Do More With Software

Just for Fun: Quotes About Music

2013-05-17T18:35:00.000-06:00

A little fun for your Friday, here are a few music quotes we've come across to help inspire you as you are creating music whether on an instrument or with music software.

Create a Panorama with Photo Stitching

2013-05-15T15:10:00.000-06:00

If you don't have a panoramic camera, you can still make panoramic photos by stitching several photos together. To successfully create a panorama you will need to take two—or more—pictures that overlap. Photo stitching software will need to scan the images to find points that match up in order to fit them together. A good rule of thumb is to take the pictures so that about a fourth of width overlaps other images.

For the best results, in addition to making sure the images overlap you also want to be sure you don't move or change any camera settings like the zoom, between the pictures in the panorama series. Changing your position or other settings will make it difficult, if not impossible, to stitch the photos together.

When you have photos ready to be stitched together open PhotoPad photo editing software and select Panorama on the Tools tab. This will open the Create Panoramic Image dialog where you can Add all of your overlapping photos and arrange them in order in the top preview window. When all of the photos have been added and are in the right order, you can click Update Panorama to stitch together a preview of the panoramic image. If you add or delete any source images the panorama will be deleted. When you are happy with the results in the panorama preview simply click OK and a new project will be created for the panoramic photo.

Note making panoramic images is a resource intensive process, so it can take a long time, and uses a lot of memory. If your computer runs out of memory, try scaling down the images, or using fewer photos.

Track Your Hours and Time Spent on Projects

2013-05-10T15:58:00.001-06:00

Eliminate the tedious process of creating time sheets after the fact by tracking your time as you go with HourGuard time tracking software and track not only your total time spent working, but the time spent on individual projects or tasks. This makes HourGuard ideal for freelancers and professionals who bill by the hour.

Simply create a list of tasks and sub-tasks. When you start working on something, select that task from the list and click the green Start Task button. Switching tasks will stop timing on the current task and start timing on the new one, or click Stop when you're done. Later you can generate reports for a period of time to see a breakdown of the time you spent on individual tasks.

Get Ready to Compete - Video Competition Advice

2013-05-08T14:41:00.000-06:00

Ready to take your videos beyond home movies? For VideoPad users who are ready to showcase their creativity and videographer skills, we've put together some advice and resources for getting your videos ready to compete.

There are a wide range of video contests out there, put on by all kinds of companies and products, in a variety of themes. The smaller contests will have smaller prizes, but they will also have less competition, so they are still worth considering. To find a contest that appeals to you here are a few sites to explore:

Once you have a contest picked out the real work starts. Be sure to take your time and do your due diligence instead of jumping straight into filming.

Do Your Homework

Make sure that you read the rules and judging criteria carefully. Knowing how a winner will be chosen will help you make a video that will fit the bill.

Scripting and Story Line

Having a good story is key, so take the time to brainstorm until you have a story you are confident in. You want a moving story that fits in with the contest theme and connects with the viewer. Humor is often one way to draw people in, but it isn't always easy to pull off and certainly isn't the only option. You can tug at the heart strings or appeal to people's sense of justice, etc. The goal is always to create a story people will want to watch through to the end.

Practice and Timing

Since you will almost always have a time limit, you need to make sure you can take your story from beginning to end in the time allowed. With a limited amount of time, subplots and tangents should scrapped, and you need to grab your audience in the beginning. You want to start with a strong hook, and keep things moving through the conclusion. When reading through your script and practicing, you should not only make sure you are familiar with the dialogue, working on making it sound natural and animated, you should also be testing how long it takes to read through. Does it fit within the video time limitations? As you go through this process you should think about if there are any awkward phrases you should remove, or other edits to either cut down the length or help with the rhythm of your story and keep things moving forward.

Dialogue and Audio

Audio quality in your video matters. It is an important part of a film as a whole, and poor audio can detract from a film and cause people to lose interest, so don't forget about the audio. Dialogue should sound natural and animated, which can be a challenge both in writing and performing, as well as in recording. You should strongly consider using an external microphone for recording high quality audio. You want the dialogue to be easy to hear and understand, and have a consistent volume between shots.

