Archive for December, 2006

5
Dec

The Digital Media Distribution Problem

   Posted by: AUDIOMIND   in Random

Right now we have many disparate systems and models in the marketplace offering films and music for purchase. Each one of these online “shops” has a fraction of the complete global catalogue. Each of them has different rules & different payment systems. Sometimes the media that they sell is tied to a particular device or platform that restricts a consumer’s ability to play content wherever they want and when they want on whatever device they choose. For the consumer this is a fractured, confusing and frustrating marketplace.

Imagine if you had to download a special web browser for each website that you wanted to view and sign up for a separate subscription for each website before you could start using it. It’s like Minitel or Compuserve in the early days. But that’s pretty much what we have right now with most online shops.

This situation is not good for content owners. There is a limit to the number of shops that a consumer will sign up to. And seeing that these shops don’t contain the entire global media catalogue of music a consumer may end up with access to only 20% of what is offered (for instance). Also, after visiting two or three of these shops, most likely the consumer may not find the content they seek and may give up and turn to more convenient methods: illegal file sharing.

Wouldn’t it be better to have legal systems that work *better* than the illegal file sharing systems? Systems that enabled the consumer to browse and search (all?) online shops through its interface (device or application) of their choice. This interface would enable them to purchase content from the globally distributed collection of content catalogues via a payment system of their choice. Making it easier to buy content would mean more reach and more revenue for content owners.

Any web browser (no matter what platform, device or operating system it’s running on) can view any website (no matter what hardware or operating system it’s running on). There is technologically no reason why any device/application couldn’t browse, search and purchase content from the content cloud (globally distributed collection of content catalogues)…..or why any particular online shop couldn’t be a vendor for all digital media – syndicated from all the content owners.

What needs to happen is for device manufacturers and application developers to adopt open business protocols to enable queries and transactions to take place between any vendor and any consumer. Further, the content owners have to agree and decide that this would be a great thing to do. There are a number of ways to introduce these open business protocols and how to engineer these protocols. Each way has pluses and minuses. The adoption rate is an important factor in the choice of protocol and introduction methodology. For instance a “top down” approach may work if there are enough large players who sign on at the beginning of the adoption drive. A “bottom up” approach may be beneficial if there is a ground swell of support from many smaller players.

Once we have these open business protocols in place for rights management, metadata, payment systems, etc., we can start to experiment with various business models. Our business models SHOULD NOT be restricted by the technology we are using. More or less, an open framework allows any number of new and future business models to work too. It would be future proof. Business models could include cross-vendor subscriptions, where the consumer pays a subscription fee to an entity that then divvies out the proportionate share to the content owners depending on what that consumer has listened to or viewed. Equally, content could be passed from one consumer to another – each consumer may have a different “shop” but because they all interoperate, transactions can be routed via each service provider to the correct destination.

For such a framework to be successful – for there to be interoperability between current content distribution systems – the protocols need to be understood by all. The format of the metadata tagged to digital media files is a big issue. Bear in mind that most content owners (big and small) maintain their own proprietary databases (some in spreadsheets or paper), using their own language, formats, conventions, terminology, etc.

There are two approaches to solving the problem of non-interoperable databases. One option is to tell everyone to ditch their current systems and database schema and adopt a new set. But defining the new set can take ages and has a propensity to fail due to business politics. Up till now the accepted way of solving interoperability problems like these is to introduce a set of standards for the industry to adopt and then everything will just work itself out, assuming everyone adopts the new standards. Unfortunately, in the given marketplace people simply don’t always like to talk the same language or use the same terminology.

For example, take two music catalogues published by different record labels. One database calls the track title “song” and the other calls it “work”. How about databases published in different languages? Getting industry to adopt any one set of standard terminology is an uphill struggle given the number of people/organizations in the industry. Why not enable people to talk their own language and use their own terminology.

This is where the Semantic Web comes in. Essentially, it’s a framework that enables people to talk meaningfully on the Internet in such a way that machines can make simple logical inferences. In my example we could set up a statement like “when record label A says ‘song’ and record label B says ‘work’ they mean the same thing”. And at that point we have essentially unified the two catalogues – at least from the consumer’s point of view.

