I know you guys love contests, so here’s an awesome one from my friend over at DragonBlogger.com, another tech site you should bookmark. He had a contest last month that went incredibly well, with thousands of entries, so he’s doing it again.
Here’s the deal. One winner chosen at the end of the month will be shipped a brand new Amazon Kindle Fire tablet for free and this will include a copy of uRex DVD Ripper Platinum which allows them to rip their favorite DVD’s and convert them to MP4 format they can transfer to the Kindle Fire. If that wasn’t awesome enough, he partnered with New Trent and will also be giving away a New Trent IMP78B Imperial Leather Case and a New Trent Fimir Anti-Glare Screen Protector to the winner of the Kindle Fire as well.
The Kindle Fire Giveaway contest hosted by Dragon Blogger technology blog is made possible in part by these awesome sponsors and you should pay them a visit and thank them!
Sponsors:
Aside from the Kindle Fire, if you could win anything on DragonBlogger.com or JoeTech.com, what would it be?
Every year, I love to check out all the Christmas light displays that every day people put their hearts into to display their Christmas spirit. In recent years, videos of Christmas lights animated to musical accompaniment have been popping up on YouTube. Some are fun and others can only be described as artistic genius. This year, my wife and I happened upon a house that featured, among other things, Christmas lights that jumped and danced in time with the music. While I had a general idea of how it was done, I decided to dig a little deeper and share some of what I learned with you. I also created a video containing a mix of these musical lights to give you a better idea of what I’m talking about. Watch the video below and then we’ll get into how it’s done.
How To Program Christmas Lights To Music
Getting your lights to dance to pre-determined music is pretty simple in concept, but will take some amount of learning for anyone new to it and a lot of time for just about anyone. That may sound discouraging, but the end result may well be worth all the trouble. Not only will you have the feeling of accomplishing something pretty cool, but you’ll have the coolest decorated house on the block and perhaps even a YouTube hit like the Skrillex Equinox display that was viewed over a million times in under three weeks.
Before you dive in and create your masterpiece, you’ll need a general idea of what’s involved. First, you’ll need to have some hardware and software to make the magic happen. The hardware (controller, etc.) will connect your lights to the computer that will run the show and the software will allow you to program the lights to react to music how you want them to. Software won’t be a problem for your budget, but hardware can cost anywhere from around $160 for 32 channels and more of a DIY, hands-on approach up to $1,200 or more for 64 channels and a lot less work. If you’re comfortable with soldering, you can spend less and do a lot of the work, but if you’re not, expect to pay a lot more for pre-built hardware. In addition to the hardware, you should be prepared to spend money on lights if you don’t have them already. The days right after Christmas usually reveal lots of great sales (that’s when I buy wrapping paper and accessories, too). And don’t forget your soon-to-be-bloated electric bill.
To get it all working, you just need to :
- Check with neighbors first
- Get your hardware and software (including lights)
- Design your display and plan what you want
- Program your show (get ready to spend a lot of time here)
- Test
- Let people know
Along with all the work involved, you’ll want to plan some things ahead. The last thing you want to do is spend months putting together the perfect Christmas light musical performance only to have something unforeseen prevent it from being displayed. Before you start, check with your neighbors and agree on reasonable start and stop times and dates. Check for any local laws, ordinances, or HOA rules that such a project my be in violation of. Plan your expenses before you buy anything and avoid fire and other hazards by talking to electricians or other experts. Planning ahead may save you a ton of headaches down the road.
When you’re all done, showcase your completed project in style. Collaborate with a local video company to create a professional-looking video and don’t stop at YouTube. Send it to local TV stations and related blogs. A viral video could help offset your December electrical bill.
As always, if you embark on this adventure, share your project here in the comments.
I’ve participated in plenty of pranks in my time, both giving and receiving, and they’re almost always a lot of fun. My cousin, in particular, is a big prankster and joker who always enjoys a good laugh. This week, I got a couple Prank Pack prank gift boxes in the mail to review, and who better to try one out on than John.
What Is A Prank Pack?
