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wprkdj.org Still Down
If you haven’t noticed, the wprkdj.org website is down. More than a week ago the Rollins website indicated it would be down until April 28th. It’s well past the expected restore date and the site isn’t back up. Apparently other sites & servers for Rollins College are affected. The main Rollins.edu site is still operational. Until IT gets the issue resolved, the chat will be unavailable. However, it doesn’t mean you can’t stream the radio broadcast. You can stream from Shoutcast or even better, stream from iTunes.
Here’s the instructions if you don’t know how:
Launch iTunes. From “Library”, select Radio. Click the disclosure triangle for College/University. Scroll down until you see WPRK 91.5 FM. * Ignore the comment, “Nibblebox is defining a new brand of Internet entertainment...” I have no idea what that’s about, but least the radio broadcast is correct. I’ll be back on air on May 14, 2010.
* UPDATE: wprkdj.org is back up and working again. The link will forward you to http://asp2.rollins.edu/wprk/
Transmit 4 Released
* My favorite addition: the new iDisk like Transmit feature.
Modul8 Version 2.6.1
The Criterion Collection on Hulu.com
Feb. 18, 2010
“Sick of the cold weather and figure skating? In the mood for a different kind of flying blades? The Criterion Collection has just launched a channel on Hulu, on which you can now watch six features in the classic Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman series for free. Currently showing are The Tale of Zatoichi, The Tale of Zatoichi Continues, New Tale of Zatoichi, The Fugitive, On the Road, and Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold. All six films star Shintaro Katsu in his most iconic role, as the legendary blind masseur who lives by the yakuza code and answers his foes with a deadly cane sword.” -- The Criterion Collection
Keymote
Keymote allows you to control your computer using single-button key commands, rather than attempting complicated finger-acrobatics. Install the Keymote Receiver and pair it with your iPhone. Once connected, you can use your iPhone to control programs such as Front Row, Finder, GaragBand, Hulu Desktop, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc... You can customize keyboard shortcuts to decrease the use of combination keys. How nice of them to include such features.
Mint.com Updates
W3C Standards
Visit: http://beta.w3.org/standards/
Blog Changes
wikipedia.org/captcha
Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart
A CAPTCHA or Captcha (pronounced /ˈkæptʃə/) is a type of challenge-response test used in computing to ensure that the response is not generated by a computer.
Automap mobile
MIDI CONTROL IN YOUR PALM
Now you can turn your iPhone / iPod touch into a MIDI controller, with multiple faders and buttons easily assigned to parameters in any software that allows MIDI control, and even some that don't!
AUTOMATIC PLUG-IN MAPPING
Instant, wireless, palm-sized control of all automatable VST, AU or Pro Tools format plug-ins in any DAW.
INSTANT VISUAL FEEDBACK
See at a glance how every control on your iPhone / iPod touch is assigned, both on the iPhone / iPod touch itself, and across your computer screen
LEARN AND CLEAR MODES
Make and delete assignments directly from your computer screen using lightening-fast 'Click-Touch-Assign' facilities.
AUTOMATIC MIXER CONTROL
Ideal for remote track arming and muting, transport and master level controls in a growing number of supported DAWs. (Control these elements in non-supported DAWs using separate dedicated Automap systems, or your own custom mappings.)
PLUG-IN AND MIXER MAP BROWSING FACILITY
Get to the right software fast! Control maps are automatically placed into categories depending on type (instrument, mixer etc.) for quick and easy browsing and selection with hardware or software.
Source: http://us.novationmusic.com/
Terms of Service
“TOSBack keeps an eye on 44 website policies. Every time one of them changes, you'll see an update here (www.tosback.org).”
Wolfram|Alpha
“As of now, Wolfram|Alpha contains 10+ trillion of pieces of data, 50,000+ types of algorithms and models, and linguistic capabilities for 1000+ domains. Built with Mathematica—which is itself the result of more than 20 years of development at Wolfram Research—Wolfram|Alpha's core code base now exceeds 5 million lines of symbolic Mathematica code. Running on supercomputer-class compute clusters, Wolfram|Alpha makes extensive use of the latest generation of web and parallel computing technologies, including webMathematica and gridMathematica.” -- Wolfram|Alpha website.
I ran a few of the samples and created my own searches (after reading the FAQs). In my example, I typed in the search box, “internet users in USA”. Within a second, the knowledge engine returned results. See figure below.
United States had 223 million Internet users (2008 estimate). United Kingdom had 40.2 million (2007) and Japan had 88.11 million people. Wolfram|Alpha provides downloadable PDFs (but most of the time I use ‘Save As PDF’ in Safari’s Print command).
Here’s another Wolfram|Alpha example. Type musical notes in the search box; I typed, “CEGBbDF#A”. WolframAlpha interpreted my input as musical notes. Notation with a link to play the audio was provided and a keyboard image with tone distances was displayed.
Type, “time in Tokyo” into the search box and press Enter key. Wolfram figured out my location and showed the time differences (Tokyo vs Orlando). Try typing “On The Road, Naked Lunch” in the search box. You can find out the publishing date and publisher name for both, simultaneously.
