We're saddened to learn of the passing of Jef Raskin, a multi-talented pioneer in computers and interface design who is best known for originating the Macintosh project at Apple. He died on Saturday. While the Macintosh was ultimately the result of contributions and vision from the large team that evolved, Raskin set out its original […]

Apple is sponsoring Remix Hotel Miami, which happens next month during Winter Music Conference (WMC) at Eden Roc Resort March 24-26 and is being billed as Three Days of Total Technology Immersion. Admission is free. Daytime events include hands-on access via live demos, performances and discussions with top artists and experts on today's music production […]

Kriminal, an English producer, today unveiled Karnage, a free Windows VSTi synth. (Kareful, Kriminal, or the use of all those K's could get you a Kall from Korg's legal department.) Kriminal says he wanted a "workhorse" specifically designed for sounds he liked. He got them — check out the demos for some fat analog ugliness […]

Here at CDM, we've covered instruments powered by flames, but not necessarily instruments set aflame. This one is just too painful to watch. At a party hosted by Native Instruments, Windows-powered keyboard maker Open Labs encouraged DJ Richard Divine to destroy their NeKo keyboard, supposedly to demonstrate how rugged it is. So Rick D responded […]

Coyote R&D now has a 64-bit version of their 2-space, rack-mountable Two-Can PC. But what makes it really cool: Liquid-cooled (see image) 256 MIDI ports per machine with other PCs and Macs (OS 9/X), delivered over Ethernet 3700+ CPU speeds, up to 800 GB RAID-array storage Preinstalled options: Kontakt, GigaStudio, V-Stack Yep, that's a server-class […]

When is a 2.6 release more like 3? When it comes from Native Instruments. Get a load of what's new in Traktor DJ Studio 2.6: Final Scratch 2 compatibility: Take advantage of Stanton's latest vinyl interface, complete with FireWire audio, HD sound, new hardware features — oh, just check out that, too. Broadcast live on […]

British sci-fi drama Code 46 has hit video shelves, and if you missed it on its first go-around, you'll want to pick it up if only for the score by DJ and composer David Holmes (aka Free Association, with Steve Hilton). With chilly but beautiful guitar textures droning over the supressed agony of the film's […]

Won the lottery recently? Digidesign is shipping its US$55,000 digital console for live sound, the Venue — we've been seeing it since the fall, but now you can actually buy one, provided you have the dough. The Venue is something of a departure for Digi: it's not Pro Tools; while it supports TDM plugins software […]

Oh, sure. You're jaded. You're not even impressed by the sheer bizarreness of a MIDI sequencer run entirely by hamsters. But look closer: to make the music sound as musical as this, Cornell student Levy Lorenzo designed a sophisticated set of algorithms governing rhythmic durations and note choice, so this is really a generative algorithmic […]

Mac users have been having fits about the unbundling of FireWire cables from this week's new iPods. Even CDM contributor Jason O'Grady says this is a sign of Apple abandoning Mac users. Um, huh? Sorry, but this is pure cost-cutting, nothing else, and streamlined costs have been part of iPod's explosive success. Apple doubled its […]