How to use an MP3 as a Ringtone on iPhone 3G

I just recently got an iPhone and was shocked to find no simple way to use an MP3 file as a Ringtone. That was until I ad a look around online and found that there is a way to do it, and it’s not too complicated either.

1) In iTunes find an MP3 file you want to use.

2) Select the file, then right-click –> GET INFO and select the OPTIONS Tab.

3) Check the Start and Stop Times checkboxes and change the times so that you have the section of the MP3 you want to have as your ringtone. Make sure the length is less than 30 seconds or this won’t work. When you change the Start and End Times and click OK button you can go back to the MP3 file in iTunes and play it to see if it is what you want.

4) The section you pick must be less than 30 seconds!!

5) Once you have a section of the MP3 that is less than 30 seconds that you like, select the file and right-click –> Create AAC Version or Convert to AAC. This will create a second file under the existing MP3 in iTunes.

6) Select the new smaller file and delete it from iTunes, but make sure you then click the KEEP FILE button!

7) Go to the Original MP3 file location on your computer, probably in the iTunes Music folder.

8)You should see the new smaller file we created, with a file extension of .M4A rename this to .M4R

9) Open the .M4R file and it should automatically open iTunes and place the file in your ringtones library.

10) Now you can sync to your iPhone and the ringtone should appear in your ringtones menu.

I have listed out the steps in detail so it’s actually much quicker and simpler than it looks. This means that you can use any MP3 file for a ringtone now, and not that you can select exactly what section of the MP3 to use very easily.

Call of Duty 4: Classic?

Activision recently announced that Call of Duty 4 has topped 13 million sales. That’s great becasue it is one of the best games of all time. It was released more than a year ago now, and is still in many a top sellers charts today. They must have made a lot of money from it as well because not only have they sold so many copies over such a long period of time, it is still being sold at the price point of a brand new game. You can look around but you won’t find a new copy for less that £30, and even the second hand copies go for about the same price.

Even after the release of Call of Duty: World at War they still sell COD4 at the same price, in many places you can buy COD: WaW for less than COD4.

I know that Xbox have a classics range, and Playstation have their Platinum range, so when will we see COD4 on this list. Well my hope is that after the announcement of topping 13million sales and Modern Warfare 2 in the works now would be a good time to bring down the price of COD4, make it officially a classic and bring the price down to at least below £20 and really push it over the summer until MOD2 is released.

I’m hoping this will happen, I am also hoping soon, as I noticed that both Amazon and Play.com have removed COD4: Game of the Year edition from their stores in the last few days, maybe a new version is in the works…. it would make business sense to me, if they did that COD4 would be back on the top shelf in game stores, it may get more people playing the game again just in time to get the hype up again for MOD2.

Get paid to check you own credit report

This post has two main points. The first is that you can check you own credit report online for Free and even get some money back for doing so.

Both Experian and Equifax will alow you to sign up online and check you credit report for free, the catch is that you have to SIGN UP to thier credit serivces and are given a free months trial. You are free to cancel this any time so its perfectly fine to check out your credit report and then just cancel the subscription with no charge at all.

The next part is the best bit, you can actually get paid for doing this as many of the cash back sites, such as the one i use www.quidco.com offer you anything up to £5 if you apply for your free credit report through thier site.

The other good thing about checking out you credit report online is that you can see all the details on your credit report and see if it’s all correct making it easier for you to apply for credit, such as mobile phone contracts. One interesting thing I found out by checking my report was that if I provided different variations of my home address I would get different results back. I live in  an apartment, with a apartment number, building name, building number and street name, so it’s quite a complicated address, if I provided different variations of the address I would get different results, some bank accounts appeared some were missing, it found my credit cards once but was missing on all the other reports,  some times it would pick up I was on the voters register, some times it didn’t.

It very interesting to know all this as you then know exactly what information to give to companies that check your credit score to make sure you get past ok and you can flag up any issues yu see with the credit agency, also getting the cash back for joining a free service was very nice.

Never Pay for Gym Membership

My gym membership runs out this week and I couldn’t be happier. It was stupidly expensive and a total waste of time. It was the first time I had joined a gym and the last. From now on i’ll exercise at home or go play sports or just go for a walk round the park. Most Gyms are a total rip off, if you can find one that does a pay per use scheme then fine, but never, ever, ever join a gym that requires contract membership.

