Thursday, September 28, 2006
Two tweaks to the Telephone Recording system
Based on the results of today's recordings, I've made two changes. One may be substantial, and one is just for fun.
First, I've replaced my Griffin iMic with the newer version, sometimes called the iMic 2. It may be the same on the inside, I don't know, but a new piece of hardware is always fun to get. And at $22 at Buy.com, it was a steal.
Second, I've gone from using the record function in QuickTime Player to Potion Factory's Voice Candy. This is probably not a huge change -- it's probably not going to affect the humming -- but it's a cute little application and I was very impressed with the fact that the developer responded to a question about ten minutes after I submitted it. I'll write up a full report later.
Also regarding the hum, I exchanged emails with a technical support person at JK Audio, makers of the VoicePath Telephone Handset Audio Tap. It's a higher-end replacement for my current Radio Shack Mini Recorder Control. I explained my situation to them, and the person wrote that
It's very tempting to drop the $60 for a QuickTap, but I'm going to try to maintain good scientific method and only change one thing at a time. Well, maybe two.
First, I've replaced my Griffin iMic with the newer version, sometimes called the iMic 2. It may be the same on the inside, I don't know, but a new piece of hardware is always fun to get. And at $22 at Buy.com, it was a steal.
Second, I've gone from using the record function in QuickTime Player to Potion Factory's Voice Candy. This is probably not a huge change -- it's probably not going to affect the humming -- but it's a cute little application and I was very impressed with the fact that the developer responded to a question about ten minutes after I submitted it. I'll write up a full report later.
Also regarding the hum, I exchanged emails with a technical support person at JK Audio, makers of the VoicePath Telephone Handset Audio Tap. It's a higher-end replacement for my current Radio Shack Mini Recorder Control. I explained my situation to them, and the person wrote that
"All of our products are transformer based so they will bring in the telephone audio cleaner and quieter than the products you are currently using. The Voice Path has two cables, one connects to the “Mic In” and one to the “Line Out” on your sound card so you can either record your phone conversation or play an audio file from your computer back to the phone line. There is a button to select which function you will use. If you only need to record your conversation, you could use a QuickTap. The output of this connects to the “Mic In” on your computer.
All of our products carry a two-year warranty and we have a 30-day return policy. If you purchase a VoicePath (or a QuickTap) and it does not work for you, you may return it within 30 days, provided it comes back in resalable condition."
It's very tempting to drop the $60 for a QuickTap, but I'm going to try to maintain good scientific method and only change one thing at a time. Well, maybe two.
First interviews done with new recording setup
I just completed two very short telephone interviews (both for Oracle OpenWorld) using the recording setup. The system definitely needs refining: both recordings have problems (but thank goodness, they're usable).
The first interview, about ten minutes long, has an annoying hum for about seven minutes, right in the middle of the call. It's the same hum that the Ground Loop Isolator is supposed to eliminate; why it stopped working, I'm not sure. The conversation is there, but the hum almost overwhelms the voices. I hope I can filter the noise out somehow before transcribing the call.
On the second interview, my voice is loud and clear but the person I'm speaking with is barely audible. The interviewee was speaking quietly on the phone, but not so quietly as the recording seems to indicate.
I'm not sure how to troubleshoot either of these problems. For the hum, I tried plugging in the Ground Loop Isolator in the opposite direction, even though it doesn't have ends labeled input or output. I also tried turning off my Bluetooth keyboard in case its radio signals were interfering somehow. Neither seemed to be the culprit.
The first interview, about ten minutes long, has an annoying hum for about seven minutes, right in the middle of the call. It's the same hum that the Ground Loop Isolator is supposed to eliminate; why it stopped working, I'm not sure. The conversation is there, but the hum almost overwhelms the voices. I hope I can filter the noise out somehow before transcribing the call.
On the second interview, my voice is loud and clear but the person I'm speaking with is barely audible. The interviewee was speaking quietly on the phone, but not so quietly as the recording seems to indicate.
