Category: Blog

In this age of collaboration there are many tools available to help teams work together. There is software to help automate processes. There is unified communications software. There is project management software. There is customer relationship management software. There is bug tracking software. I have found one thing to be consistent among all of these software packages and solutions. They are not panaceas.

Software will not magically fix all problems. A piece of software will not magically make someone efficient any more than owning a treadmill will cause one to lose weight. There needs to be a basic understanding of the processes and problems that the tool is supposed to be addressing. To lose weight, one needs to walk, waddle, jog, or run on the treadmill, plus likely modify their diet; one has to accept the weight loss process. To become efficient using a software tool the same idea applies; one has to accept and integrate the process.

I have been involved with various software integration projects and found certain things to be common within any software configuration process. It all starts with the user documenting what they are trying to accomplish. If one is specifying an audio, video, control or lighting system the first step is the same: get the user requirements and determine what they are trying to accomplish. When looking at software that same step must occur. It is not just picking the latest or coolest piece of software. If one cannot document the process and what they are trying to accomplish on a piece of paper, how can workflow through a piece of software solve the issue?

I use and leverage technology when I can for my benefit. I own and have tried various pieces of software for keeping track of things and thoughts: Dropbox, Evernote, Notes, iThoughts, Wunderlist, Clear, NoteTakerHD…and the list continues. The most effective tool I have for creating and tracking ideas is the whiteboard in my office or the notebook in front of me. I then transfer the thoughts and ideas into a digital format.

That is an important thought. Software is a tool that simplifies the analog process. It is still key to understand the process and follow it through to completion. A user needs to be aware of what the software is tracking and indicating. If an internal tool calculates, whether analog or digital, a task or project will not be completed in time it still must be communicated internally and to the client and then acted upon as the client will often not have visibility of the tool.

Most importantly, if the tool is collaborative everyone on the team has to use and engage with the tool. If not everyone is using the tool, the data it provides is not accurate and each person has varying degrees of information. If you notice I say tool and not software. The reason for that is that this idea is key whether one is using a whiteboard, a spreadsheet, a database, or a specialized software package. If the users do not engage and keep the data current the tool is worthless.

Do not confuse a software package with a solution. It is simply a tool. One can run a project in the analog domain, one can run a project in the digital domain. The process is the same in both; sharing information with interested parties and keeping the data current. Software might make it easier but it still requires discipline.

There are many things on my mind about David Bowie’s passing yesterday. I am struck by the loss and the suddenness of it. Mr. Bowie knew it was coming and wanted to be private about it. Perhaps that is what makes, I should write made, him so special.

One of my favorite songs is “Heroes”. Whenever a dear friend of mine asks for a favor, he asks, “Will you be a hero…” followed by the request. Those interactions are resonating in my head today even more. My goal is to be a Hero just for one day. I hope you will join me in the effort.

“We can be heroes
We can be heroes
We can be heroes
Just for one day
We can be heroes”
-David Bowie & Brian Eno

Below is a piece I commissioned Mike McKone to draw at C2E2 in 2015. I am not very glad I did. Thank you Bill for convincing me; you are Henchman #1.

David Bowie as the Joker

When traveling, I highly recommend bringing along a power strip or a power cube. Yes, we all travel with lots of electronics so this device comes in handy but there are other reasons as well. I use a Monster Outlets To Go Power Strip and its companion option with a USB port in it. The reason I like this device is that it is small, but it also has a power indicator in it. The rear of the male plug glows blue when there is power. In hotel rooms you would be surprised how much this simple feature helps.

The reason I like the power cube or Triple Outlet Adapter is that it helps to offset transformers that cover more than one outlet.

Another thing to consider is that the airplane in seat power outlets often times have a spring switch that needs to be despressed to provide power. I have been very unsuccessful with the typical USB power adapters as they are very light and get pushed out easily. Using the power strip or cube to provide additional mass has helped to keep the switch engaged.

This post originally appeared on AVNation.tv on Friday, October 13, 2015 as part of the AVNation’s 31 for 31 during October.

