WavePad Makes Doing Radio Fun Again

Guest post by Paulette MacQuarrie of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio

Back in 2002 I was introduced to audio editing software, when the AM station broadcasting my weekly radio show finally went digital and got rid of its reel-to-reel tapes.

It was the end of a romantic era, and I was not enamoured of the change. (Can anyone say "buggy whip"?) But I eventually realized it had ushered in an exciting new era of its own.

The things I could do now! No more razor blades, guesswork, or scrubbing tapes. No more recording shows onto cassette — they could now be archived on a microchip! And on a website for listeners who missed the radio broadcast. (This was before the term "podcast" was invented.)
Best of all, I could record in my own home studio. No more traffic!

I was well aware that as time marched along, my software was becoming dated. Still, it was comfortably familiar. I had become reasonably competent with it, and I hated learning new software on my own. It was hard enough with help!

When the time came to upgrade my computer, however, upgrading my audio software was no longer optional. I discovered to my horror that it was not compatible with Windows7.

One day while in an office supply store in Bellingham, WA I found myself in their software section. A nice-looking box labelled Audio Essentials by NCH Software caught my eye.

The description sounded good and the price was way less than an upgrade for my existing program. And, I recognized the name WavePad as one that a colleague has for years been ranting and raving about, and bugging me to try. So I bought it and once it was installed, it was pretty much love at first sight.

I don’t usually go crazy over software but WavePad cut my production time in half just on my first try. So what’s not to go crazy about?

Working with my old program involved selecting and arranging regions, then doing a mix-down to a Wave file. This resulted in a studio mix that, after all my finicky editing, was considerably more slick than what I had produced on reel-to-reel. And gradually I forgot how much I enjoyed the "performance high" from recording "live to tape" in my pre-digital days.

WavePad has rekindled that excitement while providing more efficient tools for the studio work.

Probably the most useful is "Insert file" (under Edit menu). I can add ready-to-air files (commercials, interviews, etc.), rip tracks off CDs in seconds and copy them in, as well as record my intros and extros right into the file. No mixing down and converting … just save file as an mp3 and I’m done.

Now the fun is back again!

I love the click-saving icons for basics like adjusting volume (Amplify), fading and cross-fading, mixing and pasting files, noise reduction, etc. I especially love how you can zoom in and out with the scroll of a mouse wheel!

WavePad has handy time markers along the bottom of the page and an indicator showing the length of the entire file and selections. That keeps me on track so I have less editing and adjusting to do later.

I still like to work in WAV because it’s uncompressed. The Batch Converter allows me to convert the show and several components to mp3s in a flash, to post on my program website. Skookum!

WavePad has to be one of the most user-friendly programs I’ve ever encountered. The interface is uber-easy and user-friendly. The brief video tutorials are helpful, and the manual is excellent. The support staff are prompt, friendly and helpful. Definitely real people!

Now I’m starting to experiment with MixPad and am finding it a similarly pleasant experience. It’s almost a surprise how fast and easy it is! I’m looking forward to using the other NCH products that came in the package.

My only regret is waiting so long to make the switch!

Author bio: Paulette MacQuarrie lives on Vancouver Island, Canada where she produces and hosts a syndicated one-hour weekly variety show called Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio in (mostly) English. More details at the show’s website www.nashholos.com and blog nashholos.blogspot.com

One Click Converting

Some of the most useful software applications to have at the ready are file format converters. You never know when a file might land in your email or come across your desk in a format that you can't open. This can be exceedingly frustrating. With the right file converter you can solve this problem with a click of the mouse instead of having to go back to the source to see if they can re-save it for you.

Plus, in case having the convenience of a file converter on hand wasn't enough, for any formats that you convert to regularly, you can easily add a shortcut to your Windows Explorer right click menu for even faster conversion.

For example, if you constantly need to convert music for your mp3 player, you might want to create a shortcut for converting to mp3 with Switch audio converter. To do that, go to the "Right Click" tab in "Options," turn on one of the shortcut commands and select mp3 from the pull down menu. Once you've saved this setting, the next time you right click on a supported audio file you can "convert to mp3 using Switch" right then and there.

Our other conversion software have similar options to help save you time. Try our full range of converting software including:

• Prism video converter
  
• Switch audio converter
  
• Pixillion image converter
  
• Doxillion document converter
  

Break Free From The Groundhog Day Typing Tedium

Most people are familiar with the movie Groundhog Day where Bill Murray gets trapped living the same day over and over again. While it is a funny film, I can't help but sympathize with his frustration and how hard he tries to break out of the routine and tedium of living the same thing over and over again. One thing I like about my job is that every day is different. It is nice to have different things to do to help keep things fresh, but even more dynamic jobs can have a hint of a repetitive undercurrent. On the bright side, using FastFox text expansion software helps reduce some of the monotony by helping you get through some of those tasks faster. By saving frequently used text such as answers to common questions, descriptions of the company or various products, or even phrases that you are bound to misspell or waste time correcting, you’ll get on to the next challenge quicker. And since Punxsutawney Phil forecast an early spring, using FastFox shorthand software also means you’ll get to enjoy spring sooner.

Inventory Software Frees Up Time for Other Tasks

Hospitals and pharmacies are required by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to maintain a detailed and accurate inventory of all the drugs and medication that they stock. Keeping track of their entire inventory can be a very time consuming task, especially if the pharmacy is not up to date with the latest technology. Peter McNulty, Pharmacy Operations Manager at Salem Health, has had a significant reduction in the time spent maintaining and tracking inventory by transitioning from a manual system to Inventoria Professional Inventory Management Software.

