Snapper, Time-Saving Audio Tool for Mac Finder, Now Shipping

A year ago, Mac music and audio producers were abuzz about a preview of what was then called Soundabout. The idea was to have a powerful audio tool that was always within easy reach in the Mac Finder, for not only previewing audio files, but converting and even editing. Developer AudioEase has finished that tool. […]

More Cute, Yellow Keepon Robot Videos

The Keepon Robot — a bopping yellow bot — was easily the technological darling of 2007. It sent even the most skeptical, hardened technomage into spurts of giggles. So, we’re giving you more: take note, because you, too, could learn to dance to the electrical sounds in the club if this robot can. (Thanks, Mandy, […]

Controller Inspiration: MIDI Gun, Weapon of Beat Destruction

Ed.: It made some headlines on the blogs a couple of years ago, but as we revisit wacky ideas for VJ rigs, well worth revisiting — especially as we’ve been flying a lot. Hello, TSA! Like destroying beats? Looking slick while you do it? Getting strip-searched at the airport? Then you, my friend, need to […]

Another Max/MSP 5 Preview, With Some Subtle Goodies Revealed

Vlad Spears, musician, programmer and maker of the Davel.Plugs audio plugins (previously reviewed on CDM) has a write-up about the forthcoming Max/MSP 5. Andrew Benson of Cycling ’74 gave a presentation at the Bay Area Computer Music Technology Meetup and Vlad kindly drew up a report. Most of the features he describes will not be […]

Best (Unofficial) Product Slogan Ever: Minimoog Old School

If you haven’t been reading the ongoing controversy over the Minimoog Voyager Old School, here’s the best part of the comments yet. Original internal slogan for the project: “Got Balls?” I couldn’t let anyone miss that. (Hey, I think it could have worked as an ad campaign.) I’m not going to touch the debate any […]

Ridiculous Product of the Day: USB Mix Tape

Not really a whole lot I can say about this one — and I’m sure you could just fashion your own if you wanted, which I will say would be a great way for me to stop forgetting where I put my 2 gig flash drive. But this does suggest that, somewhere deep inside, people […]

Weekly Inspiration – Robot Cowboy

Daniel Wilcox is “Robot Cowboy”: “A futuristic expatriate American Space Ranger combines wearable computing, midi guitar, and live energy to wander the digi-range as a robotcowboy playing for dying astronauts. This is a lofi-guitar-compu-show with algorithmic balls from a DEVOspud, laptop-stomping idiot wearing exposed electronics.” Check out Robot Cowboys YouTube channel, specifically : Video Killed […]

ANSI Art, Raised to Gallery Status in SF

I miss ANSI art. In the character-only days of the online world (pre-Web), these text-based graphics had a strangely pop-art quality, with hard edges, digital textures, and bold colors. This is not to be confused with ASCII art, mind you — ANSI art had lots of extra graphical features. Even by the early 1990s, landing […]

Last.fm Frees Full-Length Music and Albums, and Artists Get Paid MORE

Music community Last.fm has made a big announcement today: you can now play full-length tracks and entire albums for free on the Web. Last.fm has managed to leap over restrictions on what qualifies as a “jukebox” by signing deals with labels, from indie to biggie. So far, the US, UK, and Germany are covered, but […]