A jarring question but an important one. This question can be scary to think about at times but it needs to be addressed and thought about. For many in the AV industry the laptop is the tool of the trade. It is used to configure DSP engines, program control systems, and often calibrate the system. That is in addition to the key tasks it plays in business as being the e-mail, billing, and documentation tool.

Most people I have asked this question indicate that they have everything backed up to a USB thumbdrive. So then I ask the next important question, where is your USB thumbdrive? About half the time it is in their pocket the other time, it is in the laptop bag. So while that USB thumbdrive may help mitigate computer failures it does not address the loss of the laptop bag itself.

The part that most people miss is that-*when a laptop disappears a data breach just occurred. Let me repeat that, the data on the now missing laptop has most likely been breached. Typically people have lots of information on their laptop that they have not considered. The main ones to consider are passwords, account information and e-mails. Many people use the convenience feature of having a website “remember” their credentials. My first concern for the types of websites being accessed is of course the banking, travel, and shopping websites. That completely overlooks things such as possible network credentials for VPN that would let miscreants easily access to your company network.

United Login Screen with a highlight around the words Remember Me
Website option to remember the user.

There are some relatively easy things that can be done to prevent this situation. The obvious one is to not lose your laptop bag. The next-*is to encrypt your hard drive. Encrypting your hard drive limits the ability to access-*your hard drive by a nefarious person. The second one is to not have your browser store your login passwords. Something I have found out is that after an upgrade of a browser, your preferences may get changed. This one is especially important if one follows the other alarming trend of using the same passwords in multiple places. Most of us have already thought about that step but then become complacent and frustrated by remembering all the passwords. Using a spreadsheet that contains all the passwords and account numbers is not-*the answer. A password manager will greatly help with this task and insure that you are using strong passwords. For various reasons I recommend against ones that store your passwords online. There are many available but comparing and contrasting them is for another blog post.

Screenshot showing the option of Firefox browser option to save passwords
Firefox Settings
Screenshot of Google Chrome browser with a highlight on unchecking save password option
Chrome Settings

Another thing to be aware of is that Chrome saves your AutoFill information, which quite often includes your mailing address. Please consider whether or not you want to store and possibly share that information. Also, if you store a password in Google Chrome it is also stored on Google’s computers as well as available on the Internet at-*https://passwords.google.com.

Highlighted informramation of Google showing Autofill options
Chrome Autofill options
Chrome Saved Passwords screen with a highlight around the save password option
Chrome Website Passwords Options

The option to me that is most effective is Two-Factor Authentication, often abbreviated as 2FA or TFA. Not every application supports this feature, and many of the ones that do are web based. This process requires two pieces of data in order to be able to complete a login, or authenticate into the system. The two most common ways to do this task are-*either using a token or having the service send you a message to confirm that you are making the request. Examples of these processes are PayPal sending a text message to a user that needs to be entered. The other typical case is using a token generator; an example of this approach is Dropbox if 2FA is enabled. The token generator can be installed on a device such as a smart phone, the generator then needs to be configured to work with the website.

Dropbox Option to trust the computer
Dropbox Tow Factor Token
Screen shot of Google Authenticator app with multiple token values shown
Google Authenticator on an iPhone
Screen Shot of PayPal two factor authentication window
Paypal Two Factor Text Message

Two factor is a great tool to make impersonating you harder. This idea is also predicated on the idea that your token generator is not in your laptop case at the time of loss. Typically there is a weakness of allowing a computer to be remembered and validated as shown above. That setting basically turns off two-factor authorization on that computer.
An important thing to have is a way to deauthorize your computers. The same way one would call the credit card company to turn off a credit card that has been lost, one needs to do that for the missing laptop as well. To complete this task one typically needs another computer and the credentials to be able to login and deauthrorize the accounts in question. Most applications will also allow you to see the last time that device was connected to the service.