The Semantic Web is still in development. It is cutting edge. What needs to be done is to take a few ideas and incorporated them into our current framework. We should be willing to be compatible with but not reliant on the Semantic Web, creating very simple tools to enable people to publish and search distributed catalogues using this technology.

Companies, record labels included, need to keep on the ball and continue to change their business models (aka innovate) to best capitalize on available technology resources and consumer desires.

Surely though, the time between recording and releasing (the vulnerable time) is insignificant when compared to a track’s total retail life, isn’t it? Or do most music/video sales happen as soon as the as they are released?

So to the content makers what is really the problem? Surely, revenue is the problem. Lost revenue. Potential revenue but not collected. Agreed? Content owners are like any other company and need to return value to their respective share holders, right? It basically comes down to revenue.

So how do you increase revenue? One thing is for sure, we will never be rid of the “opportunity to pirate”. However, we can lessen the desirability to pirate. Lord Puttnam once said “I don’t for a moment believe that it can be in the industry’s interest to “criminalize” its own customers, as the music industry has done in America and intends to do vigorously in all countries, by suing those who trade files online.”

If we are to follow the Lord’s advice then what options are left to us? Instead of the stick shouldn’t we use the carrot? How about enticing the consumer away from illegal file sharing and providing them with an experience far more compelling than what illegal file sharing offers?

Let’s be honest here, today’s online shops are harder to use and impose more restrictions on what can be done with the content than today’s file sharing systems. Also, these same online shops often only contain a fraction of the global catalogue offered by file sharing systems. So, is it any wonder that people continue to take the “opportunity to pirate” – for it’s simpler and takes less time and does not restrict what device/application they can play the content on. And as they say “time is money” and people will do whatever they can to save it.

We have to build better systems than current file sharing systems. We have to be able to offer consumers access to *all* content via the device/application of their choice, using the payment system of their choice, if we want to win back the lost revenue for content owners. And “win” is what we all want.

How many can-pay-for-content applications (like iTunes, Real, Zune, etc) are there? Note that most (not all I’m glad to say) are end-to-end systems – vertically integrated to hardware. Now count how many can’t-pay-for-content applications (the ones built around open protocols like BitTorrent, Gnutella, eDonkey, FastTrack, Freenet, etc.) there are. Note that these are open protocols and not the applications themselves. There are hundreds of applications running these open protocols but not a single one of them has a commerce system built into it.

Why are there so many more developers building these applications that run these open protocols? I’ll tell you – it’s because the protocols are open. It’s as simple as that. These developers would jump at the opportunity to develop applications that ran an open protocol that enabled consumers to pay for their content. They’d love to earn a slice of the revenue through their applications.

The music industry should stop waiting for the likes of Apple, Microsoft and Real to come up with technological solutions that fit the music/video industry’s needs. (These software vendors will wait until the last minute before they capitulate to an open marketplace framework/protocol. And I’d be concerned if they acted in any other way – they are there to serve their shareholders and maximize profits after all. And they currently do this best by building vertically integrated systems). The whole entertainment industry needs to adopt an open marketplace framework/protocol and capitalize on developers to build systems based on such. Take a leaf out of the World Wide Web. Once HTML was defined as an open protocol look what happened.

If I was a very VERY rich man, I’d build the solution……and the rest would be history.

5
Dec

How to Build a Computer

   Posted by: AUDIOMIND   in Random

You’d better put this one to memory folks, cause it’s probably the last……:_|>

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/build-a-computer1.htm

(to see videos of all the information below, go now ^^^)

==========================

Have you ever thought about building your own computer? Actually buying a motherboard and a case along with all the supporting components and assembling the whole thing yourself?

Here are three reasons why you might want to consider taking the plunge:

1. You will be able to create a custom machine that exactly matches your needs.
2. It will be much easier to upgrade your machine in the future because you will understand it completely.
3. You may be able to save some money.

And, if you have never done it before, you will definitely learn a lot about computers.

In this post, I’ll take you through the entire process of building a computer. You’ll learn how to choose the parts you will use, how to buy them and how to put them all together. When you’re done, you will have exactly the machine that you need. Let’s get started.

