Yelp, Rental Cars, and Breakfast - The Import of First Impressions

So, what do Yelp, Rental Cars, and Breakfast have in common?

Well, let me start with a tale of travel.

Shortly before my business trip, I was made aware that I needed to be in a different city...different enough that I needed to change my flights, hotel, etc.  There is confusion on the part of the American Airlines, and I end up having to take care of it in person at the airport.  I have maybe 50 minutes until my desired flight leaves when I get to the desk...no pressure. :P

The person at the airport has never done this.  She doesn't reveal that until we are 15 minutes into her unsuccessfully working on it.  I reach down and muster up more patience, smile, and roll with the punches, knowing that getting upset will only delay things further.

Eventually, my tickets get sorted and I mange to buy a quickie "to go" breakfast from the restaurant near my gate, where they are already boarding, and squeeze onto the plane on time.  The flight is crowded as is often the case nowadays, and I arrive at my destination sore from the contortions of sitting in coach class, but that is normal.

I spot the National rental car shuttle and race up to it, only to find it is full.  Fortunately, the next one is not, and I get to the lot.  They drop me off in the Emerald Aisle (a free membership that gets you into a car faster), and I am surprised to see that instead of a selection of cars for me to hop in and drive off (just like the commercials), I see a cluster of fellow travelers.

You see, normally, the Emerald Aisle means you get dropped off by a wide variety of cars that you can hop into, drive to the gate, and be on your way in less than 5 minutes.  Not today.

So...we wait.  There is quite a lot of confusion about who is next...and rain is starting to fall.  Did I mention we were not under a cover?

Finally, a car is pulled up for me.  I open the trunk to put my bags in and find it is covered in sand and debris.  After a short while, another car is brought out.  It's not very clean, it's small, and it's a little worse for the wear, but hey, at least it's a Ford with Sync, so I can hook up my music player via USB and rock my way across Connecticut (why does rocking my way across CT sound like cognitive dissonance?).

Did this impact my desire to use American or National?  Not one bit.  I have had consistently good experiences with them for years.  This was absolutely an outlier.  And frankly, most of the issues with American started with last minute changes prompted by business requirements.  These experiences would need to be repeated before I would question the choice.

And yet, I don't treat restaurants the same way when it comes to Yelp.

I generally won't write off a restaurant from a single visit unless it is a very bad experience.  People have good and bad days, and sometimes a bad experience at a restaurant can come down to a single person, whether that be the cook, server, manager, bartender, host, etc.

However, there are many times I will only visit a restaurant once, e.g., when I travel.  In such a case, I have to decide if some data is better than no data.  Now, as a former scientist, I would prefer a good set of data, but then I remind myself that I am but one data point in a sea of data points and most of those other data points are based on a single experience.  So...it should all work out in the end.  A generally good restaurant gets better reviews on average and a generally bad restaurant gets worse reviews on average.

For example, while traveling in CT for work, I ventured out to a highly rate place called O'Rourke's Diner for breakfast this week.  After a gauntlet of mediocre restaurants, I did not have my hopes very high.  The place blew me away.  It was awesome and surprisingly Irish.  Sure, maybe *you* expected a diner with an Irish name to have Irish food, but I merely expect a diner to have eggs, bacon, and mundane choices of toast.  It was really cool to experience what I will call an Irish diner, for want of a better label.

I wish they would build one where I live.  If I ever travel in the area again, I will absolutely make an effort to go back.  So I gave it five stars!  Was it an unusually good day for them?  I don't know, but I doubt it. I ended up there because of high ratings and, unlike the other highly-rated places I visited over those few days in CT, this place actually deserved it.

Seriously, if you get anywhere near Middletown, CT, give this place a try.  Now, back to the discussion.

Basically, I err on the side of contributing to more data.  That means that there is a greater importance placed on the meals I eat when traveling.

It just reinforces the conventional wisdom that first impressions are important.  They bias your future experiences.

