New Sony PS-F5 website July 5, 2009
Today I launched a website dedicated to my favourite gadget, the Sony PS-F5 portable record player.
Making Cat5/6 LAN Cables April 22, 2008
When making small cables from a reel/ longer cable, following these steps will tell you which plug is bad when a lead doesn’t work.
The only time there’ll be the possibility of 2 bad plugs is in the first step, once that’s sorted the bad plug will be obvious:
- get it working with a plug either end of the whole length first
- mark both of the working plugs
- cut the desired length off
- put plug on new ends
- test both the reel and the short cable
- if either don’t work you know it’s the unmarked plug that’s to blame
- put a plug onto the now plugless end of the reel
- test & replace unmarked plug if bad
- repeat from step 2 for subsequent cables
TeeScott – DJ and Remixer Extraordinaire April 1, 2008
Tee Scott commented on his first nights at “Better Days”: “I went into the deejay booth, and it was real, real, crude. I had to climb up onto this thing; it was unbelievable. There was no such thing as a pre-cue. What they had was a Sony amplifier with a Phono 1 and Phono 2 button, and that’s how you switched fram turntable to turntable. No fading, nothing. It was a large dancefloor; the lights were very basic at the time. They had this automatic light panel, and lights over the whole ceiling. You could change it to, like, 6 or 8 different patterns: a red ring, a blue ring, and a green ring, like a bullseye. And there was a big board on the wall inside the deejay booth, but it wasn’t working when I first started working there.
While adding a new entry for the Whodini Magic’s Wand 12″ that I found in the States into Discogs, I looked up more info on the remixer of side B’s extended mix. Turns out Tee Scott was a pretty amazing guy who was a pioneer in the dance music scene. Read to the end to find out how he gave Frankie Knuckles his first job.
Extraordinaire
Sony BMG’s hypocrisy: company busted for using warez March 31, 2008
After Sony were caught ripping off other people’s software without permission a few years ago, now they’ve been caught using software illegally.
Sony BMG is no stranger to piracy. As one of the most vocal supporters of the RIAA and IFPI antipiracy efforts, the company has some experience hunting down and punishing consumers who don’t pay for its products. The company is getting some experience on the other side of the table, however, now that it’s being sued for software piracy.
Sony BMG’s hypocrisy: company busted for using warez
Researchers find song recorded before Edison’s phonograph March 27, 2008
Researchers find song recorded before Edison’s phonograph – International Herald Tribune
For more than a century, since he captured the spoken words “Mary had a little lamb” on a sheet of tinfoil, Thomas Edison has been considered the father of recorded sound. But researchers say they have unearthed a recording of the human voice, made by a little-known Frenchman, that predates Edison’s invention of the phonograph by nearly two decades.
Instant Disco in a Box March 26, 2008
Don’t think real DJs have anything to worry about for a while, but this is still pretty interesting.
(and that looked like a good party to them?! They should get out more)
The BigDog Quadruped Robot
The Big Dog Quadruped is being developed for the US military as a load-carrying robot that’ll handle various types of terrain.
First check out this one:
Weird: New Video of BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It’s Spooky
Then check out the new, slightly improved version….
Amazing 3D mapping of Brighton June 17, 2007
Microsoft has recently launched Virtual Earth, with just 2 places in the UK, Brighton and Swindon being mapped so far.
You have to download a plugin for your browser, and you need a fairly decent computer for it to run smoothly, but it’s well worth a look. Try a look at the Brighton Pavillion.
Once you’ve got the hang of controlling things it’s amazing (try holding down control and using your arrow keys along with the mouse- you can whizz around pretty quickly before long).
MyspaceMP3.org – Download Music from MySpace June 9, 2007
There’s some music on MySpace that isn’t available anywhere else. For songs I deem worthy I’ve been recording them in Wavelab. I don’t have to bother any more as you can use MyspaceMP3.org to Download Music from MySpace.
Street Use: Jazz on Bones: X-Ray Sound Recordings April 13, 2007
Owing to the lack of recordings of Western music available in the USSR, people had to rely on records coming through Eastern Europe, where controls on records were less strict, or on the tiny influx of records from beyond the iron curtain. Such restrictions meant the number of recordings would remain small and precious. But enterprising young people with technical skills learned to duplicate records with a converted phonograph that would “press” a record using a very unusual material for the purpose; discarded x-ray plates.
Street Use: Jazz on Bones: X-Ray Sound Recordings