Decisions, Decisions

Where do we start? Actually putting the machine together is pretty easy, but picking the parts and buying them takes research.

The first step in building a computer is deciding what type of machine you want to build. Do you want a really inexpensive computer for the kids to use? A small, quiet machine to use as a media computer in the living room? A high-end gaming computer? Or maybe you need a powerful machine with a lot of disk space for video editing. The possibilities are endless, and the type of machine you want to build will control many of the decisions you make down the line. Therefore, it is important to know exactly what you want the machine to accomplish from the start.

Let’s imagine that you want to build a powerful video editing computer. You want it to have a dual-core CPU, lots of RAM and a terabyte of disk space. You also want to have FireWire connectors on the motherboard. These requirements are going to cause you to look for a motherboard that supports:

* Dual-core CPUs (either Intel or AMD)
* At least 4GB of high-speed RAM
* Four (or more) SATA hard drives
* FireWire connections (possibly in both the front and back of the case)

Then it all needs to go in a case with enough space to hold multiple hard disks and enough air flow to keep everything cool.

With any computer you build, knowing the type of machine you want to create can really help with decision-making.

The Motherboard’s the Thing

Choosing a motherboard is the most interesting part of any building project. The reason it is so interesting is because there are hundreds of motherboards to choose from and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

One easy way to think about motherboards is to break them up into a few categories. For example:

  • Cheap motherboards: Generally in the $50 range, these are motherboards for older CPUs. They are great for building inexpensive machines.
  • Middle-of-the-road motherboards: Ranging in price from $50 to $100, these are one step up from the cheap motherboards. In many cases you can find motherboard and CPU combos in this price range, which is another great way to build a cheap machine or an inexpensive home/office computer.



    • A middle-of-the-road motherboard

  • High-end motherboards: If you are building a powerful gaming machine or video workstation, these motherboards give you the speed you need. They range in price from $100 to $200. They handle the latest CPU chips at their highest speeds.
  • Extreme motherboards: Falling into the over-$200 range, these motherboards have special features that boost the price. For example, they might have multiple CPU sockets, extra memory slots or special cooling features.

    • You need to decide whether you are building a “cheap machine,” a “high-end machine” or a “tricked-out super machine” and then choose your motherboard accordingly. Here are some other decisions that help narrow down your motherboard choices:

  • Do you want to use an Intel or an AMD processor? Making this choice will cut the number of motherboards in half. AMD chips are often cheaper, but lots of people are die-hard Intel fans.
  • What size motherboard do you want to use? If you are trying to build a smaller computer, you may want to look at micro ATX cases. That means you will need to buy a micro ATX motherboard. Otherwise you can use a normal ATX motherboard and case. (There are also smaller motherboard form factors like mini-ITX and even nano-ITX if you want to go really small.)
  • How many USB ports do you want? If you want several, make sure the motherboard can handle it.
  • Do you need FireWire? It’s nice if the motherboard handles it (although it is also possible to add a card).
  • Do you want an AGP or PCI Express graphics card? Or do you want to use a graphics card on the motherboard to keep the price and size down? If you want to go the cheapest route, make sure the motherboard includes a video card on-board (easiest way to tell is to see if there is a DVI or VGA connector on the motherboard). PCI Express is the latest/greatest thing, but if you want to re-use an AGP card you already own, that might be a reason to go with AGP.
  • Do you want to use PATA (aka IDE) or SATA hard disks? SATA is the latest thing, and the cables are much smaller.
  • What pin configuration are you using for the CPU? If you want to use the latest CPUs, make sure that your motherboard will accept them.
  • Do you want to try things like dual video cards or special high-speed RAM configurations? If so, make sure the motherboard supports it.

    • If you don’t care about any of this stuff (or if it all sounds like gibberish to you), then you’re probably interested in building a cheap machine. In that case, find an inexpensive motherboard/CPU combo kit and don’t worry about all of these details.

