Software recommendations
Logiciels recommandés

P Tagg home page
from Philip Tagg,
Faculté de musique, Université de Montréal

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Computer Tips

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Multilingual keyboard

Time calculators
Metronome
Organising MP3s
Caps Lock solution
AppRocket
Managing passwords and logins


TIME CALCULATORS

How to do Music and Moving Image calculations using the routines listed in this table

Picture
Name
Description
Download
Cost
B-
Time Math Calculator (1) Simple + and –
online
0
A-
Time Math Calculator (2) + and edit up to 12 durations. Shows total, subtotals, averages, maximum and minimum durations, etc. Very useful
online
0
B
OnlineConversion.com (1) +, —; shows also hours in decimal values
online
0
B+
OnlineConversion.com (2) Convert multiples of 1 single time unit (incuding decimals) to any other (>=days - <=ms) (e.g. 125.1 mins = 7,506 seconds)
online
0
B+
TimeCalc.exe
Free to have on your computer,
thanks to Marcio Luis Teixeira
Simple +, —, x, ÷. No hours. Very neat and useful even if a bit restricted. Definitely worth downloading.
36k
0
A
Time Calculator Pro v2 2.20 + - x ÷. fractions, decimals, conversions to hhmmss, but no %; by far the most advanced but costs a little money!
1276k
$11.95
(US)

* A = excellent; B = good, C = OK, D = average, E = poor, F = complete failure

How to calculate Music and Moving Image durations


Length of each cue

Use any of the routines, except OnlineConversion (2), listed in the table above and subtract the cue’s start time from its end time. For example, using TimeCalc.exe, enter first the end timing of the cue ( e.g. 61:20 for 01:01:20), then hit the subtract button, then the cue’s start timing (e.g. 58:55) and make note of the answer (the cue lasts 2:25).

Hint: keep TimeCalc running while you call up other time calculation routines.


Add up durations of all cues

Use Time Math Calculator (2) to enter each duration (see previous step) as you go. When you’ve entered your durations correctly (you can edit all twelve before you go on to the next twelve or before you finish), you’ll need to note down the result so that, assuming your film contains more than 12 cues, you can add up all those sets of twelve to the final total of music durations in the whole movie.


Percentage of film containing music

Divide the total amount of music in the movie (see previous two steps) by the total duration of the whole film (easy to find by playing your DVD with its time display [OSD] on and running right to the and of the disc). Then you multiply the result of that division by 100. How do you do all that?

Let’s say your film’s total running time is 02:04:55 (124m 55s) and that you’ve calculated the total duration of all music cues as 0:55:01 (55m 01s). You'll first need to convert both timings into seconds.

[1] Using any normal calculator, multiply the number of minutes, as an integer, by 60. The 124 minutes of 02:04:55 = 7440 seconds. Add the remaining seconds, in this case 55, and you will know that the film is 7495 seconds long.

[2] Do exactly the same sort of calculatioin for the total length of all music cues. In our case, 55 minutes x 60 = 3300 seconds, plus one (the music cues totalled 55:01), i.e. the film contained 3301 seconds of music.

[3] Divide the number of seconds occupied by music (3301) by the number of seconds in the entire film (7495). The result is 0.4402935. Multiply that amount by 100 (0.4402935. x 100) and you will know that music is heard during 44% of the film.


sMARt cAPs

I've already saved more time using this software (SmartCaps) than it took to research its existence and install it two weeks ago. If ever you type upper and lower case letters round the wrong way, this software is definitely worth buying. You can set it to make whatever sound you like when the CapsLock go on and off. Same goes for NumLock on and off. You can also choose a sound for every time you hit the Insert key and opt for showing icons, on the desktop or taskbar, showing whether CapsOn and/or NumLock are on or off. I can even make the keys "click" when CapsLock is on. yOU DON'T HAVE TO WATCH THE SCREEN TO AVOID SEEING A SENTENCE LIKE THIS! Costs a little but worth every penny.

To get this excellent software click here.


   AppRocket

If you're ever fed up with having to point and click three times just to get to the Windows Control Panel, or three or four times to call up a program (application), you will probably find AppRocket extremely useful and time-saving. In fact, AppRocket is much more useful than that, especially if you have hundreds or thousands of media files and lots of disk space. For instance, using AppRocket, I instantly found, from among over two thousand MP3 files, seven pieces of music whose title contained the word Revolution (from Chopin to the Last Poets via the Beatles and Prince & the Revolution). AppRocket does much more than just find files for you, though... Free 30-day trial, $18 to buy. Nothing for something so useful! To find out more, click here.


MP3 Book Helper

If you have to keep a stack of MP3 files on your computer, or if you have to produce CDs or DVDs containing MP3s, or if you have an iPod or similar, or if you rip CDs, etc., etc., MP3 Book Helper is, I think, a great tool. One particularly useful feature is, for me at least, that I can export MP3 tags (any version) to a database (or database-compatible format. If you do any sort of music archiving on your computer, even if you just need to keep track of what you have, this software is FREE! But you should contribute a few dollars to this good cause. To find out more, click here.


Managing passwords, etc. (eWallet)

If you buy stuff online, or do online banking, or have to log into more than one website, or if you don't remember your insurance numbers or credit/debit card numbers or software license codes or logins or UserIDs or passwords, etc., etc., I thoroughly recommend a piece of software called eWallet, especially if you also use a pocket PC or Palm or Blackberry or similar. One great feature is that you can open eWallet and click on the URL to, say, Amazon or your online bank, and log straight in without entering any codes or passwords at all: the software does that for you at a speed far too fast for hackers to trap. Of course, all data you store in eWallet is properly encrypted and itself password-protected. Costs a little bit but is extremely useful. To find out more, click here.


Metronome

No-nonsense stand-alone metronome. Any tempo from 10 to 300 bpm, any number of beats per bar. Thoroughly sane and very useful. FREE. Click here.