Could that Maxlite at your side be a musical instrument in disguise? With up to 9 audience participants, viewers of the RGB project can control sound and visuals using colored flashlights, in a performance installation by Tomas Dvorak (CZ), Alessandro Capozzo (IT) and Matous Godik (CZ). The team used the free PC-only software EyesWeb, passing […]

Want proof that you can’t keep on top of which DAW is best? Updates are now nearly round-the-clock, and point-one updates can bring serious features. Hot on the heels of MOTU’s free 4.6 upgrade to DP, Steinberg has over 50 new features in Cubase SL/SX 3.1, coming as a free download in August. Some of […]

Okay, aspiring VJs: not happy with the pre-coded solutions out there? Wish you could code your own stuff via a free tool? Check out Processing, a free cross-platform tool. The pay-off: how about 1680×1050 imagery, running at 20-40fps on a lowly PowerBook G4? Robert Hodgin is featured doing just that, armed with four silver USB […]

While we’re on the subject of visualizers, Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox 360 console will be preloaded with a trippy music visualizer game. Unlike the iTunes visualizer, it’ll be completely interactive, too. Inspired by the 1984 game Psychedelia, Neon is a visualizer for the year 2005. Check out the interview with creator Jeff Minter of UK developer […]

[Updated: More Details on iUke] I’ve had to delay my arrival at Macworld Expo until Thursday. Look what I’ve missed: a USB-enabled ukulele. iGuitar custom-built the instrument for Mac personality and notorious uke player Andy Ihnakto. (Thanks, TUAW!) I’m guessing the USB carries only audio, not control — the company’s iGuitar.USB uses USB for audio […]

Reason 3.03 is a maintenance update to Propellerhead Reason, but there’s reason (excuse the pun) to pay attention: Better performance: One of the things we like about Reason is that its code is rock-solid. Reason 3 added various performance enhancements; 3.03 adds more. TranzPort and Ozonic Support; SDK for Remote: Reason 3 has the kind […]

Edirol, the audio/video gear folks that are part of Roland Group, have a trio of announcements about new hardware. Let’s deal with them all at once, because Roland model numbers make my head hurt: New MIDI: Yes, new MIDI interface hardware. (MIDI will never die, folks.) What’s groovy about them? The US$89 UM-3EX has a […]

Digital Performer (Mac-only) gets a whole bunch of features in today’s free 4.6 update. Read more for the full dirt, but since I tend to rattle on too long about everything, here’s the Short Attention Span Summary: Pitch automation is revolutionary. Think AutoTune, but integrated right into the sequencer. No one else has this. There’s […]

Well, with the release of DP 4.6, it’s time to check in with how our DAWs are doing. These insanely-cool pitch features certainly mean it’s still in the ring. First, see my previous reviews: Digital Performer 4.5 (review for Keyboard) Giant Cubase 3 vs. DP 4.5 vs. Logic 7 Blowout (review for Macworld) Live 4 […]

October 3-5 Tampa will play host to a massive Computer DJing Summit, complete with training for DJs, VJs, and KJs. (KJ = karaoke; thanks, jachee. Too bad; I hoped it meant spinning Kraft Mac-and-Cheese.) There’s even certified credit for would-be computer DJs. This isn’t an entirely new event; a Summit was held in my hometown […]