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…

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…

News & Features

Thermometer for the Naturalist that Will Leaf the Competition Behind

For those seeking escape from the mechanical, desiring a more natural space, yet have the nagging desire to have an idea of what the approximate room temperature is in you sanctuary, Gizmine may have the thermometer for you. The aptly named Leaf Thermometer not only looks natural and realistic, it actually gives you a rough idea of how warm or cold it is by changing its color accordingly. No more straining eyes at small gradients on glass thermometers or glancing at digital readouts … just check the color! Henry David Thoreau would have been proud to have one while loitering…

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…

News & Features

No More “Either Paper or Tablet” Decisions Thanks to the New Booqpad mini

Booq has just announced their new Booqpad mini, an iPad case that combines protection for the iPad mini with the tried and true efficiency of paper and pen. As booq explains, the Booqpad mini “allows you to conveniently keep your business cards, stylus, pen, cash and other important documents close to your iPad mini, as well as your important hand-written notes. Booqpad mini: • Easily stores pen, stylus, cash, business cards, paper notepad, and iPad mini, all in one elegant folio • Is designed symmetrically for left and right-handed users • Secures and protects iPad mini, providing in case access…

News & Features

Geeksphone to Ship FirefoxOS on Developer Hardware Next Month

The biggest criticism I have of Android and iOS challenger UbuntuOS is that they made an announcement with no hardware that was even close to shipping. Well, the Mozilla project has gone a step further and announced that they will have not one, but two developer phones to ship next month with the new FirefoxOS. The Mozilla Project announced the Keon and the Peak, both to ship next month, and they will be made by an up and coming company called Geeksphone. Both phones are very similar in design with the Keon being the lower end of the two phones with a 3.5 inch…

News & Features

Quirky Ham Radio Gadgets from Yesteryear: The Wouff Hong and the Rettysnitch

Well, the Wouff-Hong is not so much a gadget, but it has been a part of Ham Radio lore since 1930’s. What is a Wouff Hong? According to 1930 edition of The Radio Amateur’s Handbook: The Wouff-Hong is amateur radio’s most sacred symbol and stands for the enforcement of law and order in amateur operation. The story goes that T.O.M. ( The Old Man) wrote stories in the American Radio Relay League’s magazine, QST, titled Rotten Radio. It excoriated bad operating practices using caustic humor and satire. It was in one of these stories that the Wouff-Hong was born. It wasn’t…

News & Features

The Good and Bad of HDMI Switching

This holiday season was the season my family finally made the jump to HD TV. I absolutely love HD TV, and I am really looking forward to watching NASCAR and actually being able to read the tickers! As result of getting the TV, I ended up receiving or giving products that needed an HDMI connection to the TV. We got an Xbox 360 for Luke and I, plus I was given a Roku 2 XS and a Blu-ray player for Christmas. One of the things on my Amazon list was a Kinivo HDMI switch as I knew right away I…

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…

News & Features

The Tricorder Could Be Just Around the Corner

I love Star Trek. One of the things I like the best about Star Trek is the gadgets, and the gadget I have always thought was the coolest was the Tricorder. There were, of course, two different Tricorders. One was used to look at items in the environment to get away teams the info they needed to find people, to discover other objects and more. The other is the Medical Tricorder that Dr. McCoy, Dr. Crusher and Dr. Bashir used to determine the extent of a red shirt’s injuries and other medical uses. Now the Xprize foundation, with the help…

News & Features

Make Your Face Perfect With The GoateeSaver

Facial hair is becoming more the rage for today’s man. It seems that many men from their 20’s to 40’s are now growing beards and goatees. I grew my first goatee just out of high school and have had facial hair ever since. I currently sport a full beard, but for many years I had to groom and shape my goatee. Many think that having facial hair means less shaving, but that is far from true. While less area must be shaved, it takes great skill and diligence to keep a beard of any sort shaped and trimmed to perfection. There is nothing…

Game Diary, News & Features

Former Atari CEO to Save U.S. Operations from Bankruptcy?

In the world of games there are always winners and losers … recently Atari’s U.S. operations lost the financial game to use one of their lives to win the possibly win the survival game later. After some nice anniversary celebrations last year for the 2600 and Pong, Atari made their Chapter 11 announcement on January 20, 2013. The reason? Separate from their French parent holding company Atari S.A. (formerly Infogrames). In 2010, Atari leveraged their popular game franchises to shift its work from retail game titles to digital games for Android and iOS and Android. The method worked as they saw…

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…

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

Music Diary, News & Features, Reviews

Korg iPolysix Review – Bringing Classic Analog Synth to iPad

Type of app: Music app Platform/where to buy: iPad; available in the App Store Developer: Korg Description: ?Polysix polyphonic synthesizer, replicated on your iPad ?Use the newly developed Polyseq polyphonic step sequencer to control the Polysix ?A music production environment including two Polysix units, a drum machine, and a mixer ?Dual Kaoss Pads with chordal support make it easy for anyone to play analog synth sounds ?Polyshare powered by SoundCloud lets you publish, share, and remix songs with iPolysix users Major features: Way back almost 30 years ago I was trying to set up a home electronic music studio. I…

News & Features

APC Releases Rock and Paper Computers

The Raspberry Pi has been openly embraced by the hacker community for all sorts of projects. From roll your own set-top boxes to Amateur Radio uses, it’s become a fast favorite of the hacker community. Not to be outdone, APC has released two new computers that are sure to peak interest of the hacker community and anyone who wants a nice, simple computer without worry of viruses or other malware. The Rock computer is a board only device that runs a customized version of Android 4.0 that is designed to work with a keyboard and mouse. The Rock has a Via…

Events, News & Features

Etón Proves Nature Is Pretty Darn Good at Empowering Innovative Technology!

Hurricane Sandy knocked out power for much of New Jersey, and at our house we lost power for about a week. Unfortunately, it was the same week we were scheduled to move out, so we found ourselves doing all the last minute packing in the dark. Luckily we weren’t totally on our own, as my handy Etón emergency radio kept us happy with music, a flashlight, and the chance to top off a smartphone once in a while. Basically, it was the first thing we grabbed when the power went out and the very last item we packed. So I was…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Are Subway’s ‘Not Quite Footlongs’ the Next Class Action Lawsuit Fodder?

Not too long ago Apple iTunes customers got a voucher for a few dollars based on a settlement from a lawsuit. The lawsuit came after Apple shifted pricing on music from $0.99 per song to a $0.69/$0.99/$1.29 tiered scheme to appease record labels. Suddenly gift cards that said ‘Buy 10 Songs’ would only buy 7 or 8. Now we have word that there is quite an online uproar over Subway ‘footlong’ subs not quite measuring up. According to the Yahoo article the trouble began when “a very precise customer, identified as Matt Corby of Perth, ordered a footlong sub and then…

Events, News & Features

Targus iNotebook Shines at CES 2013

While at CES, we spent some time visiting with Targus. Among the new items they were showing off was the $179.99 iNotebook, which “seamlessly transmits your handwritten notes to your iPad using the included sensor and pen.” If it sounds too good to be true, then you might want to check out this quick demo of Judie writing on paper and seeing the text rendered on the iPad in real-time. The iNotebook wirelessly transfers handwritten notes and sketches to an iPad using Bluetooth technology. It requires no special paper and is compatible with standard A5 and 8” x 5” notepads. That…

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