Blogging has became so big - so quickly (and is still growing by leaps and bounds) it is no wonder is has become such an easy target for spammers. The two main forms of blog spamming is comment spam and trackback spam (also know as Sping). If you have the option of approving all comments before they get posted please by all means do so. It is a much better option then just letting any comment be posted that will more than likely include bogus comments with hyperlinks.

The majority of spam is actually automated and there are two fairly well known methods that should help limit or eliminate any spam. Both of these methods have been in use for awhile now. They are the turing test or CAPTCHA (which requires the user to type in a graphic representation of alphanumeric characters) and then there is the "no-follow" attribute which tells the search engines not to index the link.

I hope this sheds some light on the whole blog spamming issue. And by the way I only had 2 junk comments during the writing of this. Maybe I am getting faster at typing or maybe it's because I have been using the 'ban' commenter feature!

Currently most Blu-ray discs can store 25 GB of data and costs about $20 per disc. Sony has recently released recordable (write-once) Blu-ray media that has a 50 GB capacity that fetches a suggested retail price of $48! Another thought provoking issue is the length of time it takes to burn 25 GB of data on a Blu-ray disc. A mere 45 minutes; that's all! The real kicker is that the current maximum burn speed is 2X.

What about duplicator towers? Of course they are out there, but once again have a hefty price tag. A tower with 10 Blu-ray burner drives will run you about $20,000. It would be silly to start investing any money on new equipment or media that is entering the market as a competitor of a fairly similar product, the HD DVD, which uses a blue laser as well. Yes the amount of data (especially high definition video) one can store on a single disc is very important, to lots of different people and businesses, but at what cost? This disc capacity issue seems to be the main differences between the two blue laser media.

One last interesting piece of information that I feel is worth sharing comes from TDK Technologies. Not only does TDK have a 100 GB prototype Blu-ray disc, and the technology to produce a 200 GB disc (which would be able to store 18 hours of high definition video), but they also have a great new scratch resistant coating called Durabis 2. Their claim with the Durabis 2 product is that the coating will help protect the disc surface from common scratches and fingerprints by a factor of 100 compared to a non-treated disc. Also the discs with the Durabis 2 coating will limit greatly the amount of dust that normally accumulates. And just for the record, we don't have any ties or get better pricing on media from TDK by mentioning any of this information.

For more information about Blu-ray technology or about Blu-ray duplication please go to a search engine or check out a few of these links: TDK Technologies, Wikipedia, or WebProNews

Everyone knows how quickly technology can and does change. This new hybrid disc should make lots of people happy and obviously some a little more wealthy. By a customers view point they don't have to rush out to buy a new DVD player but when they do decide to splurge, than this same DVD will work just as well on that new player. Movie studios should be able to save money by only having to make one disc for all new releases instead of three. If, or should I say when, this patented technology comes to life, Warner and their engineers could be rolling in the money!

Once indie bands or any band for that matter, finishes recording in the studio, the next step should be to find an audio mastering engineer to have their CD professionally mastered. Most mastering companies will also offer other services like graphic art and design (for the CD, cover, & insert), various packaging options, and duplication or cd replication services.

After all the decisions have been made and the CD project is complete, most indie bands will more than likely host a local release party. This is where those nice, newly mastered, professionally designed and packaged CD's come into play. A majority of these CD's will be passed out to all the bands friends, family members, supporters, and new and old fans alike. Traditionally any new band will send out a large number of CD's to radio stations and if they are truly lucky they might just get some air play time.

So where can bands get quick exposure and get their music out to the public the fastest? Why of course, the internet! Now, even though this concept isn't all that new, various web sites, especially MySpace, are helping this to happen much more quickly than the old traditional methods of contacting radio stations or getting 'discovered' by playing local venues.

Possibly the cheapest and easiest solution is to search on line or to look at a local record store for that particular album on CD. The next cheapest option (especially if you still have your old turntable or record player), is to make a copy by using your computer. All you really need is the turntable, a stereo with an amplifier, a cable to connect the stereo and computer together, conversion software, and blank audio CD's. If you decide to go with this option make sure that you do not connect your turntable directly to your computer.

I can think of two more options that are convenient but not necessarily cheap compared to the first two suggestions. You can purchase a machine that allows you to record from vinyl to CD's or you can contact a professional duplication service that has a mastering engineer on staff.

A fairly new item on the audio market is the TEAC GF-350, which has several nice bells and whistles, which include a single cabinet (housing the turntable), an AM-FM radio, a CD player/burner, and stereo speakers. It also has an auxiliary audio input for recording from external sources. Other features include recording a whole album or single track, a built in amplifier, and a front-panel headphone jack. The cost for the GF-350 is between $330 and $400. There seems to be some skepticism in regards to the quality of the newly burned CD due to the use of a ceramic stylus (or needle) to play the record. This machine is most likely being sold to those who want a simple solution to transfering their LP's to CD's. A true audiophile might be a little disappointed with overall quality of the TEAC GF-350.

The last option which will produce the highest quality and best sounding CD may be the most expensive. By using the expertise of a professional mastering engineer you are paying for their trained ear to bring out the best sounds of any audio recording. They can eliminate unwanted noises and fine tune the CD to make it sound better than the original.

With today's technology almost anyone can duplicate a CD at home as long as they have a computer outfitted with a CD-R or CD-RW recorder and appropriate software. This approach is adequate for the beginner who plans on duplicating only a few copies of a CD. Be aware that there are many various and specific disc formats available. If you have a fairly large project or plan on duplicating several hundred discs, then you should definitely consider using a professional duplication company. There are many companies to choose from. However if you want one that is reliable, fair priced, fast, and very friendly then look into Discmasters. They have been in business for over 20 years, are very knowledgeable, and professional. There are additional services that Discmasters offers for your CD or DVD project such as CD design, various packaging options and cd mastering services to name a few.

CD duplication is cost effective, produces a high quality product, and has a very quick turn around time. Keep in mind that CD duplication is usually used for small run projects (quantities of 500 or less). For larger projects replication is the best choice!

CD-R's are made of polycarbonate pellets, a type of thermoplatics, which provides transparency, stability, and is impact resistant. There are three basic steps that get applied to the polycarbonate disc once it has been pressed with a metal stamper to form a pre-groove or sprial track where the data will be stored.

The first step will be to add a very thin layer of organic dye on top of the sprial groove. This process is applied by spin coating. The second step adds a thin reflective layer of silver or gold. This is accomplished by a procedure called sputtering. The reflective layer is applied by magnetic bombardment of the silver or gold atoms which affix themselves to the disc. The last step adds a protective coating of a photo-polymerizable lacquer that is then cured with a uv-light.

CD-R's were made to last. The estimated life span, based on acelerated aging, ranges from 100 to 200 years. However proper care must be taken when working with these discs so as not to reduce the life span to only a few years. First and foremost the CD-R's recording surface that is modified by heat, to store data, can be susceptible to material deterioration. The data can actually shift on the surface making it unreadable to the laser. So try to burn at speeds of 4x or 8x (this will produce fewer errors), try not to multitask on your computer when burning, store the CD-R in a jewel case to protect the surface, and of course hold the disc by lightly gripping its edges.

One other useful bit of information is to only clean the disc if playback is affected. When you need to remove fingerprints, grease, dust, and or very minor scratches, rub toothpaste over the entire bottom of the CD. Let it sit for 30 to 60 seconds, then hold the disc under running water and use a circular motion to remove all the toothpaste. Allow the disc to air dry.