    …And the Rest

    Once you have chosen your motherboard, you are ready to choose everything else. Here’s what you need to get:

  • The CPU that’s the right brand and the right pin configuration to fit your motherboard. Pick whichever CPU clock speed fits your budget and intentions. (If you purchase a motherboard/CPU combo, you can skip this step.)
  • The RAM with the correct pin configuration that will match your motherboard. If your motherboard is using a specialty RAM configuration (normally to improve performance), make sure the RAM you buy matches its requirements.
  • If the case does not come with a power supply, you’ll need to choose one. Make sure its connectors match the motherboard. Three hundred watts are enough for most machines, but if you are building a gaming machine with multiple video cards or a machine with lots of disks, you may want to consider something bigger.
  • Choose a video card if you are not using the onboard video on the motherboard. Make sure the card’s connector is appropriate for the motherboard (AGP or PCI Express).



    • A basic AGP-based graphics card

  • Choose an optical drive. If you are building a cheap machine, get the cheapest CD-ROM drive you can find. If you want to burn DVDs and CDs, make sure the drive can handle it.
  • Choose a hard disk, making sure that it matches the PATA/SATA status of your motherboard.
  • Choose an operating system: Windows XP (which comes in home, professional and media center editions) or Linux in its hundreds of different forms.

    • Buying

    Now that you have picked everything out, it is time to purchase your parts. You have three options:

  • Mail order on the Internet – All kinds of stores sell computer parts on the Web. Visit a place like HowStuffWorks Shopper to compare prices. Don’t forget about eBay.
  • A big national chain – Places like Tiger Direct, Fry’s, and CompUSA have stores in most large cities that will sell you parts. They also have people on staff who may be able to answer questions.
  • local parts retailer – Any big city will have a number of smaller, local shops selling parts. Look in the Yellow Pages or online. I live in Raleigh, N.C., and a typical shop of this genre in Raleigh is called Intrex. The people working at a shop like this can often answer lots of questions, and they may also be willing to help you if your machine does not work after you assemble it.

    • Now that you have your parts, it is time to build. This is the fun part.

    Building

    But before we start building, we need to say one thing about static electricity. Most of the parts you will be handling when you assemble your computer are highly sensitive to static shocks. What that means is that if you build up static electricity on your body and a shock passes from your body to something like a CPU chip, that CPU chip is dead. You will have to buy another one.

    The way you eliminate static electricity is by grounding yourself. There are lots of ways to ground yourself, but probably the easiest is to wear a grounding bracelet on your wrist. Then you connect the bracelet to something grounded (like a copper pipe or the center screw on a wall outlet’s face plate). By connecting yourself to ground, you eliminate the possibility of static shock.

    Each combination of parts is unique. But in general, here are the basic steps you will need to follow when you assemble your machine.

    Installing the Microprocessor and RAM

    First, you’ll need to unwrap the motherboard and the microprocessor chip. The chip will have one marked corner that aligns with another marked corner of its socket on the motherboard. Align the corners and drop the microprocessor into the socket. You don’t need to apply any pressure – if it’s aligned correctly, it should fall into place. Once you have it in, cinch it down with the lever arm.

    Now, you need to install the heat sink. The CPU box will contain a manual that tells you how to do it. The heat sink will contain either a heat sink sticker or heat sink grease to use when mounting the heat sink on the CPU. Follow the instructions closely to install it. To install our heat sink, all we had to do was put it in place, cinch it down with flanges on either side and lock it with a cam. Connect the power lead for the heat sink to the motherboard.

    Next, you’ll install the RAM. Look on the motherboard for the slot marked “one” and firmly press the RAM module into it. It will probably take more pressure than you’d think to get the RAM into place. Each side of the module should also have a rotating arm that will lock the RAM down.

    Now your motherboard is ready to put in the case.

    Assembling the Case

    Next, you’ll assemble the case. You’ll need to install the power supply, the motherboard, a faceplate and standoffs to hold the motherboard in place. You’ll also need to connect some wires to the motherboard.

    Your motherboard should have come with a face plate for its back connectors. The case already has a hole cut in it for the plate, so you just need to put in the plate and press it until it clicks into place. Now you can put in in the motherboard. It needs to sit about a quarter of an inch away from the case’s surface so that none of its connectors touch the case. You’ll accomplish this by placing spacers, which are also included with the motherboard.

