Thursday, November 13, 2008

Syncing Cell Phones: the beauty of Technology

I just got a new cell-phone today, and experienced one of the great joys of working technology. My old cell phone was a Motorola Razr V3T. A great little piece of hardware - it came with an MP3 player, expandable memory, cool vibes, and both a bluetooth and a usb connection. I've had it for about two years (I got a case for it and tried not to drop it), and just in the last couple months the screen started going bad. Apparently there is a flex cable that gets worn out over time in these flip phones. I could send and receive calls fine, but half the time I couldn't see who I was calling or read any texts. Finally the screen died altogether last week. So I figured it's time to sign up for another 2-year contract and get a new phone with it.
But Here's the beauty: with my Mac, I was able to use Bluetooth to sync my contacts with my address book - a little mac program called iSync. Just beautiful. It took me a while to figure out how to access the contacts via USB, since I couldn't see the screen on my old one to know what I was doing and get into my tools to turn on Bluetooth on my phone for my computer to see it. I had to delete the old bluetooth Razr connection and re-discover the phone while it was connected via USB. I also had to remove the memory card, otherwise it would show the memory card as a USB drive.
So I got a new phone that also has Bluetooth and USB - the trusty Razr. Unfortunately they don't make the ones with expandable memory and MP3 player anymore, but that doesn't worry me. I hear all sorts of stories from my friends about losing or breaking their cell phone and all their contacts are gone. With iSync everything is now backed up - minimal loss of contacts, if any! I just put my old case on the new phone, linked up the Bluetooth, and now my computer is putting all my contact phone numbers on the new Razr with the visible screen.
I love technology... when it works!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Check out: Katie Becker - Firstborn

We just finished working on Katie Becker's EP Firstborn. For those of you who don't know, an EP is a collection of songs in which the total playing time of all the tracks is less than 45 minutes. Anything longer than 45 minutes is a full-length LP (long-play). Katie's EP has already received a great review from Ken Mueller, an avid music listener who works for WXPN. It has been really exciting to work on these songs. Katie is a gifted songwriter, arranger, musician and... singer. She has a unique approach to singing, emphasizing particular nuances of the text with movement and poise. Almost Bjork-like in her stylings. She is also a very grounded person. We got to know each other at church through working with the youth group and helping out with music, and I have spent many a meal and evening at her family's house. As one keenly interested in life and what is going on around her, Katie is a songwriter for a new era of concerned individuals trying to make their way in the world even while they lend a hand to those around them. Find Katie online at www.katiebeckermusic.com, visit her myspace site, befriend her, and try to make it to a show near you to pick up a physical copy of this disc. Better yet, set a show up for her near you. You can also find her 5-song EP on iTunes: Katie Becker - Firstborn