MP3-Ipod.org Tech Blog

As iPod has tried to crush all competition with the iTouch.  Who is left hanging in there?
Is there an alternative to that sleek Nano? Let us find out.
So, let us say you have an Ipod. You love it! BUT, you KNOW that there are problems with it.
If you have the Nano? You know the screen is a bit small.
If you have the Classic? You know it is a bit bulky.
And what about that sealed case, which means if your battery dies so does your iPod?
These minor inconveniences have given competitors a bit of a foot in the door, to get their gadgets noticed. Apple owns the MP3 market, but the publics’ eye has started wandering.  Sony used to annihilate all competition with their popular MP3 players, but has experienced a few problems recently.
Now Sony is leading the charge in the attack against Apple. The Sony NW-HD3 MP3 player has attacked the popular iPod in two areas, in my opinion. The first area is the battery life, (was not hard to beat Apple there).  The second is minimalism, and that will be quite a battle.  It comes in a variety of colors, even to include pink, for you Barbies types. You can change the actual screen color, to fit the color or case of your MP3. Show me an iPod that is sporting that much style. Yet still, it’s not a color screen.  This little gem is pricing in at $349.
If you are like me, and you do NOT want to spend that high of a dollar figure, there are other options rather than the iPod Mini. The iRiver H10 is about the same size and has the same storage capacity as the Mini; but it has a removable battery, a radio and a voice recorder, and the Mini has none of these.
The Zen Micro also competes with the Mini. Voice recording and radio are available, again. It is quite a simple Mp3, a simple menu and quite a solid feel to it.
In conclusion the main downfall of the iPod is the determination on the part of Apple to not have anything changed on their iPods. The sealed case is a step too far, and no radio could just be a ploy to make you buy songs from iTunes; but the competitors have still got a long way to go.

So as the Third Generation Nano has been released, along with the Classic, how have the reviews gone? Is the improvement from that first iPod so vast that it’s worth the huge money that apple wanted for a Classic?
The Nano is a gadget that many people are trying to get their hands on. I, myself was eager to get one and try it out. What lured me to this new gadget?
- Cover Flow. Flicking through all your albums is a great feeling and it is easy to do.
- 320-by-240-pixel resolution – which makes for a good quality screen.
- 2-inch (diagonal) liquid crystal display with blue-white LED backlight. It’s a small screen, but hey, who cares when you’re watching “Transformers” on the bus?
Since then, I have considered all of the negatives that I have noticed after using it for quite some time and have wondered if it was worth the money. Personally, I don’t regret purchasing a Nano. I watch films all the time, and despite having to find a DVD ripper and various converters, I love having my film collection on my iPod.
But the screen IS small, and converting is a lot of hassle. And with 8GB of memory, it’s hard to decide which films to put on and which ones to leave with iTunes.
Also one of the biggest problems that I and many others have is that it scratches easily - I have a silicon case, which hides all the gaps in it and scratches underneath. All in all, if you want to watch films at a good value price, the Nano is for you. If you don’t care about watching films then you should consider purchasing the Classic.
A lot of these problems with the Nano don’t apply to the Classic. 80GB of memory is all you will need - It’s big and quite sturdy; though very bulky when you look at the slick Nano.
Let me give you a quick run-down of the specifications:
- It’s got a 2.5 inch color LCD with LED backlight display, with 320-by-240-pixel resolution – which I think we can all agree is pretty amazing.
- 2.4 inches wide- which like I said before can be a bit bulky for some people.
- Takes MP4, .mov and .m4v formats for video.
So, what do I think is the better choice? Aside from its lack of memory, I have to say, that the Nano is overall the best one to have. The smooth and sleek design and the excellent display - as well as all of the features that are offered – is enticing and makes it hard for anyone to resist. While the Classic does have its good qualities I think that it lacks some of the great features that makes the Nano great.

One essential part of learning to play a musical instrument is often sidelined - learning to count and to understand time signatures. Let’s start with a basic foundation in reading music rhythms.

All commonly used time signatures consist of one figure over another at the start of a piece or section of a piece of music. The top figure represents simply “how many” of whatever value the bottom figure relates to, will be in each bar of music in that piece or section. To understand what the figure on the bottom refers to, we need to understand a western evaluation (mainly US based) of note-lengths. This system expresses the semibreve (an open note without a stem) as a “whole note”, and can therefore be thought of as being represented by the number 1. The note half the length of a semibreve is a minim but referred to in this system as a “half-note.” It is an open note but with a stem either up or down from it. If we think of one-half written as a fraction we have the number 2 at the bottom, and the figure 2 at the bottom of a time signature also refers to “half-notes.” Therefore in a time signature of 3 over 2, there are three half-notes in each bar. 2 over 2 would be two half-notes in each bar, etc.

