Do you find the sound of rain to be relaxing?  Being from Texas, thunderstorms in the Spring are like second nature, so I really do like the sound of rain.  You can now though add that gentle sound of rain to your environment with Rainy Mood.

This web site is simple, and to the point. You have a big ol’ play button in the middle of the web page, and when you click it – the rain sounds stop or start.  The web site plays a 15 minute high quality loop of rainy sounds.

So if you feel like you get your best work done with the rainy noises in the background, be sure to check out RainyMood.com.

This has to be the trippiest use of Twitter I have seen yet.  TweetRad.io will let you listen to what others are tweeting about, using what they call “tweet-to-speech” technology.  Pick one of the options they have featured across the top of the page, tech, news, sports, funny, featured or search for any phrase then wait a few seconds.  Soon, your browser will be displaying and reading tweets out to you.

Not sure how useful this is, unless you need to read a lot of tweets and your hands aren’t free? Other than that though, it at least makes for a cool site to show off to your friends, or maybe even a way to hear what is popular in the morning while you check your e-mail, drink your coffee and mindlessly navigate around the Web, till you get fully awake.

Check it out over at TweetRad.io, then let me know what you think of it.

I have a great love for useless web sites, and this one might rank up there as one of the most fun useless ones out there, (sorry InstantRimshot.com).  KissTunes.com lets you become a grand piano, acoustic guitar or electric piano player right from the comfort of your own keyboard. 

The interface here is pretty simple.  You can use your keyboard or the mouse to click the buttons, and play that specific note.  You also can record your little ditty once your done, play it back, save it or load another.  Who wouldn’t want to play and record tunes online using your computer’s keyboard? 

Although it is a little slow right now (probably going to be getting really popular soon) be sure to keep KissTunes.com handy next time you feel like composing your next keyboard tune of your own.

All you need to do is browse for the file you want to convert, and then hit the “start conversion” button.  Some of the files it currently supports include:

• image/photo files (jpeg, gif, png, svg…)
• audio formats (mp3, ogg…)
• documents (doc, pdf, odt, txt, rtf…)
• programming source code (java, php, cpp…)
• web documents (html, htm…)
• archive (zip, rar…)
• video, fonts, chemical file formats and more

Once uploaded, every converted file has a unique web address created for it, so you can point others to it and share the document in question.  So if you are searching for a free way to convert any file into a web page, give them a shot at File2.ws.

Installing this script should be no problem with any shared Linux-based hosting.  They only require 1 MB of free web space, PHP 4.3 or higher and MySQL 4 or higher.  After installing, you can upload your content via the web site or FTP and then you can add and edit lots of meta information for that media. 

You can also install templates and plugins to customize your experience even more.

You can check out the demo on OpenSourceCMS if you want to give it a try.  If you are looking for a sleek and easy to use content management system for publishing a podcast, Loudblog is definitely worth checking into.

The biggest improvement over past versions is that the FLV support is much better.  So if you download a lot of YouTube (or any of the other video sharing sites) videos, you will no longer have to reload the player if you try to fast forward or rewind.  You can check out the full list of features too for this tiny player, if you are not impressed yet.  For more on this most recent release, check out the “What is cool in 0.9″ page or check out this video:

VLC media player 0.9.2 – Grishenko from Antoine Cellerier on Vimeo.

They have added a lot more video content – so they have both the video and audio aspects of podcasting covered now.  Also the new design is pleasing to the eye and very functional.  One little pet peeve for me was that it doesn’t keep me logged in.  Each time I visit the site I have to login again. 

Checking out my own page on there for the Web Hosting Show – I see another nice new addition.  They actually updated the RSS feed!  Before this redesign, it hadn’t been combed in a few months, so happy to see they are updating the podcast feeds they are watching because without it – well, you don’t have much of a podcasting service without freshness.

All in all, I wish the new Odeo the best of luck and who knows, if they can keep the feeds update this time around I might move my own subscriptions over there soon.

White noise is a random signal (or process) with a flat power spectral density. In other words, the signal’s power spectral density has equal power in any band, at any centre frequency, having a given bandwidth. White noise is considered analogous to white light which contains all frequencies.

