Some Lagniappe for You
By Tiny Ruisch
la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.
When you click on a link or a file, do you often get an error message telling you that Windows can’t open it? Then it goes on to tell you that Windows will be happy to connect to the internet and download a program to open the file?
Often that isn’t the best solution. You might end up with a program you don’t really want on your computer. Instead of installing Quick Time, Adobe, or some other program, why not just change the file to something that you can open?
Format Factory is a program that converts video, audio and picture files into different formats. As I write this, it currently converts video files into thirteen different formats. There are eleven output formats for audio files. Picture files can be converted into eight formats. Additionally, you can convert DVDs and CDs into video, audio and ISO/CSO files.
With Format Factory, you can often repair damaged video and audio files and reduce their sizes. Although I haven’t personally tested it, the program also includes a video and an audio joiner.
The software is extremely easy to use. In the left hand pane, select the type of program you want to convert. A sub-menu will open, allowing you to check which file format you want to convert to. Next, you have to select the file or files to convert, set any options such as sound levels, subtitle fonts, etc. There are too many options to list in this article.
Format Factory is free of charge for both commercial and personal use. It is only available for the Windows Operating System (all versions). Donations are accepted. There is an extensive help file that rarely needs to be checked. The program is very intuitive and easy to use. Give it a try. I think you’ll like it. You can find more information and download the program from the website.
If you like this program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.