Best Workout Music

Two things surprised me the past couple of days. The first is that the human comment authentication does not filter out all the spam comments. That’s really interesting - either the crap peddlers hire people to type in their “comments” or they make use of smart OCR software that can detect the digits that need to be entered. Interesting - I’ll play around a bit more to see if I can tighten the spam openings…

The second thing is regarding the BeatScanner version 1.4 freeware that now can be downloaded from my site. This last version contains a special bonus where you only need to submit information for 100 music files that have been scanned and create 3 workout play lists and you can immediately get a personal registration code for the Repacer product (Repacer can convert the beat of any music file you have to the rate of your workout and costs $24.95 to register). The reason I added this bonus was to expedite the growth of the workout music database and thought many people would jump at the offer. To my surprise people just continued purchasing Repacer and as of yet, not one person has submitted enough information that would get them a free registration code (which really isn’t much, considering most people have over 100 titles of audio files on their disk).

I have some theories regarding why this is so - one is that this bonus simply isn’t stated clear enough, another is that people are wary of submitting anything (although all that is sent is the beats per minute information of the music files - not the files themselves) - whatever the reason, I’ll continue with this bonus until it sinks in since this database will really help anyone interested in workout music and I intend to make it completely available to anyone who wishes to have access to it.

Well, BeatScanner 1.4 is finally out. This version, as promised, focuses on improving the accuracy of the automatic BPM detection so that you can have more confidence that the beat that was detected matches the workout pace you intended. There are some additional improvements such as the ability to play the tracks while you are sorting out your play list to make it easier to find the right “flow” for your workout.

There’s another bonus I’ve bundled with this version and that is the option to get a free registration code for Repacer (which is currently sold for $24.95). The songs and workout play lists database has been building up over the last few weeks but I wanted to give it a real boost before I make it openly available for everyone to enjoy. To that effect I’ve added this incentive - so make use of it while its available (This bonus will be available for at least until May) .

The amount of spam I’ve been receiving on this blog is more than I ever imagined would arrive - although by the amount of spam mail I receive it shouldn’t come as a surprise. I’ve always wondered, why do they bother ? Obviously because someone is making money out of it, but seriously - does anybody actually read that crap ? Are there actually people who still believe that you can easily make Millions of dollars by corresponding with a Nigerian official ? or that you have been fortunate enough to have an email that won $250M in the email Lotto ?

The blog spam is more oriented to showing you how to get all the pills you need to be the manliest man in the neighborhood, or the best porn sites, but wouldn’t someone interested in that stuff look for it in a place that has more credibility than a sleazy link in a non related blog ? Perhaps its just the law of large numbers - you eventually catch enough fish if you throw a net that is large enough.

Anyway - I’ve had enough of these blog spams so I set up a captcha verification to make sure a human is entering the comment. Its the easiest installation for a captcha plugin for WordPress that I’ve seen. If you want to use it in your own blog you can download it here .

This should be an exciting release. Anyone who has already downloaded version 1.3 should within two weeks start checking the News tab available on BeatScanner. To get an idea on some of the planned features are, take a look at the BeatScanner quick manual section.

There was a small problem with the BeatScanner setup - it has been fixed now. In addition the formal page for BeatScanner download is now here.

Note - as this is a Beta release, there still might be a few bugs - I’ve tested it as widely as possible but its impossible to check every scenario. If you should find any problem with this version, please describe it either here or send it to me at support@optimistec.com

Ok - I decided to give it another push and release it now (as any software developer can tell you, the process can get addictive).

So, until I place it in a more deserving place, you can download BeatScanner from here.

Enjoy ! - oh, and if you find any bugs, want specific features or have any questions you can mail me at support@optimistec.com

Bye for now…

I passed one flu and then flew right into another, which further delayed the release date I was planning for BeatScanner, but it seems like things are converging now - The application looks ok and works fine - I hope to make it available for download tomorrow…

Below are screen shots of some functions that I took just now (I’ve resized them which damages the quality but you should be able to download the real thing tomorrow so bear with me…):

• Optional manual detection of song BPM:

Get ready to start downloading…

Due to a case of the flu… will post an update when one is available.

I’ve decided to set a release date for the first version of BeatScanner as a motivating technique to make me create the time to work on it, as free time has been quite scarce recently - so, the date is January 15th.

What is BeatScanner ? Well, its not a replacement for the Repacer product as it does not change the tempo of the music to match your workout pace (future versions might contain this as an upgrade to Repacer). BeatScanner (not sure the name is final either - if anyone has other ideas feel free…) enables you to scan your music collection, create a database of the BPM (beats per minute) of each song, create different play lists based on searching this database for a particular rate and genre that matches your workout routine and finally save these play lists on your disk or directly to your mp3 device ready for your next workout. But it is also much more than that as it also enables you to share your recommended playlists with others and search playlists that other people have recommended for one that best matches your workout preferences.

Anyway, as mentioned the objective is to release a first version by Monday. It will not have all the features I wanted for a first version, but it will have enough to make it useful. For the curious, I might post some screen shots before Monday.

Starting a new year is a great opportunity for greatness. Think big, take small steps, cherish every moment

To paraphrase on Mark Twain’s quote - the rumors of its death have been greatly exaggerated…

I’m still hard at work on the BeatScanner software and every day it is looking better. I hope to release a first more or less complete first version within the next few weeks, and if it all goes as planned, it will rock the workout music scene… . Oh - and if you have’nt read the original posts - it will be totally free.