So that answers the what, now how about the why?  Here are some of the uses for white noise that are out there:

• Aid Sleep
• Enhance Privacy
• Block Distractions
• Mask Tinnitus
• Configure Audio Equipment
• Soothe Migraines

Getting back to the web site, Simply Noise – all it does is give you an orb to slide back and forth to increase or decrease the white noise they provide.  What exactly is the noise they use?  Think of it as the static sound you here when there is a TV channel not coming in clearly.  All in all – this site does the job in a very simple way.  Maybe in the future they can have the white noise come up via a popup window?  That way if I needed it I could have it loaded up without having to keep the URL open 24/7.

Try moving the mic around!

That is the number one audio recording tip I would give anybody. You would be amazed how differently you can sound depending on where the mic is. Most will tell you to put it under your chin so you don’t “pop your p’s” but for me, I like to keep it at a distracting eye level (that is with a headset mic).

Move in a little closer…

You don’t want to sound like you are in an empty room, echoing around – unless you are pretending to be the booming voice of god in your audio podcast. Make sure your close enough to the mic to where you don’t sound too loud but your not sounding too far into the background either. This will take some time to find the exact spot that is right for you.

Try to speak from the heart!

Having a guide or show notes is good for a base, but don’t be afraid to go off on your own. Often times I’ll pre-write my show notes and as I record get off when I had wrote down. Why? Well after hearing it out loud I think to myself, “Well it would be better if I go off in this direction instead”. Then I’ll update my notes later to reflect that.

Stick yourself in the Cone of Silence?

Try your best to eliminate any and all background noises. That means if you have a loud heater in the winter months, turn it off to record. If your air conditioner’s buzz is being caught by your mic, turn it off in the summer months. Suffer for your art so your listeners aren’t left wondering – what was that noise I just heard?

The last ‘bit of advice I would have for you is have fun! Don’t think of your show, audio recording or any other side project like this as a job. Treat it like a hobby. Audio podcasting might not be for everybody, but there is no way to find out if you like it unless you try. As long as you try to have fun with it, your listeners will pick up on that positive energy and will tune in again to hear more.

+ Handy Guide to Domain Names – Episode 134

Here is a little more information about this episode of the best hosting podcast out there today if I do say so myself (and I just did!):

Need help picking the best domain name? Do you want some assistance finding the domain name register that is right for you? Have you considered the privacy concerns you might be giving up by getting that .com of you very own? I want to tackle domain names from head to toe to give people a guide to the confusing world of domain name registrations.

Go check out the show notes for the visual version, and for the audio version download the mp3 from WebHostingShow.com.

Past Audio Guides to the Web Hosting World

There are many subjects that take a little longer to explain and are confusing to most inside of the web hosting industry. Here are a few of the other special “guide” episodes I have produced.

Web Hosting Job Hunting Guide

So you want to become one of the few, the proud – the average web hosting worker. Now I can tell you from first and experience, it isn’t all fame and glory. It is a job for people who like to help other people. If you don’t have the patience for people with stupid questions, or if your not that interested about how the Web works this job might not be for you. If your enticed then please stand by.

(download the .mp3!)

Setup a Blog (with WordPress) Guide

When it comes to setting up a blog or any other content management system some people find themselves a little lost. From CHMODing the right files to uploading things to the right spot, it can be a headache in the making. Well on this special edition of the Web Hosting Show I’ve decided to step you through the process of getting a blog setup on your own hosting space using WordPress.

(download the .mp3!)

Setting Up Your First Online Store Guide

You know Joe right? Joe lives down the street from you and runs a little comic book store downtown. Joe doesn’t know much about the Internet but he does know that he would like to expand his business. What should Joe do? Joe should look into getting into ecommerce. Now first things first, what is ecommerce? Ecommerce is the conducting of commerce with goods and services over the Internet.

(download the .mp3!)

Have a good idea for the next one I should do? Drop me an e-mail and let me know. I’m always looking for feedback and inspiration.