“Don’t hold your breath waiting for the iPhone to support Adobe’s Flash software: Apple’s terms-of-service agreement prohibits it.
Although Adobe says it is working on a version of its popular Flash player for the iPhone, Apple is unlikely ever to permit it to appear in the handset’s App Store, no matter how much customers want it.”
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/11/adobe-flash-on.html
I highly recommend these pickguards. I have one for my Epiphone Les Paul and am very excited about the idea of not drilling holes into the nice body of the guitar. Granted it’s not exactly screwless – it uses the screws in the pickups. Reading a bit about them on this forum seems to indicate they are very sturdy and reliable. I’ll have to break mine in, but I’m happy with it so far. Highly recommended.
Link: http://bobbyleesignatureseries.com/
Mine cost about $30 total, which includes the pickguard, a custom symbol, and shipping. They are available for most LP models, including Epiphone and Gibson brand.
Here’s an image of mine right after I installed it:
Here’s a circuit you might find useful. I created this with some help from various sources online. Unfortunately I can’t find the original schematic or I’d post the link. It accepts an audio input at one end (amplitudes like 100 or 200mV) and spits out a square wave from 0 to 5V of the frequency.
Keep in mind that audio signals aren’t just super simple to get a square wave out of. If you’re playing a guitar and pluck a string you’re going to get other harmonics that need to be filtered out. If you leave them in you’re likely to get something like twice the actual frequency if you just use a single value for a comparator. You need to watch the peaks, but somehow need to know where the peaks are going to be at.
So here’s the circuit:
Click for full size
Stage one is simply a gain/offset stage. It gets you higher amplitude and centers the signal up at 2.5 volts. You can probably get away without this offset (as long as you get rid of it in both places), but I decided to keep it since I don’t like negative voltages.
The next stage is a low pass Butterworth Filter. This filter is designed to kill (or diminish) the extra harmonics in the signal. I didn’t test this fully, but it appears to have a cutoff frequency of around 400Hz, which may be a little low.
The next stage creates an envelope of the signal. It’s not complicated and just charges up C15 so you get a voltage that follows the peaks of the filter output. That value is then compared with the filtered signal (the last stage is just a comparator) and you get a 0 to 5V output wave. You can then drop that output into a microcontroller of your choosing and write yourself a little guitar tuner. 
Here’s the simulation of that circuit, as proof that it works. I also tested this circuit in the lab and found that it basically worked. I didn’t spend too much time on it, but the output was strangely hovering from around 1.5 V to 5V.
Enjoy!
Some time ago, I wrote a post on how to back up your data using an effective batch script that utilizes a file copy utility called Robocopy. Turns out that’s a very popular post, so I want to offer a less hassled method of doing this for the less technically adept.
So a quick recap on Robocopy: It’s a command line utility that allows you to easily copy files from one place to another. Why is this better than just using the windows right click > copy menu to move your files? There are lots of reasons:
In short, it beats a basic copy all around. The primary problem is Robocopy isn’t a simple program that you can just download and easily use. You have to use a command line interface. But no worries, I’ve written one for you!
Before I list the script, there are some important things to know:
So without further ado, here are two backup scripts.
Instructions:
Copy and paste the entire text of the correct version of the script below into notepad (Start > Programs > Accessories > Notepad).
Save that file as “backup.bat”, including the quotes, to somewhere you will remember, like your Windows desktop.
Go to that location and make sure you see a file named “backup.bat”, this time without the quotes. It should have a weird icon with a gear on it or just a plain white window.
Double click on the file to run it. A black window should pop up. Just follow the on screen instructions.
Important note: You must create the backup directory before you run the backup. For example, if you wanted to backup C:/Users/smith to D:/myProfileBackup, you should go to My Computer > D:/ and create a new folder called myProfileBackup before you run the script or you will get an error.
Leave me a comment if you have any questions!
@ECHO off
ECHO.
ECHO * – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - *
ECHO * *
ECHO * Robocopy Backup Utility for Windows *
ECHO * by Broken Remote via *
ECHO * brokenremote.wordpress.com *
ECHO * Free for any use and modification *
ECHO * *
ECHO * – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - *
ECHO.
ECHO Instructions:
ECHO.
ECHO 1. Enter the drive letter of the drive with the data to backup (ie: “C”)
ECHO 2. Enter the path to the folder you wish to backup (ie: “Documents and Settings/Smith”)
ECHO 3. Enter the drive letter of your backup drive (ie: “E”)
ECHO 4. Enter the path to the specific backup location (ie: “backups/novemberBackup”)
ECHO 5. Verify your options and press “Y” to proceed or “N” to exit
ECHO.