I'm not sure how to troubleshoot either of these problems. For the hum, I tried plugging in the Ground Loop Isolator in the opposite direction, even though it doesn't have ends labeled input or output. I also tried turning off my Bluetooth keyboard in case its radio signals were interfering somehow. Neither seemed to be the culprit.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Recording Telephone Calls Onto a Mac
I do a lot of phone interviews in the course of my work -- as many as 100 per year. I record and transcribe most of them; it's time-consuming, but it helps me to understand the big-picture concepts my interviewees talk about, and to find the pithy quotes that make those concepts clear. Until this week I recorded all of my interviews on a Sony TCM-455V portable cassette recorder (sorry no link, but it's ancient), and transcribed them using a Panasonic RR-830 -- an old-school, foot-pedal-controled transcribing cassette player. It's a simple system that's served me well.
But the Panasonic has called it quits, and at around $200 it's too expensive to replace, so I decided to go digital. This will remove a big cassette machine from my desk and consolidate all of my work files, including audio of interviews, onto the Mac. But doing this means I must do two things: connect the phone to my Mac so I can capture the calls, and then control audio playback on the Mac with foot pedals (so my hands don't have to leave the keyboard as I transcribe). This post is about the first part of that process. In the next day or two I'll write about the second part.
I first tried the most obvious solution: I plugged my existing Radio Shack Mini Recorder Control (Catalog No. 43-1237) into a Griffin iMic connected to my Mac Mini. I set the Mac's Sound Preference to accept input from the iMic, and set QuickTime to record audio. I picked up the phone, and got an earful of an extremely loud, annoying hum. The noise drowned out all of the phone sound I wanted to record. Hear a sample, but be warned: it's loud. (The link goes to a QuickTime file; use your Back button to return.)
After some Internet searching, I found the website of science writer Stephen Hart. Specifically, this page where Hart describes his phone recording setup. He mentions that the $17 Radio Shack Audio System Ground Loop Isolator (Catalog No. 270-054) can remove the hum. Off to the store I go.
The Ground Loop Isolator is in stock -- Hallelujah -- and has just one downside: it has male RCA jacks on both ends. Meanwhile, the Mini Recorder Control sports a 1/8-inch male jack, and the iMic has a 1/8-inch female input. So, I pick up a 1/8-inch female-female coupler (Catalog No. 274-1555 -- didn't we used to call these "gender changers"?) and a female RCA to male 1/8-inch adapter (Catalog No. 274-883). The Ground Loop Isolator came with a female RCA to male 1/8-inch adapter, so I was set.
I plug it all in, fire up QuickTime, create a New Audio Recording, and click the Record button. I call up Jane and it works! The recording is very clean, as this sample will show. (Another QuickTime file; use your Back button to return.) I'll use the setup for the first time for a work-related phone interview on Thursday.
To recap, here's the string of parts, from the phone to the Mac; forgive me for not linking each piece individually:
On the phone handset cord: Radio Shack Mini Recorder Control (Catalog No. 43-1237)
Connects to: Radio Shack 1/8-inch Coupler (Catalog No. 274-1555)
Connects to: Radio Shack Audio Adapter (Catalog No. 274-883 -- why did I get the gold-plated one?)
Connects to: Radio Shack Audio System Ground Loop Isolator (Catalog No. 270-054) and the 1/8-inch adapter that comes with it
Connects to: Griffin iMic (I have the old silver model)
Connects to: Mac Mini
Recording with: Quicktime Player v.7.1.3
But the Panasonic has called it quits, and at around $200 it's too expensive to replace, so I decided to go digital. This will remove a big cassette machine from my desk and consolidate all of my work files, including audio of interviews, onto the Mac. But doing this means I must do two things: connect the phone to my Mac so I can capture the calls, and then control audio playback on the Mac with foot pedals (so my hands don't have to leave the keyboard as I transcribe). This post is about the first part of that process. In the next day or two I'll write about the second part.
