Date: December 11th, 2007

Author: Greg Shultz

The New Technology File System (NTFS) is essentially a huge database that keeps track of all the files on your Windows XP Pro hard disk. When you create a file, or edit and then resave that file, the NTFS creates an entry and records the date in the Created or Modified timestamp so you can access the Properties sheet of the file and check the Created or Modified entries later.

NTFS also creates and keeps track of another timestamp called Accessed. The timestamp lists the date on which the file was last accessed and whether the file was opened and read or changed and saved. Each time NTFS updates a file’s Properties sheet, an accompanying disk read/write operation occurs. Since the Accessed timestamp does not add much useful information, you may consider the read/write operation incurred to record it wasteful.

If you have an application, such as a search tool, that frequently accesses many files for a simple read operation, the operation required to update each file’s Accessed timestamp can drain your system’s performance. Fortunately, you can use disable the Accessed timestamp using the FSUtil command. Here’s how:

1. Open a Command Prompt window.
2. Type the following command line:

FSUTIL behavior set disablelastaccess 1

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If you wish to turn the Accessed attribute back on, simply repeat the command and replace 1 with 0.

Note: This tip applies only to Windows XP Professional.

[edit] Steps

1. Install recording and editing software on your computer. The standard sound recorder application that comes with most PCs will not enable you to record an LP to your hard drive. There are, however, a variety of programs that record audio, ranging from freeware to very expensive professional editing software. Some of these obviously work better than others, and some have more features, but in general you want a program that writes files directly to the hard drive and that enables you to do some minor editing of the recorded files. For a more thorough discussion of recording and editing software, including reviews, visit the external links–Clive Backham's page in particular–listed at the end of this article.
2. Determine whether you need a preamp. You will need to amplify and equalize the sound from your turntable in order to record it onto your computer. If your turntable has a built-in preamp, you should be able to plug it directly into your computer's sound card. If you don't have a built-in preamp, you can either plug the turntable into a stereo receiver and plug the receiver into your computer sound card, or you can purchase a preamp–you can get these at most computer, audio or electronics stores–and plug your turntable into that. Make sure you buy a preamp with "RIAA Equalization" – cheaper ones may not have this, and it is necessary for LPs made after about 1950.
3. Make sure you have the necessary cables and converters to connect the turntable, stereo, or preamp to the sound card. You may need to purchase cables–standard RCA cables, most likely–to connect all the components. Depending on the type of input and output jacks you have on your sound card, turntable, preamp and receiver, you may also need converters to allow you to connect each component to the next. Cables and converters can be purchased at most electronics or audio stores, and if you don't know what you need simply bring in the equipment you have. In the most common case, being you already have a turntable connected to a stereo system, the only additional cable you should need is an inexpensive 3.5mm Stereo to RCA Cable to connect the receiver to the computer, which can alternately be used to play sound from your computer through your stereo system.
4. Connect all the components. If you are not using a preamp you'll need to run a cable from the headphone or "audio out" jack on the turntable or stereo to the input or "line in" jack on your computer's sound card. If you have a preamp, connect the cable from the turntable to the "line in" jack on the preamp and then connect another cable from the "audio out" jack on the preamp to the "line in" jack on the computer sound card.
5. Clean the LP. Obviously a clean record plays a lot better than a dirty one, and if you're making a recording you want the vinyl to sound its best. Your best bet is to use a professional LP-cleaning machine, but these can be expensive and hard to find (you can get similar results, however, if you have a wet-dry vacuum cleaner and some cleaning solution). You can also wash records in the kitchen sink or use specially-designed brushes to clear surface dust. You want to be very careful cleaning your records, and there are more tips and warnings than can be listed here, so check out the external links for more information.
6. Set your recording input level. You can adjust the input level either on the stereo receiver or in the recording software, however "line" outputs on stereos are generally fixed-volume so it's usually best to adjust the recording volume on your computer. You want to make sure that the input is loud enough so that the resulting CD isn't significantly quieter than your other CDs. More importantly, you must ensure that the input volume isn't too loud. If your recording level goes above 0 dB at any point, the sound quality will be distorted, so it's important to stay below this threshold. Try to identify the peak volume (the loudest part) on the LP you wish to record. Some software programs will find the peak for you when you play the record through; otherwise, you'll have to do a little guesswork. Just to be safe, set the input level so that the LP's peak volume records at about -3 dB.
7. Do a test run. Make sure your program is running, and your turntable, and receiver or preamp, are on. Start playing the record and press the "record" button in your audio software. Record only a small bit of audio to see if everything works, then adjust settings in the program and on the player accordingly. You may also want to play the entire LP to make sure there no skips.
8. Record the LP. Press the "record" button in your software before starting the LP. Play the album the whole way through as you transfer the music into electronic format, and stop recording only after the LP has finished playing (you can cut out the silence at the beginning and end of the recording later). Your software program may split tracks for you automatically, but if it does not, don't worry about splitting them now.
9. Edit your recording. If the LP you recorded is in great condition and if your recording equipment is of high quality and is correctly configured, you may not need to do much editing at all. Probably, however, you will at least want to delete any long silences at the beginning and end of the recording, and you should also split the tracks so that you can skip from song to song on your CD. Depending on your editing software, you should also be able to take out or minimize most background noise and imperfections, and normalize the volume. The procedures for such editing vary from program to program, so it's best to consult your software manual or help files.
10. Organize and burn the tracks onto a CD-R. As is the case for editing, the procedures for burning a CD vary depending on your software. Consult your manual or help files.
11. Pop the CD in the stereo and enjoy the music!

