Friday, November 26, 2010
ASIO4ALL - Universal ASIO Driver For WDM Audio
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Audacity : Sound Editor
The Free, Cross-Platform Sound Editor
Audacity is a free, easy-to-use and multilingual audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to:
- Record live audio.
- Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
- Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files.
- Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together.
- Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
- And more! See the complete list of features.
funny Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen Q&A
Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen Q&A
June 28th, 2009
I found this hilarious read about the new Transformers 2 movie on a forum.
——————————————————————
>>Are there honestly 46 new Transformers in the movie?
I have no (bleep) clue. It’s impossible to tell most of them apart except for Optimus and the Racist Twins (there’s another yellow Autobot who I constantly thought was Bumblebee). There could be 46, or there could be 12. I honestly would believe 12 if someone had said that.
>>What is the status of the Transformers at the beginning of the film?
The Autobots have joined the military to hunt down the Decepticons. We’re told the Decepticons are “doing things,” but they appear to be hiding peacefully when the Autobots show up and brutally murder them.
>>What?
Yeah. The Decepticons aren’t apparently doing anything, then the Autobots show up, the Decepticons run for their (bleep) lives, and the Autobots hunt them down and brutally murder them. It’s kind of weird.
>>Why is the U.S. military helping them?
Supposedly to help keep the Transformers a secret from the public. Although since the climax of the last film was a massive firefight involving 50-foot robots and took place over five miles of downtown Los Angeles and the beginning of this film wrecks several miles of Shanghai, China, they seem to be incredibly (bleep) at their job.
>>How does the U.S. military help them?
Well, not at all, actually. They just kind of come along with guns and stuff, and act like they’re going to help, but the Autobots do all the work.
>>Why is the U.S. military in this movie at all, then?
Because Michael Bay has a huge erection for jets and tanks and aircraft carriers and considers giant robots only a necessary evil for the film. At least 15 full minutes of the film’s 150-minute run time is nothing but footage of jets and tanks and planes without any robots or actual action whatsoever.
>>How is Sam Witwicky dragged back into the fight?
Well, he finds a fragment of the Allspark shard. You know, the Allspark that he spent all last movie being told he shouldn’t give to Megatron, but when he gave it to Megatron, it killed Megatron. That one. Anyways, the shard makes the Beef see symbols and act like more of an spaz than usual.
>>So the Decepticons want the shard? Why?
Uh… to bring Megatron back to life?
>>What?
That’s what they said.
>>But the Allspark killed Megatron in the first movie.
Yes.
>>…and now it can also bring him back to life.
It’s very powerful, this Allspark.
>>Uh-huh. So what’s their plan to get it?
They send a small R/C car who talks like Joe Pesci in Casino to get it.
>>Shouldn’t they have sent Starscream or somebody?
Look, there’s another Allspark shard and get that one anyways, so it doesn’t matter.
>>Well, then why do they give a (bleep) about Sam?
The symbols. In his head. That the shard of the Allspark gave him.
>>They weren’t in the other shard?
Apparently not.
>>So how do the Decepticons plan to get the symbols, I guess?
Well, the Decepticons have very cunningly created a hot chick robot who they enrolled in the same college and put in the same astronomy class as Sam. And they made her a huge slut.
>>Wait.
Waiting.
>>There’s a slutty Decepticon?
Yeah, she’s a real ho. The Decepticons apparently have an incredibly powerful slut-making program, because she has it down, man. Anyways–
>>Didn’t Sam touch the shard and get the symbols stuck in his head on his first day of college?
Yes.
>>So the Decepticons made a slutty robot to attend his college and enrolled her in classes and put her in on-campus housing just in case Sam ended up being important at some point in the future?
Apparently. It was an elaborate plan, but it sure paid off.
>>How so?
Well, not at all. The slut-bot made out with him for a little bit then immediately tried to kill him, neither for any apparent motive or gain.
>>It sounds preposterous.