My experiences with National's Emerald Aisle had been wonderful until this week; that makes me more forgiving of occasional lapses.  My experience with American Airlines has also been good.  Well, that's relative; being crowded into coach class in a 90%+ full airplane is hard to describe as good...maybe "sucks the least" is a better choice of words.  Again, with them I am now forgiving of occasional lapses.

And as for places like O'Rourke's, well, they are off to a great start and if my next visit was not as good, I would be more likely to give them another shot or two before considering adjusting my Yelp rating for them.

So, to all of those businesses where I will be a one-time customer, please do your best to be consistent.  Then the first impression will be accurate and the ratings will always be fair. :)

Deus Ex, Morality, and Choice - Would You Upgrade?

Deus Ex:Human Revolution releases in about one month and as I type a friend is callously enjoying a Deus Ex gathering at Comic-Con with out me.  But that is not the point of this post.

I read William Gibson's cyberpunk novels and I have spent many hours running Shadowrun (I gave you the wikipedia entry because it seems that every time I check up on the product line, another company has bought the license).

In all of that time, I never could settle on an answer to one simple question - if I could, would I get cyberware (or human augmentation, as some say)?

Sure, the extreme example is the street samurai.  Wired to the gills and so augmented that one starts to ask how human they are.  Or perhaps that's just a "glass half full" vs. "glass half empty" point of view, depending upon whether you favor humanity or ass-kicking technology.

The makers of Deus Ex have done some wonderful marketing.  They have created a website for the fictitious Sarif Industries, as well as producing two great videos, one promoting Sarif Industry augmentations and another video refuting the benefits of such augmentations.  You can find these videos and more on the Eidos Montreal YouTube channel.

They are great videos, I recommend you check them out.

As fantastic as these implants may seem, I think our current technology already gives us some insight into the challenges and limitations.  We are all painfully aware of how vulnerable technology is to being compromised.

Hacking is annoying enough.  Do you really want to get to a point where someone can hack your mind or body?  Implants will almost certainly include wireless access to facilitate firmware updates or even simple tweaks and repairs.

I think that would be too much for me, but then again I viewed cell phones very differently when they were just beginning to become commonplace.  A silly luxury, a risky dependence on a wireless network, you name it.  And yet here I am, with the latest iPhone in my pocket.

Which is to say, maybe I am naive.   Maybe I will protest and resist, but eventually succumb to the lure of the benefits...assuming we come anywhere close to what our science fiction fantasies have created.  The only thing I know for sure is that the impact will be profound.

So, would *you* upgrade?

Maintaining Gaming Groups - Out With The Old, In With The New(bie)

Seriously, man, it's not that bad!

Whether it's a handful of people that gather around your kitchen table, a student gaming club, an FPS (first person shooter) team, or a raid guild in an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, e.g., World of Warcraft, Rift, Age of Conan, etc.)...

...the ultimate secret of maintaining any gaming group is the same simple secret of maintaining any social group - sustaining the group population in spite of the ebbs and flows of individual participation.

People are people.  Gaming groups are simply collections of people who like to play a specific game.  As with any activity, you need to figure out how to keep that group alive over time.  Veteran members WILL leave.  New members WILL join and need to be integrated.

If you cannot handle these transitions well, your group will die, whether it fractures and splits or slowly dies by attrition.

So, there you are, a brand new person is in the group.  What next?

What is a Newbie?

I am talking about anyone that is new to your group.  They may be masters of the game being played, but that does not mean they know your house rules (gaming group), social structure (gaming club), raid strategies (MMORPG), and formal and informal social norms.

A Good Buddy is Key

When you have a newbie to integrate, get a volunteer (or choose one if your group members are unwilling to volunteer) to be their buddy while they get integrated into the group.  That person will take the priority for filling in the blanks for them on whatever is needed.

