Feng's Distorted World : 鋒言鋒語

Here are some software designed for live mixing between tracks as a DJ would on actual turntables. I have tried many of them and here are some which I think work pretty well for a DJ who wants a good combination of mobility and performance. For best results, use 320K mp3 or Wav when mixing on these software.


1. Traktor



Traktor DJ Studio (now known simply as Traktor) is a software DJ solution developed by Native Instruments. This is actually one of my favourite and most frequently used software if I'm mixing live. I have personally used it in conjuction with a configuration of turntables and an external mixer.

The interface is straight forward and any DJ/musician would find many of its features handy and useful. It also offers a wide variety of features such as support for MIDI controller, EQs, 4 decks, multiple effects, master tempo, etc. The best part about this software is the ability to use it with Tracktor Scratch - meaning you could manipulate the digital tunes on vinyl.

Latest version available is Traktor DJ Studio 3
Download the demo from Native-Instruments here.


2. Ableton Live



Ableton Live is a powerful all-round DJ software. This piece of software is rather unique in the sense that it also allows for composing and arranging track "on-the fly". For this very reason, it is also extremely popular among many professional DJs and musicians. Some people who use Ableton in their livesets and compositions include Armin van Buuren, Sasha, Mogwai, BT, Paul van Dyk, and Daft Punk.

I seldom use Ableton in my sets, in favor of Traktor, partly due to the lower system requirements and functionality. It includes tons of features that I seldom (or never) use when mixing live sets such as track arrangement and sampler. For newcomers, the interface maybe a little daunting but the program provides a nifty little tutorial that'll guide users step-by-step.

Latest version available is Ableton Live 6
Download the demo from Ableton here.


3. Mixxx



Mixxx is an open source DJ tool designed for both professional and amateur DJs alike.

Mixxx allows DJs to mix music live with a clean, simple interface. Futhermore, Mixxx has a number of key features to help DJs in the mix: Beat estimation, parallel visual displays, and support for various DJ hardware controllers.

Mixxx is available for both Windows and Linux. The interface for Mixxx is clean and minimalist. I had only briefly tested this software but it provides basic functionality that any DJ would need for mixing (2 decks, cross-fade, EQ, queuing etc). According to the site, it also supports MIDI controllers. Best of all, it is free (as in freedom of choice and free beer) due to the nature of its GPL license.

Latest version is Mixxx 1.5
Download Mixxx from Sourceforge here.

Open Office is a suite of office applications developed by Sun Microsystems. It is an open-source alternative to Microsoft's Office Suite and for this reason, it is often bundled together with various Linux distros such as Knoppix, Ubuntu and MEPIS. It also has the ability to save the documents in native Microsoft Office formats so that you can continue to work with your document even though the computer doesn't have Open Office installed.

Of course, there are several setbacks to Open Office. Firstly, its the incompatibility of the formatting Open Office with Microsoft Office. Of course, as time advances, compatibility between the two offices have increased by leaps and bounds and formatting is now a small problem for Open Office. The next issue is printing problems with Open Office in Linux. This is a problem that I have personally faced numerous times. Most users overcome this problem by either exporting their document as a PDF file and print them or take the drastic measure, ie. to reinstall their printer in Open Office.

Of all the problems mentioned above, the most common problem faced by Open Office users is of course the program's slow loading time. I've tested some methods to speed up Open Office's loading time and here's a list of methods I've found useful for my machine. I'm running a P4 with 256MB of RAM and Open Office takes almost 30 seconds to load. After applying the changes, Open Office now loads about 30% faster!! (thankfully!)


1. Increase Memory Cache
This is a method to decrease the loading time by tweaking the memory settings.
Go to:
Applications-->OpenOffice.org Writer-->Tools-->Options
Under the OpenOffice.org heading, select Memory,
Under Graphics Cache, change the "Use for OpenOffice.org" to 30 MB (or more if you have >512MB RAM)
Change "Memory per Object" to 2.0 MB
Close OpenOffice.org

2. Reduce Number of Undo Steps
Go to:
Applications-->OpenOffice.org Writer-->Tools-->Options
Under the OpenOffice.org heading, select Memory,
Now change these settings:
Undo:Number of steps = 25

3. Disable Java Runtime Environment
Apparently Open Office also loads the Java Runtime Environment at startup to handle databases. If you don't use database, you can disable the feature.
Applications-->OpenOffice.org Writer-->Tools-->Options
Click on Java, and deselect “Use Java Runtime Environment.”


Restart the program and and this should give you a much faster Open Office!