A Prank Pack is a box designed to look like a real product that is just outlandish enough to make the recipient think you bought them some crazy gift that they may never use. Inside the box, you place a real gift so that your giftee isn’t left feeling like you cheated him out of a gift. So it’s the best of both worlds. You get to prank someone, but they still get a real gift that they’ll use. They make a bunch of different gift boxes such as CoffeeTalkies – travel coffee mugs that double as walkie talkies, Bathe&Brew – a shower head that brews your coffee with the same hot water you shower in, ToeTunes – slippers that have speakers built right in, and several others. They sell for $8 per box or you can get a 3-pack right now for $20.
Prank Packing John For Your Enjoyment
My cousin John, as my mentioned above, is no stranger to pranks, so he was definitely due to be pranked. We bought him a gift we thought he’d like, and as it’s a book, it easily fit into the Prank Pack box. The box we chose was the iArm seen in the photo above. It’s a device that straps to your arm that you can attach an iPad, remote controls, or even your dinner plate to. Since John has an iPad, we thought this would be a nice fit. Just believable enough for him to not know if we were seriously giving this thing to him. We wrapped it up and invited John out to breakfast. The video below shows hot it all went.
I really liked the Prank Pack, and I think John’s even going to re-use it to prank someone else for Christmas. $8 per box is more than I’d normally pay for a quick prank, but the boxes look pretty professional and are actually good quality. Pair that with the fact that it’ll likely get used two or three times, and it’s not a bad price at all.
Buy Or WIN A Prank Pack
Like any other product, you can buy a Prank Pack box, of course. As mentioned before, they’re eight bucks a piece or you can snag a deal for a three pack. The web site seems to guarantee shipping by Christmas (as of the time I’m writing this) for only $5, but you can also drop into a Bed Bath and Beyond and grab one there without waiting. You can also try to win one right here. All you have to do is comment on or Tweet about this post or share it on Facebook, but you only have 2 days, so do it now below. Note that the box I’m giving away is the CoffeeTalkies, perfect for that coffee fiend you know.
There’s more to the Star Wars story than you’ve been told in the movies. I always thought so, too, but apparently there’s a LOT more. I didn’t know just how interesting it was behind the scenes making these movies come to life until I recently began reading The Secret History of Star Wars : The Art of Storytelling and the Making of a Modern Epic, a book by Michael Kaminski, a cameraman in the film and television industry and Star Wars fan.
The Book And Its Secrets
Years ago, Michael Kaminski didn’t set out to write a book. Instead, he wanted to show his appreciation for the Star Wars Saga by writing a lengthy essay about its history to publish online. This essay evolved into a 600 page detailed account of everything Star Wars became from its inception through to current day. Spending a ton of time and reaching out to hundreds of sources for his research, Kaminski not only pieced together an incredible story of the birth and evolution of the single most successful series of films in movie history, but he did it in a way that makes it compelling to read. Instead of just throwing some facts on paper and organizing them, this author displayed some great writing and got me hooked from the first page. The book’s introduction paints a vivid picture of a twenty-eight year old George Lucas sitting at his desk just barely beginning with a title on a rainy Tuesday night.
Kaminski keeps the reader involved as you’re watching it play out in front of you, dropping hints and shocking nuggets about the evolution of Star Wars along the way. Although I’m nowhere near the end of this book, I’ve found myself stopping to tell my wife interesting bits I’ve read. One great example is that, according to The Secret History of Star Wars, Darth Vader originally wasn’t Luke’s father. Vader and Luke’s father actually had scenes together in early drafts and it was only through time and by necessity of the rest of the tale that Darth Vader wound up as Luke’s father.
If I tell you more about what I’ve read, it will not be much of a secret, but I will say that this book intrigued me by title alone and drew me in from the beginning. It’s $39.95 price at Barnes & Noble is beaten by a price of about $27 at Amazon and would make a pretty good gift for any Star Wars fan. I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan, and I’ve been having a hard time putting the book down.
Win This Book
The book doesn’t cost much to buy, but free is even better! For the next 7 days, you can enter to win one of two copies of The Secret History of Star Wars. Just follow the entry instructions below and come back here next week to see if you’ve won a copy. Entering is as simple as clicking the “Do it” link, following any instructions, and then clicking the “I did this” button. If you’re already subscribed to JoeTech.com via email or you already follow me on Twitter, you can skip right to the “I did this” button for those entries. Good luck!
