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Convert DVD to iPod – FREE

Why buy the same movie twice? Convert your DVD with two FREE programs.

1. Download and install DVD Decrypter and Super Video Converter

  • Both are free software programs. DVD Decrypter was one of the original decrypting programs and still one of the best. Super is a free audio/video conversion program that can convert almost anything into almost anything.

2. Insert the DVD you want to convert and open DVD Decrypter.

  • DVD Decrypter will automatically recognize the dvd and one simple click of a button will copy the files to your hard drive.

DVD Decrypter - Recognize your DVD

3. In DVD Decrypter go to “Edit>Select Main Movie Files”

  • DVD’s are split into many different files (see above), but the actual movie is in a few VOB files, which are actually MPEG’s. As you can see in example #2, this movie was split into 4 sequential VOB files (VTS_03_1.vob through VTS_O3_4.vob). Don’t use the IFO file.

4. Make a note of the names of the files and where they are being saved.

  • On windows machines, the default location is on the C:\ drive (or the same drive as your OS) and it creates a directory or folder with the name of the movie. (see example #2)

5. Click the DVD to hard drive button to save the movie.

Example #2

Example #2
Example #2

6. Open the folder where the movies were saved, then open the VIDEO_TS directory or folder

  • It’s helpful here to switch your folder view to either “List” or “Details” to more easily identify the files you need.

figure 1-

DVD Folder

figure 2-

Select VOB files

7. Open Super and choose the lower radio button in the top left. Select “Join Format-Identical Files” from the small arrow next to the window.

  • In the top left of the program (see example #3), there are two vertically aligned radio buttons. The top radio button is to select the Output Container for the movie and the lower button is to select an Output Process. Clicking on the little arrow just to the right of the window will activate a drop-down menu where you can select your process.

8. Control-click or shift-click the files you need and drag them into the “Job List” window in Super.

  • Hold down the control key while clicking on the files to highlight or select more than one, or if they are all together, hold down the shift key and click on the top and bottom files to select multiple files. Once selected, click and hold the selection and drag them into the “Job List” window. (clicking and releasing anywhere in the window that has the selections will deselect the files, and you’ll have to do it over)

Example #3

Example #3
Example #3

9. Click on the “Join (Active Files)” button just below the Job List window.

  • The files need to be named sequentially – The file names need to be identical except for the last digit or letter in order for Super to recognize the correct order. The example is 1-4, but your files may differ and you may need to rename a few of the file names for the Join process to be successful.

10. After process is complete, remove source files from Job List and replace them with the newly created, “Join”-ed file.

  • Joining doesn’t re-encode, it merely concatenates the separate movie files into one continuous movie file, which is probably how you’d prefer to watch it. By default, this version of Super copies the new file into the same directory or folder as the source files.
  • Right mouse-clicking anywhere in Super will bring up the context menu where you can remove the files from the Job List.
  • Open the VIDEO_TS directory or folder, click and drag the new file into the Job List window.

figure 1-

Right Mouse-Click anywhere in Super for Menu

figure 2-

Joined VOB file

figure 3-

Drag Joined File into Super

11. In Super, click on the upper radio button, click on the arrow to the right of the window and select “Apple iPod/iPhone (MP4)”

  • Super offers several presets to encode your video – choosing Apple iPod/iPhone will automatically format your movie for your iPod

Select Format for Conversion

12. Click on the “Encode(Active Files)” button and within a few minutes (could be several), depending on your individual computer’s RAM and CPU speed, your movie will be saved.

  • The time it takes to encode your movie can take up to the same length of the movie itself.
  • 2-4 Gigs of RAM is recommended.
  • The finished movie, formatted for your iPod will most likely be saved in the same directory or folder as the source files.

figure 1-

Completed File

figure 2-

New MP4 File - Ready For iTunes

After your movie has been successfully converted, just add the new video to your iTunes video library and sync up. You may want to rename the MP4 file before adding to iTunes, but that’s up to you.

Please leave questions in comments section below.

Have fun.

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Audio: Capture Any Song On The Internet For Free

Have you found a song you really like, but not enough to buy it?

Burn A Copy Of Any DVD with FREE Software

DRM, or Digital Rights Management, is the technology used by Movie Studios and Record Companies to protect their intellectual property. However, it is largely ineffective when it comes to your computer. I have not found a DVD yet that could not be cracked by a defunct, yet absolutely effective little program called DVD Decrypter. I simple google search will assist you there. That program along with DVD Shrink, will enable you to copy any DVD you’ve purchased to a blank disk (for backup purposes only, of course).

In The Audio Realm, The FREE Program Audacity Makes It Easy.

In the Video Tutorial Below, I’ll Show you how to record any song on the Internet. Watch:

(Either JavaScript is not active or you are using an old version of Adobe Flash Player. Please install the newest Flash Player.)

