Thanks to iTunes Match, you have a backup of all of your music, instant access from anywhere, and the chance to upgrade your MP3s to a higher quality.

Sounds like progress? To me it sounds like a blast from the past.

Remembering My.MP3.Com

January 2000. Google was only a couple of years old. Facebook didn’t exist. Apple was a company that sold funny-looking computers. They wouldn’t introduce the iPod for another year. The most sophisticated smartphone looked like this.

This was when MP3.com, originally a site for musicians to share their own music, launched a feature called My.MP3.com. This was a cloud-based music service that let you stream your entire music collection from any computer. It used a matching algorithm so that you wouldn’t have to upload a track if they already had a copy. Does that sound familiar?

Unfortunately, MP3.com didn’t ask for permission from record labels. They were sued by Universal Music Group for copyright infringement, lost to the tune of $53 million, and went out of business.

What if there were no legal objections? I’m still not sure MP3.com would have succeeded. It was limited to music you bought in CD form at a store—there was no way to buy music from their site. It’s hard to scale servers to support this kind of load, and their service was limited by the technology of the time—you had to use a computer to access your music, and few people had broadband Internet access.

Progress Takes More Than Technology

This is an important lesson in how technical innovation is only a small part of progress. MP3.com had the cloud servers 12 years ago, and they had the same matching concept as iTunes Match. They even had a great domain name. But they didn’t have the industry connections to make it legal or the infrastructure to make it practically useful.

Apple introduced the iPod in 2001, along with the first version of the iTunes music store. While the iPod and later Apple products are mainly praised for their design and technical features, Apple also made amazing progress in doing all of the legal wheeling and dealing necessary to make the whole thing legitimate. It took years for iTunes to reach the point where it had licensed music from all of the major publishers, with some popular bands like the Beatles taking 10 years. Finally, after a ton of work from Steve Jobs and Apple, iTunes Match brought the same features as My.MP3.com to the real world. The service is much more useful, too, since you can play music from your phone over a 3G network.

My point here is not to complain that copyright law needs to change (which it does) or that we live in an overly litigious society (which we do). But if you’re wondering why a new feature hasn’t been released yet on your favorite gadget, or if you’re considering selling something yourself, remember that a great idea and a technical innovation always have the potential to bring progress. But if the company doesn’t deal with the legal issues and the infrastructure, It just might take 12 years to arrive… and it might be a different company that succeeds with the idea.

The end of the school year is looming, which means this is the big final test of the year. How are you going to study? Do you even have to study? When you can carry the breadth and depth of human knowledge in your iPod, should you be required to memorize all those dates and names? Isn’t it more important to know HOW to find information from reliable resources? Isn’t it more important to know WHICH information should be included?

Teachers would respond with a resounding, “NO!” Me, on the other hand, I don’t know. I gave up on the educational system a long time ago and I really feel that learning how to solve problems is more important than the specific names and dates of wars long past. Let’s solve a problem, shall we?

How do I get my most important information onto my iPod, so it will be with me everywhere I go?

Just A Warning

If you cheat you WILL be caught. It might not be today or tomorrow, but eventually, you will be caught. Teachers are actually smarter than you think and you might not only get an F on your test, but your iPod may be confiscated as well.

But, there might be a time when you’ll need to know where the War of 1812 was fought, so you might need to keep that information with you at all times. If that’s the case, here’s how to do it.

Decide What’s Important

You can’t put EVERYTHING in your iPod. Sure, there’s enough space on the larger iPods to hold all of human knowledge, but you have to be able to FIND it. You have to decide which information should go into your iPod and which information will just get in the way. This is going to take some studying. This actually might take more studying than just memorizing everything, depending on your ability to put facts to mind. Me? I had a lot of trouble memorizing things unless I really analyzed them. Taking a good, hard look at the information in front of you and deciding whether it’s iPod-worthy is a good way to study, but it’s also the first step in cheating.

Write Your Crib Notes

Once you have a firm list of information that MUST be carried with you at all times, type it into a word processor. It doesn’t matter whether you’re on a PC or Mac, whether you use, Word, Textpad or even Google Docs. Type in every fact that you feel is so important that you have to carry it around in your iPod. Once you finish typing, save it as a .txt file. Don’t just save it like normal or this won’t work. It has to be a Text File (i.e. Warof1812.txt) or this won’t work.