The note one quarter of the length of a semibreve is a crotchet, but referred to in this system as a “quarter-note” - a filled-in note with a stem either up or down. One quarter as a fraction has a 4 on the bottom and a time signature of, say, 3 over 4 means there are three “quarter-notes” in each bar. 4 over 4 is four quarter-notes to a bar, etc.

The note one eighth of the length of a semibreve is a quaver - a filled-in note with a stem in either direction but also with a tail from the stem. Following the same system a time signature of 3 over 8 means there are three eighth-notes in a bar. 6 over 8 equals six eighth-notes in a bar, etc.

Now we understand what time signatures mean, we need to learn a little about how to count in music. Time signatures that have 2, 3 or 4 on the top are referred to as “Simple” times, where each beat of music could be divided into halves. These are counted using the number of each beat and an “and” for each beat that could be divided further, as in “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and” for a bar of 4 over 4 time. “1 and 2 and 3 and” is how to count a bar of 3 over 4 time.

Times that have 6, 9 or 12 at the top are “Compound” times, meaning each beat could be divided into thirds (not halves as in Simple time.) A bar of 6 over 8 has 6 eighth-notes in it but the eighth-notes are grouped in threes to form each beat. Therefore 6 over 8 is counted “1 and a 2 and a”, showing us that this time signature has only 2 Compound beats in it, each beat being a total of three eighth-notes. To write one note equaling a beat in this case, we must write a dotted crotchet (a crotchet or quarter-note with a dot AFTER it.) The dot adds half the length of the normal value to the note. So a bar of 6 over 8 could have two dotted crotchet beats in it, or six quavers grouped in threes, or one dotted crotchet and three quavers, etc. A bar of 12 over 8 would be counted “1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and a” to represent all of the thirds available for each beat.

Private Music teaching is where a teacher teaches one instrument (like guitar, piano, voice or drums) one on one or to small groups. Often the fees for this type of lesson are set by the school or local association to which the teacher belongs.

In a private studio or in a school, the monetary arrangements for this kind of music lesson involves the parent paying the teacher “per lesson” and it is these kind of teachers that this article hopes to help increase their income.

In this article are four strategies for increasing income as a private music teacher - some of them may not be suitable for every teacher, but hopefully they will give you some insights on how private music teachers can improve their income.

Strategy #1 - Never refund or credit a lesson because its in the clients best interest

Students miss lessons. It’s a fact. People get sick, there are special sporting events that happen, there are times when for whatever reason students are going to miss their music lesson. The fact is that this is unavoidable. What you can do as a music teacher is have a policy that says that “lessons are always made-up, they are never refunded or credited to your account”, however the important thing that is often missed in this is the WHY of that statement… it should be because it is necessary for the student’s progress on their instrument.

If you use this philosophy you won’t ever have to argue with parents over it - because its in the students interest, not yours! If you start the arrangement with this agreement in place you’ll find it much easier to enforce it - the parents will make the effort to make up the lesson rather than you having to insist on it. If you have outcomes for the student (such as an assessment or exam) in place it makes it even easier to make sure that it happens.

You will need to make time to make the lessons up - it might be necessary to allow one or two days in the holidays or during non-contact time to do it, but you’ll find that the ability to do this will be worth it in extra income. Very often the parents will not bother making it up, and you’ll not have to credit or refund any money!

Strategy #2 - Find your Niche and make yourself exclusive in that Niche

If you have something special about your teaching you’ll find that you’ll attract more and better quality students, and you’ll be able to charge more.

For example, lets say you teach the guitar.

If you teach anyone who comes you’ll probably end up with some young children, some high school children, and maybe one or two adults and you’ll have to teach a variety of styles depending on the type of music that the students like.

If however….. you start a niche business, specializing in only one area you’ll eventually find that people will seek you out because you are a specialist, and you’ll be able to charge more for your services and you’ll be able to only take on the students you want.