ECHO ____________________________________________________
ECHO.
:: Prompt for inputs
SET /P sourceLetter=1. Source drive letter:
SET /P sourcePath=2. Path to data you wish to backup:
SET /P destinationLetter=3. Destination drive letter:
SET /P destinationPath=4. Path to backup folder:
:: Set full source and destination
SET source=%sourceLetter%:/%sourcePath%
SET destination=%destinationLetter%:/%destinationPath%
ECHO.
ECHO ____________________________________________________
ECHO.
:: Verify source and destination
ECHO You are copying data from
ECHO.
ECHO %source%
ECHO.
ECHO to
ECHO.
ECHO %destination%
ECHO.
ECHO ____________________________________________________
ECHO.
SET /P continue= Proceed? (Y/N):
IF /I %continue%==N GOTO END
:: Set the logfile
SET logfile=%destination%/backup.log
:: Set the options. Note to remove the /XJD option on Windows XP
SET options=/MIR /XJD /LOG:%logfile% /R:0 /W:0 /TEE
:: Start the copy
ROBOCOPY %source% %destination% %options%
:END
ECHO.
pause
:: ROBOCOPY COMMAND OPTIONS
:: Do ROBOCOPY /? in a command prompt for details on other flags
:: /MIR = delete files from destination that have been deleted on source
:: /LOG = create a log file
:: /R:0 = don’t retry a file if it fails. Change number as you wish
:: /W:0 = don’t wait to retry a file if it fails. Change number as you wish
:: /TEE = output progress to console window. Turn this on if you want to see the file copy report at the end of your copy and progress during
:: /XJD = Windows Vista has some weird folder virtualization to prevent programs from accessing folders directly. Exclude Junction points to fix this.
@ECHO off
ECHO.
ECHO * – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - *
ECHO * *
ECHO * Robocopy Backup Utility for Windows *
ECHO * by Broken Remote via *
ECHO * brokenremote.wordpress.com *
ECHO * Free for any use and modification *
ECHO * *
ECHO * – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - *
ECHO.
ECHO Instructions:
ECHO.
ECHO 1. Enter the drive letter of the drive with the data to backup (ie: “C”)
ECHO 2. Enter the path to the folder you wish to backup (ie: “Documents and Settings/Smith”)
ECHO 3. Enter the drive letter of your backup drive (ie: “E”)
ECHO 4. Enter the path to the specific backup location (ie: “backups/novemberBackup”)
ECHO 5. Verify your options and press “Y” to proceed or “N” to exit
ECHO.
ECHO ____________________________________________________
ECHO.
:: Prompt for inputs
SET /P sourceLetter=1. Source drive letter:
SET /P sourcePath=2. Path to data you wish to backup:
SET /P destinationLetter=3. Destination drive letter:
SET /P destinationPath=4. Path to backup folder:
:: Set full source and destination
SET source=%sourceLetter%:/%sourcePath%
SET destination=%destinationLetter%:/%destinationPath%
ECHO.
ECHO ____________________________________________________
ECHO.
:: Verify source and destination
ECHO You are copying data from
ECHO.
ECHO %source%
ECHO.
ECHO to
ECHO.
ECHO %destination%
ECHO.
ECHO ____________________________________________________
ECHO.
SET /P continue= Proceed? (Y/N):
IF /I %continue%==N GOTO END
:: Set the logfile
SET logfile=%destination%/backup.log
:: Set the options. Note to remove the /XJD option on Windows XP
SET options=/MIR /LOG:%logfile% /R:0 /W:0 /TEE
:: Start the copy
ROBOCOPY %source% %destination% %options%
:END
ECHO.
pause
:: ROBOCOPY COMMAND OPTIONS
:: Do ROBOCOPY /? in a command prompt for details on other flags
:: /MIR = delete files from destination that have been deleted on source
:: /LOG = create a log file
:: /R:0 = don’t retry a file if it fails. Change number as you wish
:: /W:0 = don’t wait to retry a file if it fails. Change number as you wish
:: /TEE = output progress to console window. Turn this on if you want to see the file copy report at the end of your copy and progress during
:: /XJD = Windows Vista has some weird folder virtualization to prevent programs from accessing folders directly. Exclude Junction points to fix this.