I first tried the most obvious solution: I plugged my existing Radio Shack Mini Recorder Control (Catalog No. 43-1237) into a Griffin iMic connected to my Mac Mini. I set the Mac's Sound Preference to accept input from the iMic, and set QuickTime to record audio. I picked up the phone, and got an earful of an extremely loud, annoying hum. The noise drowned out all of the phone sound I wanted to record. Hear a sample, but be warned: it's loud. (The link goes to a QuickTime file; use your Back button to return.)
After some Internet searching, I found the website of science writer Stephen Hart. Specifically, this page where Hart describes his phone recording setup. He mentions that the $17 Radio Shack Audio System Ground Loop Isolator (Catalog No. 270-054) can remove the hum. Off to the store I go.
The Ground Loop Isolator is in stock -- Hallelujah -- and has just one downside: it has male RCA jacks on both ends. Meanwhile, the Mini Recorder Control sports a 1/8-inch male jack, and the iMic has a 1/8-inch female input. So, I pick up a 1/8-inch female-female coupler (Catalog No. 274-1555 -- didn't we used to call these "gender changers"?) and a female RCA to male 1/8-inch adapter (Catalog No. 274-883). The Ground Loop Isolator came with a female RCA to male 1/8-inch adapter, so I was set.
I plug it all in, fire up QuickTime, create a New Audio Recording, and click the Record button. I call up Jane and it works! The recording is very clean, as this sample will show. (Another QuickTime file; use your Back button to return.) I'll use the setup for the first time for a work-related phone interview on Thursday.
To recap, here's the string of parts, from the phone to the Mac; forgive me for not linking each piece individually:
On the phone handset cord: Radio Shack Mini Recorder Control (Catalog No. 43-1237)
Connects to: Radio Shack 1/8-inch Coupler (Catalog No. 274-1555)
Connects to: Radio Shack Audio Adapter (Catalog No. 274-883 -- why did I get the gold-plated one?)
Connects to: Radio Shack Audio System Ground Loop Isolator (Catalog No. 270-054) and the 1/8-inch adapter that comes with it
Connects to: Griffin iMic (I have the old silver model)
Connects to: Mac Mini
Recording with: Quicktime Player v.7.1.3
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Road-testing the Apple Wireless Keyboard
As my post of September 18 announces, I am now in possession of an Apple Wireless Keyboard. Today I finally got it out of the box and set it up; after just 20 minutes of use, I'm hooked. Setting up the Bluetooth connection was a breeze, and the keyboard seems very responsive.
Certainly, one reason to like a wireless keyboard is obvious: it reduces cable clutter. Now there's just one necessary wire on my desktop, going to my Logitech Trackball. But more important, the wireless keyboard allows me to move the keyboard out of the way when I'm not using it -- or when the cat decides to stomp around on the desk.
I already predict that the white keys will be a problem. I often take breaks from desk-work to pull weeds or do other garden chores; I'll need to be more fastidious about washing my hands before returning to work.
Certainly, one reason to like a wireless keyboard is obvious: it reduces cable clutter. Now there's just one necessary wire on my desktop, going to my Logitech Trackball. But more important, the wireless keyboard allows me to move the keyboard out of the way when I'm not using it -- or when the cat decides to stomp around on the desk.
I already predict that the white keys will be a problem. I often take breaks from desk-work to pull weeds or do other garden chores; I'll need to be more fastidious about washing my hands before returning to work.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Paddling Lake Merritt
My nephew Jeff and I took the kayaks to Oakland's Lake Merritt last Saturday morning (September 16) and had a wonderful paddle. I had expected to see tons of floating trash and smell foul odors, but neither proved to be the case -- the lake (actually a salt-water estuary) seemed quite healthy. In one area, pelicans were actively fishing; their dives were breathtaking to behold.