If you do use the built in microphone on your camcorder remember you can still separate the audio from the video so you clean the audio, remove background noise, normalize and make other adjustments. For a closer look at some important audio editing features you may want to use, see our list of WavePad audio editing tips and tricks.

Adding Music

Adding music to your soundtrack can help draw the audience in, but be sure to balance the volume with any dialogue. And make sure that you either get permission before using copyrighted music from the publisher, or steer clear of copy protected music altogether and use royalty-free music and original works. You may be required to provide proof of copyright/permission for the audio in your video with your submission; using copyrighted music without permission can not only get your video disqualified, it can cause legal problems, so getting and sending proof of permission for a piece of music is in your best interests.

Filming and Editing

Important things to remember are that you want to maintain sharp focus and limit the amount of zooming and camera movement. Consider using a tripod during filming. Shaking can be removed from video using video stabilization, and if you are using handheld camcorders or cell phones this will be a necessary step, but using a tripod will eliminate the need for stabilization in editing.

For a closer look at some more VideoPad editing features you may want to use, see our post on video editing tips and tricks, but remember you want to entertain the audience, not to make them nauseous. Excessive camera movement or overdoing the effects can be distracting, and like everything else you want the transitions and movement to support the story, not draw attention to itself.

Double Check Everything

Before you send in you video be sure to double check everything. Did you follow all of the guidelines? Is the movie saved in the correct format and does it meet the time requirements? After all of the work you put in it you don't want to have your video thrown out because you forgot something. If you will be submitting your video on a DVD, do not include menus unless they were asked for. The judges will will be watching hundreds of entries, so this is another case where time matters and they will want the video to start playing automatically.

Submit Your Video

When you're sure you have dotted all your i's and crossed all your t's send in your submission. If it is being judged by the community be sure to let your friends, family and colleagues know to check it out and vote for you, otherwise it will now be out of your hands. But win or lose, you should have a video you are proud of.

If you have any more advice to share please comment, and Good Luck with your videos!

Do More with Video - Blog Carnival May 6, 2013

2013-05-06T12:24:00.000-06:00

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Video:

Brian Green presents Five things Every New Filmmaker Should Know posted at Film Making Stuff, saying, "A few tips I learned while producing my first feature length movie that I think every first time film-maker should know."

Hal Robertson presents Diegetic Sound posted at Videomaker, saying, "Diegetic sounds are the sounds that on-screen characters are hearing. If you want to tell a story and make viewers care, diegetic sound can really help seal the deal and help draw in the audience. Sound is, after all, at least half of a film."

Lincoln Spector presents How to grab a freeze-frame from a video posted at PCWorld.

Kyle Cassidy presents Shooting Tips for Beginners posted at Videomaker, saying, "Everyone starts somewhere, and what might be second nature to an old pro can be confusing to someone just starting out, so here are some tips for the beginner."

Duncan Wright presents Lights, Camera, Action, SEO! posted at BSA Marketing, saying, "Video as a marketing tool is now within the reach of most businesses,making video SEO a vital part of any search marketing strategy."

Dave Johnson presents Shoot now, focus later: Change the focus after you take a photo posted at TechHive, saying, "Cameras like the Lytro have changed the idea of focusing entirely, allowing you to change the focus of Lytro photos after they’re taken. Here is how you cam simulate Lytro photos with your current camera."

You might also be interested in:

That concludes the first edition of Do More with Video. If you have a video story to share from home movies to video production submit your blog posts about video for the next edition.

A WavePad Audio Editor Pre-Download Preview

2013-05-02T16:14:00.001-06:00

Once again thanks to CNET you can take a short "video tour" of some of the wonderful features that make WavePad audio editor such a favorite for editing all kinds of audio. This is just a quick peek at the program, remember that you can also check out our list of audio editing tips and tricks to get started and watch our series of WavePad video tutorials for some more in depth instructions via video.