PS2 Games I Still Have To Play

Taken from this site, http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/domestic/games/features/205778.shtml, this is my personal list of PS2 games I still need to play before I upgrade to the next gen of consoles. I think top of my list is God of War 2, I played the original and loved it. Also I want to try Black, I never really got the hang of FPS games on console, I couldn’t managed the controls compared to PC, but I think I should give them another go as when I get a next gen console I need to buy Call of Duty 4 as its the best multiplayer game I ever played, but if I can’t master the console FPS controls I’m gonna suck and I don’t want to suck at COD 4 cause I love it. Anyway……

Black

With completely destructible environments, an amazing arsenal of weapons, and “Style Kills” rewarded for suave decapitations, there was no way you couldn’t play this game without feeling like an absolute badass. The revolutionary physics also blew away the competition with real-time debris flying from destroyed buildings and vehicles, plus unmatched explosions that flattened foe and environment alike. The prettiest shooter on the PS2 is also one of the best.

Burnout 3: Takedown

In addition to the great racing and crash modes showcased in earlier titles, Burnout 3 added a much deeper championship mode and a cool little feature called the “Aftertouch,” which allows you to control your car, post-crash, in order to take out other racers. Burnout 3 was also the last game in the series based in some semblance of reality, as future titles allowed you to ram into the back of cars going the same direction as you without punishment, which took a lot of the intensity out of the race.

Twisted Metal Black

After its two previous less-than-stellar incarnations from 989 Studios, Incognito went back to the drawing board for the franchise’s PS2 debut. Luckily for PS2 owners, they created the darkest, most brutal vehicular combat experience to date! Set in its own continuity, Twisted Metal Black was able to revamp the stories behind fan-favorites such as Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm and Axel, giving them darker, more disturbing origins. With stunning, fast-placed gameplay that was sure to get your adrenaline pumping, there was no way you could stand idly by and watch a Twisted Metal deathmatch: it was drive or die.

Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal

Choosing between three stellar Ratchet games is a tough task, but we chose the third game for its near-perfect blend of action, platforming, and humor. A graphical feat on the PS2, Up Your Arsenal was one of the best-looking games on the console, and its implementation of old-school game elements (we LOVE the 2D Qwark mini-games) make it the complete Ratchet package.

Gran Turismo 4

With astonishing customization that allows motorheads to fine-tune their vehicles down to the smallest detail, Gran Turismo 4 added a new level of authenticity to racing games that has yet to be matched. With never-before-seen physics that took into account the weight of your car, the friction of the road, and speed of surrounding vehicles, Gran Turismo 4 wasn’t just a racing game — it was an experience. GT 4 also introduced GT Online mode, which allowed racers from across the world to challenge each other in their customized vehicles via the internet.

Shadow of the Colossus

The concept of Shadow of the Colossus is so simple, it’s amazing nobody tried it before. In this adventure game, you’ll explore a massive landscape and fight a series of massive bosses. By trimming out the fat of extraneous enemies and other tiresome challenges, the game is able to focus on the greatest parts of any videogame-the boss battles! Shadow of the Colossus is considered a modern-day classic, and when you see the titular Colossi in motion, you’ll instantly understand why.

God of War II

How do you improve on a game that was almost universally hailed as being one of the best action games ever created? You make the sequel bigger and better. With new weapons, more godly powers, and larger levels, God of War II was everything its little brother was and then some. Continuing where the original God of War left off, the second installment in the God of War saga brings Kratos’ one-man vendetta against Mount Olympus to a thrilling cliff-hanger ending that left gamers everywhere clamoring for the third and final chapter (soon to be revealed on the PlayStation 3). Oh, it also features one of the most epic opening levels ever created: an awe-inspiring fight against the Colossus of Rhodes that, in lesser games, would have served as the final boss fight. With expectations high after the success of God of War, new director Corey Barlog and his team had to deliver a masterpiece to live up to the hype. Luckily for PS2 owners, they did just that. God of War II is a PS2 high point.

Brett’s Stag Weekend

Go-Karting and Poker. It was a fun weekend. Check out the cool time lapsed video of the poker session my friend Lewy made with his funky camera.

New York Trip May 2008

My first real holiday in about 7 years. New York for a week. The weather wasn’t great, but we didn’t go there to get a suntan. We spent the whole week sightseeing. The list of great things to do and see there is almost endless but a few of the things we did included going up to the top of Rockerfeller Centre for a breath taking view of Manhattan. We went to Central Park, National History Museum, saw the Empire State and Chrysler Building. Times Square during the day is amazing, but at night it’s blinding and brilliant. The best day of the week was the trip out to the statue of Liberty, the weather on that day was great, sunny and nice. The Statue of Liberty is by far the best attraction to see in New York, its an engineering masterpiece and very inspiring.

We took the digital camera and the Video Camera with us and took lots of shots and film. I have already uploaded the best pictures onto Flickr and will try to convert the video and upload it onto Facebook at some point.

If you ever get the chance to visit New York then do, but be prepared as you will be quite tired after a few days of sight seeing so plan some relaxing time and some things to do to chill out too while your there. Check out my map below that I put together as a basic guide to the best sights of New York.

