Articles by Michael Anderson

Lost Souls The Enchanted Paintings for Mac Review

Imagine receiving a mysterious package with a pleasant painting inside that your child finds captivating. He asks to hang it in his room, but then the next day you awake to find you child gone. It is the nightmare for any parent, and it is the opening scene of the newly released Lost Souls: Enchanted Paintings HD from G5 Entertainment. The mother’s name is Bella, and she doesn’t just discover her child gone, but instead that he is now the image in the mysterious painting! So now Bella needs to enter the painting in order to get her son back….

Gear Bits, News & Features

Apple Introduces 128GB iPad 4, Pricing as You Would Expect

For the past couple of years everyone has wondered when Apple would come out with a 128GB iPhone or iPad, and last fall I think that many were genuinely surprised that the iPad 4 didn’t up the capacity. Well, now we have our answer … and it comes in the form of the 128GB iPad 4. The announcement came today, and the new version of the iPad 4 is going to be available starting Tuesday, February 5. According to a press release from Apple, the main focus is a sort of ‘Pro’ version of the iPad for the Enterprise –…

Events, Music Diary, News & Features

Prophet 12 Synthesizer by Dave Smith Introduced at NAMM 2013

One of the first synths I did serious work on was the Prophet 5. That synth was introduced by Sequential Circuits in 1978 as one of the first polyphonic instruments, but the reason it is still popular is the amazing sounds. The Prophet 5 was the brain-child of Sequential Circuits founder Dave Smith. If that name sounds familiar it is because Smith is also known as the ‘Father of MIDI’, and I recently wrote about the 30th anniversary of MIDI. After Yamaha bought Sequential Circuits in 1987, Smith went on to head up the new US research lab for Korg…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Apple Releases iOS 6.1 with iTunes Match Song Downloads and More

Have you ever just wanted to download ONE song from an album on iTunes Match so you can listen on the go? It simply didn’t happen … until now! Today Apple released iOS 6.1 with a number of improvements (and likely even more unannounced improvements). These include support for 36 additional LTE carriers for iPhone (23 for iPad), individual song downloads, Siri interaction with Fandango, and more. One unstated improvement in iOS 6.1 is found in Passbook. Previously, when you started the app for the first time an introduction was displayed. You were then sent to the iTunes App Store…

Health and Fitness

It is Cool to Run in an Arctic Blast!-The Monday Mile

This past week was a deep freeze for much of the northern and eastern parts of the country. In our area the temperature when I went out for my morning runs was sub-zero on four days, only creeping up to +2 on Friday. Adding in wind-chill, morning temperatures in the dark were about -10 to -15 degrees F. If you believe my Facebook timeline, I am clearly insane for going out running in these temperatures. And while I am not complaining as the morning temperatures are predicted for 20s and 30s this week, I was never too cold last week,…

Gear Bits, Music Diary

Check Out Three Excellent Rare John Coltrane Live Performances

One of the amazing things for me about YouTube and Facebook is how folks on Facebook will recommend a YouTube video or site with an embedded video that leads you to something even greater. That happened this morning, as a Facebook friend recommended checking out a stellar John Coltrane version of ‘My Favorite Things’, which I did … but then it led me to this site that had an even BETTER find: a collection of three televised concerts of John Coltrane from the 1960s. Coltrane rose to fame as a saxophone sideman for Miles Davis’ legendary ‘first great quintet’. His…

Events, Music Diary, News & Features

Korg Introduces 9 New Products at NAMM 2013, Including KingKORG and MS-20 Mini

At the NAMM 2013 show, Korg announced nine (!) new products that all look great – I recommend you head to Korg to get all of the details. But I wanted to highlight two that look super-cool: the MS-20 Mini and KingKORG. The MS-20 Mini is the reimagining of the classic monophonic synth that we have seen emulated so much recently. The KingKORG is a robust analog modeling synth built for great sound and performance. MS-20 Mini Everyone loves the Korg MS-20, it seems. This 1978 monophonic synth with cable-patching and limited configurations ultimately had one major thing that has…

Music Diary, News & Features

AVID Teams with Katy Perry & Adele’s Producer for Online Talent Competition

If you are like me, you love the IDEA of a musical talent competition for a recording contract that slowly funnels from thousands to just a few … but the execution always gets muddled down as the music becomes secondary to what works on TV. But what if there was an online contest that will result in three lucky winners having their music heard, mixed and mastered by some of the industry’s top folks? That is exactly what Avid is announcing in conjunction with Abbey Road Studios. Avid is the maker of Pro Tools, which is THE system of choice…

Events, Music Diary, News & Features

Mackie Updates Master Fader Control App for DL Series Live Mixers

Last year at NAMM Mackie brought iPad control to their DL1608 mixer. Now for 2013 NAMM they have introduced the DL806 mixer and major updates to their Master Fader control app. This EQ is great for getting vocals, guitars and other instruments to sit perfectly in a mix. Now, DL users can choose between clean, surgical modern processing and the new range of classic vintage plug-ins for more flexibility in use. You can grab the app for free now, and the update will be coming soon. Mackie has added an episode to their DL Series podcast regarding Master Fader v1.4…

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness

Here Are Just Some of the Other Benefits of Sex

Sex is great because … well, if I have to explain THAT then I probably can’t help. But aside from the obvious benefit of being sex, there are numerous health benefits … and the folks at Greatist have detailed them out with links to some of the studies. Here are a few: • It can ward off the cold and flu • It can improve overall physical fitness • It decreases risk for heart disease * It lowers risks during pregnancy Head to Greatist to check out the full list, along with all of the links to the studies and…

Game Diary, News & Features

GoG.com Adds 10 New Mac Games for January!