[edit] Tips

• It is probably easiest to use one software application to both record and edit, but you may also use two programs: a recording application and a WAV editor. Some highly recommended programs include GoldWave, Wave Repair, PolderbitS, and Audacity (free and open source with a lot of useful features). You can also search for "audio recorder" in a search engine and turn up a number of products, some free.
• If you don't need CDs and just want to convert your records to mp3s, you can save your finished recordings directly as mp3s (depending on your software) and skip the burning/ripping process. Same goes with any other format such as ogg vorbis.
• If you don't already have good recording equipment and software, and you just want to record a few LPs, you really might be better off just buying the CDs. You may be surprised how many old LPs are now available on CD. Unless you have a large vinyl collection or LPs that can't be found on CD, it might not be worth the time and expense to record your LPs yourself.
• You may be able to skip the computer and sound card altogether if you get a good CD-RW recorder. These can be connected directly to your stereo receiver so that you can record LPs onto CDs as easily as you used to record onto cassette tapes. If you want to edit the recording, you can simply use your CD to transfer the files to your computer and burn additional copies with your computer's CD burner.
• Get the right turntable. If you have a record collection, you've probably got a turntable. While you'll be able to make your recording using almost any turntable, the quality of your finished CD depends heavily on the quality of your equipment. The pawnshop-special record player in your basement may not be suitable for recording purposes.
• Get the right sound card. You don't need a professional-quality sound card to make a good recording, but the standard-issue cards that come with many computers just won't do, especially if they don't have a "line in" jack. (Jacks labeled "mic in" are usually mono and won't provide good quality for this purpose.) If you already have a sound card, try recording with it. It could be fine, or you might want to upgrade.
• If you used a freeware program, it will probably save in mp3 or WAV form, but if you use Microsoft Plus, it will save as a Windows Media file, which you can convert to mp4 using iTunes or burn directly to a CD with Windows Media Player. Because mp3 and Windows Media are lossy formats where some data is thrown out, save to AIFF or WAV with no compression; AIFF is the standard in MacOS, and WAV in Windows, but they are both cross-compatible and provide good quality when recorded at a high sample rate and bit depth, such at 44.1k samples per second, and 16 bits per sample. These uncompressed formats yield large files, but you can delete them once you've edited and burned them to CD.
• When editing, feel free to play around with your software's noise reduction and equalizer tools until you get a good sound. This will usually involve a bit of trial and error, so you should always make sure to save the original recording unaltered and then rename edited files. That way, if your editing actually worsens the sound quality you can always go back to the original and start again without having to re-record the LP.
• If you have a laptop, it may not be feasible to use a sound card. In this case, you can utilize a USB audio interface device. As will all the equipment, these vary in quality, so shop around and read reviews before buying.
• There are CD-Rs that have the look and feel of vinyl, which are relatively inexpensive.
• Some recording/editing software will allow you to change the speed of the recorded audio (the "Change Speed" effect in Audacity) so you can, say, record a 33-rpm record at 45 or even 78 rpm and then convert it back to the right speed, thus saving recording time. Depending on your equipment and settings, this can result in decreased quality, so generally this method should be saved for special circumstances such as if your turntable can't play at the right speed for a given record.

