gmprunner

When I'm testing audio equipment (in this case namely cables and input/output methods), how can I accurately test how much noise there is in the signal/line? (I use the two terms here more or less interchangeably) I can watch a movie and get a sense, but if I hear noise I have a hard time telling if that's from the signal or if it's originating from the media itself, in which case it's inevitable. Same goes for testing with music. Please advise.

Here's the situation:

I have a plasma TV that I want to hook headphones up to. I have a good pair of Audio Technica headphones that can separate from their 3.5mm cord so that any other cord with at least one 3.5mm jack on it can be plugged directly into them.

I have a TV with Digital Audio Out. I wanted to run a cord from that output into my headphones, because from what I understood that was one of the best ways to get good sound quality.

So I bought this cable: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ZU3G2I

I got it today and tried it but realized that I was too hasty in ordering it and that one end was not a 3.5mm headphone jack but some sort of optical mini jack, which I had never heard of before, that looks almost identical to a standard 3.5 jack.

I need some advice now. Is there some sort of adapter I can get to convert the weird mini jack to a regular old 3.5 jack? Is there a cable that will run from a digital audio output to a 3.5 mm jack without an adapter? Is there a better way to do this altogether? Please help.

I've seen sites that say the Incredible has 512MB of RAM, 576MB of RAM, and 748MB of RAM. I have no idea which one to believe.

Can someone who actually has the phone please tell me just how much memory the phone really has?

I'm thinking about getting the Droid (or HTC) Incredible for Verizon soon because I'm eligible for an upgrade on May 3rd. I use Yahoo as my primary email, and my Blackberry has worked great with Yahoo for the past two years. I know the Incredible, since is has the Android 2.1 software, has close ties with Google and so plays nice with Google's services, but I'm not sure how it gets along with Yahoo. My question, then, is:

Will I be able to access my Yahoo e-mail on the Droid Incredible?

I have a Mac, and I need some software that I can use to help me learn Calculus. Any recommendations? Thank you!

I have a Blackberry Curve 8330 (Verizon). I wanted to enable GPS for use with Google Maps, so I did some research and found out about GPSed.

I downloaded it and ran the auto-configure thing, and it said it found a few configurations that would work for my phone, but when the application starts, it just hangs on "Setup GPS Connection" with the progress bar moving along over and over and over. It never gets past that little setup thing, no matter how many times I restart it and redo the auto-configure program.

Can anyone offer me some advice please?

I need a really big, complex math equation/formula/problem/whatever. I don't need to know what it's for or how it works, I just need one that looks very complicated and impressive.

Thank you very much! :)

This is NOT an ear problem I have where I hear constant ringing. What I'm talking about is that ringing that everyone gets sometimes: an occasional, sharp ringing that lasts for roughly 20 seconds and occurs roughly once a month or so. I hear somewhere that it was a part of your ear (some cells or something) dying and that that would be the last time you ever heard that particular tone of noise, but I'm not sure how credible that is. Does anyone know what causes this ringing?

I understand that Chinese uses different characters for letters than we here in the U.S. (and most of the world, for that matter) do. Can someone please show me how the number 64 specifically would look in Chinese?

I'm in charge of leading some kids games at my company picnic this weekend, and I picked up a "Phlat Ball" by SpinMaster (it's a ball that can be collapsed into a disc-shape until it pops back open about 20 seconds later). I need some ideas for games using this toy. I've looked on the SpinMaster website, but found no ideas. I've already got Hot Potato.

For instance, why is it that I can play Halo on my X-Box and have it run nearly flawlessly, but when I try to play the same game on my computer, which has much higher specs than my X-Box, there are lots of speed and graphical hiccups? Why do games run so much better on moderately-spec'ed consoles than on higher-end computers?

"I will admit Linux is better than Windows, like OS X, right off the bat, but who didn’t see that coming."

Does this sentence need a question mark at the end of it, or is the period correct?

Thanks.

...where Peter has a flashback of being held up in an alley by this guy who says something like "Don't make me /William Hurt/ you!"?

Also, if anyone can find a clip of it that would be even better, but all I'm really after is the name of the episode.

Thank you!

Specifically in golf.

Just curious as to how these games are developed.

I've heard of 3rd world, and think I know what 1st world would be, but what about 2nd world?

I'm looking for a website that is updated frequently, that I can check and scan quickly without having to go in-depth into an article to get the point, preferably with some sort of user-input system. The news itself is not limited to one category, as I'm looking for a place that covers everything from news to technology to entertainment.

With so many all-purpose portals out there it's hard to know where to go. What are some sites you suggest?

I'm looking to implement a thumbs up/thumbs down rating system for my blog. I'd like it to allow each visitor one rating for each of my posts, with that rating stored internally. I have two, 16X16 GIFs of a thumbs-up and thumbs-down, but other than that I don't really know what to do. If anyone can assist me, or refer me to some sort of tutorial or explanation on how to do this, please let me know. Thanks.