If there are specializations, keep those in mind.  For example, let's say you are running a Shadowrun campaign.  If you have a newbie that wants to play a Mage (good luck!), then knowing the magic system is important.  Try to team them up with a Mage (ideal), Shaman (next best), a Physical Adept (at least they know something about Magic), or someone who has extensive experience with the Magic system from prior play.  If it's a gaming club, maybe there are subgroups by gaming genre; if so, pick a buddy with the same genre focus.  If it's an MMORPG, and the newbie is a Healer, then team them up with a Healer, ideally one with similar class mechanics; every role experiences the game differently, so it's beneficial to group them with folks that will see the game from the same perspective.

Don't School Everyone When You Are Teaching One Person

I am reminded of a scene back in Season 1 of Star Trek, The Next Generation when Picard instructs the crew of his Federation Starship that "maximum warp" means they are going to go really fast.  Think about that for a moment.

A starship.

Full of Starfleet personnel.

He needs to explain to them what "maximum warp" means?

You know that most of that ship's crew had to be thinking something akin to, "what f'ing n00b doesn't know that?"

Similarly, you generally don't want to belabor reviewing strategies, rules, etc. that should be common knowledge for everyone just for the sake of the newbie(s).  You aggravate your veteran members and they are righteous in their aggravation.  They have been working hard to keep up, do their part, etc.  After months of doing this reliably, the last thing they need is to be held up while you school the new person.

Once again, the buddy comes into the picture.  If it's a small TTRPG (tabletop role-playing game) group around the kitchen table, then the buddy can take the newbie off to the side and get them up to speed while you work out stuff with other players, set up your notes, get a drink, etc.  If it's a gaming club, then there are numerous opportunities for the buddy to help.

If it's a raid in an MMORPG, you likely have some form of voice chat with channels which the buddy and newbie can use to slip away and discuss things at length while you kill trash mobs (the non-Boss fights between the big bad bosses), leaving you to keep leading the raid without holding up everyone (or they can use "whispers" in game to resolve such things).  When the big, complicated boss fight starts, the newbie follows the buddy and does what they do, raising questions to the buddy if they don't understand specific aspects of the fight.

Be sure to keep the buddy engaged.  If the newbie starts asking questions that are due to their specific ignorance and are not generally beneficial, try to engage their buddy.

Momentum is maintained and the impact of the newbie on performance and the progress of events is minimized.  Fun is had and the newbie gets integrated.  It's full of win!

Don't Wear Out Buddies

Be careful that you do not wear out buddies.  It's very easy to become comfortable with picking the same people over and over because they do it well.  Trust me when I say, just because you are good at something does mean you want to do it all of the time (or maybe even at all).

If no one likes being a buddy, then be sure to rotate as much as needed.  It's good to provide as much continuity as possible, but if it's a chore for everyone, then be sure to share the load.

Ideally, you should foster a group-focused mindset in your group so that everyone is willing to be a buddy to a newbie, in the interest of the group (or perhaps brain washing them to be their servant monkey).

Oh, And Don't Call Them Newbies

You know how it's ok for *you* to talk smack about your family, but if someone else does, you'll likely take offense?  Well, it's kind of like that with newbies.  When you are a newbie, it's cool for you to describe yourself as one, but it can be insulting to have others call you that. The good news is that it's pretty easy to find ways to describe people without calling them newbies, n00bs, etc.  Try "new member" or "new recruit". :)

Integrate or Die

If you can't integrate newbies well, you will increasingly place pressure on your group.  That can mean:

• Plummeting morale due to delays/setbacks from inadequately-supported newbies
• Formation of cliques that result in group fractures because of poor social integration
• Slow death due to attrition because you don't bother with new people

So, integrate or die.

Sony's Shoddy Security: Was It Inevitable That the PSN Would Be Attacked?

Check out this eWeek.com story about testimony on the PSN break-in.  It sounds like the technological equivalent of buying a lot of expensive stuff for your house, but moving into a highly visible, poorly built home, with lots of windows, no curtains, and leaving doors unlocked.

When I read about it, I think, "Wow, that would be a crafty plan to catch hackers, like those bait cars the Police set up to catch car thieves."  But it's not a crafty plan.  It's apathy at best and incompetence at worst.  Firewalls are good, m'kay?

