Other things you do with your PC?

K

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman

First time out of the vault
I don't mean the obvious stuff like typing, doing worksheet, or browsing the net, but hobby things like coding, Photoshopping, movie editing, etc.

I keep Notepad++ on every PC/laptop I have --still my most favorite tool for coding. PostgreSQL/PostGIS, MapServer for Windows, and XAMPP are also ubiquitous.

However, my biggest passion besides gaming is music. In early 1990s (during highschool), I tried to write a "hip-hop ballad" remix of Roger Williams' Till, using Voyetra Sequencer Plus Pro software that came with SoundBlaster Pro MIDI. It uses the SB's FM music though, so it's pretty lame.

The real excitement came when Arga, my highschool buddy, introduced me to MODEDIT and Mod Play Pro --both are DOS-based tracker software. The MODEDIT is entirely text-based, the samples are low quality .SAM files (there is a util to convert SB .VOC to .SAM), and a song is limited to four tracks, but it was a real blast compared to FM music. Arga did some remixes of Star Control II's songs (he ripped the .MOD songs using hex editor, don't ask), while I was doing original songs. Too bad the whole thing was still locked in my 286's hard drive (until I find a way to copy them to modern PC), but I managed to create two full songs. Both are techno, by the way.

I haven't been doing computer music again for some years, mainly because of the transition to Windows95. When I eventually found a free tracker for Windows, I had been already too busy for such thing. A friend of mine tried to get me into BuzzTracker, but I find the software is pretty much complicated to use.

But recently, another friend of mine, who is a semi-retired DJ, introduced me to Virtual DJ. It was a real blast! The software is pretty easy to use, and quite powerful for a beginner like me. I managed to make a hybrid remix of Tiesto's Flight 643 and Armin van Buuren's Face To Face, all without headphones! Man, it's really cool piece of software!


The following list make up my homemade non-stop clubbing sequence. All songs are set to 136 bpm, because I use Armin's Imagine as reference.
(1) Conjure One - Damascus. This song is for intro. Every good trance album and/or DJ performance always has good intro. Too bad I missed Armin's intro during his performance in Ancol Beach, Jakarta, December 2009. Blame the lousy event organizer...
(2) Armin van Buuren - Imagine. A perfect warm-up song. The orchestra/electric guitar intro is replaced by Damascus above, by the way.
(3) Fous de La Mer - Watersong (Jerome Isma Ae Mix), to make things hotter.
(4) Electro Prompt - Beside Me (Gothek D.C. Remix). Starting from minute 3:48, the song's trance hook is immediately blended and replaced with....
(5) Harmonix - Landslide (Way Out West Mix). This is one of the early trance songs, not to mention its trance hook is still the best to my ears, so I just have to include this one. I start this song from minute 4.45, to immediately replace the previous song's trance hook.
(6) Allure feat. Julie Thompson - Somewhere Inside. This one is simply my most favorite love song. Yes, a great trance song can be a love song too! Anyway, I do not do much with this song, I just add a siren sampler during the trance hook part.
(7) DJ Jean - Ibiza Dreams. Have I told you that I can't get enough of trance? Anyway, this song actually belongs to 040, but I only have the DJ Jean version --which is not really different than the original version. Note the trance hook at the minute 0.58. Next to Harmonix's Landslide, it is the sweetest trance hook I've ever heard.
(8 ) Ah, here is my "beginner's masterpiece": the Face To Face/Flight 643 hybrid. Although I like Armin better than Tiesto, I still think that both are brilliant DJs!
(9) Bahamen - Who Let The Dogs Out (Barking Mad Mix). To cheer things up after "mellow-yellow" trance songs like Landslide or Somewhere Inside.

I close the sequence with "pump it up" samples, primarily because I haven't got the right "closing song" yet. Besides, the sequence above is still WIP.


So, what other things you do with your PC, besides gaming?
 
I've always wanted to give a hand at making music on my computer, but I guess I'm post-poning it due to other game-related projects...

However, my brother does techno and other kinds of electronical music so I know some of the quality programs there are out there. For the *beginners*, I heard FruityLoops is a pretty strong piece of software, and easily extensible. It's not hard to make production-quality with it. You just need talent and a vision.

For more advanced work, my brother use Live and say it's perfect for his job.
 
Processing HDR photography.

Illustrator, Photoshop, that's my hobby / freelance job.

Webdesign. Can't take it beyond HTML with CSS, however. Coding it hard! :P
 
some texture editing for games like resident evil 4, silent hunter series, Age of Pirates 2, also made a few business cards in GiMP. I never release anything to the public, just edits to suit my tastes. My skills are limited, as everything is self taught. DXTBMP and MSPAINT round out the programs I use.
 
