Tech

Tech-focused ramblings. Computers, blogs, and whatever else fits.

[From the archives: 1.21.96 0639]

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[Note: This was originally written back when I was hand-coding my pages. Original entry is here.]

I actually have been doing some occasional work on my pages lately, just haven’t done much in the way of recording it here, just because few of them have been very major. The one major thing is that I’ve worked my ‘shameless promotion’ page into a changing schedule of things going on at the two clubs I’m dj’ing at, The Lost Abbey and Gig’s Music Theatre. Added a © notification to A Fable For Our Times, after the author got in touch with me and told me it was a copywritten work. He did let me keep it around, though, which I’m very grateful for…it’s a piece I really enjoy. I’ve also gotten submissions for a couple more people for my Web-Wide Woody’s page, and will be putting those in later tonight. Quite honestly, working on keeping myself awake for the next few hours. (grin) Ah, well. That’s it for now, then.

[From the archives: 1.8.96 0212]

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[Note: This was originally written back when I was hand-coding my pages. Original entry is here.]

Just a couple of quick changes at the moment. I’ve got a few more planned, but they’ll have to wait, as I’ve just been invited out to coffee at VI (Village Inn), and we must have our priorities, mustn’t we? (grin) Anyway…changed the ‘puter section of my main page to reflect the fact that I now have a whopping 20 Mb RAM in my machine. No, I’m not the least excited about this. (big ol’ cheezy grin) Also, as usual, a few more cd’s in my collection.

[From the archives: 1.3.96 0257]

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[Note: This was originally written back when I was hand-coding my pages. Original entry is here.]

Okay, changed some things around again. At the request of someone who e-mailed me, I have brought my page about the new teen curfew law back online. To do so took a little bit of space, though, so I zapped some of the older documents here…the bit on why Santa can’t exist, the Net Cruisers Anonymous flyer, and the flyer I did for Gig’s (but never actually put out on the streets) a couple of weeks back. (shrug) Change is the only constant in the universe…that and the beauricratic mentality.

[From Usenet: 4.9.95 2300]

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[Note: This was originally a post to the comp.sys.mac.system Usenet newsgroup. I’m including it here for completeness. Originally archived here.]

In article <jgrabill-0204952317270...@jgrabill-ppp.clark.net>,
jgrab...@clark.net (John N. Grabill) wrote:

In article <3ktmaq$...@nyx10.cs.du.edu>, jscor...@nyx10.cs.du.edu (Dover) wrote:

> ok, i just downloaded the 7.5.1 update installed it and decided to play with the new speech manager. unfortunately the voice on it keeps skipping like when you talk facing a really big fan. :-(

> I’m using a IIsi if this makes a difference… is fred to complex a voice for my computer?! I used to have bruce on without probs…

The IIsi has a documented problem with the connection between the speaker and the motherboard. Cleaning the contacts between the speaker and the motherboard and the problem should go away, for awhile. Connecting an external speaker fixes it forever.

Thing is, this happens to me, too…and I’m on a IIvx (well, Perf600 with an added FPU and Sys7.5). The ‘main’ voices (Bruce and Agnes, I think) work fine, but all the ‘secondary’ voices (Zarvox and the like) have the fan-stutter in them. Any other ideas?

[From Usenet: 3.26.95 1508]

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[Note: This was originally a post to the comp.sys.mac.system Usenet newsgroup. I’m including it here for completeness. Originally archived here.]

In article <tresyk-2103951347530...@blv-pm0-ip14.halcyon.com>, tre...@halcyon.com (Tresy Kilbourne) wrote:

My Mac has developed a will of its own. Lately it has taken to dialing up my Internet server at random times during the day, usually around 2 PM and sometimes around 7. I use MacTCP and a PPP connection. I have no unusual utilities (such as QuickKeys) that might be sending a connect AppleEvent to MacTCP, so I am at a loss to understand what’s going on. Any ideas? Please reply via email. thanks.

I’d suggest seeing if you have Eudora running when your computer tries to connect. Eudora can be set to check the mail at intervals, at which time it checks MacTCP to see if a connection is up. If not, then it’ll attempt to make one, which could prompt the beahvior. Just an idea…there may be other Mac i-net programs with a similar setup, could be worth checking…

[From Usenet: 3.21.95 0351]

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[Note: This was originally a post to the misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.software Usenet newsgroup. I’m including it here for completeness. Originally archived here.]

Now that Photoshop 3.x has been out for a while, I was wondering if anyone out there might have an old copy of the 2.5 deluxe cd-rom they might be willing to part with. I’ve got Photoshop on floppy, but would appreciate an easier install when I need it, along with whavever other goodies might be on that…and my poor old IIvx with 8Mb RAM can’t quite handle v3, so am not upgrading. Would appreciate e-mail of any offers… wo…@alaska.net. Thanks a lot…

[From Usenet: 1.18.94 0513]

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[Note: This was originally a post to the rec.arts.movies Usenet newsgroup. I’m including it here for completeness. Originally archived here.]

In article <1994Jan18.042438.17...@midway.uchicago.edu>, s...@ellis.uchicago.edu (Charles P. Samenow) writes:

What are the differences between: DTS, Digital Dolby, Dolby, Dolby SR and THX?
-Charles
s…@midway.uchicago.edu

Well, I’m no expert, but here’s what I’ve gathered…

  • Dolby – uses the same techniques as your Dolby cassettes…noise reduction, basically.
  • DolbySR – the noise reduction, plus better placement of where the noises appear to be coming from in the theatre. Stands for Dolby Spectral Recording.
  • Digital Dolby – in addition to the normal sound track, a digital track is printed between the sockets of the film. When a theatre is equipped to read and reproduce this track, it results in near cd quality sound (no background hiss and pops), and also uses six tracks to place the sounds…one center, two front (left and right), two rear (left and right), and one subwoofer channel. End result-some of the best quality sound I’ve ever heard in a movie theater. When it’s used effectively, it can be really mind-blowing.
  • DTS – a similar technique to Digital Dolby, only developed by Sony (if I remember correctly) and Lucasfilm…which can cause some licensing conflicts in theatres already set up with Digital Dolby. Competing systems and all. Major difference…instead of using the space between the sprocket holes, the digital track is printed in a small strip on the edge of the film, which means the actual print can’t be quite as wide. I recently saw Schindler’s list in DTS, though, and didn’t see any noticeable difference in the width of the image.
  • THX – developed by Lucasfilm. Not so much an improvement in the sound itself, THX uses special placing of speakers and translation of the audio tracks to make sure no matter where in the theatre you sit, you get the true stereo effect…something which can suffer greatly towards the edges of a theatre in a non-THX environment.

Where’d I get all the info? Lots of reading, and working in the only theatre in Alaska to have Dolby Digital installed. Anchorage’s Fireweed theatre was (this may have changed by now) at the time the biggest Dolby Digital installation on the West Coast…the auditorium sits over 900. Digital installations has been done before, just not in an auditorium that large. Was a more than $10,000 upgrade to the existing system. Plus, though I don’t work there anymore, the licensing agreements have been settled to the point that it now has DTS also.

Incidentally, except for the DTS (because it’s from a different company), all of the systems are compatable. Using digital negates the need for normal Dolby (noise reduction for digital sound?), however it’s perfectly possible (and has been done) to have a movie recorded in both Dolby Digital and THX, and I suppose in both DTS and THX. Sounds incredible, too…