When you are considering signing recording contracts, it is important to know how to handle them. There are many things to consider and lengthy negotiations can cost you the deal. Therefore it is wise to have a game plan before you sit down to the table. Knowing how to proceed and what steps to take will make negotiations go more smoothly and help you make informed decisions. Knowledge is power and when you couple it with planning it will make you a winner. When you come to the negotiating table with confidence you will not be intimidated and make wrong decisions. Here are some step by step instructions.

Step #1: Check the company: Before you sign a recording contract with a company you should check them out first. This is especially true for smaller companies. Obviously the big names will speak for themselves. Firstly see what their distribution record track record is like. How many CD’s, DVD’s etc have they really sold? What are their distributing partners like? What are the company’s relationships with their distributors like? How much can they really spend on advertising and promoting your work? Seek out others who have used the company and ask them about their experiences with the company. Never walk into an agreement without knowing something about the company.

Step #2: Hire a lawyer: Sometimes signing recording contracts is difficult, especially if it is your first one. You may not fully understand what you are getting into. There are many legal clauses that may not be apparent at first glance. You should always hire a lawyer when signing these agreements. However do not just go out and get any lawyer, it is best to find one that knows about these matters, an entertainment lawyer. Do your researches well before you hire legal council so that you know you will get a fair deal.

Step #3: Read the fine print. Read the entire recording contract, especially the fine print, and give especial care to checking royalties, copyrights, licenses and terms. You want to be very sure that you understand every single clause in your agreement before you sign. Be sure you talk over al the clauses with your lawyer and clear up any misunderstandings. Once you sign it is legal and binding and there is no way out. All questions will need to be answered before you sign. There should be nothing to negotiate after the contract is signed.

Step #4: Check out the money: Be sure that you will be making profits when you sign any recording contracts. Understand how much money you will actually be making, and how much will be going to the company. This is very important as many musicians and song writers get the raw end of the deal with companies and end up making next to nothing for all their hard work. Calculate all the money you may have to pay the company for production costs and how much your royalties will actually be. Remember to add up all your expenses when calculating profit, including your time.

Does $100,000 a year sound too ambitious? I hope not. Thousands of freelance writers have broken the 6-figure barrier and with some determination and a clear set of goals, it’s very achievable.

Possibly you would laugh and burst out if I told you some freelancers even make $400000 - $500000 per annum , so I would save my face and stick to $100000.

There are different kinds of freelance writing. You could write for magazines, write general articles, write direct marketing advertisements (More on this later), and e-books . The world of freelance writing is huge and many times confuses newcomers.

The purpose of this article is to show you how achieve a six figure target, primarily using the Internet. (Get ready to work, eat and live in your pajamas!)

The September 2007 issue of The Writer published an excellent article: “Secrets of Six-Figure Freelancers”, which covered magazine freelance writers who are making six figures, with one making $260,000 per year. This proves that you can make a great income as any kind of freelance writer. The money is there, all you have to do is take it.

* An average writer on websites such as http://Guru.com and http://Elance.com charges between $15 - $35 per article. These articles take about an hour to write. How many can you write each day? Even with 4 hours of work you have crossed the $36000 per annum barrier.

* Web Copywriters charge a minimum of $250 to about $2000 for 3 -4 pages. You need 50, $2000 assignments to break the 6 figure mark. If you can prove yourself, raise your fees to $25000, there still are buyers for that price! Yep it’s true. That’s what the best copywriters charge! It’s hard to find a seasoned copywriter who charges less than $8000 per project.

Freelance writing is not a get rich scheme. $100000 per year is a very realistic figure to reach in freelance writing. No, it does not happen quickly, but it does happen. And it does not happen to especially talented or lucky people as sometimes the mind can trick us into believing.

It happens to normal people who make it happen!

As opposed to what many people think, it does not take a genius or greatness to make a six figure income as a freelance writer. All it takes is

* A New mindset: Change in beliefs which hold you back and your negative ideas on making money.It is indeed a fact that many of us have a negative attitude towards money and it actually hinders us. For example many of us have this belief that “life is hard” and “money does not grow on trees”. They are perspectives but not the reality !

* Dedication: What are you willing to do to achieve your goal? Earl Nightingale in his famous book The Strangest Secret states it clearly…” The only way to achieve financial abundance is to provide value to people “. Are you willing to provide good service to people?

* Treating it as a business: All the freelance writers making six figure incomes treat their writing as a serious home based business and employ sound principles which are common in all successful businesses. That’s the beginners secret to break the six figure mark. Treat it as a business.