I won't waste your time regurgitating the article, just check it out.

Gears of War 3 Beta - Guide for Newbies (by a Newbie)

I freely admit that I had never played Gears of War until last week.  I had always been interested, but the combined I could never find the time, until recently.  So, I put in my pre-order at Gamestop, along with my pre-order for L.A. Noire, and fired up the Gears of War 3 Beta (GOW3B).

It quickly became apparent that I had some stuff to learn.  My biggest criticism of the GOW3B is that there is no tutorial.  I realize that it's a beta, and probably most of the players have experience from the prior game, but it would be cool to have the moves explained.

Fortunately, I found the time to play through the story campaigns for GOW and GOW2.  That helped a lot and if you want to refine your skills, that is a great place.

This video of the GOW3B includes commentary from Rod Fergusson, Executive Producer of GOW3.  It's a short video, but in it we see a couple of interesting moves which he describes variously as the mantle kick, bag and tag, and the hopper.  I'll touch on those too.

How to Get Into Cover
See that nice low chunk of rock, or balcony, or door frame?  Well, you can take cover behind it by simply getting near it and tapping the A button. The cover mechanics of the GOW series are really cool ideas.  Being a Jedi master of getting into and out of cover easily will serve you well.

How to Get Out of Cover
Depending on the situation and cover, you can do different of things.  The good news is that you will see pictures indicating what you can do.

• No other cover nearby? Then you can simply pull back on your left thumb stick to move back from the cover.  Or you can push your thumbstick into the cover (which should pull up a diagram showing you moving out of the cover) and tap A to move forward past the cover; if the cover is short and there is space on the other side, you will hop over or mantle.
• Cover to the side? You can push your thumbstick towards that cover (which should pull up a diagram of you moving from cover to cover) and tap A to hop over to that cover

How to Roadie Run
The "roadie run" is a crouched, high speed run; however, you turn *very* slowly, it's like driving a boat.  To execute it, just hold down the A button.  If you run into cover, you *should* automatically move into position to take said cover...but it seems like it does not always work, so be ready to tap A again to get into cover.

How to Tumble, Dodge, and Leap
Once again, the A button is your friend.  If you are not near cover, pushing the A button will execute a tumble in whatever direction the D-pad is pointing.  It may seem silly, but leaping around like an idiot can save your ass, especially if there is lots of cover or the person trying to shoot you has issues with tracking targets.

You can also use this to close distance while minimizing being shot, as the army of Sawed-Off Shotgun-obsessed people are more than happy to demonstrate.

How to Aim and Shoot
You aim with the left trigger and shoot with the right.  If you shoot without aiming, some weapons behave differently.  For example, you will simply toss a grenade right in front of you a short distance if you do not aim first.

Aiming takes different forms.  Most guns pull up a simple sight box.  The grenade (and digger launcher) pulls up an arcing projectile path that you can adjust for perfect placement.

How to Melee
You melee by hitting your B button.  That usually results in a butt strike or punch, etc.  If you have a grenade equipped and a target in range, you stick the grenade to them, which does not work out well for them.

If you are using the default rifle, the Lancer, then you can hold down the B button to activate your chainsaw.  If you connect with someone, they will likely be killed.  If they have a Lancer and turn to face you, then it becomes a test of who can punch the B button the fastest as you duel.   The slower button masher gets gutted.

How to Charge With a Retro Lancer Bayonet
If you are using the Retro Lancer, which has a bayonet instead of a chainsaw, then you can hold down your B key and charge.  If you make contact with an opponent, you will skewer them with a one-shot kill.

Sounds pretty daunting, but I find that you can back up, dodge, and gun down such folks.  So, be sure to keep looking around. :)

Tagging A Wall or Person With a Grenade
This is pretty simple, just equip a grenade and use the B button for a melee attack.  If you are facing a wall or person, and in melee range, you will stick the grenade to it/them.  In the case of a wall, it will remain there as a trap in waiting for the next enemy passerby.  In the case of a person, it will blow up shortly thereafter.