Enable Disk Use On Your iPod

iPods are naturally protected from these sorts of things, so you have to make them a little vulnerable in order to save your data correctly.

• Connect your iPod to your computer like normal and let it complete its original sync.
• Select your iPod under Devices in the Source list.
• Click the Summary tab.
• In the Options section of the Summary window, click the “Enable disk use” box.

Now that you have enabled disk use on your iPod, you must ALWAYS eject your iPod from the computer instead of just pulling out the connector when the sync is finished. Otherwise, you’ll screw up your iPod and you DON’T want to take it to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store and have to tell them that you pulled the plug without ejecting. They’ll just laugh at you.

Put Your Essential Information On Your iPod

With your iPod still connected to the computer and disk use enabled, it will look like a hard drive when you open up the computer’s window. I haven’t tried this on a Mac, but on a PC, I opened up My Computer and an F: drive showed up. Open the iPod Notes folder and copy your .txt file that you saved previously to that folder. You can also save to that drive using your word processor if you prefer.

Sync Your iPod Again Before Ejecting It

Before ejecting your iPod, perform one final sync. Don’t forget to close the word processor that has your .txt file or iTunes won’t allow you to eject your iPod. Once you have synced and closed the word processor, you can press the eject button and it should allow you to disconnect your iPod.

Check Out Your Data

On your iPod, look to see what showed up. According to Apple, there are limits to your Note capabilities:

• The Notes feature supports a maximum of 1,000 notes. If you try to put more than that number in your iPod’s Notes folder hierarchy, only the first 1,000 will be loaded.
• The size of any single note is truncated to 4,096 bytes of text (about 1,000 words).

If you didn’t do a good job of choosing the most important information, you probably hit the limit in the Notes, so not all of your information is there. Go back through your notes and cull the information that you don’t feel as important. Make sure you organize the most important information toward the top of your document so you don’t have to scroll alot. In a quiet test room, scrolling is VERY noisy.

Follow the previous instructions to get the NEW note onto your iPod and check it again to see if all your data made it.

Delete Your Notes

Yep, I’m gonna tell you to delete the notes from your iPod. This information isn’t for after the test when you’re “finished” with it. Delete the notes BEFORE you take the test. I told you before that if you try to cheat with your iPod you WILL be caught, so don’t do it. Deciding on the most important facts, typing them in the text file and re-analyzing the data to make sure that you only have the MOST essential data is a better studying technique than any other I have ever learned. Now that you’ve done all that, you don’t NEED the information that you put on your iPod, so delete it so you don’t get in trouble.

• Connect the iPod to your computer and allow it to do its initial sync.
• Open the iPod window and open the iPod Notes folder.
• Delete your .txt files.

Trust Yourself More Than Technology

The human mind is far more versatile and useful than any iPod, cell phone or other data storage device. School is all about teaching your brain to work better than any computer could, don’t miss out on that chance.

For more information about how to use the iPod Notes capability to its fullest, download this file:

• iPod Notes Feature Guide

If you would like to read Project Gutenberg books on your iPod, this website can convert them for you within the limitations that your iPod has:

• iPod Notes (iPod eBooks Creator) – convert books (text files) to notes on iPod

One of the first things to consider is the size of notebook. Notebook manufacturers and retailers divide them into three basic size categories:

• Mainstream: The traditional “laptop” form factor. These machines have screen sizes ranging from 14″ to 15.4″, and generally weigh 6-7 pounds. They usually have standard-sized keyboards, although there are some unusual key placements to make room for everything. They’re a good compromise between portability and usability, making them the most popular category. They’re also the cheapest, although prices vary greatly based on speed, features, and quality.
• Thin and Light: These are smaller, lighter notebooks that are much easier to carry. Screen sizes range from 10″ to 14″, and the machines weigh 3-6 pounds. While these used to be some of the most expensive machines, low-end models are now competitive with mainstream notebooks—but at this size, there’s always a compromise. The low-end models usually have slower processors and lack features, like DVD drives, that are hard to miniaturize; at the high end, all of the features are there, but the price is much higher. All ultralight notebooks have smaller keyboards, so you may find it hard to type with even the best models.
• Desktop Replacement: These are still notebook computers, and portable in theory, but they’re large and heavy, and best suited to sitting on a desk and being moved only occasionally. Screen sizes range from 17″ to 21″, and the weight is usually 8-10 pounds. These machines usually have full-sized keyboards, and some even have numeric keypads. Like the ultralight machines, these monsters used to cost a lot more than a mainstream notebook, but the price difference is small now. If you expect the notebook to be your only PC, and don’t plan on carrying it to work every day, these are nice machines.

