02009-08-13 | Computer, Recording
An Insider On the Apple Tablet [Apple]
They continued to explain the device as something that would sit between an iPod/iPhone and a Macbook, and would cost $700 to $900—”More than twice as much as a netbook,” he said.
To make up for that cost and make the device more than just a big iPod there was, this person claimed, there was talk of making the device act as a secondary screen/touchpad for iMacs and MacBooks, much like a few of the USB screens that have come out in recent months from Chinese companies. Very interesting.
(Via Gizmodo)
Hm, manipulating wave forms on a DAW by using pinching gestures to zoom in and out, selecting an insertion point by touch… very interesting indeed. Like the Wacom Cintiq thing, which is a 12 inch screen with pen-input. But, the Cintiq costs $999 and one needs to use a pen, and the Apple Tablet would also be a great reader and media player with Wi-Fi – for less money. And if the tablet has Bluetooth, it would interface with the computer wirelessly and could accept input from the Bluetooth Apple Wireless Keyboard. Suddenly it all makes sense. Brilliant!
02009-05-19 | Uncategorized
All I need is a laptop, the DAC2, and a headphone amp or a power amp plus speakers…
I traded in a D/A converter I wasn’t using in the studio for the Weiss DAC2, which arrived while I was away and which I just listened to for the first time. Oh my, what wonderful sound, rich and silky. I listened to “This Spring Release 10,000 Butterflies” (24/96kHz), because the file was already on my laptop – and can be found here. During the next few days/weeks I want to do some serious comparing of different sound files.
I also decided that I will record my next project at 24/88.2kHz as the conversion to CD quality is very simple (((just divide 96,000 by 44,100 and then divide 88,200 by 44,100 and you will see what I mean!))) and the qualitative difference between recording at 88.2kHz and 96kHz should be negligible.
When my next album is finished (((and that will take a while as I haven’t even started…))) I will release 24/88.2kHz audio files for Ottmar-Friends. Hm, maybe I won’t wait until I am finished and will show some of the pieces in the rough.
02009-05-01 | Uncategorized
Rode the Mariachi Bullitt to an early breakfast with Jon. Discussed video games. I bought a Playstation ten years ago and played a few games, but it’s been gathering dust for years. Video games just don’t seem interesting to me. When talking about this subject to another friend over lunch last week, he said that maybe the technology just needs to be taken further. I said that there are two separate issues I have with video games.
The first issue is that one basically plays the same scene over and over. One gets better at that particular scene, of course, but so what, it’s too narrow of an experience. Let’s say there is a bike-messenger video game versus a bike-messenger racing through a real town. In the video game version the truck on 46th street will ignore the stop sign every time, so watch out for him… in real life you’ll never know what the truck-driver will do so you’d better be prepared. The video game rehearses one particular set of events, while life is full of surprises…
So, my friend said, well, they just need to create more variations, so that you play a different scene every time. True, I answered, but there will still only be x-possible variations, unless we get to the point where the computer can actually re-write the scene every time – like generative music. And, this is my second issue, I still won’t smell the tar they are cooking to fix the potholes on Eight Avenue, or the perfume of the woman who just crossed the street, and I won’t feel the breeze on my face or the steam from rising up from grates on the street.
So, why would I play a bike game, rather than riding my bike?
Video games seem to solve that problem by creating game-play that enables the player to do stuff that would otherwise be punished by society, e.g. stealing cars, killing loads of people etc… Hm, that also does not sound the least bit interesting to me. Want to study fighting, go to a karate club?
When I discussed this with Jon, I suddenly thought of a game I would want to play. I am currently reading about the adventures of the eunuch Yashim Togalu in Istanbul in 1836. It would be lovely to have be able to walk through a 3D rendering of Istanbul circa 1836… But, who else would want to see that!???? And it would be less of a game and more of a moving map. Hm, like Google Earth with more detail and a time button…
Then I started thinking about whether there is an advantage to rehearsing a specific scene, the undulations of a race course for example. I would love to know how big an advantage a race-car driver who did 10, 50, 100 laps around a course in a video game would have against a second driver who hasn’t played the video game, if they are both racing around the same course in real cars. What would happen if the second driver had a head start of 10 test-laps on the real course, while the first driver did 20, 50 100 virtual laps before racing? Again, real race craft is more than knowing the race course. It’s being able to judge how wide one’s car is, knowing how to deal with a new oil spot in the third turn, how to escape an out-of-control car coming too close etc.
Good rehearsal with the band. Recorded all of the new arrangement-bits. Then packing for the tour.
02009-03-29 | Computer
Vast Spy System Loots Computers in 103 Countries – NYTimes.com
The malware is remarkable both for its sweep — in computer jargon, it has not been merely “phishing” for random consumers’ information, but “whaling” for particular important targets — and for its Big Brother-style capacities. It can, for example, turn on the camera and audio-recording functions of an infected computer, enabling monitors to see and hear what goes on in a room. The investigators say they do not know if this facet has been employed.
02009-02-07 | Uncategorized
What is Evernote? | Evernote Corporation
Remember everything.
Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient
Possibly the greatest thing since sliced bread. Find recipe, add to Evernote, tag it… after it seemlessly and automatically syncs in the background, find recipe on iPhone and start cooking without having to run back to the computer constantly. Have a great idea while walking through town? Note it on phone and it’s waiting on the computer upon your return.