Prior to using Inventoria, McNulty was manually recording his inventory in a log book, which was a huge drain on his time, requiring several hours daily to keep records accurate and up to date. Inventoria greatly simplified the way McNulty runs his business, "I estimate we save two hours per day in staff time that can now be used in providing direct patient care."

McNulty has found not only significant reductions in the time required to record and maintain DEA records, but greater control over the distribution processes in real time making Inventoria an ideal solution for tracking inventory movement of Controlled Substance Drug Distribution in an acute care Hospital setting.

"Setup was very easy, it required about eight hours of staff time to load items, record beginning inventory count, add customers and give user access," noted McNulty. "I especially like how quickly reports are generated and the ease of saving the report on a daily basis which makes it easy to comply with DEA record-keeping regulations. Inventoria is easy-to-use, requires minimal maintenance and has a high value in comparison to most other programs in this category."

Inventoria stock management software allows businesses of all types and sizes to track and manage inventory at a single location or across several locations. With this complete inventory management system you can manage stock levels by category, location and supplier, transfer stock between locations, set low level alerts, even generate and send purchase orders to vendors directly from within the program.

7 Programs You Can't Live Without

Prism Video Converter If you've ever had trouble opening a video file, you need Prism. Prism will let you quickly convert any troublesome video files into a more manageable format. With more formats supported than any other video converter, you'll be hard pressed to come across a video file that Prism can't handle.

Switch Audio Converter There are a lot of different audio file formats out there, and a lot of places you might want to keep your favorite music, from CDs and iPods to your computer or online, just to name a few. Make sure you always have the right format for every song and every application with the Switch Audio Converter.

FastFox Typing Expander Ever find yourself typing the same things over and over? FastFox can be a huge helping hand at home or at work. Use keyboard shortcuts to expand to anything you commonly write, and save time inserting signatures in email, filling out online forms, and writing long responses to customer questions.

Debut Video Capture Whether you want to transfer the video from a camcorder to your computer, are trying to record a video from your webcam, or even recording your screen, Debut is your single software solution for capturing video.

Express Burn Disc Burning Software Burn pictures, home movies, resumes, portfolios, or back up your files to CDs, DVDs and even Blue-Ray discs in a variety of file formats with Express Burn. Simply drag, drop and burn.

PhotoStage Slideshow Creator Bring your digital photos to life and share your favorite memories with family and friends. Tell a compelling story, display your best images, or show off your proudest moments. PhotoStage lets you combine images, video clips, music and narration in a fun and dynamic fashion.

WavePad Audio Editor No list would be complete without one of our all-time favorites: WavePad. WavePad is the perfect application for any audio project in the sound studio or at home. The easy-to-use interface will have you up and running quickly with all the powerful tools you need at your fingertips.

Streaming Audio Recorder Saves Time for Radio Producers

Izi Mann has been a radio personality and producer for decades, including work on the NPR show Voice of Israel, he now also produces Internet radio shows.

Using a variety of audio files from different websites is key for an Internet radio show to offer a digest of varied, newsworthy content. When Mann found SoundTap streaming audio recorder, it saved him so much time he was able to do more shows than before while offering much better content.

Mann estimates that he spends at least 30% less time recording audio files with SoundTap than with other comparable programs he has tried. "I use SoundTap to 'catch' audio files from different websites. The software does this so cleanly and smoothly, and without the numerous time consuming requirements that appear in some other programs I have tried. Just one click!"

The challenge Izi Mann faced before finding NCH Software's SoundTap was that many software applications were time consuming and demanding. He was searching for an efficient audio recorder but many of the other programs he tried did not actually work, or asked so many questions before recording the audio he found them impractical for what he wanted to do. "When you have a show to produce, it is important that it’s done perfectly, but also immediately,” Mann said. “Actually, who does have time to waste?"

When his search was coming up dry, he suddenly remembered a colleague from the BBC had introduced him to NCH Software’s Switch Audio Converter software, and how smoothly it converted CD music files to wav files. So he went to NCH looking for an equally capable solution for his audio recording problems. He found that solution in SoundTap Streaming Audio Recorder.

SoundTap saves Internet radio producers like Izi Mann time, creating high quality audio files at the click of a button, and this is just one example of the many uses for this versatile streaming audio recorder. Download SoundTap to capture any audio playing through your computer and convert that audio to mp3 or wav files. You may well find that like Izi Mann, after you have used SoundTap, you'll be willing to recommend it to anyone.

Software On-Demand

I recently finished reading The On-Demand Brand by Rick Mathieson, which takes a look at how our culture has become increasingly demanding, seeking instant gratification. From everything from fast food to television, we are no longer willing to wait for things. While Mathieson points to Burger King and their "have it your way" campaign in 1970's as a starting point for this trend, technology and the internet have only increased our need for having things the way we want them on our own schedule. Mathieson goes on to examine ten rules that marketers should know in this on-demand world, all relating to how companies need to shift their thinking to be in line with the expectations consumers have.

The software industry has seen this shift too. We've talked before about software buying trends and the percentage of people who buy their software in a retail store versus purchasing online. It used to be the only way to get software was to get the box with several floppy drives or CDs inside to install from, and it could be a rather time consuming process. Now, you can download and install software in fraction of the time. You don't really need to make plans in advance about your software needs; if you come across a need you can download a software solution on-demand.

NCH Software has adapted to this on-demand mentality quite well. We spend a lot of time trying to improve the usability of our programs so that a user can have the software up and running in three minutes or less, catering to this high-speed demand. Most of our products are under 1 MB in size, so the download time is negligible. We also have a wide range of products that are easily integrated, making it easier for customers to customize a software solution to meet their needs by picking and choosing only the exact products and features that they are looking for. All so you can "have it your way" with software on-demand.