smkranz

My new home office chair...the Space Chair Matrex Back 2300. Cost $300 at a local "discount" office furniture place, though I've seen it online for about $260. It didn't seem like all that much money to me compared with some of the *really* sweet $600-1,200 chairs they had, but there'll be no nookie for me when the Spousal Unit finds out I spent more on this chair {when there are "perfectly good chairs at Staples for seventy nine dollars"] than she spent all of this past year on her wardrobe. C'est La Vie... [attachmentid=2088]

I have both machines. I haven't done a lot of comparison, but I have tried a casual side-by-side playback comparison of a Hi-MD of CD's downloaded onto disc with the NH900. To my non-technical ears they really, really sounded essentially the same, with maybe a slight edge to the RH1 in bass. I did the comparison using my Sure E3C canal phones, which are a little thin in bass response, and the RH1 just seemed to give it a smidge more bass.

I'm not too concerned about anyone coming after me, though these ensembles also do perform more modern pieces which are still protected by the original copyright. But there is the issue of "derivative works" which would allow copyright protection to, say, a new arrangement of a work in the public domain. I have also been admonished that it applies to, say, a restored and enhanced print of an old public domain film. Copyright Protection in a Derivative Work The copyright in a derivative work covers only the additions, changes, or other new material appearing for the first time in the work. It does not extend to any preexisting material and does not imply a copyright in that material. One cannot extend the length of protection for a copyrighted work by creating a derivative work. A work that has fallen in the public domain, that is, a work that is no longer protected by copyright, may be used for a derivative work, but the copyright in the derivative work will not restore the copyright of the public domain material. Neither will it prevent anyone else from using the same public domain work for another derivative work. Examples of Derivative Works The following examples show some of the many different types of derivative works: ...Words and musical arrangement (arrangement is based on a piece by Bach)Musical arrangement (based on a work by Bach) http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ14.html ...and then he hit a tree ...

The latest one of my kids' conservatory performances is now posted to my gallery. It's a short excerpt from a much longer concert: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?act=m...si&img=3732 I have noticed on the programs at this particular school, the following admonition: "The use of cameras and tape recorders during performances is strictly prohibited." This naturally brings a smile to my face because...well, I don't use a tape recorder . I know perfectly well what they mean to say is that making a recording of the performance is prohibited, and I suppose their language is probably just an artifact from days gone by. Not that it would matter if they got the nomenclature right...I would record my kids' concerts no matter where they performed or what the rules were. I pay (and pay...and pay...) a ton of money to their schools so I have long ago rationalized my "illegal" recording of their concerts. If the schools were to record the concerts themsevles and make them available to students and parents, I'd be perfectly fine with that. But they don't (I'm sure the copyright problems would be way bad), so I'm left to my own devices.

I second that.

I'm not above releasing some noxious gasses (Silent But Deadlies ) to encourage the goons to take their chit-chat elsewhere.

That's not good. The site says it works with rechargeables. Have you tested with a set of new non-rechargeables to rule out the batteries as an issue? Obvious (but gotta say it, sorry) first thing to check is that batteries are facing in the right direction. I have put them in backwards more than once when I was in a hurry . When you switch it on, does the power lamp go on?

To use PayPal to pay someone, you don't perform a separate "transfer" of money from your bank to PayPal (although I guess that's what happens). Rather, when you pay a vendor who accepts PayPal payments, you "checkout" or click the vendor's PayPal link (like an eBay seller). It prompts you to sign in if you already have a PayPal account. Then if all you have registered with PayPal is your bank account, it should default to that account as your funding source. The transfer from your bank account to PayPal, and then from PayPal to your seller, happens pretty much simultaneously.

For the cable, try a Radio Shack or similar electronics store. I think I've even seen cables like this at Wal-Mart. It might be labeled "stereo headphone extension cable" or something similar. If your laptop does not have an "audio in" or "mic in" jack (like my kid's iBook laptop), you can go with an external USB sound card like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Technology-E...d/dp/B00006BALQ

That is incorrect. You can use your bank account as your funding source as well. I do it all the time.

If you have a bank account and an email address, you can open a (free) personal account with PayPal (www.paypal.com), then purchase from eBay. I don't believe this requires a credit card, just a bank account from which it draws funds when you make a payment to a vendor who accepts PayPal payments.

Have you tried uploading the recording to your computer with Sonic Stage? Since you are borrowing the recorder I'm guessing you don't have the software CD. Download Sonic Stage from here to see if you can upload the recording to your desktop PC (if you use a MAC you are out of luck with the MZ-NH900). You'll also need the Minidisc -> USB transfer cable. Chances are, if the file is corrupt or if the disc is damaged, it won't upload completely (or at all). But it's worth a shot.

group of hallucinators. (this sentence needed to end somewhere .)