PhotoStage Android Slideshow App

2013-04-30T09:16:00.000-06:00

The Android releases are continuing, now one of our long time favorites, and best slideshow software, PhotoStage, is now available for Android tablets. So you can make and share slideshows of your vacations before you return home. Quickly combine photos, video clips, music, record narration and more to make fun slideshows that will make everyone wish they were there too. You can download it now from the Google Play app store.

Keep In Touch

2013-04-24T15:28:00.000-06:00

Social networking websites and apps have made it so much easier to keep in touch. Like many of us you've probably been able to connect with old friends from high school or college, and made new friends around the world through sites like Google+, Facebook and Twitter.

At NCH Software we like keeping in touch with old friends and making new ones too. Whether you've been using our software for years or you're a new customer, we've tried to make it easy for you to connect with us using your favorite social networking site. We regularly post updates about new releases of programs, links to new blog posts, and other information we think you might find interesting. So pick your favorite social network and follow NCH to stay current on what's happening and keep in touch.

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Preview Switch Audio Converting Software

2013-04-19T10:03:00.000-06:00

CNET recently started making download preview videos to give you a quick taste of a program before you download. Take a look at the speedy Switch Sound Converter below. It really only takes seconds to convert audio and music files to mp3, aiff, wav, wma, or any one of the other audio formats—over 40 formats in all.

So now that you've had a peek, download Switch Audio Converter for your Mac or PC today for quick and easy audio converting whenever you need it.

How to Easily Resize Photos

2013-04-18T12:50:00.000-06:00

If you have a bunch of photos from your last vacation, or night out, you may want to share them all with friends and family. But, you may find that your batch of photos is too large to email. The solution is easy, you can resize or rotate all your digital photos in bulk with Pixillion image resizer and converter. If you will be editing photos you could resize them as you go, but the more pictures you have, the more time you can save by doing a batch photo resize.

So, to resize your photos, simply add them all to the list in Pixillion. At the bottom of the window click on Effects to open the format options. Here you can use the drop-down menu under Scale to set the photo resizing options. Once that is selected click OK to save your options. You only need to set this once, the effect(s) will be applied to all of the photos being converted in a batch, so Select All—or all the photos you want to apply those changes to—and click Convert. That is all there is to it. Pixillion photo converter will process all of the selected photos and save the newly resized photos for you ready for you to email, upload and share.

Free Mac Personal Finance Software

2013-04-15T13:22:00.002-06:00

Our newest program, MoneyLine Personal Finance Software, is available for Mac OS X. We sometimes wait before releasing a Macintosh version of a program, but we have seen and heard the outcry of Mac users who are frustrated with the lack of updates and support of Quicken for Mac. So we are stepping in to provide MoneyLine as the personal finance software alternative for Mac users, to fill that hole in personal accounting software choices for Mac users.

From downloading transactions directly from your bank and digitally balancing your checkbook to categorizing purchase transactions to see where your money is going and stay in control of your personal finances. We hope you agree MoneyLine Personal Finance Software is an easy, consolidated way to organize and track your spending. But, do let us know anything we can do to make it an even better solution for Mac money management.

Express Invoice Now Available for Android

2013-04-11T13:19:00.001-06:00

Adding to the NCH Android collection and giving you the ability to create invoices from anywhere, the popular, Express Invoice invoicing program is now available for Android tablets on both Google Play and on the Amazon app store. So business people who couldn't jump on the recent Express Invoice iPad release because they have an Android device don't need to feel left out anymore.

Take your billing on the road with you for easy, streamlined invoicing that is less of a chore. And for an even more comprehensive invoicing solution for multiple users, you can still use the popular desktop versions of Express Invoice invoicing software.

WavePad Audio Editing Tips & Tricks

2013-04-08T09:38:00.000-06:00

Below you will find a compilation of some the audio effects and sound editing basics for the WavePad audio editor that you will want to know and test out for yourself as you delve into the world of audio editing. Another great way for those new to audio editing to get started is by watching the WavePad sound editor intro video tutorials so you can see the audio editor in action.

Split and Cut Audio Files

You can split a file at any point you choose by simply clicking the Split button on the Edit tab. This will create two audio files split at the point you had the cursor. Be careful when you use this function, the action cannot be undone. Additional audio splitting options include splitting at bookmarks, splitting at silences and similar Trim options that delete sections instead of creating new audio files.