[edit] Warnings

• Turntables are extremely sensitive to vibration. Of course you can expect the LP to skip if you bump the table it's on, but other, less harsh vibrations can also affect your sound quality. While recording, try to minimize background noise–make the room as soundproof as possible and step lightly.
• Exercise the utmost care when cleaning an LP. LPs are actually quite resilient, but even the smallest scratch can produce popping or hissing noises, and once you've damaged the vinyl it can be difficult or impossible to repair. If you're not sure what you're doing, ask the staff of your local record store or do some research online.
• Do not hook up your computer sound card to a speaker output on your stereo receiver. The signal from a speaker output is likely cialis pills too powerful, and it could cause serious damage to the sound card.
• Power down either the computer and/or the audio source before the final connection. The intial surge can damage circuits with some combinations of sound card and audio source. Sound cards are especially sensitive to this damage.
• If hardware installation is needed, be sure to take the usual precautions: turn off power to the computer, "ground" yourself by touching something else metal before touching the inside of the computer case and make back-ups of any critical information stored on your computer (i.e. "the next great novel" that you've been writing) by either copying to a 3.5" floppy or e-mailing the file to a friend or relative.

[edit] Things You'll Need

• Cherished vinyl records
• Electric turntable (record player)
• PC with sound card or USB audio interface device with "line in"
• Cables and/or converters to connect PC to turntable or preamp
• Preamp or stereo receiver
• Audio recording and editing software
• At least 700 MB of free hard drive space
• CD burner
• Blank CD-R media

[edit] Related wikiHows

• How to Record a CD
• How to Burn a Music CD Using Windows Media Player 9
• How to Convert Protected Audio Into a Plain MP3
• How to Make a Perfect Mix Tape or CD
• How to Sell Old Phonograph Records
• How to Convert Vinyl to CD Using Golden Records

[edit] Sources and Citations

• Clive Barkham Thorough, but technical guide to recording LPs to CD]
• Blaze Audio Step-by-step tutorial to the recording process.]
• Guide to LP cleaning and care
• Stereophile Product reviews and information.
• HarddiskOgg a tool for recording vinyl (or other analog input) to your hard drive.
• Audacity a free and open source sound editor with many features useful for recording and editing vinyl records.

What: U.S. Department of Justice seeks archived SMS text messages from Verizon Wireless without obtaining a warrant first.

When: District judge rules on October 30; magistrate judge completes review of archived text messages on Friday.

Outcome: Prosecutors receive the complete contents of defendant's text messages.

What happened, according to court documents:
It may not be that well known outside of police and telecommunications circles, but odds are excellent that your mobile phone provider saves copies of your SMS text messages. In a case that Police Blotter wrote about last year, federal police obtained logs of archived text messages from two unnamed wireless providers.

In addition, a judge in the Kobe Bryant sex case ordered the phone provider to turn over archived messages. Text messages were also part of the trial involving the attempted murder of rapper 50 Cent.

(By the way, here is one way to send almost-anonymous text messages.)

The most recent case dealing with SMS text messages does not involve a celebrity, though. It involves Susan Jackson, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud involving unauthorized transfers from her employer's bank account to her own NASA Federal Credit Union account.

To buttress her request for a minimum sentence, Jackson submitted letters that she said were from friends, employers, and relatives, but the U.S. Secret Service asserts the documents were altered or doctored. If that is true, it could amount to an additional charge of obstruction of justice.

One person allegedly said that Jackson urged him, "using text messaging and e-mail," to go along with the alterations.

The U.S. Department of Justice asked for a subpoena ordering Verizon Wireless to turn over the contents of text messages for phone number (301) 325-XXXX. The request was made under 18 USC 2703(b)(1)(b)(i) and (ii), which do not require probable cause and a search warrant. Instead, all prosecutors must do is claim–and this is much easier–that the records are "relevant and material" to an investigation. (The Justice Department says this is fine because the text messages were "opened communications," meaning that they were already read by the recipient and should therefore be easier to obtain.)

Jackson's lawyer opposed the request, saying that a proper search warrant was required. On October 30, U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts sided with the prosecution and said that only a subpoena was needed.

Verizon complied. It turned over three sets of documents: information about the cialis pill cutter account holder linked to that phone number, a list of the complete contents of the text messages sent or received by cellular telephone number (301) 325-XXXX between June 6 and October 31, 2007, and a log of whom Jackson sent messages to from her Verizon e-mail address. Note that Verizon did not keep copies of the actual contents of her e-mail messages.

Because Jackson alleged that the text messages might involve sensitive attorney-client communications, the court appointed a magistrate judge to review them. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay concluded that the text messages did not involve attorney-client privilege and recommended they be turned over to prosecutors "in their entirety."