This link shows the Gomadic international shipping rates...not so bad from what I can see. http://www.gomadic.com/shipping.html

Tbe manual says *not* to plug the USB cable into a USB hub, but directly into a USB port on the computer. Funny thing, those manuals. I will say that there is a lot of information tucked away in the manual's "fine print" which should be more prominent.

1) & 2) From the Gomadic web site, I would say Yes: Advanced internal circuitry protects device from power surges, overcharging, and short-circuiting.3) & 4) The Gomadic charger wil power the RH1 without the gumstick battery installed, but I just don't fully know yet how the combination of a charged RH1 battery -plus- the Gomadic charger works. For example, with the Gomadic connected and the RH1 powered off, if I turn the charger to -ON- the charging indicator immediately starts flashing. Then, while this is going on I press Play (Enter) on the jog button, the RH1 starts playing and the battery charge indicator disappears...same thing that happens if the RH1 is connected to its own A/C charger. This suggests to me that while the Gomadic is powered on, the RH1 is taking its power from the Gomadic rather than simultaneously from the internal battery. I don't know the electronics of the RH1, but the RH1 manual says (page 15): It is possible to do operations on the recorder or the remote while charging the battery with the AC power adaptor, as well as computer-related operations while charging with USB bus power. However, the charging time will be longer.It also says, on page 22: When the recorder is connected to a computer, power (bus power) is supplied to the recorder through the computer's USB port...Hmmm...so are we to infer from this, and the above behavior, that while the RH1 is connected to either a computer (USB) or a wall outlet, it is taking its power from that external source, and simultaneously recharging the internal battery? Sounds that way to me. If so, then the next question is what happens when the AA batteries in the Gomadic start losing their oomph...does output drop below 5v and then the internal battery kicks in? I dunno...a future experiment for someone to try...

One of the kids' iPods came down with something ( "sad iPod icon" ) which Apple support suggests is a hardware problem. Froze, reset, sad iPod icon in that order. It's the first iPod failure in our household, but it came a week before a marching band bus trip which (I am told) is impossible to survive without portable tunes. I offered up my MZ-NH900 as a substitute, which he gleefully accepted. Then he marveled at how fast Simple Burner just slapped his CDs onto a Hi-MD without having to import them into a desktop application first. Not related to the "Rescue 900" (vs. Rescue 911...get it?...dumb joke...never mind), but he was still bummed that he probably would lose 1,600+ tunes on his iPod, only a fraction of which are in his iTunes library on *my* computer because I guess I just don't want them there. But just before we put the iPod into the shipping box provided by Apple, he tried it again, and it turned on, and stayed on long enough to connect it to the desktop and pull off all of his tunes with PodUtil. PodUtil then dumps the copied songs into iTunes, where I guess I will leave them in case of future failures. One happy ending...one new Hi-MD user (even if temporarily).

I would definitely call Sony first to see if they will voluntarily refund/credit your card for the $70 you did not authorize. If they do not, then contact your credit card company to dispute the charge. Don't dawdle, though...you probably have a limited amount of time after you received your last statement with the unauthorized charge, to dispute the charge.

There are several external battery packs which will power or re-charge the RH1. Please review this thread: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=16982

That's affirmative, at least with the Gomadic model. I just tested it this evening. The pic shows the battery out of the RH1, the Gomadic charger connected and powered on, and the RH1 happily playing away. [attachmentid=2036]

Could this have something to do with the output voltage of the Energizer charger? I will try to remember to do the same experiment with the Gomadic model which has 5V output.

It does look pretty much the same as the Gomadic model, except that the photo doesn't show the same plug at the tip which interchanges with various other tips to make it compatible with other devices, nor does it mention this ability in the description.

Lucky, indeed! I'd say marry that girl...and quick! Another good-looking find. No specs shown that indicate output, and I don't know squat about battery-power and charging electronics, but I'm wondering how that device with only one or two 1.5v AA batteries would put out the 5v used by the RH1 chargers, and the Gomadic AA charger. Another question is, could the RH1 battery be recharged with less than a 5v output? Maybe you could spring for the $20 and let us know if it works?

The Audio Drinking Companion. Not very good music (well, some of it is), but good for what "ales" you I'm particularly fond of the song titled "Beer". http://www.audiodrinkingcompanion.com/

Thanks for the reminder, you are right about that. [Does anyone but than me think that was a goofy and pretty darn useless design "feature" by Sony?]