Doesn’t matter, because the Decepticons use the shard piece they do have to resurrect Megatron! He’s back! Ooo! Scary!
>>Why is this scary? All he wanted was the Allspark, and now it’s gone.
…because he has a boss! He’s called the Fallen, because he’s so evil! He has an evil plan to use a machine on Earth to blow up the sun and make energon! Or something! It’s not very clear.
>>Now you’re just making (bleep) up as you go along, aren’t you?
Best not to think too much about it. Anyways, the symbols in the Beef’s head are a map to where this machine exists, so the hunt is on and Sam shortly is captured by other, less slutty Decepticons in one of the many instances where Bumblebee inexplicably abandons the Beef so he can conveniently be in trouble.
Then a robot called the Doctor who speaks gibberish with a German accent shoves things up Shia’s nose and gets the symbols.
>>That’s that, then, right? The Decepticons win?
No! Because Optimus Prime saves Sam before they cut off his head, which has another treasure inside!
>>Really? What is that?
No one really bothers to explain this, actually. Suffice to say, the Decepticons continue to want Sam. Oh, then Optimus Prime fights three Decepticons at once and dies.
>>Where the hell were the other Autobots during this fight?
I don’t know. They were with him before the fight, but then they disappear and show up right after he dies. But they appear sad about Optimus dying. Marginally. I mean, they don’t get any screen time or dialogue to convey any feelings or anything, but there’s some sad music playing for a little bit afterwards. I assume this means the robots that are off-screen are grieving.
>>Well, if one shard brought Megatron back to life, can’t Sam just use his shard piece to resurrect Optimus?
Yes. He could.
>>…
…
>>Well?
He doesn’t.
>>Why not?
I’m not sure exactly.
>>Then what the hell does he do?
He decides get those symbols that were in his head translated to figure out what the Fallen’s up to.
>>Which Autobot does the translating?
Err… none of them. Actually, it’s John Turturro.
>>What. The (bleep).
Yeah, since he was laid off from his super-secret government agent job, he now works in a NY deli and runs a super-popular Transformers conspiracy theory website. Like ya do.
>>And why couldn’t an Autobot translate these symbols?
Because Bumblebee is mute and the Racist Twins are poor black robots from the slums of Cybertron who never learned how to read. It’s a sad commentary on Cybertronian society. Like The Wire, actually.
>>Where the hell are the other Autobots?
I don’t know. Away. They seem to be unable to be reached. They’re probably grieving about Optimnus still. Clearly, John Turturro is the reasonable solution
>>So Turturro translates the symbols.
No, that would be silly. He does, in an incredibly bizarre series of connect-the-dots, lead them to Jetfire, an elderly and deceased Transformers whose corpse is hanging out in the Air & Space Museum.
>>What good is he dead?!
Ah! Remember the shard? Sam uses it to bring Jetfire back to life!
>>Not Optimus?
No! This way, Sam can get the symbols translated… so he can, er… find the ancient machine… that can, uh… possibly bring Optimus back to life.
>>You have to (bleep) be kidding me.
Moving on! Jetfire teleports everyone to Egypt, including some of the missing Autobots –
>>Wait, what? Teleports?
Yes, teleports.
>>Transformers don’t teleport.
Jetfire does.
>>But — wait a second, he’s a (bleep) jet. He could fly everybody to Egypt, right? And that would make perfect sense for both the character and the franchise!
Well, I guess so. But he chooses not to. The point is Jetfire teleports them all to Egypt where he explains that there used to be 7 or 8 Primes, and they traveled around the galaxy blowing up suns for energon. But they never did it on planets with life.
Well, they had set the machine up on Earth and not noticed all the life running around, and one of the Primes just said (bleep) it, let’s do it anyways. This was evil, so they called that Prime the Fallen and beat the (bleep) out of him although he escaped.
