Ubuntu 12.04 LTS video of starting your PC from Ubuntu with a USB Flash Drive

Ubuntu Linux 12.04 LTS is one of the few operating systems which can be started and used from a USB flash drive, or CD. This means you can run Ubuntu on a computer with no hard drive or other storage media like SSD, SD card, or memory card.

Usually, you use the Bios to setup your computer to look for a USB hard drive, or USB flash drive before it looks for a Hard drive or CD during computer start up, so all you do is plug in your USB drive, and turn on your computer to boot from USB.

With newer computers like the HP a1720n desktop or newer HP laptops, you just hit the ESC key on the keyboard right after you turn on your PC, so it launches the start up manager which lets you pick the storage media like CD, Hard drive, USB drive, etc to start from.

You use the arrow keys to high light the USB drive, and click enter on the keyboard.

It usually takes a few minutes for Ubuntu to start up to the menu screen which ask you if you want to try ubuntu or install it on your computer.

I recommend giving Ubuntu a try before you install it, or using the try button if your computer hard drive is too small for Ubuntu, or you don’t have a hard drive installed on your computer or laptop at all.

I used the Patriot Xporter XT Boost USB Drive  for this video because it is one of the most fast, and reliable USB 2.0 flash drive which consumers can buy.

You can use Unetbootin or the Ubuntu Startup drive creator found in Ubuntu 10.04-12.04 to make the Ubuntu start up live USB drive from the Ubuntu Linux 12.04 LTS ISO.

Getting Started recording audio on your PC or Laptop

All you need is a microphone to record audio on your home computer, or laptop. Most modern laptops have built-in microphones for recording voices, sound, and music.

If you use a desktop computer, you need a 3.5mm microphone like the Cyber Acoustic Stick Microphone which you plug into the microphone jack on the back or front of your computer microphone jack which is usually pink, and has a microphone symbol on it.

Once your microphone is plugged in, you can start using it at once with your sound recording software like Audacity, Sound Recorder, Skype, voice chat, video chat, and other software.

It is best to position your head a few feet away from your mic until you don’t hear yourself breathing or blowing into the mic. You can also adjust the volume and sensitivity of the mic with your sound recording, or sound card software which is pretty easy in most cases.

You can usually find the sound software control panel by clicking on a speaker icon on your computers system tray or in the control panel.

The record button on software is usually a red dot, and the stop button is usually a black square to stop recording.

It is best to save audio files as WAV for the highest quality, but if you plan on sharing your files online, or using less space on your computer to store the files, saving your audio as MP3, WMA, and OGG are good file formats for sharing or saving space online or offline.

WAV files are CD Quality while MP3 are near CD quality.

Kobo Vox Tablet eReader Great everyday media tablet + video

The Kobo Vox eReader tablet is a pretty good Google Android tablet eReader for reading, watching video, web browser, and casual gaming. What the Vox has which some similar or cheaper price tablets don’t have is a FFS 7 inch Capacitive touchscreen which has a resolution of 1024 x 600 which is better then DVD quality video and almost HD. The Kobo Vox also has physical buttons like volume, home, back, menu, and a Micro SD card which might not be found on similar price 200 dollars or less tablets. It also has 802.11N which is the fastest version of Wireless internet which can have speeds of over 100 Mbps. It also has a 800MHz CPU, 512MB RAM, and 8 GB of built-in storage which means it can install and play a lot of different kinds of Google Android Apps on it.

You can also easily buy eBooks from Kobo from the Kobo eBook online store from your Vox. Since the Vox is supported by Kobo, the Vox still get updated to improve performance, and add new features as new updates are released.

I have been using the Kobo Vox for months, and I have not experience many annoying problems with it. I like that I can just turn it on from sleep, and it only takes about 2 seconds, or 45 seconds to turn on if I powered it off fully. After I turn on my Vox, I can open an eBook, video file, music file, website, app, or game, and start using it in seconds rather minutes.

It also charges fast with the wall charger, and the battery last for up to 7 hours when reading eBooks. The web browser on the Vox is also pretty fast and easy to use like a desktop web browser. It support bookmarks, search, online video, and web apps like Google Docs.

Video playback on the Vox is great since the screen is 1024×600 which is a high resolution screen which plays HD video very clearly, and the Vox is fast enough to play an HD 1080P video file as well without slow down. The speaker is good enough for music, and playing audio files in a quiet room, or you can plug in headphones, or speakers to the 3.5mm headphone jack on the Vox.

Most Casual Games like Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, and Pinball play well on the Vox with not much noticeable slowdown or none at all.

Kodak Zi8 Best Camcorder for recording Online Video on the Go

The Kodak Zi8 digital camcorder/video camera is one of the best small portable video camcorders for quickly recording online video with because it records video as MOV files, so once your video is recorded, you can upload straight to YouTube with your computer. The Zi8 is what I use to make my YouTube videos on YouTube.com/johnsonyip1

The Zi8 can record video in 480P widescreen, 720P, and 1080P widescreen HD video which means you can record standard quality all the way to HD quality video, so you can use a smaller SD memory card, and still record hours of video, or buy a bigger capacity SD card for hours of HD video.

The Zi8 also has a pretty good built-in Mic for recording audio in your video, or you can use an external mic for recording audio to your video.

The Zi8 also has image stabilisation, macro, and regular shooting modes to record video in different situations like close up, fast action, and farther away. You can also take 5 megapixel photos with the Zi8 for thumbnails for your YouTube video if you are a YouTube Partner.

The weight of the Zi8 is very light so it is easy to hold and put in your pocket.

The Kodak Zi8 digital camcorder is a great everyday camcorder for YouTube, making home movies, and other video projects for school, work, play, and everyday life.

I like that the Kodak Zi8 is inexpensive which you can get for 100-200 dollars to start recording video for YouTube without spending much like buying a DSLR camera, or hard drive based HD camcorder.

You can use Windows Live Movie Maker, iMovie, and many other video editors for other type of video editors.

One of the best features is the USB plug is built-in which is very convenient to transfer video files to the computer, and it also comes with a HDMI, RCA out cables for viewing on a PC monitor, standard tube TV, VCR, or HDTV.

The Zi8 also charges fast with its wall charger, and the battery is replaceable.

Minisuit Capacitive Stylus demo video see a capacitive stylus in action

 

Watch my video on how you can use the MiniSuit Capacitive Stylus to improve your capacitive touch screen pointing experience by using a natural feeling pen rather then your fingers.

A Capacitive Stylus can improve the user experience in your capacitive screen because you no longer have to clean your screen as often since there are no oil marks like using your fingers which have finger prints, and holding a pen is easier to write, draw, point, and play some games with because it is less slippery, and the tip is smaller then your finger tips.

The Capacitive Stylus also will not scratch your screen because its tip is soft since it is made of rubber which can’t scratch your screen.

You can also hold the Sylus farther away from the tip to reach objects farther from your hand with moving your hand less, so using a stylus can improve your productivity when typing, drawing, reaching for shortcuts, and other tasks.