The shoreline was crowded with people, but we were literally the only boats on the lake. (A long, fast-looking crew-rowboat had just come in as we arrived.) We paddled in a roughly counterclockwise route starting from the boathouse, past Children's Fairyland, the construction site for the new cathedral, the old boathouse (it's said that the people who run the Beach Chalet at the west end of Golden Gate Park will open a restaurant there), the Alameda County Courthouse, the inlet to the bay, down to the east end of the lake, and then back to the boathouse along an area that was roped off (perhaps as a rookery). (The first link above has a nice aerial photo of the lake that will help you visualize the route.) Along the way we did pick up a few floating plastic bags, which we handed off to crews on the shore participating in Saturday's California Coastal Cleanup.
Here's one picture I snapped using my Palm Zire 72. Not a great photo, but it shows what a lovely clear day it was. I'm looking forward to going back.
The shoreline was crowded with people, but we were literally the only boats on the lake. (A long, fast-looking crew-rowboat had just come in as we arrived.) We paddled in a roughly counterclockwise route starting from the boathouse, past Children's Fairyland, the construction site for the new cathedral, the old boathouse (it's said that the people who run the Beach Chalet at the west end of Golden Gate Park will open a restaurant there), the Alameda County Courthouse, the inlet to the bay, down to the east end of the lake, and then back to the boathouse along an area that was roped off (perhaps as a rookery). (The first link above has a nice aerial photo of the lake that will help you visualize the route.) Along the way we did pick up a few floating plastic bags, which we handed off to crews on the shore participating in Saturday's California Coastal Cleanup.
Here's one picture I snapped using my Palm Zire 72. Not a great photo, but it shows what a lovely clear day it was. I'm looking forward to going back.
Monday, September 18, 2006
The Costco Mac Mini bundle
My mom's computer -- a bulbous six-year-old iMac my late father nicknamed the "Flying Purple People Eater" -- was doing fine for her, but not for me. Mom does just two things on the computer: send and receive email, and writing for her writing group. These are two activities a MacOS 8.5 (!) machine is just fine for. But for me, remembering how to support those old apps and that old OS was getting harder and harder. So, when I saw a Mac Mini bundle at Costco for $499, I snapped it up. (I had seen reports of these online for a while -- but at the price of $699.)
The bundle includes a 1.5-ghz G4 Mac Mini, a wireless keyboard, a wireless mouse, a package of AppleCare, and iLife '06. I gave mom the new computer, but kept the goodies for myself!
Actually: I'm not yet using the wireless keyboard, and I'm a trackball guy so the mouse is going to go unused, but the iLife is already loaded on my Mini (I wanted iWeb, mostly) and I'm going to see if Apple notices when I apply the AppleCare to my Mini instead of Mom's. (Don't tell.)
Moving her AppleWorks word-processing documents to the new Mini was easy, using a USB thumbdrive. The only small complication is that the new version of AppleWorks insists on upgrading the documents when she opens them.
Moving her Email was tougher. Her old machine used Outlook Express 5.something, and OS X Mail could have converted its data automatically -- IF both programs had been on the same machine, and if that machine had the Classic environment. (Zero-for-two.) So I moved the Outlook Express "Main Identity" folder to the new machine (using the thumbdrive again), and migrated it to the free trial version of Entourage that was on the Mini. Entourage converted the mail in about 30 seconds. Then I opened Apple Mail, and asked to migrate from Entourage to it. The conversion process took some 20 minutes, but every file (going back to December 2000) converted perfectly, at least according to the spot-check I did. Thanks to the always-brilliant Kirk van Druten for suggesting this route.
So now mom's set up for a while, I've got iWeb and (cross your fingers) a few years of AppleCare on my Mini, plus a wireless keyboard and mouse to use or sell -- all for five hundred bucks.
I've read the grumblings on message boards about these Costco bundles. People say that Apple wasn't doing anybody any favors by unloading these close-out machines through Costco. I beg to differ. I think I got a bargain.
And I especially appreciate Microsoft providing the free email migration tool.
The bundle includes a 1.5-ghz G4 Mac Mini, a wireless keyboard, a wireless mouse, a package of AppleCare, and iLife '06. I gave mom the new computer, but kept the goodies for myself!