>>Okay…
So that other mysterious reason that the Decepticons wanted Sam’s brain? It’s because it contains some very vague clues about the Matrix of Leacdership, which is the device that turns on the sun-exploding machine. The Fallen needs the Matrix to blow up the sun and get his Energon.
>>Hold on. That’s what the Matrix of Leadership does in the movie?
Yes. Works the sun-exploding machine.
>>I’m fuzzy on how “Leadership” covers that.
I didn’t name it. But it does sound a little nicer than “Matrix of Blowing Up the (bleep) Sun.”
If I may continue, in order to protect the Earth, the 6-7 other Prime hid the Matrix on Earth and made a tomb with their own bodies. Isn’t that cool?
>>…
…
>>No. No it is not. If they wanted to protect Earth, why did they leave the Matrix on the planet? They’re a space-faring race, they could have hid it anywhere in galaxy! Second of all, what the (bleep) does making a tomb of their own bodies do? Shouldn’t they have stayed alive to protect the Matrix? Or finish off the Fallen? Or just not die and leave Earth and the entire Transformer race in jeopardy?
Uh…
>>And why hide the Matrix at all? Don’t they need Energon to survive? Didn’t they say they go to other lifeless planets? These idiot Primes just doomed their whole species for no (bleep) reason whatsoever! No wonder the Decepticons are so pissed.
…ahem. Eventually, Sam and crew find the Matrix, which instantly crumbles into dust. Sam puts the dust in a sock because he thinks it will bring Optimus back to life.
>>Grr.
What follows is the most spectacular part of the movie, as Sam and Mikaela try to run the several miles back to the military camp during a massive Decepticon attack where the military has dropped Optimus Prime’s corpse.
>>Why is that awesome? They could drive back in one of the Autobots and be there in a minute or two.
They don’t do that.
>>What?
They walk.
>>Of course they do. And I assume the Autobots just mysteriously disappear again until a second before a Decepticon is about to kill Sam.
Yes. Exactly.
>>I am already incredibly sick of this movie, and I’m just typing questions about it. Sam resurrects Optimus, Optimus kills the Fallen, end of story, right?
Pretty close. Sam dies, though.
>>Really?
Yeah, for a little while. But then the Transformers in heaven send him back because he still has work to do.
>>(bleep) you.
I’m serious.
>>(bleep) you. There’s no way.
It’s true. The 6-7 Primes are there in the clouds like Mufasa’s head in The Lion King, and tell Sam he’s awesome and he needs to live again so he can bring Optimus back to life.
>>I may be ill.
Then Jetfire appears out of nowhere and rips out his own heart right in front of Optimus to give him his elderly old robot powers. This makes Optimus into a flying badass who defeats the Megatron and Starscream and the Fallen in a little less than two minutes. After the last 30 minutes of the movie have been nothing but explosions — not all of which have any obvious causes — it’s a bit disappointing.
>>Anything else you want to add?
Well, only that although Sam jams the Matrix of Leadership into Optimus Prime’s chest to resurrect him, a Decepticon takes it out like 10 seconds later and Optimus is fine. Just a little weird, is all.
>>Can you give me any reason I would want to see this film in theaters?
I can’t answer every question, man.
>>Why does Sam’s mom buy and consume a pot brownie?
Well, Sam’s mom was in a coma for the last 30+ years, which explains how she had never heard of marijuana, and why she didn’t understand the consequences of eating it even after her husband specifically told her it was a pot brownie (Sam was unfortunately conceived and born during this period). A better question is why any college student in America would be selling pot brownies at an on-campus bake sale, let alone to a middle-aged woman.
>>A lot was made of how Shia the Beef’s hand injury was written into the film. How was this done?
Well, sometimes Shia had a huge bandage on his hand, and sometimes he didn’t.
>>That doesn’t sound “written in” at all.
Well, no actual words are used to explain it. It might be more accurate to say it “shows up sometimes.”