Excerpts from Justice Department's brief:
Unfortunately, the defendant's Internet services provider, Verizon Internet Services, Inc., has advised the government that it does not store the content of its subscribers' e-mail communications…

It does maintain, however, a "transactional log" for its accounts, including the defendant's account…Since the information will not contain the content of any communications, it is not believed that the defendant has any basis to contest production.

Excerpts from magistrate judge's report:
Verizon produced a package with the contents of text messages that were sent or received by cellular telephone number (301) 325-(XXXX) between June 6 and October 31, 2007. While a few of the messages make reference to Jackson's court case or meetings with her attorney, none of them appear to contain any communications between Jackson and her attorney. For example, on June 6, 2007, at 3:11 p.m. the cellular phone number in question received a text message from cellular phone number (240) 687-(XXXX) that asked "When is ur crt. date?" and approximately one minute later cellular phone number (301) 325-(XXXX) responded "29th." Approximately four minutes later, the person sending messages from (240) 687-(XXXX) then asked, "Did u get all the letters u needed? And what is ur atty. saying?" to which the person sending messages from (301) 325-(XXXX) responded "I meet w/her on Friday." The undersigned did not locate any other text messages that appear to relate to Jackson's court case or that might constitute a communication between Jackson and her attorney…

Verizon made no representations that the package produced reflected all text messages sent or received by (301) 325-(XXXX). The government's subpoena requested text message information from June 21, 2007 until the date of Judge Roberts' Order on October 30, 2007. The messages actually produced cover the following dates (all in 2007): June 6, June 12-14, June 17, June 19, July 3-4, and October 23-31. Whether any messages were sent or received on other days during this time period, and if so why Verizon did not produce them, is unclear.

Verizon produced transaction logs for Jackson's e-mail address…The e-mail transaction log indicates the date and time that each e-mail was sent and the e-mail address of the recipient. The pages of the transaction log that Verizon provided contain records of e-mails sent by Jackson between June 11, and July 9, 2007. The log shows 33 e-mails between Jackson and her attorney, Dani Jahn of the Federal Public Defender's Office, between June 13 and July 9, 2007. Verizon did not produce the contents of any of these e-mails….

If you haven't noticed, we're in an age of all things being "ready made" and the same applies to digital photography. Pick any point and shoot camera or even a professional SLR camera and you will find pre-defined shooting modes that help you automatically adjust the camera’s focal length and exposure limits, depending on the picture you want to take. That could either be close ups, landscapes, night shooting or even dawn and dusk shooting. Or, even when shooting against a bright backdrop.

Most photographers, including professionals, are known to shoot in the Auto mode, while very few rarely shoot in the full manual mode. There’s no right or wrong answer to this, but below is an outline you can follow for what shooting modes can do to a specific kind of photography. Here we go!

For SLR and DSLR Cameras

Aperture Priority Mode (A or AV)

This mode is a semi-manual mode where you choose the aperture while your camera chooses other settings, such as the shutter speed, white balance and ISO. It is put in place to ensure a balanced exposure level, thereby avoiding either under-exposed or over-exposed photographs. This mode is particularly useful to control a stationary object where you don’t need to control the shutter speed. Choosing a larger aperture level means the lens will get smaller and it will let less light in. That means you’ll have a larger depth of field (more of the area in focus), but your camera will choose a faster shutter speed.

Shutter Priority Mode (S or TV)

With this one, you choose the shutter speed and the camera chooses the rest of the settings. You can use this mode when you want to control the shutter speed. For example, when photographing moving subjects, such as some sporting action, you might want to choose a faster shutter speed to freeze cialis ordering the motion. On the flip side, you might want to capture the movement as a blur of the subject, like a waterfall, and choose a slower shutter speed. You may also want to use a slower shutter speed in low light conditions to get a better picture.

Program Mode (P)

Some digital cameras have this priority mode, in addition to the auto mode. With the cameras that have both, the Program mode is similar to the Auto mode, but it gives you a little more control over some of the other features, including flash, white balance and ISO. Check your digital camera’s manual on how the Program mode differs from the Auto mode in your particular model.

Manual Mode

The name says it all. With this, you have complete control over all of the settings and you're least dependent on any auto function of the camera. You set the shutter speed, aperture level, ISO, white balance and flash. This mode gives you the flexibility to set your shots the way you want them to be. This mode is essentially used by those photographers who are either experts or are willing to error in order to learn. If you don’t belong to either of those types, it's best you stick to one or the other for better results.

For Point and Shoot Compact Cameras

Auto Mode

This is the mode used by most photographers. Although it works in most conditions, it’s really bad for indoor photography and some forms of outdoor photography as well. Indoors, a camera set on Auto would use the flash, blasting nearby subjects with light, while the background and subjects farther back are lost in darkness. If you master the various shooting modes, you could be using less and less of this mode, which is perfect for beginners, but not for those who are climbing up the learning ladder.