Tool to deauthorize Dropbox on other devices
Dropbox Tools including de-authorization options

I hope this helps you. Make sure to check with your company’s IT department to see if they have plans in place for a lost device. Remember, security is a process not a destination. It takes constant attention to remain safer.

I have started purchasing more and more custom art. The artists vary from graphic novel artists to colorists to cartoon animators to musicians. As my friend Bill knows,when asked what I want for the piece I say “Artist’s choice.” I have said it to him so many times to him I think he is getting sick of it. The question he should be asking is “Why artist’s choice?” So Bill and my other loyal readers, here is why I do artist’s choice.

All too often musicians are asked for the same song over and over. The comedy request of Freebird has become irritating to some musicians I know. So irritating that more than one musician has created a different song called Freebird to counteract that trend. When an artist is preparing a setlist for their first time in a venue or an event, I do not want to change their plans. It is important to let the artists represent themselves. This point is important to me. If someone has an hour to play a set of music that is representative of their work and will help in getting invited back I do not want to mess it up for them

When requesting illustrations, I figure that some artists have drawn the same thing over and over again and again. How many times can one draw the same character before it becomes rote and no longer a creative art? Worse yet, it becomes unenjoyable for the artist. As a result when I commission a piece of art, I try to talk with the artist and explain what I like and that it should be artist choice. As a result I have ended up with some cool art, such as a sketch of David Bowie as the Joker from Mike McCone.

Even when taking part in Patreon and Kickstarter funding where the premium for the patron is custom art. I still select Artist’s Choice. I will provide guidance of what my interests and likes are, however it is still artist’s choice.

Yes, Bill – Artist’s Choice. Always.

Give it a try you will most likely be pleasantly surprised.

As I was taking pictures this weekend I thought about how I want people to be able to use my content and thoughts. Part of this was sparked also by my recent appearance on AVNation’s AVWeek Podcast Episode 189: I Know Who To Call. Tim brought up some topics that I have both experience with and opinions about, so I shared them with everyone. I was pleasantly surprised when I was also quoted heavily in an article on Commercial Integrator as well. So it got me to thinking, what are the rights I want to reserve or share? I am currently listening to Cory Doctorow’s book Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age (hardcopy). This link is to the self-published audiobook read by Wil Wheaton. One of the things I am learning from these thoughts is the question of how much do I want to share my created content.

I have already created some content obviously you are reading some now, I have have images available at photos.bradfordbenn.com that can be used. I have until now been keeping a tight leash on the images with watermarks and right click protection. I plan on keeping some protection in place, not quite sure how much yet or how it will be set up. However I want to share the information and experiences with more people. Yes, I would like to earn some money along the way, however at the moment that is not the key goal for me. I want to create things and put them out in the open for people to enjoy. I just want to know when things I create are being used.

So having said that you can see the description of the usage rights I have created at the page https://bradfordbenn.com/creative-commons/. The idea is that if you are using my content for personal use, you may do that with attribution. If you want to use my content for commercial use, there is still licensing issues to be discussed. I encourage you to consider how you want your content handled, keeping in mind that many of the tools we are open source and are being shared as well.

I recently purchased a pair of high performance headphones. Not high performance by brand but by specifications. Yes, I know how to read them. They are rated for 10Hz to 30kHz and they are relatively flat, with variable tuning plugs to change their response curve acoustically. I decided to give them a little test run using various material in my home system. I was surprised by the results. Now first allow me to explain and indicate that this is by no means a double blind test. Yes, there are lots of things I could have done to improve it but I was still surprised with the results.  I am purposely trying to leave product and brand names out of this post as the desire is to talk about the signal flow and process. It is very easy to get into the debate of is Brand A or Brand B the better product. Instead I am just talking about the signal chain and process. I am also going to not share the number thresholds I found, each person’s needs and opinions will be different. The entire point of this is to not let the bigger number be the better number, just because it is bigger.