I furiously masturbate, watch movies, do homework, even eat beside it. You should see my gaming desk :lol:
 
I furiously masturbate, watch movies, do homework, even eat beside it. You should see my gaming desk :lol:
 
just thought id add this little thing a friend did with his PC.

Long story short, he owed some company a bill in the amount of say 1500 dollars. He called the company to pay, and asked if 1200 would be enough. Apparently interest had accrued or something, so it was a situation like that where if you played hardball, you could get away with paying less.

Upon asking, he was denied. He told the lady something like "OK, you will get back to me." And hung up before she could reply.

Through the miracle of the internet, he found the home phone number of the president of whatever the collection agency was, and after a short conversation, he was informed that the same person he was on the phone with initially would be getting back to him ASAP. She did, and promptly cut the bill down to 1200 as he had asked. Nice.
 
mobucks said:
just thought id add this little thing a friend did with his PC.

Long story short, he owed some company a bill in the amount of say 1500 dollars. He called the company to pay, and asked if 1200 would be enough. Apparently interest had accrued or something, so it was a situation like that where if you played hardball, you could get away with paying less.

Upon asking, he was denied. He told the lady something like "OK, you will get back to me." And hung up before she could reply.

Through the miracle of the internet, he found the home phone number of the president of whatever the collection agency was, and after a short conversation, he was informed that the same person he was on the phone with initially would be getting back to him ASAP. She did, and promptly cut the bill down to 1200 as he had asked. Nice.
Click to expand...
And that's the best story I've ever heard :clap:
 
If I remember, in the UK, if you can get away from a debt for five years or more, you never have to pay it. If you can lose their trail (address, phone etc) for that amount of time, it counts. You must never accept it's existance or something...

Well, I have my PC linked to my stereo, so all my music runs from the computer now. Apart from gaming and surfing, I have my game modding, and then there is my little home-business (PC maintence/repair/upgrades) which often needs me to connect it with the patient/victim to speed up data transfer etc. I do watch some DVD's on it, but my connection speed is too erratic for TV viewing...yet. Oh, and constantly tinkering with it. I just can't resist...
 
Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman said:
(9) Bahamen - Who Let The Dogs Out (Barking Mad Mix). To cheer things up after "mellow-yellow" trance songs like Landslide or Somewhere Inside.
Click to expand...

Heh, your style is completely different than mine. The few mixes I've done have always been more of emotional journeys. I'm not exactly experienced in mixing so correct me if I'm doing this in an odd way. I'm completely fine with making mixes that are mellow-yellow. I guess you can say I'm a lot like, only VnV Nation come to mind, where I put the more upbeat stuff first and close it out with an ominous emotional song to leave the audience in a more open emotional state. I might start out with something like BT - Never Gunna Come Back Down or Meat Beat Manifesto - Helter Skelter and throughout the mix start to slow it down a bit maybe finish it out with Above and Beyond - Good for Me or a vocal trance track of that caliber.
 
ZeusComplex said:
Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman said:
(9) Bahamen - Who Let The Dogs Out (Barking Mad Mix). To cheer things up after "mellow-yellow" trance songs like Landslide or Somewhere Inside.
Click to expand...

Heh, your style is completely different than mine. The few mixes I've done have always been more of emotional journeys. I'm not exactly experienced in mixing so correct me if I'm doing this in an odd way.
Click to expand...
Well, I'm just a beginner myself. In fact, the mix above is unfinished. I plan to close Who Let The Dogs Out with "you gotta pumpin' up" sample, and then smoothly continue with Armin van Buuren's Fine Without You. And then back to the mellow-yellow mood again with Ohmna's Sun Will Shine. But I'm still trying out several different combinations.



ZeusComplex said:
and close it out with an ominous emotional song to leave the audience in a more open emotional state.
Click to expand...
Same here. I'm still not sure how to close the mix, but I think I'll put Breathing by 'Alt Vila.



ZeusComplex said:
I might start out with something like BT - Never Gunna Come Back Down
Click to expand...
The song sounds "too British"/"too American" to me :D You know, big beats like The Crystal Methods, the Prodigy, and Frank Klepacki (the guy who wrote Command & Conquer soundtrack).

For the opening, I tend to use ambient music like this one. I don't know, I think my opening style is heavily influenced by Tiesto, who also use such ambience in his In Search of Sunrise album (notably ISOS 5 and ISOS 6). That's being said, I have yet to discover my style. Dunno, I have the tendency to "let it flow" when DJing. I tend to go with European-style, mellow-yellow trance, though. You know, stuff like Tiesto, DJ Shah, and Armin van Buuren.

Anyway, nice to see another trance music lover in this forum. :)
 
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