Articles by Michael Anderson

WiFi2HiFi 2 Lands on the iTunes App Store September 17th

Just to be honest, my initial exposure to WiFi2HiFi was anything but positive. I had won a copy in a website contest, but actually getting the company deliver took more than a month. But the app itself was pretty cool and provided useful functionality, and now they have released a new upgraded version, cleverly called WiFi2HiFi 2. So what IS WiFi2HiFi? Well, the concept is simple. You load an app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. You install the ‘master’ app on your Mac. You pair the two, and then your iOS device shows up as a ‘device’ for…

Music Diary

Dream Theater Self-Titled Album Available for Pre-Order!

Although jazz is my favored genre, I love great musicians who show a love for their instrument and craft. Dream Theater is a prog-metal band with some of the best musicians in all of rock. Mike Petrucci and Jordan Rudess have won countless awards on their instruments over the years, and the new album sounds extremely promising! I had a friend who was into the early ‘speed metal’ scene in the early 80s, which required stamina as much as skill. Bands like Dream Theater took that to the next level by incorporating epic soundscapes and structures that derived from the…

Music Diary, Reviews

Mary Halvorson Septet ‘Illusionary Sea’ – Same Great Music, Larger Setting

When you name an artist as one of your favorite emerging guitarists and composers, and remarking each release has improved upon the last, it sets a high standard for any new release. And while ‘Illusionary Sea’ doesn’t topple ‘Bending Bridges’ as my favorite, it’s a solid album with excellent compositions and great musicianship, and a great addition to her catalog. Musical Genre: Jazz Where to buy: Firehouse 12 Records Artist: Mary Halvorson Septet Description: From the artist: At the end of 2011, Mary Halvorson had finished writing two albums’ worth of quintet music and decided she was ready for a…

Game Diary, Reviews

Supermarket Management 2 for the iPad Brings More Time Management Fun!

Despite initial reservations I have come to love games like SuperMarket Management 2 in the time management genre. As you make progress things get more difficult and you need to balance more tasks, difficult customers, shifting priorities, combined items, and more – all while timing gets more critical! One great thing – if you like the demo you’ll love the game! Type of app: Time Management game Platform/where to buy: iPad (iPhone version available here; available in the iTunes App Store Developer: Playful Age / G5 Entertainment Description: Supermarket Management 2 has loads of content, including: ? 49 challenging levels…

Gear Bits

KMI Launches QuNeo Rogue Indiegogo Campaign!

I loved the KMI QuNeo, so I am excited for the QuNeo Rogue. The Rogue is a new Indiegogo project for an integrated wireless connection kit and long lasting battery for QuNeo that allows you to leave your cables behind! With 12 hours of battery and a 50-200 meter wireless range, QuNeo Rogue have you ready to groove! A few details: • Rogue is an accessory for the QuNeo that supplies long-lasting battery power and an incredibly robust wireless connection to a computer. • Rogue attaches quickly and easily to the bottom of your QuNeo with low-profile velcro. • Battery…

Health and Fitness

5 Things I’d Rather Do Than ‘Boston Qualify’ – The Monday Mile

Today registration for the Boston Marathon opens. Qualifying for Boston is an aspiration or goal for most long distance runners. While some debate if it’s ‘the best’, it is the most coveted and prestigious – and hardest to get into. But there are things more important to me than getting a BQ – I’ll list five. Naturally there are many people – thousands every year, in fact – who are fast enough to qualify for Boston. But as I have engaged the running community it seems nearly every running blog involves someone who has Boston as an eventual goal. I…

Gear Bits

PUC Bringings MIDI-Over-WiFi Project to Indiegogo

You want to make music with your iPad but being tethered to your keyboard is dragging you down, despair no longer – PUC has arrived! PUC connects to MIDI gear with a cable, then to your iOS device wirelessly. Once connected, apps don’t know the difference! Head to Indiegogo to support this project with a special $69 level ending 9/11!

Gear Bits

For ‘909 Day’, Rebirth on Sale for $9 for 9 Days!

