Troubleshooting Windows Voice Recorder

Troubleshooting computer issues is always a joy. As you mignt know from my previous post, I've been setting up equipment in a new faculty computer lab and I've run into several issues. Yesterday, I was preparing to use our new Dell PC to help my colleague, Britt Watwood conduct a class on Wimba Live Classroom. In doing this, I started with my usual sound check by recording in the Windows Sound Recorder.

I know the MS Sound Recorder is a very limited tool, which most of us bypass for serious recording, but it has become my basic way to confirm that the system can record and play sound. I also use this in classroom and lab settings which employ house sound systems to assure that sound settings for recording and playback are working as desired. Well, I've learned that this test may lead to false assumptions.

I recorded about 5 seconds of sound and when I tried to play the recording, I got a message stating "Not enough memory available to complete this operation". Since this PC just came out of the box about two weeks ago and it already needed to have the mother board replaced, I was furious and ready to demand that the entire machine be replaced. My colleague, Gaurav Gupta dismissed this as a software issue with the Sound Recorder and wanted to move on to another recording tool, but I had a mindset which demanded trouble-shooting and resolving this problem or getting the equipment replaced. Because of the previous issues, I suspected it was the tip of the iceberg for future problems and I wanted to resolve this early in the game.

This morning, I tried to re-create the problem on my emulated PC (VMware on a MacBook Pro). I booted the laptop to run the VMware and the Windows environment only. I fired up the Windows Recorder and made a recording. All seemed to go well, until I hit "play" and I got the dreded message. Since I could see graphically that my voice was being recorded, I saved the file to my desktop and it worked fine. So, this led me to believe that Gaurav was correct in his assessment of the problem as being a software issue. With a little research, I stumbled on a Microsoft Help link which confirmed his diagnosis. The problem only occurs when your machine has more than 2 GB of memory.

I hope this will save you some time and frustration.

Reflection: My mindset in regard to previously repaired equipment prevented me from acceping this as a software issue. When I troubleshoot software problems, I have a hard time just moving to another another solution. I tend to see one problem as symptomatic of larger issues. Sometimes, as Gaurav advised, it is better to move on.

Image courtesty of Sean Dreilinger - via Flickr and Creative Commons License

Learning in Our New Lab - Sharing Tips

As Garison Keillor would say, "It's been an exciting day in Lake Wobegon."

I'm in the process of setting up computers in our new multimedia lab, so faculty will have a place to experiment with various technologies and develop some resources. In the process of trying to install Final Cut Express, one thing has led to another. The first tip I can share is that in trying to enter the serial number for Final Cut Express, you do not enter it as printed on the software package. Instead, use all lower case characters and wallah, the installation proceeds.

I was very surprised to learn that the brand new Mac Pro required 15 programs to be updated.

Second tip is on activating the external sound source on the back of the machine. This does not work by default (at least on two machines here). Solution: select System Preferences > Sound > Output > Line Out > then, check and un-check Mute. Close any applications which were open and playing sound. Reopen your desired application and sound should now play out of your external speakers.


Discussion about my problem solving experience as I tried to use the IceCam2 USB Video Web Camera - This is my first recording (using Photo Booth) which I hope will save you a lot of time and frustration.




How to save your Photo Booth movie (note terminology of "movie" and not "video")




Controlling Sound When Recording with the IceCam2 and Photo Booth Software

Adding Value: Communicating Clearly

Is it just me? Or, has there been a cold wind blowing in the blogosphere and twitterverse of late. I've been absent, or at least marginal in my participation, but my brain keeps projecting thoughts to share.

It seems that some who have been active in these arenas are now becoming concerned about their value and a few have actually tuned out and turned off. The conversation is around the nature, frequency and value of posts. Questions arise about the very nature of the "social" aspect of the "social" network. How much information do we need to know in regard to someone's commute, dinner, vacation, etc. and, most importantly, what value is being added?

Britt Watwood, Jeff Nugent and I have discussed this thread a few times and we seem to agree that getting an occasional glimpse of someone's personal life does add value. Quantifying that value becomes difficult, if not impossible, but, I think it projects their humanity. It seems to put a face on people and establish a relationship with others who share common interests; it may make us more comfortable in sharing information of greater educational value to our own lives.