Here's a list of software that's essential for your testing and benchmarking of your computer's performance. By running these software, you are able to determine a system's capability, overall stability and compare it to other systems (benchmarking). All software featured below are freeware and are often used to test new computers as well as overclocked systems.

1. CPU Z
While not exactly a testing software, CPU-Z is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system. It is really useful as it displays all information about your system such as processor type and specification, L1 and L2 cache size, motherboard and bios version, and RAM information. Good for identifying information that is critical for troubleshooting a problematic system.



Download CPU-Z 1.38 from cpuid.com


2. Memtest

MemTest is a RAM reliability tester. By running MemTest you can ensure that your computer's RAM is functioning correctly. This is a good thing to check whenever you buy a new computer, install new RAM, or change the configuration of your machine (for instance, to overclock it). If you are the sort of user who likes to push the performance of your machine to the edge, relying upon whether your machine will boot after your new BIOS tweaks is a poor way to determine the safety of your new settings, you can use MemTest as a true test of stability.



Download Memtest from hcidesign.com


3. Disk Speed

This nifty piece of software performs disk speed test and provided details about how fast your disks can transfer data. The information provided includes data transfer rate for linear reads, random read transfer rate and the seek time of the drive.



Download Roadkil's Disk Speed from roadkil.net


4. Prime95

This is a popular software among overclockers worldwide for benchmarking of their systems and is also a distributed computing project. The software is widely used for "torture tests". Testers often leave the system to run Prime95 for weeks and months on end. Prime95 uses the computer to find Mersenne prime numbers, and in the process of doing this, it pushes the CPU's floating point units extremely hard, causing the CPU to become extremely hot - making Prime95 an extremely viable software for testing system stabilty. There is also a Linux version called MPrime.



Download Prime95 from mersenne.org


If your computer passes all these tests, then you can be pretty confident that your computer is fit and ready to go!

Sometime ago I was doing some animation and tried out some Japanese animation software. Most of the software featured here are freeware but some of them are highly functional shareware. Do download and try them out!


1. Metasequoia

This is the main piece of software I use for modeling. The software is a polygon modeler for 3DCG and was developed by Osamu Mizno, subsequently releasing MetasequioaLE as freeware. It's interface is very straightforward and this makes it easy for beginners. But do not be fooled by its simplicity, this software is so good that Japanese designers who are producing FINAL FANTASY are also using it. Third party plugins also add functionality to this software. The software supports a wide range of file formats and this is one of the reasons that makes it really popular.



Metasequoia Ver2.4.0 (Shareware)
MetasequoiaLE R2.3b-2 (Freeware)

from the official site at metaseq.net


2. Cyberdelia

Cyberdelia is a 3D animation tool with w3d, x and wrl file exporter. 'w3d' file can be used on Macromedia Director for Shockwave3D. 'x' file is for DirectX. 'wrl' file is for VRML97. The animation process is pretty cool and can be edited frame by frame. Models can also be imported from Metasequoia.



Cyberdelia Version 6.4 (Freeware)

from the official site at cyberdelia.net


3. DoGA CGA

DoGA project started in 1985 by university students in Japan, to support the newly born culture of CG animation. This is a series of applications that starts with a very basic tool kit and sequels later with added functionality. DOGA-L1 is the first lesson (L1) of the L series and is designed to teach beginners the very basic of animation. The L3 version of this software can be very powerful although it does seems to be more of a hobbyist tool instead of professional software. Again, models can be created and imported from Metasequoia.



DoGA L-1 (Freeware)
DoGA L-2 (Shareware)
DoGA L-3 (Shareware)

from the official site at doga.co.jp


4. Parthenon

This is a GPU accelerated global illumination renderer. It allows for Direct illumination using shadow mapping and High quality rendering equivalent of Monte Carlo path tracing. Parthenon is really powerful and rivals other professional rendering software. Supports Metasequoia .mqo files as well.




Parthenon.zip (Freeware?)

from the official site by Himatsubushi


5. RedQueen

RedQueen is a command line Global Illumination renderer. Features include Path Tracing (unbiased), Photon mapping, final gathering and Panorama Rendering support. As with all rendering software, system requirements are pretty much on the high side. As you can see with the image below, the results are stunning for this rendering software.



RedQueen (up to VGA size for unregistered users)

from the official site teamredqueen.com


6. MarbleCLAY

MarbleCLAY is a 3D polygon modeler formerly known Etude/3D before. Now it is released as freeware. Spline patch modeling by triangle and square polygons is supported. The software is similar to the likes of Metasequoia except that it has more functionality and has compatible rendering with RedQueen.