Amplify Audio Volume

To make audio sound louder, instead of simply turning the volume control up you want to amplify the file. You will find Amplify on the Effects tab, which will open a window where you can either adjust the amplification using the slider or by selecting a preset level from the drop down menu. Selecting 200% will double the volume, 50% will cut the volume in half.

Equalize Audio

Amplifying affects the full spectrum of the audio in a file, but if you want to increase or decrease certain frequencies, for example, boosting all of the lower bass frequencies, then you want to use the Equalizer. The Equalizer is also on the Effects tab and opens a graph of the frequencies going from low to high frequencies as you move left to right. This gives you very finite control of the frequency ranges you want to control. Moving a point up will make the frequency stronger and moving a point down will make it weaker.

Normalize Audio

Normalizing an audio file is similar to amplifying, except that normalizing increases the sound of the loudest peak to the maximum level without causing clipping in digital audio. This is frequently used as a last step before saving a final version of an edited song or recording. To normalize an audio file, you will find Normalize on the Effects tab.

Fade In and Out of Audio

Fading in and out of an audio file will help acclimate the ear to the background noise of a file. To fade in, select a region at the beginning of your file, then select "Fade in" under Fade on the Effects tab. Similarly you can select "Fade out" with a region at the end of your file selected. A good tip is to fade in quicker than you fade out because the ear expects to hear the initial audio quickly, but abrupt transitions to silence at the end can be jilting.

Remove Background Noise

Since not every audio recording is made in a sound studio environment, you often get unwanted background noise in recordings. To remove background noise you want to take advantage of the Cleanup options on the Effects tab. Specifically, under Noise Reduction try using Audio Spectral Subtraction and then Multi-band noise gating. If the presets don't give the results you want, try using lower levels on these reductions until you find a combination that leaves only audio you want to keep.

Remove Vocals

You will find an option to Reduce Vocals under the Voice button on the Effects tab. This will open a dialog box that allows you to change the pan position and width, the vocal level, and preserve the bass. Generally the default settings will work the best, but different songs may require different settings to effectively reduce or eliminate the vocal frequencies, so if you don't get the results you want, try adjust these settings until you are satisfied with the result.

Layer Audio & Voiceovers

WavePad won't allow you to record directly over another file; highlighting a file and clicking record will replace the selection. Depending on how much mixing you want to do, you may want to consider moving to MixPad audio mixing software, but for some basic audio mixing within WavePad you want to use the Paste Mix feature. Copy the audio you want to add to your file to the clipboard, then select all in the file you want to add it to, then select Paste Mix on the Edit tab. This will open a window with options on what to do if your files are not the same length. When you click OK the two pieces of audio will be combined.

Sound Effect Library

Find audio clips and sound effects to add to your audio projects in the NCH Sound Effect Library. Open the Sound Library from the Tools tab. This opens a new window where you can preview and download sound effects and royalty-free music clips.

Audio Effect Plugins

In the Windows version of WavePad you can add DirectX and VST plugin effects to further expand your audio editing capabilities. Find the options to add and use VST and DirectX plugins on the Effects Tab. VST Plugins will open their own interface where you can adjust the settings, while you will need to go into the settings when selecting a DirectX plugin for the effect to be applied when you click OK. Get started with this list of free VST plugins you can download and use with WavePad.

FFT Sound Analysis

All of the audio editing features outlined above are all easy to put into action, but don't let that fool you into thinking that WavePad doesn't have a lot of power under the hood. One of the more advanced areas you can explore are the powerful audio analysis tools for examining the spectral content of audio. Learn about the FFT and TFFT audio analysis graphs and what they represent to start to get your feet wet. These tools can be used in many fields, including linguistics and mathematics, in addition to sound engineering.

If you have any other tips, favorite features or advice of your own, please comment and share them below.