    Because each motherboard is different, you’ll have to set it into the case first to see which screw holes on the motherboard match up with the pre-drilled holes in the case. Then you can take the motherboard back out, place the spacers, and put the motherboard in on top of them. Make sure that the motherboard lines up with the faceplate and the holes line up with the spacers.

    Find the screws that fit (these should have come with the case) the spacers and screw down the motherboard. Don’t screw them in too tightly — they just need to be in snugly. Be very careful when putting in the screws. If you drop them into the case, they could damage the fine wires on the motherboard.



    Installing the power supply.

    Now you can install the power supply in the case if it’s not already installed. The power supply has two sides. The fan side faces outside the case and the wire side faces inside. Slide the power supply onto its brackets and secure it with screws (the case or the power supply should have come with them).

    Connect the power leads to the motherboard. There should be a large one and a small one, and it will be obvious as to where each one goes.

    You’ll be left with about 15 more wires. Don’t worry — the manual has a page to tell you exactly where each one goes. Each of them has a label that corresponds to a label on the correct port.

    Installing the Hard Drive, CD-ROM and Video Card

    The last steps are installing the hard drive and the CD-ROM drive. The case has a removable bracket with four rubber grommets on it, which line up with four holes on the hard drive. It also came with four screws made just to punch through those grommets. Screw the hard drive into the bracket, then put the bracket back into its slot in the case. If you are using IDE/PATA drives, be sure to set the jumpers correctly. Then connect the hard disk to the power using one of the connectors coming off of the power supply. If it fits, then it’s a match.

    Now install the cables. One side of the cable has a red stripe on it, which makes it ” pin 1.” Look on the motherboard and hook the cable into the IDE connector marked “1.” Insert the other end of the cable on the back of the drive. Now the drive is ready to go.

    Install the CD-ROM drive next. Again, set the jumpers correctly. The drive fits in the front of the case, and you may have to pop out a faceplate to make room for it. Slide it in and screw it into place, making sure that it’s aligned with the front of the case. Just as with the hard drive, you can use any available connector from the power supply. You’ll also use the cable that came with the CD-ROM drive to connect it to the motherboard (align the red stripe for “pin 1″) and plug the other end into the drive. Connect the audio for the CD drive. Again, there’s an obvious place for it to plug in on the motherboard and on the drive itself.



    Placing the hard drive into its bracket.

    If you’re using a video card, now you’ll install it as well. Our motherboard has an AGP video slot so we have an AGP video card. The motherboard only has one video card slot, so you should be able to find it easily (you can also use the manual). Line up the card with the slot and push it into place. If the video card has its own power connector, connect it to the power supply. If the case has extra fans, make sure they have power too.

    Now you can close up the case and add a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers. In the next section, we’ll cover what to do after powering up the computer and what steps to follow if it doesn’t work.

    Powering Up and Troubleshooting

    Now, the moment of truth — it’s time to turn your machine on and see if it works. If there’s a switch on the back of the power supply, make sure it is on. Also make sure that the power supply is set correctly to 110 or 220 volts (some power supplies do this automatically, others have a switch or a slider).

    Then push the power switch on the front of the case. In the ideal case, four things will happen:

    * You will see/hear the fans spin up
    * You will hear the hard disk spin up.
    * Lights will light on the case.
    * You will see something happening on the monitor to indicate that the motherboard is alive.

    If you see/hear all of that happening, you are successful. You have created a working machine. Using the manual that came with the motherboard you can enter the BIOS screens and make sure everything looks OK. Chances are you will need to set the machine’s date/time, but that is probably all you have to do. Everything else is probably automatic. All the drives will be recognized and auto-configured. The default settings on the motherboard will be fine.

    The next step is to install the operating system. And presto, you have a working machine of your own creation. Congratulations!

    Troubleshooting

    What if you put it all together and it doesn’t work? This is the one possible downside of building your own machine. It is hard to describe the feeling you get when you try turning on the machine and nothing happens. You have put in several hours of work and a significant amount of cash, so it’s discouraging to get no response.

