The Spank! Records Blog

Optimise your PC with Game Booster

I was just doing the rounds of all my tech-feeds and came across this bit of software called Game Booster:

Essentially it's designed to optimise your gaming experience (on a PC only, no OS X version) by shutting down various background processes, cleaning up your RAM and other bits of technical wizardry. The idea is that you run it before you start up a processor-intensive game so that you get the best possible experience.

Wait a minute - shutting down background processes, optimising, cleaning up the RAM - isn't that exactly what we recommended for digital DJs before they start up their software?

The software used by digital DJs is pretty demanding. There's a lot of work going on under the hood - processing audio, computing effects, keeping things in time. The more resources your computer has available to do all this work the better, and that's where optimising comes in.

We always let our customers know that a bit of optimisation goes a long way. Shutting down your wireless network adapter, turning off anti-virus programs, screensavers - you may not realise it, but all of these things are quietly working away in the background. And that means they're using up your precious computing power and memory (RAM). If you're mixing away in your bedroom then this can avoid some annoying glitches. If you're actually playing out in public, then it's pretty much a non-negotiable. The last thing you want to happen is have your software crash on you in the middle of a set, and the more you can do to help prevent this crushingly embarrassing situation the better.

So while the abovementioned software's intended use is for gamers, there's no real reason I can see not to try this out if you mix on a PC. It's a much easier way to do a whole lot of manual tinkering - one click of a button in fact - and a quick Google shows that a lot of people have been using it with favourable results.

A word of warning - try the software at home a few times BEFORE you try it out in the club. You'll want to be sure it does the job for you before you risk a meltdown in front of a packed room.

The software is completely FREE and you can nab it from here:

http://www.iobit.com/gamebooster.html

Let us know if you use it and if it does the trick or not.

Thanks,

Chris

Free iPod Touch 8GB With Purchase Of A MacBook Pro 15"

We have a super special on at the moment for the MacBook Pro 15" laptop from Apple.

If you buy either the 2.4GHz ($2699) or the 2.5GHz ($3399) laptop as well as AppleCare ($579) which gives you a total of 3 years warranty and technical support, we'll give you a FREE iPod Touch 8GB worth $399!

This special is for a limited time only and while stocks last of the iPod Touch.

Apple specials

We have a couple of great specials on at the moment if you've been thinking about buying a Mac.

* We're offering a free 2GB iPod Nano if you buy any iMac between now and June 30th.

* We'll give you $500 off if you buy a Mac Pro along with any Cinema Display.

These aren't available online so give us a call if you'd like more information.

Free shipping anywhere in Australia for these and all Apple computers.

We're now an authorised Apple Solutions Reseller

We mentioned last week that we were finalising a deal with another big brand. Well we're all setup and ready to go, so we can now tell you that we've been authorised as an Apple Solutions Reseller. Pretty sweet! We can now sell the entire range of Apple hardware & software as well as package up complete solutions for you - everything from music production to digital DJ'ing.

This is particularly exciting for me as I grew up on Apple computers, so to now be a small part of the Apple family is really cool! I myself am using a MacBook Pro with Ableton & Reason as well as a bunch of software synths, and Mark is getting into Ableton on his MacBook Pro as well.

We have an iMac and a MacBook setup instore now. If you're thinking about making the move to a Mac or upgrading, come on in and have a look. We'll be setting up a range of software on them if you want to see how they run on each machine.