New Free Personal Finance Software

2013-04-05T11:40:00.001-06:00

If you have multiple bank accounts and credit cards keeping track of all your spending can be difficult. Your money may be spread out, but that doesn't mean understanding of your personal finances needs to be disjointed.

MoneyLine personal finance software isd a brand new and free way for you to track all your bank accounts and spending in one, centralized location. Now tracking your finances couldn't be easier. With MoneyLine you can download statements and transaction details directly from your bank(s), reconcile accounts—or digitally balance your checkbook, log money transfers, and categorize purchases to help you stay organized and see where your money is going.

You work hard for your money, so make sure you know where that hard earned cash is going. Make managing your spending and balancing your checkbook less of a chore. Give MoneyLine a test drive and be sure let us know what you think and if there is anything else we can do with future releases to make managing your personal finances easier.

Do More with Audio - Blog Carnival April 2, 2013

2013-04-02T09:48:00.001-06:00

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Audio:

Shaun Farley presents Creative Uses of Reverb posted at Designing Sound, saying, "Reverb is used to create realism and adding appropriate reverb will instantly help dialogue fit better into a scene. However, reverb can also be used in many other creative ways, here is a small collection of examples."

Denise Young presents 10 Benefits of Playing a Musical Instrument posted at Au Pair Care, saying, "There are many benefits to playing a musical instrument that go beyond improving hand-eye coordination and instilling a sense of responsibility in your child."

Ken Theriot presents EQ Basics posted at Home Brew Audio, saying, "Equalization&emdash;or EQ&emdash;is a big part of mixing and mastering music, but for those new to audio engineering it may be difficult to grasp. Here are some of the basics for using EQ effectively."

stayonbeat presents Free VSTs for Music Producers and Artists posted at stayonbeat.com.

Lee Pritchard presents Why you should remove breaths from voice over audio posted at Media Music Now, saying, "The problem is that once audio is produced with compression and EQ the breaths will actually become more prominent, making de-breathing essential."

Michelle Brown presents 10 iPhone Apps for Music Maniacs posted at Nanny, saying, "Apple and the app developers for the iPhone App Store are bringing instruments and equipment right to your mobile device, allowing you to use them anywhere and at any time."

Sydney Bell presents 10 of the Best Mash Ups posted at Longhorn Leads, saying, "Mash-ups are the combination of two songs sites like YouTube have boosted the art to mind-boggling popularity."

Peter Kirn presents Makey Makey + Fruits and Vegetables = Music posted at Create Digital Music, saying, "Simple circuits have long been able to make use of sensors in real-world items, but the Make Makey interfacing has made those circuits silly-simple. The project grew out of research at MIT Media Lab's Lifelong Kindergarten. Here see Massive Attack's Teardrop, as covered by artist j.viewz on fruits and veggies using the Make Makey system."

Software Easter Eggs

2013-03-27T17:03:00.000-06:00

It's the time of year when stores are lined with pastels, jelly beans and chocolates shaped like eggs and rabbits, but in the software world an "Easter Egg" isn't a colorfully dyed hard-boiled egg. A Software Easter Egg is a fun little surprise hidden inside of the software program. These features are typically un-documented, so you have to be in-the-know to uncover them.

One particularly famous example is the flight simulator that was hidden inside the 1997 version of Excel. So, in addition to crunching numbers you could brush up on your piloting skills. Find more software Easter egg examples on the Lifehaker Easter egg top 10 list.

NCH doesn't have any of these kinds of Easter eggs hidden in our programs which we have tried to streamline as much as possible to keep everything as easy and straight forward as we can, but in the spirit of hunting for—or finding—hidden features, here are some lesser known, or less used features you may want to try:

Resize zip files to meet email size restrictions, or split large zip files into pieces with Express Zip software.
Record video from anywhere with Debut video capture software. Most recording programs focus on a single source, but with Debut you have the best of all worlds with support for a multitude of video sources.
Send recurring invoices and statements in addition to one-off invoices Express Invoice invoicing software which can save you time with managing long term clients and accounts.
Practice transcription, we provide dictation practice files that can be downloaded individually for Express Scribe, or KeyBlaze typing tutor has audio dictation exercises already built in.
Convert videos to 3D with VideoPad video editor for some extra dimension in your home movies.
Broadcast DJ mixes by connecting Zulu DJ software with the streaming power of BroadWave audio streamer to share your remixes online.
Be sure to turn on Auto Complete in FastFox instant text expansion software to get the power of auto complete suggestions everywhere you type from emails and word documents to your web browser.