To Pirate or Not to Pirate

To me, pirating is mass production of copyright material and unauthorized sale of that property. If you buy a CD or DVD, that intellectual property becomes yours for personal use. If you want to protect your investment by making a backup copy of something you already paid for, you should not be considered a criminal for doing it.

If you make copies and sell them, however, you should be fried and I’ll be happy to provide the lighter.

dave@flatheadenterprises.com

peace

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Internet Surfing Basics – Rules

Grown children are buying computers for their parents to improve communication. Many of the “long-in-tooth” crowd pick it right up. Others, not so much. This series is intended for the absolute beginner, but you might get something out of it too.

Overview

The internet continues to grow in importance in our daily lives. It offers us an opportunity to retrieve a seemingly infinite amount of information. Every dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, news source and educational institution in the world is at your fingertips (literally). It has enabled immediacy in social communication and business applications. But it can also lead to hours of hair-pulling, expletive-bellowing frustration. This guide can serve as a quick resource for those times when your hair and your dignity are threatened. So, let’s get started:

RULE #1

SECURITY

Internet SecuritySafe surfing means having a basic understanding of what dangers exist and how they affect you. Viruses, spyware, malware and adware affect Microsoft Windows computers primarily. Hackers are indiscriminate, but the vast majority of hackers typically attempt to compromise Windows machines. Due to the architecture of Microsoft software and operating system, more opportunities exist for the hacker to exploit Windows, than in Linux machines or Macs.

The specific definitions of spyware, malware, et al; are unimportant. The idea is to know what to look for, avoid them when possible and/or remove them once they’ve landed on your computer. Avoiding them means knowing what not to click on, removing them is the practice of cleaning out your machine from time to time.

Some adware and spyware are unavoidable annoyances, but not much of a threat. Viruses, malware, key-loggers and rootkits on the other hand can pose a serious security risk. The repercussions of an infection from these little programs, which is what they are, can range from annoying and/or embarrassing pop-ups to the compromise of your bank accounts and all of your personal information. Notice I didn’t say “some” or “a little bit of.”

If that last sentence scared you, GOOD. The hackers still have the upper hand, but, that doesn’t mean you have to be afraid of surfing the internet. There are tools you can use and techniques you can employ to protect your privacy.

First Line of Defense:

Put a router in between your computer and your modem. Even if there’s only one computer in the house, a router is a hardware firewall which effectively anonymizes the ip address of your computer. Software firewalls, like the Windows Security Center, are easily compromised and highly ineffective.

To other computers, your computer is a series of numbers called an ip address. Each computer has a unique ip address, sort of like a fingerprint. The internet is really just a bunch of computers all connected together in a network. The network is made up of Servers and Clients. Servers direct all the traffic, track and log activity and store information. Clients are users, like you.

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When you open a browser (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, etc) you make a call or a request to a Server, which is typically your Internet Service Provider or ISP. The Server sends your request to it’s intended destination which is usually a website that resides on a Server somewhere else. Your identifier, in the form of your ip address is stored on every server you visit and are directed to, and through.

Hacker Exploits

When one of these bad programs or a hacker obtains the ip address of your actual computer it/they begin a series of searches for what’s called open ports. Your computer has over 10,000 ports that are used by different programs on your computer for a variety of functions, but most often they are used as a portal for a specific program to communicate with other components via the internet or network.

Hackers, both white-hat (good guys, right) and black-hat, have found vulnerabilities in the code used to actuate these processes and have developed what are called exploits to attempt to break in or compromise a computer system.

That’s one reason Microsoft regularly sends out updates. Updates many times are patches or fixes to their own code which repair the vulnerabilities. That’s why anyone in IT recommends updating your system regularly.

Your Router is the Gatekeeper

The benefit of putting a router between your computer and your modem, is that a router adopts the ip address and basically becomes the gatekeeper between you and the internet. A router is a small computer that only runs one program, typically utilizing the Linux OS, which is extremely difficult to hack if not impossible.

Therefore, hacker exploits are stopped at the gate as it were, unless you inadvertently let them in by clicking on the wrong link.

Just Say No To Pop-ups

If you see a pop-up that you weren’t expecting, close it. On my FREE Guide to Internet Security, I show several examples of fake system messages. Unfortunately, the bad guys have gotten good at replicating actual websites and system messages. If you are unsure, Google can be your best friend. Look at the message and either write down the contents of the message or open up a separate browser tab or window and do a Google search based on the message. Please read my FREE Guide for more info.

Impostor Links/Sites

Another point of entry is through email and Impostor Links. Impostor links lead to Impostor sites which look exactly like Bank, Credit Card, etc sites, but are clones whose sole intent is to get your information.

One way to check whether or not a link is an imposter is to place your mouse pointer over the link, without clicking on it and look at the web address in the bottom left-hand corner of your browser window as illustrated below.

click on pic to enlarge

Web site link in left-hand corner

By looking at the link you can find clues as to whether or not the link is real. For instance, most websites in the US end in .com, .net, .org, .biz or .info. Below are some examples:

  • http://www.bankofamerica.com – (real link to real site)
  • http://de.bankofamerica.com – (fake)
  • http://www.bankofamerica.de.com – (fake)
  • http://www.bankofamerica.com.ru – (fake)
  • http://www.bankofamerica.info.ru.com – (fake)

ISP spam, virus and phishing filters have improved, but every now and then something will slip through and it pays, literally to be on the safe side.