This is probably the choice that will have the greatest effect on how much use you get from a notebook. If it’s too small, you’ll be fighting with a tiny keyboard and squinting to read the screen, and if it’s too large, you’ll leave it at home.

So which size should you choose? My recommendation would be the largest one you can conveniently carry everywhere you want to carry it. If you plan on using it at home 90% of the time, portability is less of a concern, but if you’ll be taking it to class or work every day, a pound or two can make a big difference.

One of the biggest reasons to choose a larger notebook is the screen. In tomorrow’s installment, I’ll look at the different types of notebook screens available today, and you’ll learn that more resolution isn’t always better.

Ways to make a DVD

There are basically three methods you can use to create DVDs of your home movies. Each method has its advantages and drawbacks, and none of the methods has a clear lead in the market. The three methods are:

1. Using a component DVD recorder
2. Using a DVD Camcorder
3. Using a computer

Using a component DVD Recorder

Using a component DVD recorder is basically like using a VCR—You insert a blank recordable DVD, connect your video source, and hit the record button. If you like simplicity, component DVD recorders are for you. The disadvantages are that they’re more difficult to use and program than VCRs (so if you had trouble with your VCR, you’re going to have trouble with your DVDR) and they’re not flexible—you can’t create highly customized DVDs. Some have lower quality encoders that leave noticeable artifacts in the video as well, so be sure to take a good look in the electronics store before you purchase.

Using a DVD Camcorder

Using a DVD Camcorder is the newest way to make DVDs, but unfortunately it’s not all that reliable. If anything goes wrong during the all-important finalization phase of the DVD burning process, you’ll loose all your video. Also, DVD camcorders are limited to about 40 minutes of recording before you have to change DVDs, and the blanks are still rather expensive—around $5 each, compared to about $1 each for typical DVD blanks. Most people are better off using a traditional tape based camcorder and a console DVD burner if ease of use and reliability are important.

Using a computer

Using a computer is the most difficult but most flexible way to create a DVD. You’ll need a DVD recorder in your computer and a bit of third party DVD creation software—for example, each of the five steps in the next section typically takes a different piece of software to perform.

If you’re willing to invest a significant amount of time learning the tools, and you don’t mind the considerable amount of time that your computer will have to spend transcoding video, then creating DVDs using a computer is for you.

Understanding the process

1. Capturing video
2. Editing video
3. Encoding video to MPEG-2
4. Authoring the DVD titles
5. Burning the DVD

Capturing Video

You probably already know how to capture video—point your camcorder and shoot. Any kind of video can be a source for DVD, but the easiest to use and highest quality video comes from digital camcordes that use Firewire (or sometimes USB) to transfer the video without loss to your PC or component DVD recorder.

If you don’t have a digital video camera, you’ll need a video capture card in your PC or a component DVD recorder with an analog input in order to capture video. A video capture card turns your camcorder’s video output into a digital file that the computer can transcode into the DVD format, MPEG-2. There are two similar formats that are also popular: MPEG-1, the format of Video CDs, and MPEG-4, which was made popular by DIVX and is the native format of a lot of video content on the Internet.

Editing Video

You don’t have to edit video—If you’re happy with what you’ve captured the way you’ve captured it, you can skip this step and save yourself some time.

Editing video requires that you use a computer and some (usually) expensive software. While there are different types of editors, most allow you to scan through the movie and cut out clips that you can then chain together to create the cinematic flow that you want. Most video editors also require that you transcode your video to some intermediate format, which will take a considerable amount of time on most computers.

Encoding video to MPEG-2

Once you have raw or edited digital video files, they need to be encoded into the DVD format, which is called MPEG-2.

Component DVD recorders and DVD camcorders have special chips that can encode to MPEG-2 in real-time as they get a video feed, but PCs have to do it with their regular CPU, which is not optimized for the process. It usually takes between two and ten times longer to encode a DVD than it would to play it on a PC—so expect your two hour movie to take at least four hours to encode to DVD when you import it from your camera. Usually, the MPEG-2 encoding process is handled by your DVD authoring software.

