Ring Tone creation is not as difficult as it would seem. After some research and a little trial and error I’ve found a simple process. You need two tools, a music parser and iTunes. I found the following free tool worked fine for parsing the song I wanted to use.
Begin by installing and running AudioGizmo. Select “File>Open Audio” or select the Open action button. Next select the unprotected audio file you want to create into a ring tone. The tool supports MP3, WAV, OMG, and WMA file formats. NOTE: The tool allows you to highlight the section of the song you want to remove, not keep. Make sure are deleting the pieces of the song you do not want in the ring tone. When ready, save the song as an mp3 file with a new title.
Next, open iTunes and import the mp3 file you just created. This can be accomplished by selecting “File>Add File To Library.” Then locate the file in the music library and select it. Right click on the song and select “Create AAC Version.” I removed the mp3 version from my music list so there wasn’t any confusion, but you can leave it.
We can now create the ring tone. Select the file the “Create AAC Version” action created and hit “Control+R” or go to “File>Show in Windows Explorer.” When the explorer window opens, select the file (It should have an m4a extension now) and edit the file extension to m4r. Double click the file and it will be uploaded into iTunes as a ring tone.
That’s it, you now have your ring tone.
NOTE: The ring tone will probably be moved by iTunes to the ring tone folder if you need to find it again.
In addition to the battery icon in the top right, you can display the percentage of battery life you have left. This is enabled by going to — Settings > Usage — and turning on “Battery Percentage.”
Can proverbs be used as new years resolutions? I started a new book today and it got me thinking. can I use a proverb instead of writing out a long winded resolution that I’ll stop reading in a week. In the book “Made to Stick” by Chip & Dan Heath they mention how proverbs have been around for over 2500 years. That they’ve been used to teach by creating a catchy “Sticky” statement that is memorable. It helps that I already read, memorize and use proverbs, but I was thinking about it. Will this process actually work?
The proverb is easy to memorize and can be a fun story when people ask what your resolution is for 2009. Here is my thought process – scary isn’t it -. Begin by placing the proverb on the home bathroom mirror and on your PC at work. This will insure that you read it at least once a day. It will be strengthened even further when you tell people what your resolution is for 2009.
Proverb Example
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step
Means that you need to make the initial step if you are ever to complete a task.
In this example we are saying the resolution is to get started by just doing the first step. So, now do it! What is the very next step on each of your existing goals or projects? For example, I’m donating my old car, so my next simplest task is to find an organization to call. I already have the keys and the title, so this is the next step and the one after it will be to schedule a time to have the car picked up.
I’m going to try this out and see how it works. Let me know if you try it and I wish you luck. I hope this posting was entertaining and helpful.
Reference:
Proverb Web Site: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/English_proverb
“That’s my exit!” was her last thought as she cut across three lanes. Luckily no accidents, but a move all to common on our roads. Of course there was no common sense in that move. Logic would tell you to either pay attention and get over before the exit or get off at the next exit and turn around. No such luck! The event did make me ponder a question I often ask myself. Where did “common sense” go?
Obviously these people left it in a jar, in the kitchen, top shelf behind a box! Get the idea?
The word “common sense” implies a knowledge that we all have. It has two general meanings in philosophy, a sense of things being common to other things or a sense of things common to humanity. Aristotle said it’s a place where the senses come together, a perception.
During my commute I listen to several audio books. When I listen to books on a particular topic, for this example it was dealing with people, I notice common theories or statements. Each author shares the knowledge in their own words, but the overall message does not change. For this example the overall message seems to be consistent — Be nice to and interested in the doings of others — My question then: based on Aristotle’s definition would this be considered common sense. The information seems to be common to these authors, but it doesn’t seem to be common to everyone.
For example:
1936 – Dale Carnegie – How to win friends and influence people – He states: be genuinely interested in in other people.
2005 – Keith Ferrazzi – Never eat Alone – He states: ask yourself how you can help others – not yourself.
33 AD – Philippians 2:4 – The Bible - States: Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Can you see my point? Story tellers have tried to teach these common pieces of knowledge for years. Did you ever read any of Aesop’s fables? Maybe you know the story of the ant and the dove.
AN ANT went to the bank of a river to quench its thirst, and being carried away by the rush of the stream, was on the point of drowning. A Dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water plucked a leaf and let it fall into the stream close to her. The Ant climbed onto it and floated in safety to the bank. Shortly afterwards a bird catcher came and stood under the tree, and laid his lime-twigs for the Dove, which sat in the branches. The Ant, perceiving his design, stung him in the foot. In pain the bird catcher threw down the twigs, and the noise made the Dove take wing.
These stories were used to share and teach what I consider common knowledge or common sense. Maybe you know the story by another interpretation, One good deed deserves another. I don’t think we’ll find the answer tonight, but this is what I’m wondering:
Have people stopped listening to the stories – Stopped learning?
Have people become to self absorbed? – Quote from Gertrude Stein
Or is it something else?
Quotes
Stupid is forever, ignorance can be fixed. –Don Wood
Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense. –Gertrude Stein (1874 – 1946)
P.S. I recommend the first two books for anyone in college.
Last week I participated in a Learning Tree training class, “IT Relationship Management: Aligning IT with the Business”, and it is this class that causes me to ask the question. Is the IT Relationship Manager role a viable position in a company or a set of skills for IT managers? Based on my company and experience I believe a set of skills.
The main activity of the IT Relationship Manager (ITRM) is Alignment. This is accomplished by understanding the business goals and the IT services available to help them achieve those goals. Sounds simple enough right!