How Reload and Actively Reload

The right bumper button is your reload.  However, as you learn from playing the game, there is such a thing as an active reload.  When you click to reload, a little meter/bar appears under your weapon icon and a slider starts progressing from the left to the right of the bar.  It's a reloading minigame and depending on when you click, you can realize certain special effects from it:

• Perfect reload - If you click at the perfect time, right when the slider is over the slim 100% opaque white bar, then your character usually says something to convey their thrill as you get a slight damage increase and/or other special effects, such as increased range, an extra explosion, etc.  If I understand it correctly, only the rounds that are reloaded are affected, though, so don't fire off one shot with your Lancer, execute a perfect reload and expect to tear everyone up.  That said, for those single shot weapons with long reload times, like the Longshot and Torque Bow, there is really no downside.
• Active reload - If you click when the slider is over the gray portion of the bar, then you simply reload quicker, typically about 25% faster, which is still nice
• Regular reload - If you ignore the minigame and the let slider progress to the end, resulting in a regular reload time
• Failed reload - If you click at the wrong time, when the slider is anywhere but the gray area or the thin white line, then your character swears as your weapon jams (sort of).  A failed reload generally takes about 30% longer.

Check out the Gearspedia page for more detailed information on this, to include images that show exactly how the bar/slider looks for the each case noted above.

How to Down and Revive

Most of the time, you inflict damage on an opponent until they fall down.  Then they begin to crawl around crying for help.  You can help yourself in this situation by smashing the A button while you do your best to stay in cover or try not to be in front of someone trying to execute you.  You can help a downed (but not dead) friend by running up to them and clicking "X", but they have to be right in front of you and if you are in place being cover, you will need to step out to do this.

How to Execute a Player
Let's say it's your opponent that is down.  Well, you have some options. The simple one is to simply stand back and keep shooting, as that will eventually kill them.  Your other option is to step in close and hit the X button to use them as a meat shield, the Y button to execute them (each weapon has a different animation).  You can also hold down the Y button for a prolonged graphic execution but it is time consuming and thus makes you vulnerable; if you do it to me I hope you get your head blown off..no offense. :)

Looking for the curb stomp?  I have read that tapping Y is the new curb stomp.

How to Get a Meat Shield in Gears of War 3 Beta
Simply put, you are using an opponent's downed body as a meat shield.  As stated above, step in close to a downed opponent and hit the X button to use them as a meat shield.  The biggest drawback to this is that you are forced to use a pistol while doing this.  The next drawback is that you shuffle around quite slowly.  However, if people shoot the meat shield, it takes the brunt of the damage.  I think it even saved me from a bayonet charge (he speared the meat shield instead of me).  So, do your very best to keep your enemies in front of you.

Once you have a meat shield you have some options:

Meat Shield Finisher 1: How To Neck Snap
Once you have a meat shield, you can end them with a quick simple neck snap by hitting the X button again.

Meat Shield Finisher 2: How To Bag and Tag
With a meat shield in hand, all you have to do is push up on your D-pad, as if selecting a grenade as your weapon.  This will tag the meat shield with a grenade and push them slightly away from you. There is no need to melee the character as with normal grenade tagging, but that does do something...

Meat Shield Finisher 3: How To Do "The Hopper"
...and this is that something.  This is not my name, it's what Rod called it in his video.  This starts just like the Bag and Tag, with you pushing up on your D-pad to select a grenade.  That automatically tags them with the grenade and pushes them away from you.  A quick follow-up press of the B button kicks them away from you and, ideally, into a cluster of enemies.

Fair Warning: Meat Shields Can Be Hazardous to Your Health
The reduction in mobility and firepower can be a real pain in the butt, and mucking about with special meat shield finishers can be very dangerous.  That said, if the stars align, you can end up with some memorable kills.  But appreciate that it can be a gamble and use it wisely.