MarbleCLAY beta 5.7 (Freeware)

from the official site Escargot Visualwares


7. Kashmir3D

Kashmir3D is a software for making landscape CG or amazing 3D maps. Support for Full-Raytracing rendering and Z-Buffer rendering, rendering clouds, fog, snow and mist, and depth of focus. 3D navigation by GPS Receiver is also included. If you need landscapes or maps for your 3D movie/game, this is the software you can use.



Kashmir 3D Ver8.0.9 beta1 (Freeware)

from the official site at kashmir3d.com


8. Rios

Seems like this is another Japanese animation suite. Haven't had time to try this out myself. Looks pretty good and promising at first glance.



Rios0.1.11 (Freeware)

from the official site at junkshed


9. Block Designer

This is a software that makes it easy to draw 3D images. Block Designer functions like assembling Lego blocks together. Interface is downright straightforward and the program can either save files BD format or in Autocad's dxf format. The dxf can then imported into Metasequoia for further editing or a third party renderer. Pretty cool IMO.



Block Designer Version 3.00 (Freeware)

from the official site at kogarashi.jp

A common problem that have been troubling cantonese-speaking Windows users is the inability to input special cantonese-only characters in their systems. Characters such as "乜","喺" and "冇" cannot be typed used Microsoft's Chinese IME and also using other euqivalent software such as NJSTAR and Chinese Star. These software can display most of the fonts with GB encoding but there's simply no easy way to input them. Furthermore, written Cantonese contains many characters not used in standard written Chinese in order to transcribe words not present in the standard lexicon. In 1990 the Hong Kong Government introduced the Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set (HKSCS) in use for electronic communication as an attempt to standardize written cantonese. The HKSCS is a prerequisite for many of the softwares and IMEs featured below so download and install HKSCS before install the IMEs.

Download the Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set (HKSCS) from Microsoft.

To solve this problem of typing cantonese on the computer, a wide plethora of software and IMEs have been developed. Most people today use ChangJie, Jyutping or handwritting recognition pads.

I've tried and tested many alternatives to allow me to have the ability to type Cantonese on my computer. Many of these software are commercial but I didn't want to pay anything for it, so I decided to do a bit of googling for the proper tools and after a bit of testing, I've come up with a list of some of the best and free software for this purpose.


1. ISO 10646 version of HKSCS-2001 reference font and input software (ISO 10646 版本輸入法軟件)

This is the official software for typing cantonese with is developed by the Hong Kong Government. It uses the ChangJie input method, Quick Input method and Stroke Input method. Its pretty decent but only downside is that ChangJie is the main input method. The learning curve for the Changjie input method is pretty steep and if you don't know Changjie then its better to use other easier methods such as cantonese romanization (e.g Jyutping or Yale). Check out the official site here.



Download ISO 10646 version of HKSCS-2001 reference font and input software


2. Red Dragonfly Chinese Input Method (紅蜻蜓粵語拼音詞語輸入法)

This nifty piece of software is developed by Dr. K.K. Luke, Department of Linguistics, University of Hong Kong.This Input Method can thus be used to type characters from the HKSCS. It uses the cantonese pronounciation method for the input of the characters. This software is pretty good, except that it is limited to run on native Chinese version of Windows. If you run an English version of Windows XP, you can download Applocale from Microsoft and display this software in Traditional Chinese (GB) encoding. Check out more info for this software on their official site from The University of Hong Kong.



Download Red Dragonfly Chinese Input Method


3. Cantonese Input IME (廣東/粵語拼音輸入法)

This is the best piece of software I've come by so far. It uses the Jyutping (粵拼) method for input. This software is installed as an IME and is highly cuztomizable as you could change the pronounciation of the characters to suit your own typing habits as well as also add new characters to the list. You can find a step by step tutorial to setting up and customizing the software on their official site here.



Download Cantonese Input IME


4. CantoInput

This software is developed by Jim Burket and is a Unicode-based cantonese input IME. Both the Yale and Jyutping methods are supported. A Mandarin Pinyin mode is also available. CantoInput will run on any operating system with a relatively recent Java runtime environment. You could run it on Windows, Linux and even on Macs. I haven't had much time to try out this piece of software but by the looks of it it seems pretty fine. Check out CantoInput from their official site.



Download CantoInput

Gaim is a popular multi-platform instant messaging client that supports many popular protocols. Gaim is open source and is released under the GNU General Public Licence. It runs on UNIX/Linux systems, Microsoft Windows, FreeBSD and Mac OSX as well. It is currently used on many distributions of Linux such as Knoppix, Ubuntu and others.