Actually: I'm not yet using the wireless keyboard, and I'm a trackball guy so the mouse is going to go unused, but the iLife is already loaded on my Mini (I wanted iWeb, mostly) and I'm going to see if Apple notices when I apply the AppleCare to my Mini instead of Mom's. (Don't tell.)
Moving her AppleWorks word-processing documents to the new Mini was easy, using a USB thumbdrive. The only small complication is that the new version of AppleWorks insists on upgrading the documents when she opens them.
Moving her Email was tougher. Her old machine used Outlook Express 5.something, and OS X Mail could have converted its data automatically -- IF both programs had been on the same machine, and if that machine had the Classic environment. (Zero-for-two.) So I moved the Outlook Express "Main Identity" folder to the new machine (using the thumbdrive again), and migrated it to the free trial version of Entourage that was on the Mini. Entourage converted the mail in about 30 seconds. Then I opened Apple Mail, and asked to migrate from Entourage to it. The conversion process took some 20 minutes, but every file (going back to December 2000) converted perfectly, at least according to the spot-check I did. Thanks to the always-brilliant Kirk van Druten for suggesting this route.
So now mom's set up for a while, I've got iWeb and (cross your fingers) a few years of AppleCare on my Mini, plus a wireless keyboard and mouse to use or sell -- all for five hundred bucks.
I've read the grumblings on message boards about these Costco bundles. People say that Apple wasn't doing anybody any favors by unloading these close-out machines through Costco. I beg to differ. I think I got a bargain.
And I especially appreciate Microsoft providing the free email migration tool.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Revisiting Missing Sync
Many months ago I posted my frustration with Mark/Space's Missing Sync for MacOS X. I could get it to work all right with most of my Palm stuff, but synchronizing the Palm Calendar with iCal was genuinely impossible. I exchanged emails with the folks at Mark/Space, and they suggested that the problem was repeating events in my Calendar that didn't have an end date. (Examples: birthdays and holidays.) I didn't have time or inclination to go through my entire calendar and update every repeated event to have a fixed end date, so I set the problem aside.
Tonight I devoted a chunk of time to the problem, and resolved it successfully. I literally had to go through my calendar day by day, open each repeating event, and make sure it had an end date. I set them all to repeat until the end of 2010, so I could check my work by going through 2011 looking for repeating events; of the dozens and dozens I checked and changed, only one snuck through.
I tried to synchronize again, and again things hung up. Eventually, the Palm said it had lost communication with the computer. I tried again, and again it hung. I reset the Palm, restarted the Mac, reset the iSync history (in iSync, under Preferences), and tried again. The synchronization crashed this time, which I actually felt was progress over hanging. I reset and restarted again, opened the Missing Sync conduit preferences to make sure they were set correctly, and synched. And -- surprise of surprises -- it worked. I had to resolve some conflicts (mainly making sure that iCal accepted the events that now had end dates), but everything was on both the Palm and on the Mac.
All of this was prelude to updating Missing Sync to version 5.1.1. Mark/Space recommends completing a good sync before doing this upgrade. (Oh, BTW: when the sync crashed, Missing Sync recommended that I upgrade to 5.1.1 -- but pointed out that I needed to complete a synchronization before doing so. Thanks -- for nothing!)
Undeterred by my past experiences, I downloaded and installed the upgrade. As instructed in the Read Me file, I set the Mark/Space Contacts, Events, and Tasks conduits to override the handheld on the next sync, swallowed hard, and then started the process. Contacts went quickly and smoothly. Events took a LONG time -- causing the fan in my Mac Mini to become audible. (The only other thing that reliably does this is YouTube.) The synchronization seemed to hang forever at this point, with NO activity on either thermometer:
Finally -- after more than 15 minutes with, it seemed, no action, it broke loose! Events finished synchronizing, Tasks (which I never use) synchronized quickly, and I was done. Hallelujah.
