Microphones for Musicians – Laser and Other

Writen by Jason Cole

If you have been following my Microphones 101 series of articles, you would have read about 4 of the most important microphone types. These were: Dynamic Microphones, Condenser Microphones, Ribbon Microphones, and Carbon Microphones. This last update will cover a couple less used mic types. Laser Microphones, lavalier mics, contact microphones, and parabolic microphones. If you jumped in on this article without reading the first two, here a little re-cap of how microphones work.

How microphones work – in a nut shell.

A microphone captures sound waves with a thin and flexible piece of metal known as a diaphragm. Sound waves are introduced into the microphone, vibrating the diaphragm. The vibrations are then converted by various methods into an electrical signal that is an analog of the original sound.

There are various types of microphones, today we’ll be discussing laser, lavalier, contact, and parabolic microphones.

1. Laser Microphones

A laser microphone utilizes, well, laser technology to capture vibration and convert it into sound. The laser will be reflected off of glass or another flat and rigid surface that vibrates with the sound nearby. The laser measures the distance (very accurately) between itself and the surface it is reflecting off of, and measures the fluctuations of that surface when the sound waves from nearby vibrate said surface. This form of mic is portrayed in movies as spy equipment. But contrary to it’s portrayal, the device is very new, expensive, and not very portable.

2. Lavalier Microphones

This type of microphone is commonly used for hands-free operation, usually clipped to a person’s lapel. They usually have their own power source and can run directly into the mixer, or may be wireless, making it ideal for television.

3. Contact Microphones

In the world of microphones, contact mics are a little different than the rest. They are designed to pick up sound vibrations from solid objects, instead of vibrations carried through the air. This is mainly used to record low level sounds that you would not be able to pick up with a regular mic. These mics consist of a moving coil transducer, a contact plate and pin. The contact plate is placed on the object which you would like to record, the vibration is passed through the plate to the pin which passes it to the transducer. The experimental electronic music group Matmos used this on their album “A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure”, to record the neural activity of a crayfish.

4. Parabolic Microphones

Parabolic microphones use a parabolic reflector to pick up and focus sound waves for a microphone receiver. It is similar in function to a satellite dish in the way that it pick up radio waves. These mics are commonly used for law enforcement surveillance. But they are not very well suited for regular recording, as their low frequency response is very poor.

So this wraps up our Microphones 101 series of articles. I hope you all learned as much from these articles as I have from researching and writing them!

Moving Up From Peer to Peer

Writen by Bruce Naylor

Millions of small business owners across the country have peer to peer networks installed in their companies. Of these small networks, many are running various operating systems such as Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, and XP Professional. Because these ad hock networks require little more than setting up a small network hub, or switch and running a few wizards, they are cheap to build. Some companies may dedicate a PC as a “quasi Server” but in reality, it is none the less a PC.

After working with many small business owners troubleshoot these small networks, many have realized that the savings over a real network, and dedicated file server, simply vaporized. Instead of saving money, they were losing money on them big time. Why? In a nutshell a properly constructed networking environment can provide so much more. Another misconception is that a properly file server running Windows Server is expensive, difficult to install, and requires a computer guru to figure it out.

Not long ago some of the above was true. And Microsoft listened!. Microsoft introduced Windows 2003 Small Business Server 2003, especially for the needs of a small company. Inexpensive to purchase, and armed with everything a small organization needs to grow their business in one integrated Server package.

With Microsoft Small Business Server, you can define security policies based on the role of your users, even control when and where data can be accessed. Users “My Documents” folders can be synchronized to the SBS 2003 Server. Another great feature is “roaming profiles”. Simply log in the network from any workstation and blam, your desktop and documents are available right there. SBS 2003 comes with Remote Web Workplace, this is too cool. RWW as it is called enables an approved user to access their PC (via the web)back at the office just like they were there. Outlook on the web is included, so you can check e-mail too.

Another great feature of SBS 2003, is SharePoint. Essentially a company intranet, that you can build an online document library, host discussions, schedules and collaborate as team. Many of SBS 2003’s features are easy to configure with a plethora of wizards. Setting up a VPN is straight forward. SBS 2003 also includes Exchange Server, a powerful group e-mail, contact and calendering system. Your company can have a professional e-mail system just like the big guys.

Lastly, I might mention data backup. By storing your data on the SBS 2003 Server, a built in backup wizard makes disaster recovery a breeze. It provides a full backup, that even backs up “open files” so you can be up and running quickly in the event of a system failure.