Roland’s TR-909 is a synthesizer classic, and one of the driving sounds in the current electronic and techno genres. Propellerhead’s 1996 Rebirth software models two Roland TB-303 synthesizers, a TR-808, and a TR-909 all at once, and was released on iPad in 2010. For the next 9 days it is on sale for $9 to celebrate 909 day! Here is Mumbance showing off some of the amazing power of the TR-909 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XCxiPKrdXkI

Gear Bits

Check Out the Trailer for Godfire: Rise of Prometheus? from Vivid Games!

Games like Infinity Blade offer gorgeous graphics, but the lack of control over movement limits possibilities and immersion. Godfire: Rise of Prometheus takes gorgeous graphics and advanced gameplay and a story set in Greek Mythology and look to set mobile gaming with an iOS and Android release in early 2014! Today they released a great-looking pre-Alpha video. Check out the trailer and follow the game on Facebook or Twitter!

Gear Bits

GoG.com Kicks Off 5th Birthday Celebration With ‘Pick 5 for 80% Off” Sale!

GoG.com is kicking off their 5th birthday celebration, and as always we get great deals on games! The first sale is ‘Pick 5 Games & Save 80%’. It is pretty simple – choose five games from a great list of 25 games, and you will have then all for around $10. What are you waiting for?!? Head to GoG.com now! Also, they have added System Shock 2 as their one-day ‘Gem Promo’ – so it is $2.49, which is a complete steal for one of the best games in the history of gaming!

Gear Bits

Sony Introduces New Playstation Vita Models in Color

Coming just a couple of weeks after the $199 price drop, Sony introduced a new PCH-2000 Playstation Vita model. The new version comes in a variety of colors, 15% lighter and 20% thinner, adds an hour to battery life, has USB charging, 1GB internal storage, and switches to a LCD screen. US Pricing & availability not announced, but $199 likely. The colors include pink, black, blue, grey, lime green, and yellow; Sony is also introducing special edition Gundam Breaker, God Eater and Otomate models. The current model will be getting a special ‘Play!’ Game Pack as Sony has done with…

Gear Bits

Short Film from NPR Highlights the Impact of Smartphones on Cultural Norms

When was the last time you were together with a group of adults (or teens) and not a single moment was interrupted by checking a smartphone, taking a picture, uploading to Vine or something else? As you think about that, check out this video and watch it from the perspective of Charlene deGuzman, the creator of the film. What do you think – has this become a problem? Source: NPR

Editorials

5 Things About Apple That Drive Me Crazy!

With a 37-year history, Apple’s story is intertwined with the personal computer and consumer electronics. It has loads of melodrama, huge personalities, and sweeping highs and lows. Right now we’re entering ‘new iPhone’ season with expectations and rumors running rampant – but instead of speculating on new products I’m shaking my head and gritting my teeth about Apple in general. In my head I have been bouncing around all of the Apple-related press of recent months. From the ongoing legal battles with Samsung to the ITC banning veto to the DOJ anti-trust action to seeing same-day articles confirming that the…

Crowdfunding, Health and Fitness

Run-n-Read Helps Out With The ‘Reading On Treadmill’ Issue

Do you use a treadmill or elliptical system for exercise? Do you read while on it? If so, you’ve probably encountered eye-strain as you were moving and trying to focus on the stationary e-device text. Run-n-Read from Weartrons seeks crowdsource funding to deal with this issue by tracking motion and repositioning text to keep it stable in your visual field. Run-n-Read uses a combination of hardware and software to stabilize text. The hardware tracks your head motion relative to the screen and text, and the software runs on your iOS or Android device to shift the text position in real…