Smart Text Auto Complete Software

2013-03-22T12:53:00.000-06:00

With FastFox instant text expander you can improve your typing speed and productivity not only with personalized keyboard shortcuts and shorthand abbreviations, but FastFox also learns what you type the most often and will make suggestions for completing phrases as you type with a popup alert in the corner of your screen. Just like the regular hotkey shortcuts, the auto complete feature will work while you type in any application, so you can select, insert and finish text phrases on the fly.

Bring the power of auto complete to all your typing with FastFox word expander software.

Audio Effect Plugins for WavePad Sound Editor

2013-03-19T14:02:00.000-06:00

In addition to the wide range of audio editing features and effects built into WavePad Audio Editor, you can also add plugins to further expand your Audio Editing possibilities. WavePad supports both DirectX and VST plugin effects, providing access to thousands of additional audio tools and effects.

VST Plugins

VST or Virtual Studio Technology, is a standardized way of adding effects to digital audio editing programs like WavePad. To add a VST effect to WavePad choose VST on the Effects tab, which will open the VST plugins window. In this window browse to the directory on your computer where you have saved your VST plugins (note that the plugins must be DLL files). When you have a folder selected, the list of VST effects in that directory will populate the VST Plugin list, so you can use the drop down list to select your plugin. When you click OK, the VST plugin will open in WavePad and you can make any adjustments to its parameters and continue to edit the waveform, but now the audio you hear is being processed by the VST effect. To save the effect, click the Apply button on your effect which will close the effect and save the audio with the effect added.

DirectX Effects

Similar to VST, DirectX plugins are another standardized way to connect audio synthesizers and effects to audio editors. These plugins do not have their own interfaces, but pass and process the audio behind the scenes. Also, as with the VST plugins, you will find DirectX on the Effects tab, and clicking on it will open a window with a list of the DirectX plugins detected on your computer. Select the effect you want from the drop down menu and click Settings to make changes to the configuration settings, and click the OK to apply the DirectX effect to your audio.

There is a world of extra effects out there that you can use when you start exploring VST and DirectX effects. To get you started we have a list of free VST plugins available online for you to download and try with WavePad, but this is just the beginning. There are lots of other plugins available that you can use with WavePad Audio Editing Software to further enhance your audio editing projects.

Note: currently plugin support is limited to the Windows version of WavePad

Best Video Converter Software

2013-03-14T13:14:00.000-06:00

Software Review Boffin has put Prism Video Converting Software at the top of the list when it comes to video converting. The reviewer put Prism to the test over several days noting that it worked flawlessly, and that the software is "so proficient that support will seldom be necessary."

"Prism Video Converter Software will within minutes perform, its as quick as a speeding bullet the review team at Software Review Boffin thought. Time is money and this product will not weigh you down!"
– Software Review Boffin

Read the complete review of Prism Video Converter from Software Review Boffin, or simply download today for flawless video conversion whenever you need it.

Adding an Audio Voice Over with WavePad

2013-03-12T17:45:00.000-06:00

If you want to record a your voice over a piece of music you have two choices in the NCH Software audio suite. MixPad recording and mixing software is the more advanced program, that will allow you to record multiple tracks, and fine tune the mixing of the music and vocal tracks, but you can also try the Paste Mix feature in WavePad audio editor for quickly combining to files.

WavePad doesn't allow you to record directly over another file, highlighting a file and clicking record will end up replacing the selection. Instead, use the Paste Mix feature to combine two audio files into a single track.

Copy the recorded voice over to the clipboard, then select all in the audio file you want to add that voice over to and click Paste Mix on the Edit Tab.This will open a window with options on what to do if your files are not the same length. If the Mix Audio—which is your voice recording on the clipboard—is the shorter of the two files, you can ignore the options and click OK. If the Mix Audio is longer, you need to decide what to do when the audio you are mixing into is finished. When you click OK the two pieces of audio will be combined and when you press Play you will hear both files.