One of the best ways to promote your website or blog is through article marketing. Learning to write articles quickly is a skill you have to master to accomplish this.

Many website owners make article writing a lot more complicated than it has to be. When writing for websites, remember first of all that people online are scanning web pages, not reading every word, so there is no need to spend hours making every word perfect.

Your content isn’t going to be totally unique, no matter what you write about. Every topic you can think about has already been written about by someone else. Think about it – every newsworthy event is covered by CNN, NBC, ABC, etc. Every network and every newspaper are all covering the exact same event or topic, just in different words.

The fact is, there are no new topics. Your job is to take what’s already been written and improve on it by injecting your own comments and personality.

One way to do research quickly is by inputting the topic you want to write about into a search engine. Choose three or four matches and read these articles thoroughly, taking notes.

Or, other places for quick research include article directories, forums and yahoo answers. By reading what people are asking in yahoo answers, you will learn what information people are looking for.

Amazon.com provides some great tools for quick research. By choosing a few top-selling books on a given topic, you can research quickly by browsing a book’s table of contents, the back cover of the book and even an excerpt.

Once you have taken sufficient notes, it’s time to put your article together. Write an outline of the important points you want to make in your article. Then write the article without looking back at the other articles. This is nothing more than the same work you did in high school writing book reports. Most of us have written quite a few book reports in our lifetime, and in those days many of us put ourselves through the unnecessary stress of cutting it too close to deadlines. That means we already know how to write and research quickly!

Basically, we need to decide what we’re going to accomplish and when. If we intend to write an article a day, then we have to stay glued to our computer until we complete that task. If we want to get it done in half an hour or less, this is another goal to work toward. Practice will definitely lead to improvement.

Article marketing is one of the best forms of free advertising there is. Learning to write articles quickly is an easily learned skill that will help us get the most out of article marketing.

Most of us are quite enchanted by the magic of guitar. The mesmerizing tune and sweet tingling of the guitar strings have enamored many a man who has later moved on to become musical legends in their individual niche. There is a roster of famous and successful guitarists who have mastered this enigmatic art of music.

Amongst the many legendary stalwarts, Jimi Hendrix undoubtedly tops the list of profiles of famous guitarists. A genius in its truest sense, the legendary Hendrix was born in 1942. An American by birth, the maestro was a singer and lyricist, and is considered around the globe as one of the most influential and enigmatic personas in the ambit of rock music. One of the milestones in his career was his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival which raised him to instant fame in the United States and was followed by many accolades.

Besides earning a huge name and fame for himself through his forte as a great singer and musician, the legendary maestro also improvised the art of rock music in his own signature way, and he incorporated a number of innovations and techniques into the older forms of rock and jazz music. Quite recently, Hendrix was inducted into the USA’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

The very meaning of rock music becomes insignificant without the mention of B. B. King, the master craftsman in the art of music. An ingenious guitarist and singer-cum-song writer in the American Blues, B.B. King was considered the Third Greatest Guitarist of All Time in the 2003 listing of Rolling Stone magazine.

The legendary musician started his journey in the world of music in 1946, and worked in the local R&B radio channel as a vocalist. However, soon after this he began recording under big names and became a prominent figure among the best musicians in the R&B music scene. Some of his greatest all time hits during this period include, “Whole Lotta Love,” “Every Day I Have the Blues,” “You Know I Love You,” and “Please Accept My Love.” Amidst his many achievements as a successful singer and composer, is included his most recent felicitation at the Three Deuces Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, for his maiden in radio broadcasting. Also, a grand memorial in the name of B. B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center is all set to be inaugurated on September 13, 2008, in Indianola, Mississippi.

Robert Johnson is another of the famous names in the world of guitar and its magic. Born on May 8, 1911, as Robert Leroy Johnson, the veteran guitarist was one of the brightest stars in the entire Delta Blues group. The period between 1936 and 1937 saw him in great guns when he claimed and proved his forte as a brilliant guitarist and lyricist, as well as an awesome singer. Often regarded as the “Grandfather of Rock-and-Roll,” Robert Johnson is believed to have been a great influence in the world of rock music, inspiring many legends of the same genre, including Bob Dylan, The Allman Brothers Band, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Black Keys, and many others. Eric Clapton, another legend of the same kind, has called Johnson “the most important blues musician who ever lived.”