Drop It Like It's Hot
You can also just drop a meat shield by swapping weapons.  Something to keep in mind on Capture the Leader if you don't want to drop it.

How to Mantle Kick
The mantle kick is actually very simple in concept.  Remember that you can mantle over cover?  Well, if you do that when someone is on the other side, you kick them and briefly stun them if they are not already downed.  If they are downed when you do this, it kills them.  This makes the move very dangerous.  When you first die to it, you will think it's overpowered.

Apparently, the reason for the mantle kick is to avoid people living behind cover.  Personally, I am cool with that.  It's a lot more realistic.  I know that when I was in the Army, taking cover was preferred. :)

But, that aside, it's in the game, so you should be comfortable with using it to effect.

So, how do you defend against a mantle kick?  Two obvious choices are to get out of the way or gun them down as they approach cover.  You could also mantle before they get to cover and possibly turn the tables on them (it reputedly works on folks not technically in cover, provided they are close to it when you mantle).

How to Spot Enemies
This is a very useful ability.  You aim at someone and press your left thumbstick.  This puts a marker over their head that you can see through obstacles.  It's handy for focusing fire or keeping track of that guy that keeps trying to flank you for a one-shot kill.

How to Share Ammo
Aim at a team mate and press the Y button to share ammo with them.  This is great for Capture the Leader so you can keep them stocked...since they won't need to die (and respawn) to get more ammo.

How to Trade Weapons
Aim at a team mate and press the X button.  They have to press the B button to accept.  This could be a dangerous thing to do with enemies bearing down on you.

How to Use Tac/Com and See Through Walls
If you press your left bumper, it will show where your team mates are.  You will see them through walls, obstacles, etc.  This is very handy when you are trying to determine where to go to support or receive support.  Safety in numbers and all that jazz. :)

Additional Resources
Reflectzyn.com has a number of teaching videos that describe a lot of concepts to consider to improve your game.  I especially recommend their video on positioning.  They were even deemed stickie-worthy in the GOW3B forum. :)

Breaking News: Playstation Network (PSN) is...Down...Still

Imagine you had been wanting to pick up a PS3 for a while, but could never quite rationalize it since you had a great gaming PC, XBOX 360, and Wii.  Now, imagine that you finally picked one up so you could compare DC Universe Online (DCUO) PS3 vs. PC.

You create an account on Playstation Network (PSN), because they make you before you can play.  Yet another set of credentials to memorize for yet another network.  You bite the bullet and go through the tedium once again of setting up a security question, etc.

You fire up DCUO and activate the free month of gaming that came with the game.  Now the clock is ticking on evaluating a game that you may not want to play after that month expires.

Then the PSN goes down.  A little annoying since your guy is only level 10 out of 50 (?) or so levels and you want to get as far as you can to give the game & platform combo the fairest shake possible.

Then it stays down...for over a week.

It's Too Long

Don't get me wrong.  I applaud Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) for being proactive and cautious.  They detected a dayslong intrusion...after it happened.  So they shut everything down and got busy.  I appreciate that.  I think it's vital to do the following:

• Identify the attack vectors and shut them down
• Conduct damage control for the breach
• Make sure no back doors are left in the system
• And a whole lot more

But this is not some random tech-savvy person with a server in their garage.  Well, maybe it is and I am giving SOE too much credit.  A company in a computer technology industry should be better than this.  Regardless of what their specific line of business is...

• Sony makes hardware
• Sony makes software
• Sony is a very large company with a lot of resources

This should never have happened in the first place but, when it did, it should have been handled much more swiftly and expertly.  The fact that they deal in computer games with communities, ranking, and other things of high value to folks that might be hackers increases the need for vigilance.  Whether it's an identity scam operation or a brilliant, nerd raging script kiddie, SOE should be far better protected that most against such things.

They Are Being Too Pensive

I don't want them to simply tell me that my data may be compromised.  I want them to disable my account and force me to reactivate it by requesting a secure link via the e-mail tied to my account.  This should stymie most of the value of the data acquired.

