Notebook

I’m very excited to announce that the newly redesigned International Double Reed Society website, IDRS.org has finally launched. I have been maintaining the homepage for 4-5 years now and was responsible for its design but the enormous amount of research, files and information that had accumulated over the 13 years of IDRS.org’s existence was in desperate need of a complete renovation. Yoshi Ishikawa, the site’s Editor and I worked to segment the different facets of the site into manageable and easily understandable/rememberable sections. We also revamped the login process providing better access to members-only sections of the site like score downloads and videos. The process by which users join the IDRS online, edit their account information and renew their membership was completely rewritten.

I worked to create a design that was simple, easy to read and elegant. I reworked the logo a bit and tried to keep the look uncluttered.

Though there is still a lot of work to be done converting thousands of pages of html into the new XHTML/CSS/PHP framework I think we’ve laid the groundwork for a successful ongoing system.

Go to the site now, IDRS.org. If you’re not a member of IDRS, join.

I have added a music page with downloadable files in .mp3 format and video from past performances. Please let me know if you have any trouble listening or viewing.

For the obsessive iTunes organizers out there like myself, the Amzaon Album Art Widget makes adding album cover artwork to your iTunes Library fast and easy. It’s a widget that collects album art from Amazon and adds it to your iTunes Library.

If you don’t use a mac, another useful tool, though not quite as effortless is the album art finder from UneasySilence.com. Locate the album [cover] within the iTunes Music Store and right-click/control click on the album title. Select ‘Copy iTunes Music Store URL’. Paste the URL into the ‘iTunes Album URL’ field in the link above. After clicking submit you will have your choice of two album cover images directly from iTunes, large and small. The large version is of better quality than those from Amazon but is of course a larger file.

I’ve added two new features and some slight enhancements to the IDRS website. In addition to the Upcoming Events and News sections, Vacancy/Audition and Competition Listings have recently been added. I hope these features will improve the site as a resource for the double reed community. I’ve also embellished some of the graphics including the heading backgrounds and the top logo header. I hope you will find these changes useful.

I may be a little late to the party but by installing Linux on your 1st-3rd generation iPod, one can record high quality audio (up to 96kHz) using any microphone with an 1/8 inch plug. There’s a tutorial in the May Macworld The Linux iPod.