Category: "VoIP"
Skype with Bluetooth and Audacity
I know that I'm late to the party on this one, but I've begun using Skype. Ken, a friend of mine from way back, has been bugging me for awhile to try it. I just didn't see the advantages over Y!M voice. I've been a fan of VoIP since the early '90's when there was no reason to be a fan. I guess I read too many of Jeff Pulver's newsletters, and now even his blog.
I started reading about the encryption and security features of Skype, and the amazing clarity. Then some folk started blogging about using Skype to record podcasts. Ok, this sold me. Ken and I tested it. Clarise and I have done some testing too. The clarity truly is amazing.
The trick to using your computer as a phone though, is the microphone. I use a laptop, and the built-in mic has the gain of whisper. But, aha, I have two Bluetooth headsets, my trusty Jabra BT200, and the Plantronics M3000 I was given to test.
Pairing the headset to the Belkin Bluetooth dongle hanging out of the USB port on the back of my laptop was a breeze, repairing it with my phone is a breeze. Having to do so is a bit of a pain.
Recording both sides of the conversation with Audacity, is another matter. Many have written about the various work-arounds to accomplish this. Audacity seems to pick up my side of the conversation just fine. Now, with everyone on the conversation using Audacity, and each recording their own voice, you actually have a very neat solution. You can import all the sound files into one Audacity project, get the time synchronization right, and you have a separate track for each "voice" in the podcast. This makes it much easier to edit, diminish background noise, and add "ambience". All the nonsense of two computers, or wiring up line-in and line-out with appropriate software to fool your sound card, seems silly. I LIKE having multiple tracks to play with. Much, much better.
Todd, let's do that podcast we were talking about. 
I'm Joseph A. di Paolantonio and this blog has two main foci: my interest in food, and my interest in the future. This provides a look into my personal life, and is separate from my consulting work…though there will be overlap. I am an independent researcher, working as a strategic consultant and I'm an executive with over 20 years of commercial experience with a technical interest in the intersection of Internet of Things, with advanced data management and analysis methods. I view data science as a team activity, and I feel that the IoT must be viewed as a system. I am leveraging my past activities to understand the adoption and impact of the IoT; first, as a system engineer in aerospace, where I developed Bayesian risk assessment methods for systems within the Space Transportation System (including the Space Shuttle), Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer, Gravity Probe B, and many more, and second, as a enterprise data warehousing, business intelligence and analytics professional. Between my aerospace and IT careers, I indulged my hobby of cooking by starting a food company, Montara Magic, centered around my chocolate sauces. My education combined chemistry, mathematics and philosophy. I performed research into molten salt fuel cells in graduate school, and in photovoltaic materials for a short time in industry. The lure of bringing the human race into space was strong, and when I was offered the chance to combine my chemistry and mathematics skills to develop new risk assessment and system engineering methods for space launch and propulsion systems – I couldn't resist. I perform independent research and strategic consulting to bring value from the Internet of Things, Sensor Analytics Ecosystems and data science teams.I am a caregiver, a lover of science fiction and speculative fantasy, and my passion to learn has led me to a pilot's license, an assistant instructor in SCUBA, nordic and alpine skiing, sea kayaking, and reading everything I can, in as many topics as I can.
