Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
I haven't had many issues to fix this month, nor have I had any emails on topics I should cover. As such, I figured it could be time for another series of useful suggestions. This time around, I'll cover: recording electric guitar easily, using an android phone as a barcode scanner, transferring pictures from your android phone to your PC wirelessly, and a small tip for cable management.
Record electric guitar
As many of you have probably heard, Ubisoft recently released a game called Rocksmith, which features a 1/4” jack to USB cable. Surprisingly enough, the cable seems to work without drivers on any OS (I've tested this on Mac OS X, Windows 8, and ArchLinux). So, for anyone who owns Rocksmith and an electric guitar – all you need to do is install Audacity and record! Due to the fact that the cable contains a normal 1/4” jack, you can run your signal through the usual chain (pedals, preamps, etc) before heading into your PC.
It's also possible to buy just the Real Tone Cable, though, for the price, you could probably find other solutions. If anyone is interested in a review of Rocksmith (for Xbox), send me an email and I'll get right on it.
Note: The quality of the recording is decent, but I found that it is sometimes too quiet. However, it's easily fixed with a bit of post-processing. Logically, the quality will also be dependent on the pickups in your guitar. All testing was done with my PRS SE Custom 24.
Sound samples (I apologize for the quality of the playing…): https://soundcloud.com/lswest/chords-pure – Chords, played directly from the guitar into the PC https://soundcloud.com/lswest/santana-g3 – A little bit of a Santana tune, played through my Zoom G3 multi-effects pedal and then into the PC.
Comparing the quality of the G3 (which can act as a USB interface) and the Rocksmith Real Tone Cable, I'd have to say I prefer the cable – it sounds just as good (if sometimes a bit quieter), and it's a lot less of a hassle to set up.
Barcode scanning Anyone with an android phone will probably know that there are a multitude of barcode/QR code scanners available for Android. However, there is one app that seems especially useful – WiFi Barcode Scanner. This app uses VNC to enable wireless scanning of barcodes to your PC from your phone. For €0.99 in the German store, it's definitely an alternative to look at when contemplating some sort of wireless scanner. Why would you want a barcode scanner? If you're someone who needs to manage a large collection of books, magazines, etc, or want to manage any collection with custom barcodes/QR codes, then you may appreciate the ability to scan barcodes in order to input them into spreadsheets or databases. This is definitely something I'd recommend to anyone thinking of buying a barcode scanner, as it's by far the cheapest solution I've seen, so long as you already own a camera-equipped Android device. Due to the fact that Google Play offers full refunds (within 15 minutes of downloading an app), it can be a fairly risk-free attempt.
Transfer Photos Wirelessly
Google has very recently enabled full-size photo uploads to Google+ via instant upload on the mobile app. Originally, it didn't seem like such a useful option to have. However, while writing the HTC One S review (see later in this issue), I needed to take a few photos to demonstrate the camera. Once taken, I would have had to hunt through my room for the micro USB cable in order to transfer them (or else install/use something like Dropbox or AirPlay). Instead, within a few seconds (time will vary depending on your upload speed), they were present and available on my Google+ private album – from which I simply downloaded the photos. So, for anyone who likes quick and easy solutions like this, and if you have a Google+ account, this may be worth noting.
Cable Management
For the past few years, I've had a constant humming from my (admittedly older) Logitech speakers. Originally, it wasn't a big deal – the humming was quiet enough to be ignored. However, I recently had to replace our router (which sits on my desk, along with all the other electronic stuff I own), and after which my speakers were humming like crazy, even on the lowest volume setting. I chalked this up to signal interference from power cables, and so I spent a day labelling every cable I had, and then grouping power cables together, ethernet cables together, USB, and audio cables. Once I grouped them, I created a separate “pathway” for each group to run through under my desk. Ethernet cables were wrapped around the desk's supports, power cables ran down the left side of my desk and then along the floor, and the USB and audio cables ran down the right side, spaced a bit apart. The result? No hum whatsoever. I've also noticed fewer disconnection issues via ethernet, meaning I probably had some interference there too. For anyone experiencing similar issues, sorting through your cables may be a very good idea.
I hope at least a few people have found this article useful, and, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can email me at lswest34@gmail.com. If you do email me, please put “C&C” or “FCM” in the subject line, so that it doesn't get lost in my inbox. I'd be extremely interested to know if any readers find the occasional music-oriented articles interesting – if they do, I would be happy to do an article on using Audacity to record guitar (electric, acoustic, whatever). If anyone wishes to see some of these articles, just send me an email letting me know.