Category: I Like

Personally tested, compared to other options, and now recommended products and services.

How to Join Together Audiobook Tracks

Update: This post contains useful information about the Join Together utility, but has been superseded by a new article that details additional options, for both Mac and Windows users. See How to join multiple tracks into a single audiobook file for the new information.

One of the top two questions I get asked about audiobooks by visitors to Aldo on Audiobooks is, after importing a bunch of audiobook CDs, is there any way to join the many tracks together to get a single track for the audiobook?

For a while I simply shrugged, and said I hadn’t found a good tool. Then I found a good tool, and added it to the FAQ, but didn’t advertise it too heavily because it was only available for Mac users. But with the latest release the tool has gotten so good, I feel the need to share and promote it. (Windows users, I am sorry, but I haven’t found anything for you yet.)

Doug Adams runs a terrific site called Doug’s AppleScripts for iTunes. Now on its fifth revision, his Join Together tool has evolved from a basic AppleScript into a stand-alone application which gives you a terrific interface for combining tracks and adding the right metadata such as title and author, along with options to convert to different formats, and even add chapter marks to the resulting merged track:

!/images/audiobooks/join-together_v5.png(Join Together 5.0 user interface)!:http://www.dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=jointogether

It’s truly an outstanding piece of work. If you’re importing audiobooks on a Mac, get it now. And if you use it and like it, be sure to thank Doug with a donation!

RailsConf 2006

RailsConf 2006Last weekend I was in Chicago for the first ever RailsConf, a gathering of about 600 people focused on developing web applications using the Ruby on Rails application framework. Other people are posting lots of details and thoughts (try clicking the RailsConf tag below), so I’ll just add a few deltas:

Continue reading “RailsConf 2006”

Aldoblog is Now Hosted at TextDrive

I wrote previously about my DSL woes, which at the time seemed to be rain induced. But in the last two weeks I’ve started hearing increasing static on the phone line, and can only assume my wiring is disintegrating rapidly, in spite of the currently fabulous weather.

I’m doing two things. One is get bids for doing all new whole house wiring, for both voice and data. That should happen later this month, and solve the immediate issue.

But I’ve also had multiple outages which were caused by a bad card in the data center at my DSL provider, something I have no control over. The most recent outage was four days, and was stupid, because when the service tech showed up at my house, he found no issues here, checked the data center card, found that I and four other customers were all down, and he reset the card remotely. There’s absolutely no reason why that shouldn’t have happened within 5 minutes of my first call, instead of waiting four days, and staying home from work for half a day to meet the tech.

TextDrive: A Joyent CompanySo I’ve begun migrating my web sites and email to TextDrive, a provider with serious hardware and connectivity, starting with Aldoblog last weekend. More will move as I get time to do it, until I’m not hosting anything on the end of an unreliable (and slower) DSL connection.

V for Vendetta

Been meaning for a while to post that I saw the movie V for Vendetta, on the IMAX screen at the Sony Metreon. I enjoyed the movie immensely. It’s been a decade since I’ve read the original graphic novel by Allan Moore, so I can’t say how faithful it is to the original. Certainly there are departures, both in the basic plot and to update the story for 2006. But overall it’s a very well-written, acted, and shot movie. Stylistically, there are two sequences which recall the best parts of Matrix: Reloaded — the dominos sequence, and V’s final fight sequence — and these are thrilling enough in themselves that I’ll probably see the movie a second time.

Like the Matrix films, V certainly is the kind of movie that benefits from the extra detail on the IMAX screen. I highly recommend seeing it, even if you don’t have an IMAX theater in your area. But if you do, spend the extra money and see it on the huge screen.

Microsoft Packaging Parody Video

OK, lots of people are pointing to this “parody” video, Microsoft Redesigns the iPod Package, but since it involves the iPod, I thought I’d call a little more attention to it.

OK, lots of people are pointing to this “parody” video, Microsoft Redesigns the iPod Package, but since it involves the iPod, I thought I’d call a little more attention to it.

!/images/ipod/ms-ipod-pro-packaging.png(Microsoft Redesigns the iPod Package)!:http://youtube.com/watch?v=UADizYtTrAI

It’s funny because it’s true, and because the music is perfect. But it’s also interesting because it perfectly illustrates the differences between the Apple and Microsoft design aesthetics — and I’m not talking about packaging. The iPod is so well done not because it’s had so many features added to it, but because it has had so many taken away. The saying “Less is more” is no less true for being cliché.

Which iPod for Audiobooks?

I’ve just published a ridiculously long explanation of why the iPod Nano is the best playback device for audiobooks. If you’re interested, here’s the article:

“Which iPod Should I Buy?”:/audiobooks/ipod-recommendations/

I’ve just published in Aldo on Audiobooks a ridiculously long explanation of why the iPod Nano is the best playback device for audiobooks. If you’re interested, here’s the article:

Which iPod Should I Buy?

I am frequently asked, “Which audio player should I buy to use with my audiobooks?” At first I would reply with a great deal of information, most of which is completely irrelevant to the question. I’ve come to realize that the answer is quite simple. You only have to make one decision…

TextMate

I’ve been a BBEdit user for more than a decade, and consider it one of the finest pieces of software I’ve ever used. But a new text editing application, TextMate, has me re-evaluating my loyalty. I hope to make 2006 the year I achieve “text editing zen,” and I think TextMate is the application to help me do it.