Music Diary, Reviews

Matthew Finck-Jonathon Ball Project ‘Its Not That Far’ CD Review

The word ‘synergy’ is often thrown at any attempt to work together. True collaboration is much rarer, and results in a whole greater than the sum of parts. And that describes my feelings about ‘It’s Not That Far’ from the Matthew Finck-Jonathon Ball Project. Two great musicians with a solid band and great guest makes some magical music. Musical Genre: Jazz Where to buy: iTunes Artist: Matthew Finck-Jonathon Ball Project Description: From the artist: Matthew Finck, guitar, and Jonathan Ball, tenor saxophone, with their new album “It’s Not That Far,” continue the vast and varied range of collaborations between their…

Game Diary, Reviews

Twin Moons Brings Fun and Choices in Casual Gaming to the Mac

I thoroughly enjoyed the iPad release of Twin Moons from Cateia Games and G5 Entertainment, so when they announced a Mac version of the replayable hidden-object adventure game I knew I had to check it out. Now after playing I enjoy the game even more and highly recommend getting it for either Mac or iOS! Type of app: Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (HOPA) game Platform/where to buy: iPad; available in the Mac App Store (Also available for iPad & iPhone) Developer: Cateia Games / G5 Entertainment Description: Twin Moons has loads of content, including: – 31 creepy and enigmatic locations…

Gear Bits

Overdose Death from Coffee is More Likely Than Dying from Marijuana

In 2010 nearly 40,000 people died from overdoses, which is more than either car accidents or gun deaths. Of those, more than 75% were accidental and about 60% of them were related to prescription drugs. An additional 26,000 people died of alcohol-induced causes. But one drug you won’t find on the list of overdose deaths? Marijuana. In fact, you can look at some of the bizarre things people overdosed on – such as Monster energy drink, No-Doz caffeine pills, aspirin, Tylenol and Advil, and even near-death overdoses of soy sauce and brussel sprouts! Most overdoses come from prescription painkillers, but…

Music Diary, News & Features

IK Multimedia Unveils iRig Pro, an All-in-One Interface for iOS Devices!

Covering technology means never being surprised, except when you are. Today we get the surprising announcement of iRig Pro, an all-in-one interface that my son described as ‘every iRig interface you’re reviewed stuffed into one small box’. That is about right, and at $149.99 I think they have a real winner with iRig Pro shipping later this month! IK Multimedia is marketing iRig Pro based on three major strengths: Universal Inputs, Universal Compatibility, and Universal Apps. Universal Inputs: For me this is HUGE. In our house we have guitars, basses, multiple microphone types and a myriad of MIDI gear. Currently…

Editorials

Week #1 of My Chromebook Challenge … Was a Challenge!

Last week I said that I was going ‘all in’ with the Samsung Chromebook, even though I was already aware of a few limitations. There were limitations when I tried the same thing for the iPad and Android tablets and I persevered, so I plowed forward! Unfortunately some of the issues were fairly significant and fragmented my computing time badly! Setting up a Chromebook is as simple as logging into a web browser. And since I used Chrome almost as much as Safari, I have a full set of bookmarks all ready to go. Spending just a little time with…

Music Diary, News & Features

FL Studio Groove for Windows RT Announced

In a rather surprising move, music app maker FL Studio has launched a new app called ‘FL Studio Groove’ … and they launched it for Windows RT first! The app provides an easy interface for creating grooves and chaining them together to build songs. The app is on sale for $4.99, and will come to iOS and Android eventually. The folks at FL Studio made some other comments about the release, noting that it isn’t related to or compatible FL Studio Mobile, that there is no date yet for iOS or Android, and that Windows Phone is not planned. The…

Music Diary, Reviews

iKlip Stand for iPad by IK Multimedia Hands-On Review

The iKlip Stand is the next in the line of high-quality iPad stands for musical applications. The original was a microphone stand attachment for iPad and iPhone, and the iKlip Studio provides a portable stand for the iPad. The new iKlip Stand is a robust desk stand that is the best of all worlds, just use caution when assembling! Description Here are some of the features: •iKlip Stand for iPad: Desktop riser stand for iPad 2 & iPad 3rd and 4th Generation •iKlip Stand for iPad mini: Desktop riser stand for the iPad mini •Sturdy, robust thermoplastic with metal reinforced…

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