The basic signal flow was the following:

  • Source – 44.1kHz 16bit WAV files (1411kbps), MP3 153kbps (VBR) files, MP3 320kbps files
  • Playback Engine – iMac based, Digital Audio Workstation Software (Adobe Audition CC 2014 & Audacity)
  • Output Device – USB connected Digital to Analog converter running at 44.1kHz locked to computer sample clock. (D/A (24 Bit) 106 dB typical, A-weighted, 20Hz – 20kHz via headphone output
  • Headphone Output – 1/4″ TRS for stereo converted to 3.5mm TRS via passive adapter
  • Headphones – 10Hz to 30kHz passive devices in ear style with acoustic tuning plug at flat

So I tried a few different sample tracks. Ones that I had extracted as WAV files, same file extracted as MP3, original WAV files purchased directly from the artists, MP3 encoded by the artists. They were all well produced tracks ranging from full band rock and roll  to acoustic pieces. The artists ranged for well established musicians (Peter Gabriel, Nine Inch Nails, and Robert Fripp) to less well known musicians (Jonathan Coulton, Marian Call, and California Guitar Trio). These were all tracks I am familiar with. What I would do was import the files into the audio editing software as stereo tracks, both the WAV files and MP3 files. I would place them on adjacent tracks that I could exclusively solo (screen captures at end of post). The sample rate of the project was set at 44.1kHz and 16bit to minimize coloring by the audio software resampling. This configuration allowed me to play both the MP3 and WAV track simultaneously and switch between them easily. The switches were typically very fast and with little artifacts. I found that the numbers of bits flowing had less of an impact than I expected at higher rates. I really like that many musicians are providing uncompressed formats, but Marian Call gets a gold star for providing me WAV files. (If you listen to her stuff, the typewriters are not sound effects they record them as part of the process.)

I was able to tell that there were differences between the compressed and uncompressed formats, no matter what the bit rates were for the MP3’s. However what I was more surprised was how subtle the differences were between each step or file in the process. I then took it a step further, I took the same WAV file I extracted from a CD as well as a purchased WAV file and created different MP3 streams. ranging from 320kbps to 32kbps. I used a batch converter, I did not go in and tweak each encoding as can be done with better audio editing software. I then loaded up all the files into both editing software packages and once again went through and used the exclusive or simple solo feature. I saw surprised at how far down the sample rate could be set before I found the music quality objectionable. This value changed based on the material I used. Let me say that again, the minimum bit rate value I found acceptable changed based on the material being used. Multiple points of diminishing returns were found. Yes, I understand what the numbers mean and how more data is typically better. But at the higher bit rates with good converters the differences were smaller than expected. As soon as I crossed a threshold, it was a point of no return. The number was lower than I expected as I had been applying my knowledge of the encoding processes previously, now I was just listening as objectively as possible. it also varied by the material as I indicated.

If I am listening to a podcast, does it need to be 44.1kHz, 16 bit, stereo for the human voice? I don’t believe so. Especially as most podcasts are just the human voice. Voice over IP studies have found most vocal information is in the 3,500Hz and under range. Transmitting at the higher sample rate is just wasting bandwidth and storage for the listener typically. But that is a discussion for a different time.

I still find and believe uncompressed audio files to be the best. Especially if one is tuning and adjusting an audio system. There were definitely shifts in the tonal and temporal qualities of the music. However for listening while traveling or as background sound, perhaps the lower data rates are the proper solutions. I do know that for my travel selection, encoding down to a more reasonable file size makes sense. I can place lots of music on the portable player. I am listening in an environment, especially when on an airplane, that is less than ideal. Yes, I am still keeping my music library as WAV files, yes those are my preferred format. However when I want to load up 8,561 songs for a ten day business trip onto my music player or laptop I am sated (not satiated – yes, there is a difference) with downconverting to MP3’s. I will still travel with WAV files for critical listening as well, often on an optical media.

So I encourage you to try this yourself. There is open source software such as Audacity that I used so that you can do your own tests. However like me, I believe that you will find that picking quality by the numbers of bits flowing is not always providing a full or simple answer.