>>Why would a robot need to fart, pee, or vomit? And why would it need testicles?
Michael Bay does not understand what a robot is.
>>What is the point of the character of Sam’s college roommate, and why the (bleep) does he stay for the entirety of the movie?
I have no clue. He’s not comedy relief, because that’s covered by 90% of the Transformers themselves. He technically leads the Beef to John Turturro, but surely there could have been another way to do that. Besides, Turturro just leads them to Jetfire anyways. It’s all extraneous.
>>Why can only a Prime kill the Fallen? Why can Jetfire teleport? Why can the Fallen wave a staff and make (bleep) fly around? Why do actual cars and Autobots get sucked into Devastator’s maw, but John Turturro and that other kid can run around?
Because… because (bleep) YOU, that’s why.
>>Can you explain Megan Fox’s appeal?
Yes. She looks like a porn star and has the same acting talent as one, yet for some reason she makes mainstream movies. This tonal disconnect is what’s so appealing about her.
>>If you had to pick a single scene that exemplifies Michael Bay’s utter disdain for story and continuity, what would it be?
When five Decepticons sink to the bottom of the ocean to retrieve Megatron’s corpse. A submarine tracks five “subjects” going down, and when they get there, one of the Decepticons is killed to give parts to Megatron. 5 -1 +1 = 5, right? No, because the sub somehow tracks “six” subjects coming up. Not only is this very basic math, this is the simplest of script errors. It could not possibly have been more than one page apart in the script. And yet Michael Bay either didn’t care to notice or didn’t give a (bleep). “Math? Math is for (bleep). My movies are about (bleep) blowing up, man.”
>>Could you sum up the film in one line of its dialogue?
“I am standing directly beneath the enemy’s scrotum.”
Monday, November 22, 2010
Mz 7 Optimizer
Mz 7 Optimizer
Description:
A complete system optimization suite for your Microsoft Windows 7 operating systems. With Mz 7 Optimizer your computer will be faster, more stable and more secure. Easily customize your computer to suit your needs!
Here are some key features:
- Boosts PC performance
- Speed up games
- Tweak and personalize Windows
- Increase system security
- Smart memory & processor management
- Increase network performance and download speeds
- Optimize & backup your registry
- Remove unused and temporary files from your system
- Configure Windows startup and services
- Manage power plans for laptops/netbooks
- Schedule shutdowns
- Much more...
Supported Operating Systems: Windows 7 (32bit & 64bit support)
Click here
Mz XP Tweak (Mz Ultimate Tweaker)
Mz XP Tweak (Mz Ultimate Tweaker)
Description:
Through a friendly interface and equipped with the most powerful tweaks, Mz XP Tweak will try to stop crashes and gain your computer reactivity.
Here are some key features:
- Boosts PC performance
- Speed up games
- Tweak and personalize Windows
- Increase system security
- Smart memory & processor management
- Increase network performance and download speeds
- Optimize & backup your registry
- Remove unused and temporary files from your system
- Configure Windows startup and services
- Manage power plans for laptops/netbooks
- Schedule shutdowns
- Much more....
Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP (32bit & 64bit support)
Click here
EMU10kX project
Mission
Our mission is to allow end-users unfettered access to all hardware features of the kX-compatible* soundcards, to promote the development of supporting applications and to encourage a free exchange of information useful towards furthering software development for all kX-compatible soundcards. Our motto is: "Expanding the Potential Exponentially".
Historical background
The kX Project was born out of a perceived need to expand the possiblities for use by musicians of the kX-compatible soundcards, under new and emerging operating systems which no longer support the old VxD device driver model.
Until now, musicians interested in exploring the detailed operational aspects of their Emu10k1 and 10k2-based soundcards have been limited to either working with the drivers that came with their cards, or installing superior VxD drivers originally intended for the E-mu Systems APS (Audio Production Studio) card, but being unable to upgrade to newer operating systems. In some cases, demanding users have decided to change operating systems altogether, i.e. to linux, or to limit the use of their 10kx soundcards to tasks such as gameplaying and SoundFont playback.