A new class of camcorders that record to internal hard disks in MPEG-2 format are starting to appear. These cameras require you to use a computer to create your DVDs, but they eliminate the time required to encode MPEG-2 and they typically come with all the software you need to perform these steps. If you want to use a computer to create DVDs, look for hard disk based camcorders to make it as easy as possible.

Authoring DVD titles

Authoring DVDs is the process of creating menus and the ancillary description files that the DVD format requires in order to make sense of the various video files contained on a DVD. Although the process is usually automated by console recorders and DVD camcorders, you can get quite a bit of flexibility out of PC authoring software to include the title screens you want, the audio tracks and music that you want, and to display menus the way you want to display them. If you really care about the finished look of your DVDs when they’re played, you’ll want to check out various DVD authoring titles.

Burning the DVD

On a PC, burning the DVD is also sometimes handled by the DVD authoring software, but in many cases the DVD authoring software merely creates a “VIDEOTS” folder or a DVD image file. If this is the case, you’ll have to use another program to burn the folder or image onto a DVD blank. Be careful—Both Windows XP and Mac OS X can’t correctly burn a VIDEOTS folder to DVD correctly using their built-in CD/DVD recording software because the way they record files is not compatible with the DVD standard. You’ll have to use software such as Roxio, Nero, or Toast to burn the files if you want your DVDs to work correctly.

Sometimes, burning the DVD fails at the last step (called “Finalizing”). This is the phase when the recorder burns the menu onto the DVD. Finalizing can fail if the DVD media is of poor quality. When this happens, use better media and try again.

What is Resolution?

The resolution of a digital image is a measure of how much detail it contains. This ranges from the low-resolution images you find on Web sites and TV to the high-resolution, detailed images that are used in printing books, magazines, and posters.

A pixel is a single bit of data–a colored dot–that makes up a portion of a digital image. Digital cameras typically measure resolution in megapixels, or approximate millions of pixels. Today’s low-end digital cameras are typically two megapixel: 1600 x 1200 pixels, or exactly 1,920,000 pixels.

Megapixels	Actual Resolution	Print Size
2	1600 x 1200	5 x 7 inches
3	2048 x 1536	8 x 10 inches
4	2272 x 1704	9 x 12 inches
5	2592 x 1944	10 x 13 inches

Choosing a Resolution for Printing

The table above lists the maximum size of print you could make, at a reasonably high quality, for each resolution. In practice, you may be able to make acceptable-quality prints at larger sizes, depending on your printer or printing service. Your standards for a printed image are also important: images for a published book or an art exhibit will require more attention to detail than those for casual display.

Print resolution is usually measured in dots per inch, or DPI. The print sizes in the table allow for 150 DPI printing, which is sufficient for most printers and printing services. If you have a lower resolution, the print will have fewer dots per inch, which results in a blocky appearance.

Zooming and Cropping

If two megapixels is more than enough for your printing or display needs, why shoot at a higher resolution? One answer comes when you think of a high-resolution picture as a combination of low-resolution pictures. In other words, having more pixels gives you more options for zooming, cropping, or framing the shot.

For example, if you have a five-megapixel (2560 x 1920) image, you can cut off up to 960 pixels off the sides and up to 720 pixels off the top or bottom to make a 2-megapixel picture. This lets you zoom in on the important part of the picture, or center it differently.

• Note: The "digital zoom" feature on digital cameras is nothing more than an automated version of this process–the image is cropped, then enlarged to the full resolution, but you don’t gain any detail. You may find it more useful to crop images yourself.

Images for The Web

Most computer screens have a maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200–equivalent to a 2-megapixel digital camera image. Most users use even lower resolutions, with 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768 being the most common.

Thus, if your primary use for a digital camera is to publish images on the Web rather than in print, your resolution needs will be lower. Much lower, in fact–unless your site deals with photography, you will typically be using images much smaller than 800 x 600.

As with printing, shooting at a higher resolution will give you more options for zooming, cropping, and framing your pictures for use on the Web.

Conclusion

What resolution you need for a digital picture depends on what you plan to do with it. You’ll need a high resolution for printing, depending on the size and quality you need, but resolution is less important for web images. Having higher resolution can also make it easier to crop or reframe pictures.

Obviously, when you choose a camera, the higher the resolution, the better–but if two or three megapixels is sufficient for your needs, save your money for more important things.