This week in synths with Matrixsynth, the obsessively-prolific synth lovers’ blog: a master modular synth builder on how modulars could be more affordable, a blog time capsule full of out-of-print music, and a “Welsh Minimoog” model E. Here’s Matrix: Grant Richter of Wiard on Cutting the Cost of Modulars A Modular Renaissance The following is […]

Move over, Adobe — Ubuntu Studio, due in April, promises to put a full, completely open-source graphics package together for Linux. The OS and apps will all be bundled together for easy installation. We recently covered pure:dyne, a high-performance visual OS. Ubuntu Studio looks a little friendlier and broader for newcomers; it’ll be interesting if […]

Linux is looking better and better as a fully open-source, multimedia-optimized operating system for visualists. Adobe has announced the availability of Flash Player for Linux. The bad news is, it’s x86 only, and as expected, there may be some issues. But the good news is, it’s here, and early reports indicate it works. Even as […]

I’m here in San Francisco all week at Macworld, a hub not only for the Mac platform but the visualist/VJ scene as well. I’ll be reporting all week (and next, as I catch up) for both CDMotion and CDMusic. This is a huge chance to learn about Flash (Flashforward is hosting a special Macworld edition), […]

In a crowded field of VJ apps, Modul8 stands out as the app Photoshop lovers would want to use onstage. A fully extensible modular compositing system lets you combine images with per-pixel transparency — now, more attractive and better-performing than ever thanks to anti-aliasing and hardware acceleration. Live visualists get one tasty upgrade in the […]

With its touchscreen input, compact size, internal Nintendo-style synth, and wireless Internet connection, the Nintendo DS has a lot of appeal for music use. The challenge is how to hook it up to a computer. TheRain has a hardware hack called DSMIDI: with a little soldering and hacking, you can connect the DS to a […]

The Wi-Fi link on the Nintendo DS makes it possible to harnass the game unit as a software controller, made more appealing by the DS’ two screens and touchscreen/stylus. In one very cool student project at the University Of Applied Science Hagenberg, a three-person team (Matthias Zauner, Ralph Windischhofer, and Martina Karan) has developed a […]