What is missing in the 140 character twits is an immediate sense of importance or value in the message. It occurs to me that we could spare 2 or 3 precious characters to identify messages with a code that would indicate how we feel our message might add value, joy to, or inform someone else's life. So, I'm proposing a code system and welcome the ideas of others in creating, standardizing and implementing this. In my future twits, I will experiment with a code to give a sense of what I'm trying to convey and give readers the quick option to ignore and not be bothered with content they my not be interested in reading.

Here's my start:

Value Code for Twitter Messages:

AV= Added Value - this will be for sharing information and urls which I find of value and think will be of interest to others.

NBP= New Blog Post

ART - images, movies, digital stories, visual and audio treats I want to share

PF= Fun - things I enjoy

H= Humor


I welcome your comments and suggestions for practical codes. In pursuing this idea, I think we should keep it as simple as possible.

I hope this post AV.

Bud

Image courtesy of Colby Stuart http://www.flickr.com/photos/colby/347685523/

Embedding Technorati Widget to Display Current Hot Topics

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The Value of "Talking Heads" or What Monster Has CogDogRoo Created?

Thanks to CogDog for information on digital storytelling and for valuable links to resources.

Photo courtesy of Hamed Saber via flickr

Sharing a 1 minute web 2.0 technology

Michelle Martin, has asked that we share some idea for the use of a web 2.0 technology that can be achieved in one minute. I would like to share the idea of using Jott for various reasons, you can leave a message to yourself, you can forward that message to a blog such as this one, you can create lists, you can do many things. listen

Powered by Jott

PS: the message above was submitted via my cell phone. To get more info and a Jott account, go to http://www.jot.com

Television as a Learning Environment (Writing from the heart: beside the waterfall)

This morning, I write from the heart. This is a post that is actually doing an end run around my writing on the definition of contemporary learning environments, which is a work in progress and still requires more thinking and research.

This writing is connected in that it represents thoughts about one of those environments and one which is often criticized and dismissed as a waste of time: television. I am the first to admit that television is a medium which has been abused by both producer and consumer. It is at its worst, a commercial fire hose of garbage and tasteless “entertainment”. But I refuse to join the ranks of those who claim that they never watch television, and say that with an air of pride to establish intellectual superiority. Quite the contrary, I watch television. I watch my share of garbage, which often serves as background chatter to something else I’m doing. Partly this has been a developed skill, since my wife loves the “noise” of television, 24 - 7. It relaxes her, much like radio has served for some of us in the past. But, for some time, I’ve claimed that television is at its best (along with public radio) on Sunday. It seems to me that on Sunday the medium has (in some cases) been transformed to a platform for conversation and thoughtful programming. Perhaps, it has actually reverted to its roots in programs like the broadcasts by Edward R. Morrow. (Perhaps it is related to the once held notion that Sunday is a day of rest and time for conversation.) My writing is prompted by the untimely death of Tim Russert.

I cannot say that I regularly watched Tim on Meet the Press, or in any other way regularly took advantage of his thoughtful questioning in order to better understand and inform about important issues. That is one of my shortcomings. But, when I did watch, I saw participation in a respectful conversation which often challenged those who were being interviewed to clearly state their position. This was not done in the manner of many television programs which claim to seek information and opinions, but are really shouting matches to promote the view of the interviewer, it was done in the spirit of learning.

So, I reflect on my use of television (when I use it properly) to watch well done documentaries, such as the recent series on John Adams, or programs which open my view of the world and other cultures, such as National Geographic, Discovery and one which simply presents an hour of watching the sun rise from various places around the world and of course (while reflecting on Tim), Meet the Press. All of these have informed me and many have challenged my thinking

Times are changing. The term “Television” must now, more than ever be relegated to a means of delivery. The content being delivered is in the form of video. Developments over the past decade have reduced the cost of video production and transmission via the internet to enable anyone with a video recording device and an internet connection to be able to create and deliver content; hence the rise of “citizen journalism” and I would hope (with respect to the profession), a sincere conversation on what it means to truly be a “journalist”. Like its predecessor, this new form of delivery (through channels such as Youtube) is full of useless trash, extremist rantings, pornography and things which I cannot fathom. But, it also affords (and has provided) the same opportunities to present ideas, inform, educate, as well as invite replies and engage conversation.

As stated earlier, I intend to write more in the near future about my thoughts on contemporary learning environments. While I continue to form my thoughts on that, I can only hope that the competition created by the opportunities afforded us through present and evolving technologies will make each medium stand stronger on its own and that each will be used well, to entertain, inform and afford opportunities for conversation and true learning.

Viva la (quality) television!



PS: Thanks, Tim. Blessings on you and yours.