Simple Audio (Wav/MP3) Editings with Audacity

How many times you end up with a music track that you just want to trim a portion out of it? You might first question which tool to use, and how to get it done. There are numerous tools out there to do this kind of stuff, and even more than that. Most of them cost money, but you can also find some freeware that do the job as well.

Luckily, I've found a freeware that let me edit audio tracks and save them as MP3 and some other formats, it's called Audacity. So go get a copy for yourself and try it, I believe it's all you need to do some simple audio editing tasks.

Once you download and install the Audacity, launch it and you'll see something similar to this:
             

Then follow the steps below

1. Open the audio file (Wav or MP3) (File > Open). The file shows up as follow, note that this sample file has two audio channels (stereo), so you'd see two rows of wave signal.
   
   
2. You can play the file from the beginning by selecting the Play button, or you can select a starting point by clicking the mouse on the wave signal then click Play. While the audio is playing, the cursor moves indicating the position of the wave signals being read.
3. To cut an unwanted portion of the audio, simply play the file and identify the start and end points of the wave signal you want to cut. Then click and drag the mouse to highlight this portion and click on the scissors button to cut.
   
   
4. To add a fade-in at the beginning of the file, click and drag the mouse to select a portion at the beginning of the audio wave. Then select Effect from the top menu and select Fade in.
   
   
5. Similar to fade-out, select a portion of the wave at the end and select Fade Out from the menu.
6. To adjust the volume of the entire audio file: Edit > Select > All, then Effect > Amplify. Then adjust the volume with the slider and click OK, don't forget to check the box Allow Clipping
                                
7. You can also adjust the volume for just a portion of the audio file by select and drag the mouse to highlight the portion then use the Amplify menu.
8. Once you're done editing, save the file as Wav or MP3: File > Export As WAV or Export As MP3.

Download Audacity : Click Here

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Gamers Need the BenQ Professional Gaming XL2411T Monitor

When you’re caught in the action of a shooter and have to shoot enemies coming from all sides, it’s good to have an ace up your sleeve. And this could be the BenQ XL2411T, a 24-inch TN monitor with an incredible refresh rate of 144Hz. Developed together with professional players of Counter-Strike, the gadget allows you to see twice as much information in one second, compared to a regular monitor that only has a refresh rate of 60Hz.

BenQ Monitor is 3D-ready, meaning it can be easily transformed into one that allows viewing three-dimensional images. For that, you need a special kit that includes glasses. Nvidia 3D Vision can be a solution for you.

So, we’re talking about a dedicated monitor for amateur and professional gamers, gaming enthusiasts who need adrenaline. Ordinary users might find tiresome for the eye the refresh rate of 144Hz.

The monitor has a simple black frame, measuring about a centimeter and a half. In the bottom right you will find the on / off button and other four touch buttons that allow you to make settings. They are represented by just one dot, and their functions appear on the screen above, when you touch any of the dots.

The right LED is green when the monitor is on and orange when it’s in standby to save energy. On the right side of the monitor is also a jack.

The BenQ gadget is adjustable, which will increase your comfort if you play entire afternoons. You can tilt the monitor, you can alter the height for a distance of 13cm, you can twist it 45 degrees to the left and right, and you can even turn it clockwise to stay in portrait mode. The BenQ gadget seems built well, so no need to worry that you’ll damage with such movements. But it’s not the only monitor that is able to adjust in this way. Find out more on Ten Mania.

The product is not very thin, but not thick and can be mounted in a variety of ways because supports standard VESA 100x100mm.

The monitor has several ports: VGA, Dual Link DVI-D and HDMI.

144Hz refresh rate
Designed specifically for gaming, the monitor provides a clear and fluid image, a special delicacy, and no lag, no matter how small, which gamers will appreciate. It refreshes 144 times per second and there is no little difference between what you see on screen and what happens actually in the game. In the case of a shooter, this will help you detect and annihilate enemies more quickly. Compared to a regular monitor, the BenQ has 2.4 times more frames per second for viewing information and sensitive user will tell the difference.

Displaying twice as much information compared to a refresh rate of 60Hz, with a very short response time of the pixels, and with a lag that tends to zero, the monitor features an exceptional fluidity. Fluidity in games is superior to LCD classics gaming monitors of 60Hz.