An independent developer set out in the spring of 2001 to write the WDM drivers that would put the power back into the hands of the end-user, and throw open the door to practically unlimited software development for the 10kx cards. This intrepid and unrelentless developer was Eugene Gavrilov, who continues to spearhead the kX Driver programming effort.
A small team of independent testers and developers has now joined Eugene to continue kX Project development. Working together we can and will Expand the Potential and allow end-users unprecedented control over their soundcards and develop tools for musicians by musicians.
- Hanz Petrov, Eugene Gavrilov
December, 2001
Front and Rear issues
These issues pertain to all Creative cards, but not to the E-mu APS and some Audigy2 Platinum Ex cards. Creative audio cards based on the EMU10kX audio DSP require a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) in order to produce analog output. In general, this task is typically performed by either AC97 Codecs or I2S Codecs.
As a rule, Creative audio cards use the AC97 Codec for Front and Center/Subwoofer outputs, and I2S Codec for Rear output. The AC97 Codec is also used as an ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) and, thus, is responsible for all on-board analog inputs. (Note that LiveDrives and other DaughterBoard cards use different schemes).
The AC97 Codecs used in SBLive! cards are rather noisy devices (when compared to I2S Codecs), and this leads to some quality problems. As a rule, SBLive Rear outputs have much better Signal To Noise Ratio (SNR), Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) and Channel Separation (acs) since they use the I2S Codec. So, if you want to get better sound quality for music playback it is recommended that you plug your speakers into the 'Rear Out' and enable the 'Swap Front and Rear' kX Mixer option (the swap is enabled by default).
The Audigy and Audigy2 cards use both AC97 and I2S Codecs for Front output and this theoretically gives you rather good Front quality. But nevertheless, the AC97 Codec causes some distortion and thus the same procedure is recommended for use with Audigy / Audigy2 cards as well.
Certain Audigy2 Platinum Ex cards lack AC97 codec and thus don't require Front and Rear outputs to be swapped.
Of course, the above should be considered as a recommendation only.
RightMark Audio Analyzer - RMAA
RMAA suite is designed for testing quality of analog and digital paths of any audio devices, be it a sound card, an MP3 player, a consumer CD/DVD player or an acoustic set. The results are obtained by playing and recording test signals passed through the tested audio path by means of frequency analysis algorithms. A more common mark is also provided for those unfamiliar with measured technical parameters. A new version is the result of two years of development by best experts in digital audio. RMAA 6.0 raises the bar of comfort and functionality for spectrum analyzers. That's why it is a program of choice for enthusiasts, professionals, and audio magazines around the world; and some manufacturers are developing new devices with the mandatory testing of their quality in RMAA. In short, the program at the moment is a de-facto standard providing quick and easy measurement of technical parameters, without the need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on specialized measurement systems. |
RMAA 6 features:
- friendly user's interface (all tests and options in single list, new look of HTML report);
- added new sample rates (88.2, 176.4 kHz);
- added new important parameter in HTML report: Harmonic distortions + noise, dB (A);
- added new MONO mode;
- added polarity test (HTML report);
- added new spectrum plot modes (linear/log/mel);
- added support of local languages on spectrum label;
- fixed some critical errors.
Foobar 2000 music player
Main features
- Supported audio formats: MP3, MP4, AAC, CD Audio, WMA, Vorbis, FLAC, WavPack, WAV, AIFF, Musepack, Speex, AU, SND... and more with additional components.
- Gapless playback.
- Full unicode support.
- Easily customizable user interface layout.
- Advanced tagging capabilities.
- Support for ripping Audio CDs as well as transcoding all supported audio formats using the Converter component.
- Full ReplayGain support.
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts.
- Open component architecture allowing third-party developers to extend functionality of the player.