So, the Mark/Space people were right about the product choking on events without end. I altered them, and the sync worked. But I have a suggestion: improve the Missing Sync status box! Show your users that SOMETHING is happening. In lieu of doing that, state clearly in your documentation that the process can take a long time if the user has a lot of data in his calendar. Whatever you do, Mark/Space, please don't leave us hanging.
Tonight I devoted a chunk of time to the problem, and resolved it successfully. I literally had to go through my calendar day by day, open each repeating event, and make sure it had an end date. I set them all to repeat until the end of 2010, so I could check my work by going through 2011 looking for repeating events; of the dozens and dozens I checked and changed, only one snuck through.
I tried to synchronize again, and again things hung up. Eventually, the Palm said it had lost communication with the computer. I tried again, and again it hung. I reset the Palm, restarted the Mac, reset the iSync history (in iSync, under Preferences), and tried again. The synchronization crashed this time, which I actually felt was progress over hanging. I reset and restarted again, opened the Missing Sync conduit preferences to make sure they were set correctly, and synched. And -- surprise of surprises -- it worked. I had to resolve some conflicts (mainly making sure that iCal accepted the events that now had end dates), but everything was on both the Palm and on the Mac.
All of this was prelude to updating Missing Sync to version 5.1.1. Mark/Space recommends completing a good sync before doing this upgrade. (Oh, BTW: when the sync crashed, Missing Sync recommended that I upgrade to 5.1.1 -- but pointed out that I needed to complete a synchronization before doing so. Thanks -- for nothing!)
Undeterred by my past experiences, I downloaded and installed the upgrade. As instructed in the Read Me file, I set the Mark/Space Contacts, Events, and Tasks conduits to override the handheld on the next sync, swallowed hard, and then started the process. Contacts went quickly and smoothly. Events took a LONG time -- causing the fan in my Mac Mini to become audible. (The only other thing that reliably does this is YouTube.) The synchronization seemed to hang forever at this point, with NO activity on either thermometer:
Finally -- after more than 15 minutes with, it seemed, no action, it broke loose! Events finished synchronizing, Tasks (which I never use) synchronized quickly, and I was done. Hallelujah.
So, the Mark/Space people were right about the product choking on events without end. I altered them, and the sync worked. But I have a suggestion: improve the Missing Sync status box! Show your users that SOMETHING is happening. In lieu of doing that, state clearly in your documentation that the process can take a long time if the user has a lot of data in his calendar. Whatever you do, Mark/Space, please don't leave us hanging.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
September: The Return of the Music
September means that two of my favorite activities resume: rehearsals of the San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir, and rehearsals of the Castro Valley Community Band. SFBACC resumed last Sunday, and CV Band started last week. (I wasn't able to attend, because I have a standing commitment on the first Wednesday of each month, but I'm looking forward to this evening.)
The choir is singing a number of double-choir pieces, including the Bach motet, Der Geist hilft unsrer Schwacheit auf. I'm not sure what's in the band folder yet, but I've heard one rumor about the group: there are several new saxophone players. Should be exciting.
Concerts for both groups will be in a few months; the choir sings on November 18-19, and the band concert date is yet to be set. When it is, I'll post it here.
The choir is singing a number of double-choir pieces, including the Bach motet, Der Geist hilft unsrer Schwacheit auf. I'm not sure what's in the band folder yet, but I've heard one rumor about the group: there are several new saxophone players. Should be exciting.
Concerts for both groups will be in a few months; the choir sings on November 18-19, and the band concert date is yet to be set. When it is, I'll post it here.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
In Praise of Phillips CF Lightbulbs
I've tried compact fluorescent bulbs in the past and have been unimpressed. Their bases were bulky, they took an extra instant to light up, and their color was off. But I recently purchased an eight-pack of Philips Marathon60 Energy Saving Bulbs at Costco -- 13-watt bulbs that give off the equivalent of a 60-watt incandescent bulb (900 lumens). They're terrific, answering all of my concerns about CF bulbs. And they were inexpensive -- about $2 per bulb. I recommend them.
