Over the course of the next couple of days, I’m going to post quite a few articles in relation to the 89 best PC tips. This will include everything from Audio, iTunes, Email, Productivity, Mac OS X Tips & Tricks, Security, Travel, Video, the Web and even Media in general! This is a very well thought out and well written list originally from Laptop Mag. I enjoyed reading this article so much that I decided it was worth re-publishing. All of the original copyrights are in place, the next series of articles, titled 89 best pc tips, are completely credited to LaptopMag!
I’m going to start off the list right now with the Audio category!
#1 – Shrink your iTunes!
Got thousands of MP3’s in your collection, but can’t it them on your new nano? ShrinkMyTunes ($39.99 – www.shrinkmytunes.com) lets you shrink the size of your MP3’s by up to 4x without losing the audio quality you appreciate. It takes only 30 seconds to process each song, and you can free up lots of space on your notebook’s hard drive.
#2 – Do more with Bluetooth!
Grab the Enhanced Data Rate Bluetooth USB Adapter with stereo support from logear ($39.95 – www.logear.com) and use your Bluetooth headset to listen to DVDs and Music or make VOIP phone calls on your laptop. Better yet, use the dongle to upload pictures from your camera phone. If you don’t have a headset yet, we recommend the iLuv i222 ($129 – www.i-luv.com); it includes an audio transmitter that you can plug into your iPod for wireless streaming.
#3 – Stream music anywhere in your house
Don’t limit your music to just one room. Creative’s Xmod Wireless System ($199 – www.us.creative.com) makes broadcasting tunes from your notebook to anywhere in your abode easy. Just connect the transmitter to your notebook and plug the included wireless X-Fi receiver into your stereo or computer speakers. Even better, integrated X-Fi technology restores the highs and lows to those compressed MP3s and iTunes tracks. Additional receiver units ($99.99) can be purchased to spread music throughout the whole house.
#4 – Broaden your playlists
Listening to the same songs over and over isn’t much fun. With Pandora ($Free – www.pandora.com) you simply type in an artist you like and the program will look for other music with similar sounds. You can also look for your friends’ favorite music. The application will scan your e-mail for Pandora users and display what your buddies are listening to. If you really like what you hear you can buy it from Amazon or iTunes.
#5 – Make Ringtones from your MP3s
Creating your own ringtones from your MP3 collection doesn’t have to be complicated. OwnYourPhone ($0.99 cents per use – www.ownyourphone.com) allows you to covert your digital music files (MP3, WMA, etc) into custom ringtones without installing any software. Just upload your song and edit it right in the browser with the timeline. The first song is free!