Why Data Privacy And Security Is A Must For Businesses

2013-03-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

Guest post by Karen Lawrence

image source

As the owner of a business, whether it is large or small, you must have at least some concerns about data security. Not taking this issue seriously could result in major consequences for you and the business as a whole. What are the reasons why data security and privacy are two major components that any business must consider?

One of the most important reasons has to do with customer interaction with the company's website. For many businesses, individuals are able to pay for services and goods over the Internet. However, as information systems specialists will tell you, this leaves their personal data open to security issues. If the website is not secure, then hackers could steal their credit card information and maybe even their identities. In the event that this happens, customers will likely be very cautious about ever using your services again. Furthermore, if you're not able to provide proof that your website is a secure place for them to add their data, they are likely not going to bother buying anything from you at all.

Now, that bit of information applies only to those businesses who sell goods and services to their customers online. What about companies that do not engage in these practices? Well, they might store sensitive information about patients or details about the company online. These systems are generally password protected, and there may even be several layers that an individual has to get through in order to access the information. Remember, hackers are professionals, and they are often able to get around these shields. Once again, information not only about the customers but also about the company as a whole, are accessed by an ill-intentioned individual.

Another issue arises when people are fired from their jobs, and they try to seek revenge on the company. If they still have the passwords and codes to enter into the website, they may get in and make a major mess of things. They might also leak secrets of the company to competitors and use the stolen information as proof of the success of such concepts.

Whatever the potential threat may be, companies and businesses need to take these issues seriously. If data privacy and security are not maintained, your customers could leave your company, and the business will have to shut down. What can you do about such intruders finding their way into your website and other information? Well, the best step to take would be to hire an IT services professional to create a suitable plan for you.

Karen Lawrence is your ultimate information systems expert. She loves to write these tech related things like tech events and IT Services in Brisbane.

Do You Think Employees Working From Home Are Productive?

2013-03-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

What do you think about Yahoo's new position on banning working from home?

Yahoo has made headlines all week, and there has been a flurry of articles, responses and reactions to the Marissa Mayer's announcement. As CEO Mayer is implementing a policy that asks all current remote employees to come in the office or quit because of the cultural assumptions that those remote employees get less work done.

Do you agree? Do you think employees aren't as productive if they are working from home?

NCH Software actually makes a software program designed to be a bit of a compromise allowing employers to monitor hours and tasks remotely. FlexiServer employee monitoring and attendance software is meant to help give the employer peace of mind that employees are being productive. And as you can see in the reactions online, there are a lot of remote workers crying out that face-time doesn't equate with productivity.

What are your thoughts? Monitoring software may be one possible compromise, are there any others? or do you agree with Mayer that all employees need to come into the office?

Do More with Video - Blog Carnival March 4, 2013

2013-03-04T15:26:00.000-07:00

Here are this edition's entries to Do More with Video:

Jason Brubaker presents How To Avoid Filmmaking Headaches posted at Filmmaking Stuff, saying, "A filmmaker has a gazillion things to do, but it is important to make sure the legal clearance paperwork doesn't get dropped. You need to have legal clearance for everyone and everything associated with your movie."

Lance Carr presents Shooting Better Home Videos posted at The DIY Video Editor, saying, "Part one of a six part series of articles on shooting better videos."

Matthew York presents Video Is Everywhere! posted at VideoMaker, saying, "there’s some seven billion people on the planet; more than 311 million in the U.S. YouTube tells us that in 2011 it had more than one trillion views — approximately 140 views for every person on Earth."

You might also be interested in:

That concludes the first edition of Do More with Video. If you have a video story to share from home movies to video production submit your video blog posts for the next edition.

Simple Ways To Protect Your Online Data

2013-02-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

Guest post by Rick Delgado

Cyber-crime is becoming a more prevalent problem every year in the United States. This is because much of what used to be performed in face to face interactions is now done online. For example, you probably did most of your holiday shopping last year while sitting down at your computer. Criminals are well aware of the type of information you are providing websites with and are taking greater efforts to access that information.