The Scope of the Threat is Alarming

The comprehensive list of data endangered is staggering.  Don't they have any isolation of the data?  Is it really that easy to get at everything?  Please, break it off by into categories.  Require permissions for each component, e.g., separate billing information from log in data in a meaningful way.  Even with the gigantic snafus I have had to suffer through as a veteran, I never had this amount of data endangered.

The Damage Is Irrevocable

I am glad I don't have a huge investment in PS3 games, gear, etc.  This debacle has left me with two conclusions:

• Don't buy any game for PS3 unless it's a PS3 exclusive.
• If said game requires me to use the PSN, I need to strongly consider if I really want it; if not, then pass.

The inconvenience is bad enough.  The hemorrhage of personal information is intolerable.

Thankfully, most of the games that I really care about (albeit not all) are available via XBox or PC, and the ones that I am likely to play on the PS3 are generally not multi-player.

As for DCUO, you may be able to guess which version, PS3 or PC, I am probably going to recommend... ;)

Illustrated Guide: How to Make a Song Into a Ringtone (or Ring Tone) for an iPhone

OK, enough about diet and health.  Let's get some gadget discussion going.  I want to make a ringtone from the song Ceremony, by New Order.  I was hoping there would be some easy, automagical way to do it in iTunes, like "just right click on a song and choose 'turn into a ringtone', then win!"

But alas, it was not so.  Much to my surprise.  I really thought iTunes would have a capability to convert a song right into a ringtone.  Oh well.

I poked around on the interwebs and found this video that shows how to do this for 2G and 3G phones, but the methodology seemed like it was still applicable.  The problem was that to execute it, I needed a music editor.  After trying three highly-rated ones from CNET, I searched for iPhone 4-specific information and found this older, but much better, video of how to create a ringtone using only iTunes.

In case you do not want to watch the video, here is the summary:

NOTE: Remember you can click on any image to see the original size if the text is too small.

Create an AAC File of Your Desired Music Snippet

Open iTunes, select a song in your Music library, and then right click on it and choose Get Info.

In side the Get Info window, click on the Options tab and check the boxes for Start Time and Stop Time.  Make sure the total time is no more than 40 seconds. I decided to go with the first 40 seconds for the following example.  Again, you are not hurting the music file, just telling it to only pay attention to the first 40 seconds for now:

OK, so at this point you want to take a snapshot of the piece of music.  To do this, we close the Get Info window and then choose the Create AAC Version option, as shown below:

Create a Ringtone File From the Snippet

Click this and you should create a duplicate of that snippet of music.  You should now have two files for that song, one with the original duration and one with the shorter duration you just determined, as follows:

Now, simply drag this snippet to the Desktop.  This will create a duplicate.  You need to change the extension, so if you have "Hide extensions for known file types" checked in your Folder and Search Options, which is the default, then you will need to go uncheck it.  You can do this from any folder by clicking on Organize, then Folder and search options, and then clicking the View tab.  When you get there scroll down to "Hide extensions for known file types" and uncheck it, as shown below:

Now, just rename the file extension from ".m4a" to ".m4r".  You can also change the file name at this point if you like.  You will get the usual warning that this may make the file unstable, just click "OK" and accept the change.

Now you have a ringtone file.  In Windows 7, this immediately changes the icon for the file to reflect the word "Ring" on it.

Move the Ringtone to the iTunes Library

This step is easy, just drag the Ringtone file over the word "Library" in the iTunes menu an drop it there.

Note: If you do not have a Ringtones library yet, it will create one automatically when you do this.


Wrap Up

A few steps to finish

1. Restore: Go back to the original song and uncheck the boxes for Start time and Stop time.
2. Clean up: Go back to your iTunes Music folder and delete the snippet of music that you used to create the ringtone.
3. Sync with your iPhone so it has the ringtone
4. Set your ringtone for whatever you like

Thank you to mattzo72 for creating such a useful and informative video.