter Shopping Mall in Buenos Aires, Argentina for Valentine’s Day. It magnifies the romantic ambience with a simple idea.
Folgers Coffee Advertisement
Appetizing photo of a cup of Folgers coffee was printed on vinyl and placed on top of steaming New York City manhole covers. Holes cut out of the vinyl let steam rise through. Headline around cup reads “Hey, City That Never Sleeps. Wake up.”
Body Odour Advertisement
Life-size stickers of people were stuck on automatic sliding doors at a mall in Mumbai, India. When someone approaches the doors will move apart and it seems like people on the door are moving away. Creative? cool? The person enters to find the message ‘People Move Away When You Have Body Odour’.
M-Tech Plasma HID Advertisement
It’s by Lucideas agency from Malaysia for Plasma HID headlights. The advertisement which features torch marks has been pasted in selected car park locations and reads “Plasma HID 300% brighter than regular headlights”.
The Maid Advertisement
A life size sticker for the horror movie ‘The Maid’ in Singapore placed near the toilet round the corner. Will you dare to go to toilet to pee after saw the advertisement? This kind of advertisement will makes you pee in your pants before you go into the toilet.
Indivi Advertisement
A huge mirror was built that allowed passersby to stop and look at themselves wearing Indivi clothes at a shopping mall in Tokyo, Japan. So, you will not dirty the clothes and can have a quick look at it after u wear it.
Vending Machine Advertisement
An advertisement for a job recruiting company in Berlin, Germany. Depicting people working in the vending machines, ATMs, it delivers the message that ‘Life is too short for the wrong job’.
Duracell Battery Advertisement
Cool advertisement found in Malaysia. A sticker has been placed on the high voltage box depicting that Duracell’s batteries were used.
Deodorant Axe advertisement
This controversial idea was done in Dubai by Sandeep Fernandes and Husen Baba Khan for the male deodorant, Axe. The mouse pad that every guy needs.
Quit Smoking Advertisement
This is an advertisement found in Vancouver during the National Non-Smoking Week. The car was placed at the Vancouver Art Gallery and the message reads ‘Death from car accidents: 370, Death from smoking-related causes: 6,027, Quit now before it kills you.’
Cleaner I.C.U Advertisement
Life size stickers were stuck on glass doors at shops, airports in South Africa for the advertisement of glass and window cleaner I.C.U. Can I.C.U make your glass so clean?
Fitness Company Advertisement
At the first glance, it looks like someone is doing weights. Another creative idea by The Fitness Company. Heavy Weights were placed at various subways in New York City which creates an illusion that the person holding the safety bar is doing weights.
Yoga Advertisement
A very cost-effective advertisement in Hong Kong for a yoga school. It showcases the prowess of a yoga practitioner on the flexible stems of drink straws. A surge of enquiries and enrollment went after up this promotional stunt.
- http://www.b2.is/?sida=tengill&id=193441
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1) CRACK open your briefcase or handbag, peer Inside and ask "Got enough air in there?"
2) STAND silent and motionless in the corner facing the wall without getting off.
3) WHEN arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to yank the doors open, then act as if you're embarrassed when they open themselves.
4) GREET everyone with a warm handshake and ask him or her to call you Admiral.
5) MEOW occasionally.
6) STARE At another passenger for a while. Then announce in horror: "You're one of THEM" - and back away slowly
7) SAY -DING at each floor.
8) SAY "I wonder what all these do?" And push all the red buttons.
9) MAKE explosion noises when anyone presses a button.
10) STARE, grinning at another passenger for a while, then announce: "I have new socks on."
11) WHEN the elevator is silent, look around and ask: "Is that your beeper?"
12) TRY to make personal calls on the emergency phone.
13) DRAW a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers: "This is my personal space."
14) WHEN there's only one other person in the elevator, tap them on the shoulder, then pretend it wasn't you.
15) PUSH the buttons and pretend they give you a shock. Smile, and go back for more.
16) ASK if you can push the button for other people but push the wrong ones.
17) HOLD the doors open and say you're waiting for your friend. After a while, let the doors close and say "Hi Greg, How's your day been?"
18) DROP a pen and wail until someone reaches to help pick it up, then scream: "That's mine!"
19) BRING a camera and take pictures of everyone in the lift.
20) PRETEND you're a flight attendant and review emergency procedures and exits with the Passengers.
21) SWAT at flies that don't exist.
22) CALL out "Group hug" then enforce it.
- I lost the link I got this from, but omg this is funny and I want to try each and every one.
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