Here are some of the protocols that Gaim supports:
Jabber (XMPP)
MSN Messenger
Google Talk (Through XMPP)
IRC
AIM
ICQ
Yahoo! Messenger
QQ
SILC



The best part about Gaim is its ability to allow users to log in to several IM accounts simultaneously. For instance, I could be chatting with someone using MSN and with a second person using ICQ and chat with a third person using Google Talk! Although there are some other multi-protocol clients such a Trillian that offer similiar functionality, I find that Gaim is the best in terms of ease of use and also due to the fact that its FREE!

In my opinion, Gaim is an extremely well-written piece of software. It is lightweight and ad-free. Gaim is also highly customizable through the use of downloadable plugins that add loads of functionality to this nifty piece of software. Only downside about Gaim is the file transfer function in MSN gives you really slow speed as Gaim cannot establish a direct connection between the 2 peers as of now. As of now, all connections are routed through Microsoft's servers.

I got to know about this software through using Linux systems and I've been using it on all of my machines ever since, even on my Windows boxes!

Download the Gaim instant messenger client complete with GTK+ from their project page at Sourceforge here:

Gaim Downloads (All Packages)
Gaim Downloads (Version 2.0.0 Beta 5)

Foobar 2000 is one of my favourite audio players. It's known to be light on system resources and easily customizable and configurable with the use of third-party components. Best of all, its free!

Download the latest version of the foobar player from the official site.

Here are some of the foobar components I've tried and used for my own foobar player. All the plugins featured below are recommended for use in foobar 2000 version 0.9 .

How to install the plugins:
1. Download the plugins and unzip them
2. Copy the dll files into your default foobar component folder (i.e C:/Program Files/foobar2000/components)
3. Restart the foobar player and you're ready to go!

1. Columns UI

Columns UI is an alternative user interface for the foobar player. It allows interchangeable elements through the use of panel and toolbar components. It is a prerequisite of many other foobar components such as albumart_ui and track info mod.



Download - Columns UI from musicmusic's foobar stuff


2. Album Art Panel

Another example of customizing your foobar player is to enable it to display a song's album art. Using the component foo_uie_albumart, you can easily modify the desired image's source, height and even configure it to cycle through several images.




Download - foo_uie_albumart v0.045

3. Track info panel mod

Track Info Panel Mod is a modification to the Foobar2000:0.9 Track Info Panel (foo uie trackinfo) panel by Terrestrial. It allows you to display a track's data such as length, artist, album, and year.



Download - Track info panel mod from Hydrogenaudio wiki

4. Quick Search Toolbar

Derived from foo_uie_search and ported to foobar2000 0.9, foo_uie_quicksearch provides the ability to include a search panel in your Columns UI layout, displaying results in a chosen playlist. The search parameters can be customized according to your own needs. I just left to for default.



Download - foo_uie_quicksearch

5. Audioscrobbler

This is a plugin that allows submission of data of the tracks you've listened to last.fm. It employs audioscrobbler technology to retrieve your listening data. Last.fm's client is good as well, but I just prefer using foobar and this audiosrobbler plugin rather than last.fm's official client.

Download - foo_audioscrobbler

6. Crossfader

This is a simple dsp plugin that adds crossfading functionality into the foobar player. I don't really bother with crossfading but listening to ambient and instrumental tracks with this feature will take your entire listening experience to a whole new level. Do try it!!

Download - foo_dsp_crossfader at Acropolis' Blog

7. ProjectM

ProjectM Visualisation is a visualisation based on the ProjectM project, which is a reimplementation of Milkdrop under OpenGL. The version available here is a modification of bleh's ProjectM Visualisation for Foobar2000 0.8. The forum thread for both the original version and the modification available here can be found here.



Download - ProjectM Visualisation

8. Whitecap

Whitecap is another visualisation plugin for foobar. It features 190 effects, a morphing slideshow, savable and scriptable effects, video file export capabilities, and control over specific effects. WhiteCap is designed to be visually engaging and extremely dynamic, yet flexible enough to allow for customization, control, and scripting. I don't really use this plugin much.



Download - foo_whitecap from soundspectrum

9. Lyricsdb

This plugin allows you to search and upload lyrics basing on song's artist title and sometimes album. Lyrics are download from a database and saved to the %lyrics% tag.



Download - foo_lyricsdb

10. Queuemanager

This plugin provides a panel which shows the queue's contents and allows you to remove tracks from the queue. It also allows you to have playback automatically starting when you create a queue.

Requires .Net 2.0 framework. If you don't have it you can get it here.

Download - foo_uie_queuemanager