Sports Mode

Represented by an icon of a sprinter, this is perfect for taking pictures of moving objects. This mode is also good for shooting children or pets in action. This mode can give you higher shutter speeds to stop action, along with a smaller aperture so that more of the action will be in focus. Raising the shutter speed and narrowing the aperture both decrease the amount of light coming through the lens. Some cameras then raise the so-called ISO sensitivity to compensate, while others keep the ISO unchanged to minimize picture noise.

Portrait Mode

The Portrait mode is perfect for capturing solo subjects and taking passport photos. This mode sets a wide aperture of the lens so that the background behind your subject is softly focused. Here again, some cameras have modes within this mode, such as Portrait Right, if the subject is stationed on the right or Portrait Left. Similarly, there are sub-modes for Portrait Close-up, Portrait Couple (if there are two subjects) or Portrait Figure (if you want a waist upwards shot). However, with its deliberately shallow depth of field, this mode is not a good choice for group photos where members are at different distances from the lens. The Landscape Portrait mode or even just the Landscape mode would do better in that situation. Of course, there are some face detection features in some cameras, like Canon, that solve this problem, but it’s not found in most other cameras.

Landscape Mode

This is represented with an icon showing a picture of a mountain range. This mode narrows the aperture, so both the subject and background stay sharp, but might zoom out to a wide angle to fit more of the background in. This mode also works well if you want to just capture nature without any subject in the foreground. You could also use this mode to showcase the architectural wonders of a building. Plus, if you have two people standing in the foreground against a mountain backdrop, some cameras have sub-modes, like Group Right or Group Left, to help you with that as well.

Night Portrait

This mode is usually symbolized by a figure against a dark sky with a star. This mode fires the flash to illuminate a nearby subject and then holds the shutter open long enough for the background to be exposed. Scene modes for indoor photography typically turn the flash off to expose the whole scene equally. You can open the aperture to let more light in and turn on a stabilizing feature, given that longer shutter speeds are needed. For shooting after a sunset, night modes turn the flash off, hold the shutter open (use a tripod) and change the ISO sensitivity (not always raising it, as high ISO and long shutter speeds both commonly add noise to a picture).

Scene Modes

There are at least a dozen different scene modes in any average compact camera. Flower icons set the camera for close up shots and some cameras, like Nikons, also have macro close up features that allow you to take shots of buds, petals, bugs and insects in a way that will leave you bowled. The Night Landscape mode (represented by a Manhattan-like skyline at night with bright dots in the building and a crescent in the sky) allows you to take great shots of stationery objects, whether they're people, places or things during nighttime. But, remember to take the shot using a tripod, because it will expose the scene for a longer time. Any shake of the hand or camera could blur the picture.

Similarly, the fireworks, beach and underwater modes are self-explanatory. Without these modes, such bright scenes would look dingy, because the auto exposure system, made for scenes of average brightness, dims brilliant scenes. Sunset modes emphasize reds, while the autumn modes often emphasize both reds and yellows.

And Lastly…

All of these modes are meant to equip you with a basic knowledge of what you can do in each of the different scene modes. The best way to learn photography is intense practice. Don’t shy away from experimenting one bit. The best way to know the difference between auto and the other scene modes is to shoot the same subject in both the settings and note the shutter speed, ISO level and aperture. The difference will be dramatic in some cases. Tweaking the various functions of the camera can result in some fantastic results that even textbooks can't teach you. Go on and trial and error your way to better photography!

Happy clicking!

Time for a Fast Forward

Love your keyboard and hate your mouse?

Do you find that the old routine of mouse, keyboard, mouse, keyboard simply takes up too much of your precious time when you're going through your e-mail?

Looking for a few MS Outlook keyboard shortcuts to make your e-mail time more productive?

If you answered, "Yes, yes, yes," here's exactly what you've been looking for:

• Ctrl + Shift + I will take you straight to the Inbox.

• Ctrl + Shift + O will put you into the Outbox.

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• Enter (while a message is highlighted) will open the message.

• Ctrl + N will open a new e-mail message.

• Ctrl + R will reply to the current message (either highlighted or already opened).

• Ctrl + F will forward the current message (either highlighted or already opened).

• Tab will advance you one field forward (from the To: field to the Cc: field, etc).

• Shift + Tab will send you one field backwards.

• Ctrl + Enter will send your e-mail message.