Picture
The contrast is excellent, and the black is impressive. You will be able to watch movies or use it for games even in a dark rooms, because the picture will be excellent.

BenQ Monitor lets you see well even in dark scenes, through Black Equalizer technology. In this case dark images are made lighter, without overexposure.

BenQ XL2411T has a First Person Shooter display, with which you will obtain optimal brightness, contrast, sharpness and color balance when you play. These settings are made by professional gamers who collaborated with BenQ and should help you pass more easily through situations of a game that puts to the test look and agility.

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All in one Photo Editor and Enhancer

Images in blog are used either used for Illustrative purposes or simply aesthetic enhancers. Besides, being a part of attraction they should correspond to what all is explained. While you are on mission to make your image simply to attract then there are somethings which become complicated. Yes, you have the image to accompany with the post but it is sometimes not so attractive, simple or too common to use. So, in such cases- you can use free programs likePhotoScap because we all know that one image worths thousand words.

PhotoScape is a free program that allows us to alter images to make them look more attractive or just different. It’s one of those applications that allow you to obtain spectacular effects without resorting to other more powerful, but certainly more laborious programs like Photoshop or GIMP.

 

PhotoScape is an excellent resource for quick editing of images. It has many options, introducing several useful tools. These include:

1. A viewer that lets you view all images in a folder.
2. An editor (which I will below).
3. In batch editor that allows us to implement many of the effects of the simple editor for a group of pictures (from resizing filters or frames).
4. Page, which allows us to create a new image from several placed together in one of the many combinations you have.
5. Screenshot to capture the screen.
6. Creating animated GIFs.
7. Image converter from RAW to JPG
8. Batch image files renaming feature

With a large number of filters, although in some cases are not as customizable as other professional publishers, we can apply a wide range of effects to the pictures on your blog, if not spectacular, at least different.

Besides filters, you can add frames to your images. And do not be in two or three templates, but we can choose from more than 100 different options. It also allows us to add what the program called “Objects”: Clipart as stamps, dialog balloons, shapes, etc.. Obviously, we can text without any problem.

Download PhotoScape Editor

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Lightweight PhotoShop like Image editor : FotoGrafix

Fotografix is a light weight photo editing software developed by L. Madhavan from India. Its a minimalistic photo manipulation program with all the necessary features you want, you can say the important ones or commonly used on Photoshop.

Iit has ability to create layers and edit them with all the necessary utilities. Includes filters, masks, gradients, macro, brushes, stamps and so on.

Being Light Weight (only 800KB after extracting), its executing time is less as compared to Photoshop and GIMPlike softwares. It can handle most known image formats including PSD but cannot save in same extension. Instead, it will be saved as FGX format which is supported natively.

My Verdict : Surprisingly Loaded! You can do all your day to day editing jobs easily and efficiently. However, It cannot actually compete with the standards and advanced features of other commercial softwares but it’s a cool app and must have if you are going for portable option.

Download FotoGrafix

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Edit Images Online With Pixlr

If you ever feel the need to edit images but not have any software at hand, no need to worry. You can always edit Images online for free with Pixlr. It is an online image editing tool that can well serve you as a substitute for softwares like Gimp, Paint.Net and Photoshop. Unlike other sites like Aviary, here you do not need to register or create any account.The interface to work is very simple and easy for even first time users.

Getting Started

You just need open Pixlr site and you are ready to go. Just select the language in which you want to use the service and you will be redirected to the Editing page. To start with three options will be provided :

          

• You can choose image by feeding its URL if u want to edit an image present in flickr or on other online storage.
• Image can be opened from local disk of your computer.
• You can create an entirely new Image.

After you select any one option you are ready to go.

Features provided by Pixlr

It provides all tools that you can expect from a mid- level photo editing software. Some of the features are  resizing canvas, resizing image, rotating and flipping canvas. You can also edit color of your image with adjustments like Brightness & hue control, Auto levels, Desaturate etc.

If you want more effects to be added to your image, Pixlr provides a descent number of Filter’s  with effects like blur, Diffuse, pixelate, Sharpen, Noise, Denoise etc.

It includes giving layers to your image as layers increases image quality and depth, hence very useful. It also provides a History window like other softwares, so you can now keep track of steps you have taken for editing the image.

Pixlr also provides all basic tools for creating a new image.

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