The answer to the question ‘where do I get Mac games’ has changed over time. A few years ago you would answer ‘I’m sorry dude, really sorry’. Then along came Steam, then the Mac App Store, and most recently GoG.com. Now you can proudly answer that there are great choices and prices at Steam, GoG.com and the Mac App Store. And GoG.com is advancing at an amazing pace, today announcing the addition of 10 Mac games to their roster. And like every other game, you now get the Mac and PC version of the game as well as all the…

Game Diary, Reviews

Old Clockmaker’s Riddle HD for iPad Review

Type of app: Match-3 Puzzle Adventure game Platform/where to buy: iPad (iPhone version here); available in the App Store Developer: DAVA Inc. / G5 Entertainment Description: ? Over 50 amazing levels to play ? 25 adorable houses to save from ruin ? 25 challenging mini-games to master ? 12 powerful upgrades and five magic tools ? Two game modes: relaxed and timed ? Game Center Support ? iPhone 5 support Major features: I admit to expecting Old Clockmaker’s Riddle to be a standard story-based Hidden Object game. But after I started reading the description I was thrilled to see the…

Music Diary, News & Features

HDtracks Offers a Master Quality Music Experience for the Masses

I was recently cleaning up some Iomega Jaz disks and came across a folder with stuff I used to keep on my Pocket PC devices. In there was a bunch of music I had ripped from CDs to store on Compact Flash drives from 32MB to 256MB as my devices progressed from the HP 430se to the Jornadas and iPaqs. For some reason I decided to listen to some of the music, and it sounded AWFUL! The undersampling was atrocious, and the lossiness was readily apparent. Of course, the compression schemes used by iTunes, Amazon and others is much more…

Gear Bits, How to Do It Yourself!

How to Get Your Google Contacts onto Your iPhone

In the past week, we’ve heard results from AT&T and Verizon, and in the particular case of Verizon which had iPhones account for TWO THIRDS of its smartphone sales, 20% of those sales went to former Android users. I have detailed my years long Android exclusivity, which just ended in late December with the purchase of an iPhone 5. I got one for my wife and we got them for our teenage sons … so we are an iPhone Family now! But we are also all heavy GMail users, and users of Google services in general. So while my contacts…

Music Diary, Reviews

AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix for iPad Review

Type of app: Music app Platform/where to buy: iPad (iPhone version here); available in the App Store Developer: IK Multimedia Specifications: AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix™ features: – Real-time guitar mobile multiFX + recording app with Jimi Hendrix tone – Jimi Hendrix™ gear models: 5 Stompboxes (Noise Filter, Fuzz Age, Octa-V, Uni-V, Wah 46) – 2 Amplifiers (JH Gold, JH Dual) and 2 cabinets (2×15″J, 4×12″J) – Complete Jimi Hendrix™ Discography Presets – Jimi Hendrix™ song links directly within the app for play-along – Single-track recorder expandable to 8-track studio with master effects (via in-app purchase) – Import and play songs as backing…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Random Cool Video – Mom in Da Hood!

Yeah, it ends up being a commercial, but who really cares?!? Check it out: Source: The Upworthiest

Events, Music Diary, News & Features

World’s First iOS Guitar/Bass Multi-FX System with Wireless Foot Switch Hardware

Last year from NAMM we got the iRig Stomp, which was able to control AmpliTube effects chains from a robust ‘stomp box’. It was clear that we would soon be getting a full effects board worth of controls, though I wouldn’t have expected the first one to be wireless! JamUp Pro XT and AirTurn have teamed up to power the first BlueTooth wireless multi-effects pedal system for iOS. Check out the demo video: I have not used JamUp’s app yet, but this looks intriguing – I will keep an eye on NAMM reports to get more hands-on details for this…

Events, Music Diary, News & Features

Moog Releases Details of the ‘Sub Phatty’ for NAMM 2013

The NAMM Winter Show for 2013 runs from January 24-27 and will showcase the best in music technology. We won’t be there, but will try to cover the coolest tech-focused music production gear coming out of the show. The question in 1993 was ‘why would you want a two-oscillator analog synth’ … but in 2013 there isn’t even a question anymore, you simply NEED this sound! Regardless of advances in digital simulated, the Moog Filter sound has a depth that cannot be emulated as well as the original instrument. So when leaks came about Moog introducing a new affordable analog…

Gear Bits

Physicists Help Show Math Behind Growth of ‘Coffee Rings’

Have you ever left a cup of coffee sitting for a few hours and prior to dumping it out you notice a ring remains at the top-level of the fluid? That is the ‘coffee ring effect’, and recently physicists have helped to demonstrate the effect both theoretically and on the microscopic level. The studies looked at particle aggregation based on Poisson and Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) processes. KPZ is harder to study because any impurities in the experiment will impact the behavior of the system. The combined theoretical and practical study looked at a variety of particle types and shapes as drops…

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness, Outdoors

The Monday Mile – Too Sick to Exercise?

One of the keys to a fitness routine is … making it a routine. That means doing it on a regular basis, and for most people it means setting up a time pretty much every day when you can make it happen. For me it is 4AM runs, for others it is a post-work stop at the gym, and others have their own way of getting it done. But what if you are not feeling great? Should you still work out, or are you better taking a day off? Here are five quick thoughts: 1. If you have a fever,…

Crowdfunding, News & Features

GCW Zero – Open Source Gaming Handheld

Have you ever looked at the Playstation Vita or Nintendo 3DS and thought that they look great, but you would rather have a handheld gaming system that ran inexpensive open-source games but had physical control buttons? That is the concept behind the GCW-Zero: Open Source Gaming Handheld. Project Title: GCW-Zero: Open Source Gaming Handheld Status: Active Closing Date for Funding: 1/28/2013 URL of the Project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gcw/gcw-zero-open-source-gaming-handheld

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