With so much risk attributed to the internet, it is essential to take necessary precautions. In addition to heavy duty network security programs, or encrypting data before emailing sensitive information, there are simple steps you can take to make sure criminals can't steal sensitive information. Consider some of the following:

Use Privacy Settings

Social media sites allow you to choose how private you want your profile to be. It is smart to only allow people you know and trust to view your social media sites. Identity thieves will often study someone's Facebook or Twitter account to help them take on your identity

Don't Use Personal Information on Social Media

In addition to making your social media private, don't put potentially sensitive information about yourself on it. Even a birthday can give a cyber-criminal clues to a password or verification question on your bank account's website. While it seems harmless, it might be a good idea to leave that information out. Your family and friends should know your birthday anyways.

Use Several Usernames and Passwords

Don't use the same password for your Facebook and bank account. Criminals use algorithms to figure out passwords. If they do happen to figure one out, they still won't be able to access information from all your accounts. Also change your passwords frequently for an added layer of protection. Don't make your passwords obvious either.

Be Cautious of Foreign Facebook Apps

Apps have the potential to access a lot of personal information. Some of these apps are specifically designed to take your information and sell it to criminals. Be cautious of which apps you buy and what country the app is from. You are likely to be safer with apps made in developed countries like the United States.

Don't Trust Public Computers

Don't use public computers, like those in libraries or internet cafes, for sensitive financial transactions. That information could be stolen through the network. If you do use public computers, make sure to log out when you leave. If you don't, people can trace your history or log into your accounts.

Lock Your Phone

People who use smart phones are more likely to have information stolen. Have a lock or password on your screen. Don't leave passwords up on important websites. You have a lot of important information travelling around with you in your pocket. If your information isn't properly secured and you lose or misplace your phone, you could be in serious trouble.

Close Old Accounts

It is always a good idea to reduce your digital footprint. For example, if you no longer use certain social media sites, delete them. The less information you have about yourself on the internet, the harder it will be for identity thieves to trace you.

Keep An Eye on Your Accounts

Once criminals access your information they will make purchases with your credit card. Review your finances frequently to make sure there aren't any unaccounted for transactions. If you do notice any, report them immediately to your bank so you don't lose any more money.

You can never be too careful when it comes to protecting yourself and your family from hackers, identity thieves, and other cyber threats. Your virtual security is extremely important, and can keep you from becoming a victim of not so virtual crimes.

About the Author: Rick Delgado is a freelance writer who specializes in the latest advancements in technology and gadgets, and is an expert in preventing online fraud.

WavePad FFT Spectrum Audio Analysis Software

2013-02-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

WavePad sound editor is more than just an easy audio editing program. Once you scratch the surface there are powerful audio engineering tools available for the more advance user. These tools include the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and the Time-Based Fast Fourier Transform (TFFT) which are both very useful tools to perform sound analysis on the spectral content of audio. These audio spectrum analyzer tools have applications in a number of areas, including linguistics, mathematics and sound engineering including reducing noise and vibration testing and analysis.

Audio FFT Graph

\ The FFT analyzer graph is designed to illustrate characteristics of audio at only one point in time. It takes a small sample of audio and plots the sound frequency in Hz against the audio intensity in decibels. If the audio is in stereo two lines will be plotted on the graph, otherwise just the one plot will be displayed.

Audio TFFT Graph

The TFFT graph maps the audio intensity of the frequency spectrum across time for the duration of the audio clip, representing the intensity through color. On this graph the x-axis is time and the y-axis is the frequency with the decibel intensity being mapped to the color intensity scale, with black representing -128 dB and white representing 0 dB.

Both the discrete and temporal fast fourier transform frequency analysis graphs can be created/opened from the Tools tab and both graphs will update in real time as you move to different positions in the audio file, or even as you play the audio so you can better see what is happening in the audio. So, download WavePad audio analyzer software to take a closer look at audio and learn how to analyze voice patterns and more.