My New York Attractions Map

Big Movies of 2008

Iron Man (2nd May)

The 2008 summer movies kick off very soon with the first of a batch of comic book big screen outings, with the others mostly sequals, this one is a first. Iron man makes it to the big screen and the trailers make it look very good, should be a blast.

Speed Racer (9th May)

This is based on some america comic book or cartoon, i’m not quite sure and too lazy to look it up, you could do that yourself if you can be bothered. Anyway the trailer for this one looks really good, its sort of looks like wacky races on steroids, but the styling is very cool.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (22nd May)

It way well have been a long time since Indiana Jones last picked up a whip and hat, and I’m not all to positive as to how this will compare to the original films, but I will be happy to watch and find out.

The Incredible Hulk (13th June)

The first big screen outing for the big green meenie wasn’t the best film ever, actually it sucked big time, I mean does anyone know what the hell happened, the ending was like what??? So lets hope this one is better, its not really a sequal, more a sort of.. second chance.

Wall-E (18th July)

The latest Pixar film. Everything they touch seems brilliant and this one looks no different. About a robot left on Earth to clean up after the human race abandons its a cute story of ones robots struggle against something, or other.

The Dark Knight (25th July)

The big one of 2008 for me anyway. The sequal to the new begining for the Dark Knight himself. The new Batman is darker and more serious and we all can’t wait to see the Batman take on one of his greatest ever foes again.

X-Files Movie 2 (1st August)

The long planned sequal that will continue and possibly wrap up once and for all the story of agents Mulder and Scully and the extraterestrial encounders.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (8th August)

Another ‘The Mummy’ movie, I was suprised to see this on the shedule but I have to say I quite enjoyed the previous ones, quite funny, good special effects and more nasty mummies to deal with.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (22nd August)

A sequal to the first Hellboy film, not a massive success, but a decent film no the less, Big Red was a cool character and it can’t hurt to see who else needs a good thumping.

Bond 22 : Quantum of Solace (31st October)

The next bond film, which should be great if the first of the new serise is to go by. Casino Royal was a brave new step for the bond francise and it paid off, it was the most successful bond ever and I think it can only get better, I hope.

Cool well that is a quick round up of the movies of summer 2008, well the main ones i’m interested in anyway, I’m sure there are going to be more great films coming up too. This list will be a good reference to remind me of the films I need to remember to go see, any one got any good suggestions of other good films to look out for please feel free to let me know, I love a good recommendation.

Shall I buy an X-box 360? umm?

So I haven’t posted for a while. Not much to talk about. Got a holiday in New York next monh I guess that should give me something to say.

Meanwhile I have decided to go next-gen, or current gen, i’m  a little latee to the party you see.

I have a PS2 and have loved it for years, still lots of great games for it around, been playing Resdent Evil 4 recently, and it had to be one of the best games I have ever played, its great. I remember the original and that was great, This really carries the torch for the Resident Evil series.

But as you can see I am behind the times when it comes to games, which is odd because I’m a massive gaming fan, always have been, I even did games development course at university, only problem is I never been able to afford to keep up with the latest games tech.

I’m usually at least a year behind the current stuff, so now I think its time to get a new console. Trade in my PS2 and get either and X-box 360 or a PS3. The problem is the PS3 is still too expensive, £300 is a lot, and I know it does blue ray but I’m not really interested in that just yet, DVD is still working real good for me.

So with the X-box 360 now down to less that £200, cheaper than a Nintendo Wii, I think its my best option, also I notice that there is now a massive stash of pre-owned X-box 360 games available on the cheap now so its perfect.

Now I know your saying well what about a Nintendo Wii, its cheapa and has a fancy wavy about controller. well I like the concept of the Wii, and I have played a few games on it, but there just isn’t the wide selection of quality games I’m looking for, and the gimmick does wear off after a few games jumping around waving the arms here and there.

So X-box 360 it is. Good timing too as GTA IV is out this month, and Resident Evil 5 soon after. Plus they are porting Supreme Commander to the 360 and that is the game at the very top of my list of ‘want to plays’ for a year now. I know it has been out of the PC for ages, but if I tried to play it on my computer it would just laugh at me and then explode because of the minimum requirements.

So the only thing to do now is go finish the final chapter of Resident Evil 4 so I can trade it in and get me a 360. I hope its going to be worth it.

My New Geek Blog

Because I don’t want to clutter up this blog with boring crap about programming and coding and all that other really boring stuff that I do at work I have created a separate blog. I will use the new blog to post code tips and hints and stuff I want to remember but can’t be bothered to store in my brain.

Follow the link to check it out, but it’s not very exciting, just slightly more fun than watching paint dry.

http://2000mph.blogspot.com/