Guy Barrette : Misc

Cataloging CDs, Books and DVDs - Part Deux

guybarrette — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:23:26 GMT

In a previous post, I wrote about the Collectorz.com cataloging software and bar code scanner. I mentioned that a serial to USB adapter wasn't included altought the Website says so. Well, a few days ago, I received the promised adaptor. Looks like it was out of stock when they shipped the scanner. I guess that a brief note in the first shipment saying that it was backordered would have helped ;-)

http://guy.dotnet-expertise.com/PermaLink,guid,847f89d3-4b9e-43be-9322-5b271a10e595.aspx

Shipping and Packaging

guybarrette — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:35:24 GMT

I recently bought an upgrade to Sage's Simply Accounting 2008 thru their Website. When I received the package I was shocked to see that the software box was not inside a shipping box; Sage just placed the shipping labels directly onto the software box. For a moment, I was shocked and not happy but thinking about it, it makes sense for the environnement. Why put this box into another box (more dead trees) and fill it with styrofoam filling material?

I would have liked at least a brown paper wrapping so the content is not directly exposed to everyone but I guess Sage figured out that no one would be interested in stealing accounting software ;-)

Cataloging CDs, Books and DVDs

guybarrette — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:33:16 GMT

Yep, that happened to me a couple of times: buying a CD or a DVD that I already have. Maybe because I'm geeting older and my memory is not what it was. Yikes! Nah, I just have too many items, that must be the reason ;-)

I started looking for a way to catalog all of this when I found the Collectorz.com Website. They have software for CDs, DVDs, books and more. I downloaded trial versions and liked the software especially how it retrieves information from Amzon and IMDB. This means a lot less typing. Still, you have to manually enter the movies names or barcode unless you use their barcode scanner so I decided to give it a try. The scanner is very small and what's great, you can detach the cable, go scan your stuff where it is and come back to your computer later. The barcodes are stored in the scanner's internal memory. They say that the internal memory can store around 500 barcodes.

The only drawback is that the scanner comes with a serial cable and it's kinda hard to find serial ports in today's laptops. The Collectorz Website state that you can connect the scanner to a USB port with the included cables but this is wrong. I had to buy a serial to USB cable. So be prepared to spend an additional $20. I bought a Trendnet TU-S9 converter and I worked without problems.

Once you're done cataloging, you can export the list to HTML and display your collection on a Website or your mobile device.

If you don't want to spend a dime cataloging your movies, you can use Ant Movie Catalog, a free open source software.