3L Beta Winners Announced: Insert "Thrill" Pun Here

After a little random number generation, I have the pleasure of announcing the winners of our 3L Beta Giveaway. Leon Grant Bussinger Chateau Bezerra eri Michael Hart Nek Soon you’ll be gaping at this interface in awe, wondering what to do next. So I hope you’ve read the manual! Those of you who didn’t win, […]

3L Beta Winners Announced: Insert “Thrill” Pun Here

After a little random number generation, I have the pleasure of announcing the winners of our 3L Beta Giveaway. Leon Grant Bussinger Chateau Bezerra eri Michael Hart Nek Soon you’ll be gaping at this interface in awe, wondering what to do next. So I hope you’ve read the manual! Those of you who didn’t win, […]

Rhobbler: Connect Rhapsody to Last.FM

A crazy scheme in which you pay a monthly fee and get unlimited music, huh? Imagine that. Part of what was strange about flat fee advocate Jim Griffin’s new proposal for an ISP monthly fee for music is that subscription-based music lives already, from digital radio to music services. Amidst rumors that Apple might add […]

Gigs of Free Samples from OLPC, Now Available as Torrent

As mentioned last week, the OLPC project has provided some 8.5GB of Creative Commons-licensed sound. Unfortunately, in an all-too-familiar scenario, the servers didn’t stand up to its instant popularity. Good news — most of the content is available now via torrent, with additional content on the Internet Archive. We need a Few Good Seeds, so […]

Yellow Drum Machine Robot Creator: You, Too, Can Make Your Own Robots

If music technology has ever made you dream of autonomous musical robots, crawling around the floor making sound like a Juilliard of mechanical insect prodigies, I’ve got great news for you. While we’re on the subject of DIY electronics, here are some words of encouragement: the designer who made that fantastic drum machine robot making […]

Tamagatchi Mannaro: DIY Soundbox Based on Forrest Mims Atari Punk Console

The Atari Punk Console is one of DIY sonic electronics’ all-time greatest hits. Designed by Forrest M. Mims III — the brilliant electronics artist and engineer whose hand-drawn books were once promoted in Radio Shack — the “Stepped Tone Generator” as it was originally called is an excellent circuit for first-timers or those wanting something […]

Update: Warner Exec Just Brainstorming, Oddly Ignorant of Reality

Suggesting taxes in March makes Americans nervous — who knew? Photo: romanlily. Wait … crap. It’s almost April, isn’t it? It seems Warner exec Jim Griffin was unprepared for the rancor of the Interwebs, because he’s backpedaling on a proposal to create a blanket fee for ISPs on music. All of that was just part […]

3L Beta Entries Closed: Winners Announced on Monday

Thanks to everyone who ran the system spec gauntlet and proudly entered our 3L Beta Giveaway. We’ll draw and announce the winners on Monday when ExiledSurfer and I have finished our respective travel itineraries. In the meantime, for those who would like to get a head start on the 3L interface, artificialeyes have released the […]

The Problem with Music Taxes: Where Does the Money Go, and How Much?

I’ll never fully understand technology bloggers when it comes to music policy. Here’s an obviously stupid idea: Warner Brothers, the label, comes up with a scheme to add a surcharge to ISP bills to allow, supposedly, “legal” use of music file sharing services. Stupid, yes. Here’s the response from Michael Arrington (Techcrunch): “It’s clearly good […]

Pure Data + GEM Workshop in Amsterdam

Our friend Florian Grote is giving a workshop at STEIM in Amsterdam on Pure Data, the open source patching environment that’s a close cousin to Max/MSP. Florian tells us there are a couple of spots left for anyone near STEIM. The workshop is geared for composers, live performers who want to create their own instruments, […]