I’ve used BBEdit for many years, starting with version 3.5 and buying every version released since then. It’s a wonderful application, one where when I learn of a new version, I send them my credit card info before reading what’s actually in a new release. To say that I love BBEdit is an understatement; it’s been one of the core tools I’ve used to earn a living for more than a decade.

A little over a year ago, a new kid on the OS X text editing block appeared. TextMate was the first text editing application I’ve seen in 10+ years which has tempted me to leave BBEdit, mostly on the strength of a screencast for Ruby on Rails, where TextMate was (in theory) an incidental part of the demo.

Continue reading “TextMate”

Announcing Aldo on Audiobooks

When I posted my instructions for importing audiobooks into iTunes and the iPod, it quickly became the single most popular post on this site, both in page views and in comments. I followed it up with a companion piece, covering the differences for MP3 CD audiobooks, and that quickly became the 2nd most popular page on the site. After weeks of on-and-off-again writing, I am replacing those posts with a whole new section of Aldoblog: Aldo on Audiobooks. Please check it out.

When I posted my instructions for importing audiobooks into iTunes and the iPod, it quickly became the single most popular post on this site, both in page views and in comments. I followed it up with a companion piece, covering the differences for MP3 CD audiobooks, and that quickly became the 2nd most popular page on the site.

I also ended up answering a lot of questions in the comments to those two posts, trying to make the instructions more clear, as well as covering special cases which occurred for some people. From the number of questions, it was clear to me that there are a lot of people looking for help in getting their audiobooks onto their iPod. But my answers, while useful, were hard to find, because there was no organization except chronological in the comments. I decided it was time to rethink keeping that information in a weblog format.

Well, after weeks of on-and-off-again writing, I am finally ready to launch a whole new section of Aldoblog, Aldo on Audiobooks. This collection of information represents a complete reorganization and rewrite of all of the information I’ve posted here previously covering audiobooks on iTunes and the iPod, along with all-new information covering recommendations for what audiobooks to get, and where you can find the best places to get them.

This new section entirely replaces the earlier posts; I’ll be going back and amending them to note that fact. I’m also planning a number of additions to the section, which I hope to post in the run-up to the holidays, in time to help folks who get brand new ipods as gifts.

So, please, go on in and give the new stuff a look. Currently there’s no way to comment on the pages themselves, but I’d love feedback, either as comments on this post, or via email — my contact information is in the sidebar of every page on this site.

Cannoli

I tried ’em. Ate 8 of ’em. I agree with “this guy”:http://www.talkofthepoint.com/TOTParchives/000163..html — “Romolo’s Cannoli and Spumoni Factory”:http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/929884/ in San Mateo makes great cannoli. The only competitive cannoli I’ve had is from Modern Pastry in Boston’s North End. Both are outstanding.

I tried ’em. Ate 8 of ’em. I agree with this guy — Romolo’s Cannoli and Spumoni Factory in San Mateo makes great cannoli. The only competitive cannoli I’ve had is from Modern Pastry in Boston’s North End. Both are outstanding.

Romolo’s is open again after their remodel. Easy to get to, right off of El Camino Real, and just a few blocks from the Hillsdale exit of Highway 101. Go check ’em out.

Why the iPod nano is Brilliant

OK, so Apple will sell a lot of them — I predict that if Apple can make enough of them, they will *crush* the competition this holiday selling season. *Crush.* They’re going to sell 10-12 million iPods between now and the end of the year (nearly twice their current sell rate).

But that just makes the nano a great _product._ I believe the nano is much more than a great product. It’s a brilliant _platform._

OK, so Apple will sell a lot of them — I predict that if Apple can make enough of them, they will crush the competition this holiday selling season. Crush. They’re going to sell 10-12 million iPods between now and the end of the year (nearly twice their current sell rate).

!/images/ipod/nano-twirl_sm.jpg(The iPod nano)!

But that just makes the iPod nano a great product. I believe the nano is much more than a great product. It’s a brilliant platform.

Continue reading “Why the iPod nano is Brilliant”

I Dream of Harry Bosch

I’ve written how Rochelle and I listen to audio books on our iPods. It’s by far the best way we’ve found to fill commute and other dead time, and I frankly barely use my iPod for music; probably 95% of the time, it’s on for audio books. And one character rises above them all: Harry Bosch.

I’ve written how Rochelle and I listen to audio books on our iPods. It’s by far the best way we’ve found to fill commute and other dead time, and I frankly barely use my iPod for music; probably 95% of the time, it’s on for audio books.

The novel that got me well and truly hooked was Lost Light by Michael Connelly. It was one of the highest rated unabridged books on ::audibletl(“000”, “Audible.com”):: in 2004, and Rochelle picked it out on a whim. Mystery genre, highly rated by other listeners, a good narrator on the sample provided. Nothing more complicated than that.

We listened to it on a drive back from LA, and were gripped. When we got home, we dragged our crap into the house, and got immediately into bed with the book playing over the stereo to finish it. It was superb, and remains my favorite audio book.

The best news was that it was the ninth book in an 11-book (and continuing) series about LA homicide detective Harry Bosch. We’ve since acquired all of the other Harry Bosch novels which are available in unabridged format on Audible.com (about half of the total books written)…and all the rest on MP3 CD (I’ll write more about those soon).

Every time I listen to a Harry Bosch novel, especially the ones narrated by Len Cariou, I have Harry Bosch dreams, and can hear the narrator’s voice in my head for weeks. Highly, highly recommended.