    All is not lost, however. Here are several items to check:

  • Is the power supply firmly plugged in and turned on (many power supplies have a small switch on the back)? Try a different outlet.
  • Did you plug the power supply into the motherboard? Look at the manual for details.



    • Make sure that your motherboard is connected to the power supply.

  • Is the case’s power switch properly connected to the motherboard? If you have plugged the switch into the wrong pins on the motherboard, it will not work. Check the motherboard manual.
  • Are the drives connected to the motherboard properly? Do they have power?
  • Unseat and reseat the video card. If the motherboard has onboard video, try to remove the video card completely and boot using the onboard version.

    • If you have checked all of that and nothing continues to happen, it could mean:

  • The power supply is bad.
  • The switch on the case doesn’t work. We actually had this happen once on a machine we built at HowStuffWorks.
  • Something is wrong with the motherboard or the CPU.

    • The easiest way to determine where the problem lies is to swap parts. Try a different power supply. Swap a different motherboard into the case. Play around with different combinations.

    If it is still not working, then you have a few options at this point. You can go back to the shop that sold you the parts. If you bought them from a small local shop, they can help you debug the problem (although it may cost you). If they sold you a bad motherboard (rare, but possible) they will usually help you out. You can also try to find a more experienced builder who would be willing to help you. There is a rational cause for the problem you are experiencing — either a bad part or a bad connection somewhere — and you will find it.

    Now that you’ve seen how simple it is to build your own computer, we hope that you’ll give it a shot. You’ll have a computer that you understand completely and will be easy to upgrade. You can save money, and it’s a lot of fun too. So the next time you need a new computer, consider building it yourself!

    For lots more information about computer parts, check out the links on the next page.

    4
    Dec

    Gotta Love Sound Editing

       Posted by: AUDIOMIND   in Random

    This is how the pros handle edits in the big leagues…… (:)>

    http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1726103

    1
    Dec

    14 ways to lower your heating bill

       Posted by: AUDIOMIND   in Random

    Thought that since we all aren’t teenage emo(ticon)s here on LJ and that some of us live out on their own, I’d present a few tips for the upcoming winter.

    You do like saving $$$ don’t you?! If you’re like me, you penny pinch like a mofo!

    Thought so…….

    < <=================>>

    Here are more than a dozen simple steps you can take to slash your home’s heating bill. Six steps cost nothing. Eight more cost just under $100. Combine them, and you might expect to save 25% — and possibly much more — on your home heating bill this winter. And some new federal tax breaks even sweeten the opportunity.

    Grab that free, low-hanging fruit

    First, the freebies. These strategies may sound simplistic, but they work well:

  • Turn down the thermostat. “The rule of thumb is that you can save about 3% on your heating bill for every degree that you set back your thermostat” full time, says the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
  • Turn down the thermostat 10 degrees when you go to work, and again when you go to bed — a total of 16 hours a day — and you can save about 14% on your heating bill, says Prindle.
  • Use fans wisely. In just one hour, a hard-working bathroom or kitchen fan can expel a houseful of warm air, according to the Department of Energy. Turn them off as soon as they’ve done their job.
  • Keep the fireplace damper closed. Heat rises, and an open damper is like a hole in the roof. Also, limit use of the fireplace, since fires actually suck heat from a room, says Harvey Sachs, director of ACEEE’s buildings program. Close off seldom-used rooms. And shut the vents inside.
  • Turn down the water heater. Lowering the temperature of water in the water heater to 115-120 degrees reduces power use often without a noticeable difference to the user, says Prindle.
  • Keep heating vents clear. Vents blocked by rugs and furniture prevent heated air from circulating efficiently.
  • Use curtains. Opening curtains and shades on south-facing windows during the day allows solar radiation to warm a living space; closing all curtains at night helps retard the escape of that heat.

    • Web sites on the topic abound, but one of the best is run by the Department of Energy.