I have a power point demo of SBS Server 2003 available on my web site =>http://www.frugalbrothers.com/presentations/SBScustomerpresentation.ppt if you would like to learn more, Moving from a Peer to Peer network to Small Business Server 2003, generally results in a Return On Investment of 900% on average. Now that is FRUGAL!

www.FrugalBrothers.Com
Phone (260)918-3188

SSL VPN

Writen by Kent Pinkerton

A virtual private network, or VPN as it is commonly known, is a network that uses a public telecommunication infrastructure to provide faraway offices or individual users with secure access to the network of their organization. A virtual private network can be compared with a system of owned or leased lines. These leased lines can be used by one organization only. A VPN is used to provide the organization with the same services but at a lower cost. A VPN can be described as one or more wide area network (WAN) links over a shared public network. A network service provider usually provides this link. Secure VPN technologies may be used to enhance the security of the private link. One such security measure is the use of SSL VPN for tunneling specific protocols,

Secure socket layer virtual private network or SSL VPN is a Virtual Private Network, which extends as connection over the public Internet, enabling far away users to access corporate resources securely. SSL is an application level transport protocol that transmits data over a standard TCP port. An SSL VPN can deliver access to a distant network. Any client who has a network connection can make use of SSL VPN without the need for any additional client software. Also, Internet users do not need to remember the names or IP addresses of machines on the network. All resources can be made available to users in the form of bookmarks.

SSL VPN has several other advantages. The most important one is that many remote users can access a network from anywhere in the world. It doesn’t need a dedicated laptop or remote VPN site to access the network. A secure extranet can be set up by the company for its business partners and customers. A SSL VPN can provide fine-grained application level filtering. Most SSL VPNs can traverse firewalls and NATs.

SSL uses a cryptographic system. It uses two keys to encrypt data – a public key and a private or secret key. Typically, everyone would know the public key but only the recipient of the message would be aware of the private key. The two most common web browsers, Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer, support SSL. Most Web sites use a SSL protocol to obtain confidential user information.

A Review of Popular Software Recruiting Programs

Writen by Kent Pinkerton

There are a number of well-established and respected recruiting software programs. They share several features, but they each have their own strengths and weaknesses. The following recruiting software reviews explain some of the attributes of three major recruiting software programs.

Hiringsoftware.com has a recruiting software program that is one of the best available. It is easy to use, compatible with major computer programs like Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Outlook, and is affordable for businesses of any size. Hiringsoftware.com’s program, called “The Recruiter,” has more functions than many types of recruiting software, including the ability to create and maintain a “job openings” portion of a companies website, an applicant database, a correspondence recorder that keeps track of the company’s responses to particular applicants and even includes customizable form letters to send to applicants, and can track the costs associated with recruiting.

Encore Search Management Software, made by Cluen, has been a top name in recruiting software for almost 15 years. Over time, the program has been updated and renovated in order to stay competitive. Encore Recruiting Software is easily adaptable to any type of recruiting needs. One of the major advantages of Encore is its ability to build an extensive database that contains thorough information about job openings and all of the applicants considered for each one. Encore is compatible with a number of other software programs like Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and Adobe Acrobat.

Hire.net Employment System is one of the best Internet recruiters. Companies that need employees post job openings and the requirements candidates must meet to be considered. Job searchers can post their resumes and browse the job openings. Once job searchers find what they are looking for, they can apply online, submit their resumes, and take any necessary aptitude tests online.

These recruiting software reviews give a good idea of the differences between the programs. Each program can be perfect for different businesses.

Clutter Here, Clutter There, Clutter everywhere!

Writen by Katharine Silvia

Top 5 little known tricks to improve the performance of your PC.

1. TAKE OUT THE TRASH

Just because you don’t see it lying about doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to be emptied. If you use your computer daily you should do this at least twice sometimes 3 times every day.

2.Get rid of uneccessary e-mail messages.

This again is another simple but over looked memory drain on your system.

Especially if they contain personal information.

You want to focus on,

* Sent Items – Yes that means love letters

* Deleted Items – Sad but most don’t.

* Junk Email – Absolutely.

3. Delete unused programs.

This one can be tricky if your relatively new to computers. If you know Exactly which programs you use and the ones you don’t, I recommend you do this.

Go to Start–> control panel–>Add remove Programs.

The longer it takes for your programs to appear you have to many. Plan on making a list of your most used programs before this step, I mean all the ones you can think of. Then compare them against what you “actually” have on your system. You in for a shock I guanty it.

4. Clean your cache.

This is HUGE. This is the Toxic waste dump of every temp file you have ever downloaded onto your system. For example, your visiting Aunt Marry’s website and can’t really see the pictures of her and her kids, so you enlarge it, well that is a temp file and it is now lurking on your hard drive. GET RID OF IT.

If your using IE go to the toolbar click on

Tools–>Internet Options–> Select the General Tab and click Delete Files.

5. Delete your cookies.

This one wont increase a tremendous amount of speed; however not wanting Sallys shoe store knowing you prefer pink, only gets you pink shoe coupons in your email, which you have just cleaned. There is a downside be warned so read what they are.

Now I am put together a videos, of this series to continue where we have left off. If you are interested please send me an email @

report@ask-compgeek.com

Or visit my website and sign up there.

http://www.ask-compgeek.com

Thank you