I hope this first installment has been helpful. Please don’t hesitate to comment, critique or contact me with any questions.

peace, out.

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Microsoft – The End is Nigh

Categories: news, software, tech
Comments: No Comments
Published on: January 3, 2009

Microsoft, long the King of the Hill, is steadily losing market share.

Microsoft Peaked

The problem with being King of the Hill is that somebody is always trying to take you down. Slashdot reports that Internet Explorer (IE) market share has dropped below 70% for the first time in eight years. IE represents the single greatest marketing tool in the Microsoft arsenal. They are seriously concerned, but what can they do?

In an industry as vast and diverse as personal computing has become, how does a company retain such a lopsided advantage? As humans collectively gain a greater technological understanding, we are discovering that there are options out there that perform better, are more customizable and totally FREE!

Also, when a company reaches the unfathomable enormity of Microsoft, things are bound to fall through the cracks, which doesn’t help. Consider the recent Zune debacle. On Dec. 31st, 2008, the Original Zune froze. The Seattle Times reported that starting at 12:01 AM reports of frozen Zunes started flooding the blogs and user forums, affecting possibly over a million people. A bug in the internal clock was thought to be the culprit, Zune didn’t know what to do with the 366th day. They reportedly fired back up on Jan. 1st, 2009.

The internet began as a way for scientists, engineers and scholars to freely share information. These intellectual superiors did not consider the newly found form of hyper communication as a revenue source, and thankfully that hippie-like flag has been carried through the current revolution and there are thousands of FREE applications available just for the asking.

LAMP is a perfect example of how all you need is a computer and the virtual world is yours. LAMP is an acronym that stands for:

L – Linux

An Open Source Operating System (OS), developed by Linus Torvalds offers a multitude of distributions, or versions if you prefer, including Ubuntu which represents a direct challenge to the Microsoft empire. Ubuntu, founded by Mark Shuttleworth, designed for ease of use has been gaining acceptance worldwide as a desktop application. Linux is already the Server OS of choice worldwide.

A – Apache

Apache is the most popular web server software on the internet and was founded by Brian Behlendorf.

M – MySQL

MySQL, authored by Michael Widenius, is a relational database management system which has more than 11 million installations. The program runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases.

P – PHP

PHP is a scripting language originally designed for producing dynamic web pages. It was created by Rasmus Lerdorf, and the acronym originally stood for Personal Home Page.

While Microsoft continues to force computer hardware upgrades with each new release, Ubuntu, on the other hand, works perfectly well on your old machines. Ubuntu also includes a bundle of FREE software programs with each installation that competes with MS Office, Adobe and other popular and relevant software programs.

If you have an old machine in the garage that still works, but can’t keep up with the new MS releases, try downloading and installing Ubuntu just for fun. As the world continues to embrace the true spirit of the information age by accepting open source more and more, the closing line of this post is directed at the King of the Hill:

“The End is Nigh”

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Convert Cassette Tape Audio to iPod

Convert your favorite cassette audio tapes to your iPod – for FREE

If you have music, spoken word or other audio on cassette and want to listen to it on your iPod, it’s easy and FREE to do.

Tools:

  1. Cassette Deck or Player
  2. Computer
  3. Audio Recording Program
  4. Audio Cables

Step 1-

Open your Audio Recording program. I’ll be using Audacity, which is a FREE audio recording program that has lots of features. You can download it HERE. Download, install and open Audacity, and set the input to Line In or Microphone, depending on whether you plug into the back or front of your computer.

Audacity Audio Recording

Step 2-

Plug your Tape Deck or Tape Player into y0ur computer. Use a RCA to Headphone (Stereo Mini) audio cable for a Tape Deck:

RCA to Headphone Cable

Or a Stereo Headphone cable for Cassetter Player:

Stereo Headphone Audio Cable

Plug the audio cable into either the Line (blue) input on the back of your computer or if you have a Mic (pink) input on the front, use that.

Plug your cassette player into your computer

Step 3-

Press Play on your cassette deck or player, then click the round red Record button on Audacity. Once the song or other audio has finished, press Stop (obvious right). Go to File and Export MP3 and you’re done.

Notes:

  • You may need to adjust the volume on your computer (not your speakers) for the best possible results. Raising the volume level a few notches under distortion is usually best, just watch out for peaks in the audio.
  • Audacity has lots of features to improve the sound quality of your recordings. Save a copy of one song or recording just to play around with.
  • You can use the same process to record audio from video tapes on your VCR.
  • If you change the input on Audacity to “Stereo Mix” you can record audio from internet radio or any music or video you play online.

Have Fun

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