Tag Archives: computers

Friday Faves 10-05-12

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News for ASCAP musicians who perform their original songs! You may now upload your setlists in order to be paid for performing your song catalog live:

OnStage allows writer members to notify ASCAP of their live performances via Member Access. This data is processed and a royalty is distributed to the writers and publishers of the songs based upon the license fee paid by the respective venue.

 

If you are looking to buy an inexpensive Windows desktop PC in the Boston area but don’t like the idea of taking a chance buying on CraigsList, check out Semi-New Computers. They refurbish obsoleted PCs from Harvard and other corporate sources, then sell to you with a 90-day guarantee for about $200 depending on RAM and HD size.

Kickstarter projects I’ve recently backed:

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How to Avoid Reposting Urban Legends

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You’ve seen the emails and Facebook posts from your friends:

  • OMG – this famous actor just died!
  • Please take these actions to protect my Facebook privacy.
  • Watch out for this new computer virus!!!
  • A friend of a friend woke up in the bathtub with his kidney missing!!!!!

Frequently followed by a request to repost/forward to all of your friends.

But before you do that, take this step in order to avoid passing on an Urban Legend:

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Unboxing Review: Ninja Standing Desk

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A couple months ago I wrote about using a standing desk. In that article I mentioned a Kickstarter project for a portable standing desk. I did contribute to that project, it was funded, and today I received my Ninja Standing Desk.

I made a quick an unboxing and initial test video:

I haven’t had a chance to work on it yet, but here are some initial impressions:

– Assembly was quite easy (once I refreshed my memory with their video. They have not yet printed up instruction sheets – I had an early-bird delivery).

– The shock-corded aluminum tubes that support the shelves and let them fold in half for packing work well, though it took a bit of wrangling to pull them apart once assembled (which is not a bad thing when you plan to put a computer or monitor on them).

– The long straps onto which you fasten the shelves are all “loop” velcro on one side. I would have liked it if they had a bit of “hook” velcro on one end in such a way as to keep the strap coiled when in the bag (they were tacked with a pin for delivery).

 – The door hooks worked well. It also comes with drywall hooks.

– It is packed in a carry bag that has enough room for some other items like an iPad or a small keyboard.

I don’t know when I’ll next take a trip for using this, but I’m happy to have it. Once they fulfill their Kickstarter rewards I’m sure this will be a big hit – visit their website for more info and ordering.

And if you like the music in the video, that’s one of my pieces…

Cover Arrangements: Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

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If you are a musician who is hired for weddings and other events you are probably asked to cover popular songs. Many of these are so ubiquitous that charts for them are readily available in “Real Books” and “Best of the Decade” collections.

But your customers have a wide range of musical tastes. While you may charge extra for obtaining the sheet music for their request, sometimes it is either not readily available or you need it arranged for a particular combination of instruments (e.g., string quartet, violin and guitar, etc).

If your usual method of arranging a pop song is to play the mp3 or YouTube video over and over while you attempt to transcribe what’s being played, here are a couple of helpful hints:

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