This image shows the way multiple tracks were stacked and then individually soloed in Audition
Adobe Screen Capture
This image shows the way multiple tracks were stacked and then individually soloed in Audacity
Audacity Screen Capture

My loyal reader and twitter follower is aware, I just attended the InfoComm2014 convention. I found myself struggling what to do with all these business cards I had acquired. Not only the question of how long should I hang on to them, but how to get all the details into my electronic system. After looking at a few solutions, I have a request for all my readers – make the lock screen on your electronic device your QR business card.

As someone who has some nice Moo.com business cards, with 10 different pictures on the cards, I appreciate and enjoy the statement and symbolism of exchanging business cards. What I do not enjoy is trying to get all the data into my various electronic organization tools. It is time consuming. First was the problem of finding a good tool to scan and then read all the data. Then comes the problem of verifying all the data that just got imported and loaded into the computer. There are pieces of software that can do this for you, but even those are not perfect and require some tweaking.  I have tried CamCard for iPhone but am not totally happy with it. The interface is pretty good, but there are short comings. I do like that one can review and edit them on the web. However one cannot easily export it from the corrected version on the web. One has to give CamCard access to your contacts to load it into your contact information. I probably sound paranoid and stereotypical but giving a Chinese company access to my contacts is not something I feel comfortable with. I do like the batch scanning option though.

I can continue talking about the various options I have used and tried. I am using Evernote Hello for my personal contact management. It does not do as good a job dealing with unique layouts on cards. It also does not include a way to include the address.

The thing I would like for more people to start using is a QR vCard. There is a protocol that allows for embedding contact information directly into a QR code. The protocol does not require actually being connected to the Internet to retrieve the information. It simply requires the receiver to have a QR code reader, many of which are free. The process is fairly simple and painless.

  1. Load a QR Code Reader onto your phone.
  2. Using the camera on your phone ingest the QR code you are interested in
  3. View the results

I have created a QR vCard that is the lock image on my iDevice. (A QR card size of 450 pixels by 450 pixels about 305 pixels from the top of the image for an iPhone 4S works.) I do not even have to unlock the phone to provide the QR code to someone. I also have a QR application (Qrafter Pro) that allows for reading QR codes from pictures. I can take a picture without unlocking my iDevice as well. If you really want to be sneaky smart, take a picture of the person also so you can remember what they look like.

To get you started, here is a sample QR code that I created online. There are also sorts of other tools available, Qrafter Pro also allows for creating the grids.

Trial QR code

Go ahead try out your reader.

Relatively easy? Simple?

Now if you will excuse me, I have to go back to reviewing scanned business cards. I think I will even update my personal cards to have a QR code.

Shout out to Linda Seid-Frembes who gave me this idea years ago – You can read more about it at her blog.

Yes, I now that this topic has been talked about before but I really think it is worth considering.

When traveling with toiletries including medications, be aware of the temperatures you are putting them through. Some medications, including contact solutions, have storage temperature ranges for the ingredients to remain potent. It is very easy to go outside of these ranges when leaving luggage in your car or checking it with an airline. I realize that there are times the extremes cannot be avoided but they should be considered and avoided. Simply bringing your toiletries with you when you are going to be at a location for an all day meeting can be helpful.

I have gotten some strange looks when I have brought my luggage into my office in the morning. However I have also had the fun of melted deodorant from leaving luggage in the truck in 100 degree sunshine. Of the two, I will take the odd looks I just simply explain about melted ineffective products.

This one might seem odd to some, but I have found it very helpful. I travel with my own bar of bath soap. I have found that the bath soaps can be very hit or miss when traveling. Some of them can be very powerfully scented, and often times with an unpleasant fragrance. Other soaps are so small that they are difficult to hold on to. The worst is when one is allergic to the soap that is provided. Some times there is no soap at all in the hotel bathroom. Don’t ask me about the last two, I just know about them.

Traveling with my own full size bar of soap, it is even allowed in a carryon, has solved much of these issues. It has been more pleasant than I expected. I am sure that other travelers will also travel with their own hair care and other products, but I don’t have enough hair for that to be an issue.