The instructor explained that the ITRM pulled skills from several Roles. For example, Business relationship manager, service delivery manager, service-level manager, project manager, and account manager. Well, lets be realistic, It’s taken me years to learn the roles of IT architect, project manager, and department manager and I’m still learning everyday. I have also found it difficult, if not impossible, to find another person with more then one well defined skill set. This is the reason I say ITRM is a set of skills for the IT manager and not a new role in the company.
We can break the skill sets and tools down into four groups.
Initiating and building relationships. (Skills)
IT Processes and Services (Tools)
Business Landscape Needs (Tools)
Championing Innovative Solutions (Skills)
Initiating and building relationships
Relationship building is of course important and the most difficult skill for most IT workers. But to accomplish alignment you need trust and to gain trust you need to talk to people. Communication is the most important skill.
IT Processes and Services
This is more about tools and information. Does your company post its services to the business? Does the business have any idea about what IT can do and if not this is where we need to start. In the class the instructor mentioned a “Catalog of Services” or “IT Services Catalog” to document and communicate the services IT can provide.
Business Landscape Needs
Next you need to identify the issues from the business, understand the services from IT, and then figure out ways to close the gap between current situation and desired situation. Look for important and obtainable projects.
Championing Innovative Solutions
With the business needs identified and some quick win projects selected, its time for the sale. You need to use your new relationship with the business to “sell” them on the new solutions.
I will revisit these sections in more detail In future posts.
Still don’t think you need these skills?
There is usually a perceived alignment between IT and the business. IT provides the solution and the business learns to work with the solutions provided. This is not really alignment and the business users are usually unhappy with the final product. If you purchased this software for home and it didn’t work, well, you’d return it and buy something else. What makes you think your company isn’t thinking that with your internal IT department? Don’t think it’s possible, does any of this sound familiar?
Your business develops or hires its own IT resources.
Does the business have a department IT person? Are small projects done without IT, e.g. daily reports?
Your business outsources its IT to external third parties.
Are entire applications outsourced, e.g. CRM, e-Commerce?
During the class the instructor also mentioned some key points to identify if the IT department has limited value to the organization.
There is an increase in the business blaming IT when things go wrong.
IT spends money to upgrade hardware and software that the business does not need and it doesn’t directly affect the goals of the business.
The business is continually annoyed at IT and voices that it doesn’t understand what it is getting.
Very low customer satisfaction by word-of-mouth or surveys.
Takes a long time to get anything done via IT.
Overall, I believe it is possible to use these skills to better align my department with the business. My plan then is to test the skills with my department. Then begin to branch out and try to help other departments better there position with IT. Maybe this will allow me to sell the need to the ITRM role, but I don’t think its possible from the top down.
They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. — Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987), The Philosophy of Andy Warhol
Domino 8.5 is not your dads Domino. The developer tool has been re-parented into Eclipse. It provides a ton of new developer capabilities while preserving the developers existing skillset. Developers have new and refined navigation options, new editors for CSS, HTML, and XML, and additional capabilities and design elements.The new environment also provides extensible script editors, better debugging tools, and the ability to centralize more of your development tools into one application. I.g. you can now do your Java, Domino, and web development in one tool.
I’m excited with the move to eclipse because I can leverage my Java environment tools to do Domino development. Also I can work to have my Java and Domino developers work closer together.
Enhanced Web Form Controls
View, richtext fields, and other web components have been enhanced with the JavaScript framework Dojo. Dojo demos can be seen here and I’ll post some Domino examples when I can find them.
Well Formed XML
IBM/Lotus has finally removed the Domino pre-compiled web form code. The generated HTML can now be valid XML and processed by XML parsers.
Auto Classing and Themes
Another great upgrade can be found in the support for Styles. Class attributes are automatically added to some HTML code for Domino objects. CSS can now be applied to a larger set of Domino objects and themes are now supported. Themes allow the developer to set a look and feel to the entire NSF file.
xPages and Custom Controls
The newest feature is xPages. An xPage is a new design element based on Java Server Faces (JSF) technology. It provides the developer with the ability to create web 2.0 pages in Domino 8.5. xPages remove the current constraints found with web development and Domino pages and forms. The new features are:
AJAX enabled (for example, partial page refresh, type ahead capability, and so on)
Advanced Web control library (tabbed panel, and so on)
Full support for styling by using CSS
Fully extensible by using custom controls (composite controls or Java-based controls) or JSF extensions
Support for multiple clients (Web, rich client, and so on)
JavaScript scripting language support for client-side and server-side action
Pre-built simple actions provided for most common cases
Direct access to Java libraries on the server
A custom control is a collection of controls that are stored as a single object. They are similar to a subforms in that you create the control once and then use it on several xPages. Also like a subform, when the control is updated the changes are seen on all referencing pages.
I’ve been testing the Beta since May 2008 and I have only had one common complaint. Users don’t like the new user interface and I think it will take some time for them to get used to it. I believe with time and training they will come to love it, however the development team needs to step up and learn how to leverage the new components, i.g. the side bar.
I’ve decided to initially roll out two servers for we development only. The clients will remain 7.0.3 and after about a year we’ll look to upgrade. Normally we upgraded the clients first, but I believe its unwise to begin with the client this time. We need to construct a training process before the users can begin using the client.
In addition to the battery icon in the top right, you can display the percentage of battery life you have left. This is enabled by going to — Settings > Usage — and turning on “Battery Percentage.”