    Low-cost fixes

    So you’ve put the easiest, and free, ideas to work. Now you can really make a dent in that heating bill with one cheap trip to a hardware store (Home Depot, for example, has all of the items below) and a few hours of work:

    Block that leak! The small gaps surrounding windows, doors and other areas in the American house, taken together, are like a 9-square-foot hole in the wall, according to EarthWorks Group’s “30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do to Save the Earth.” Plugging them can save you up to 10% on that heating bill, and the materials will pay for themselves within a year, ACEEE says.

    First, find the leaks: On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick to the most common drafty areas: chimney flashing, recessed lighting, sill plates, window and door frames, all ducts and flues and electrical outlets.

    Buy door sweeps ($3-$10) to close spaces under exterior doors, and caulk ($2-$5 per roll, plus a $10 caulk gun) or tacky rope caulk to block those drafty spots around window frames. Apply weather-stripping ($3-$6 for up to 17 feet) to movable joints. Outlet gaskets ($10 for 10) can easily be installed in electrical outlets in a home’s outer walls, where cold air often enters.

    Keep your ducts in a row. A home that uses ductwork to move heated air can lose up to 60% of that air before it reaches the vents if the ducts are poorly connected, not well insulated and travel through unheated spaces such as the attic or crawlspace, says the government. “If you are a halfway savvy do-it-yourselfer, and your ductwork and heating and air-conditioning equipment are in the attic, you can do an awful lot to fix your system, at low cost,” says ACEEE.

    First, look for obvious places in the attic, basement or in crawlspaces where ducts have become disconnected. Reconnect them, and fix places where pipes are pinched, which impedes flow of heated air to the house, says the Department of Energy’s Ryan.

    Fix remaining gaps with tape, but don’t use traditional duct tape, which deteriorates; instead, use metal-backed tape ($6-$10 per roll) or aerosol sealant. Where possible, wrap the ducts’ exterior with special duct insulation ($8-$12 for 15 feet). Though the cost will be substantially more, it’s a good idea to get a professional to help insulate ducts when electrical wires or lighting fixtures are nearby.

    Other Tips:

  • Swaddle water heater and pipes. Unless you’ve got a newer water heater that already has built-in insulation, covering your water heater with an insulated “jacket” ($17-$20) will keep costs down, especially if your heater is in an unheated place like a garage. Also, wrap water pipes ($1-$5 per 5-foot section) when possible, especially when they run through uninsulated areas.
  • Winterize windows. If you can’t afford storm windows, put plastic film on those windows ($6 covers three windows) where a clear view isn’t crucial, which will curb drafts and keep windows from rattling.
  • Buy a low-flow showerhead. A water-efficient showerhead (often less than $20) can use 25% to 50% less hot water, saving both on water and power bills, with little to no reduction in user satisfaction, says Prindle.
  • Buy a smart thermostat. If you’re the kind of person who forgets to turn the temperature down at night and before work, but who doesn’t mind programming things like the TV remote control, a “smart” thermostat ($50-$100) can be set to change the temperature for you.
  • Keep your furnace in shape. “It’s amazing how often a heating or air conditioning unit stops working because a $3 or $15 air filter is clogged,” says Sachs. Replace the air filter ($4-$16) according to manufacturer’s directions and your heating system will operate more efficiently. Oil-fired boilers should be cleaned and tuned annually, and gas systems, every two years($100-$125). By maintaining your heating unit, you can save between 3% and 10% on heating bills, says ACEEE.
  • Look for other insulation opportunities. Some well-placed insulation, especially in the attic of older homes, can save a bundle ($7-$16, in rolls from 22-32 feet, depending on insulation value).

    • First, however, ACEEE recommends going into the attic and looking for black-stained areas on the edges of the fiberglass. That’s dust, and it shows where air is flowing up out of the living space. Sealing that area first will do more good than simply piling on more insulation.

    By following all of the aforementioned strategies, the owner of an older home can likely save much more than 20% on heating bills.

    Still need help?

    If you’re really in a pinch to pay that heating bill, some agencies and governments offer help. For example, the city of Bellevue, Wash., near Seattle, offers discounts for low-income seniors and low-income disabled people and a tax rebate for all low-income customers who meet certain eligibility requirements. Contact your local utility or local Community Action Agency. National assistance for low-income families who want to make energy-saving home improvements is also available at the Department of Energy Web site.

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