Very cool. My one suggestion so far: design the site to not appear like other ‘familiar’ search engines, but ensure that it retains the usability.
Wired Magazine’s EPICENTER article by Ryan Singel claims, “Wolfram|Alpha Fails the Cool Test”. In his example Singel inputs “swiss beatz”. Was that the best he could come up with? Mr. Singel continues, “Wolfram|Alpha doesn’t do a single one of those better than Google does. In fact, there’s not one on the top 100 it does better than Google. Granted this is a skewed sample of pop culture-driven searches, but as a search engine you have to at least try.”.
An online reader writes (in the voice of complainers), “my calculator can’t spell any of the most popular words in the dictionary”.
Wired’s EPICENTER - Comment Posts :
Posted by: CoachRey | 05/18/09 | 9:24 pm
I’m not impressed with Wolfram|Alpha, maybe we made too much hype. I Wolframmed my own name, Chuck Rey (doesn’t that sound a bit hedonistic?), and “Wolfram|Alpha isn’t sure what to do with your input.” Makes me feel special I’ll stick with Google.
Posted by: Tareq | 05/19/09 | 1:35 am
Wolfram|Alpha failed in the very beginning. it does not know about ASIF ALI ZARDARI (or Zardari only),president of Pakistan,(husband of Benazir Bhutto).Wolfram|Alpha has no knowledge about world famous Cricketers.Indian opposition party BJP is not its cup of tea. it is not sure what to do with search term JANG,the Urdu language top newspaper. Sorry dave i am going back to google.
Posted by: papadoc80 | 05/18/09 | 9:34 pm
I do not think Wolfram is promoting it as search engine, its more of a “knowledge engine”. I am sure it will be of immense use to educators. Its financial search for example is amazing, much more detailed than what you would find on google and yahoo finance. Of course it has its drawbacks on it being “cool” but I think its a different direction.
Posted by: Tueksta | 05/19/09 | 6:45 am
worst wired-article in a long time. stop thinking of wolfram alpha as a search engine, stop comparing an alpha product at its first day with a product has been dominating its market for years, and stop having completely wrong expectations, only because it looks like a search engine.
Posted by: quailburger | 05/19/09 | 10:30 am
Isn’t saying
“if you look at the top 100 rising searches on Google via Google Trends…Wolfram|Alpha doesn’t do a single one of those better than Google does”
a bit like saying
“my calculator cant spell any of the most popular words in the dictionary”
Surely you’re comparing different things. Personally I’m impressed with what Wolfram|Alpha can do at such an early stage of development.
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/05/wolframalpha-fails-the-cool-test/
Handmade Electronic Music
Handmade Electronic Music
The Art of Hardware Hacking
By Nicolas Collins
ISBN: 978-0-415-99873-4
Binding: Paperback (also available in Hardback)
Published by: Routledge
Publication Date: 13th April 2009
Pages: 360
Ableton Live 8
Ableton Suite
Suite is the complete package, the "X-Large" version. Suite gives you the tools and the sounds, with a packed sound library and 10 Ableton instruments.
Ableton Live
Live is the "Large" version. It provides a comprehensive environment for writing, producing and performing music plus a basic sound set.
Ableton Live LE
Live LE provides a focused feature set—it's the "Medium" version of Live. Just the essential tools and basic sound content for making music.
YouTube Education
The YouTube Blog
“We are always looking for ways to make it easier for you to find, watch, and share videos. Many of you have told us that you wanted to take your favorite videos offline. So we've started working with a few partners who want their videos shared universally and even enjoyed away from an Internet connection. For example, universities use YouTube to share lectures and research with an ever-expanding audience. In an effort to promote the sharing of information, we are testing free downloads of YouTube videos from Stanford, Duke, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UCTV (broadcasting programs from throughout the UC system). YouTube users who are traveling or teachers who want to show these videos in classrooms with limited or no connectivity should find this particularly useful”.
Bleep * Beta
They say all good things come to an end. But sometimes it just changes name.
Warpmart will now be combining with Bleep.com. Bleep has been Warpmart's sister store, also owned by Warp Records and selling digital music for the last 5 years. We have decided to put it all together as we believe good music is good music – regardless of format.
Ableton Live 8
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New in Ableton Live 8 - newsletter@ableton.com
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* New groove engine
Groove patterns can add life and swing to straight sequences. Live 8's new groove engine lets Live users apply groove patterns in real time, extract grooves from audio or MIDI sources, and (q)uantize1 audio and MIDI in real time. It also comes with a new groove library.
1 typo with missing ‘q’.
* New warping engine
Live 8 introduces a new, more direct way of working with warping and some important Warp Mode enhancements. Live users can now warp audio events by adjusting the events on the timeline (instead of stretching and squeezing the timeline around the events). Beats Mode has been updated, there's a completely new Complex Warp Mode and it's now possible to slice audio files to MIDI tracks based on transients.
* Looper
A much-requested feature, the Ableton Looper effect is classic sound-on-sound looping without the limitations of a hardware device. Looper is set up for remote operation, so it's possible to record, overdub and more without touching the computer. Live automatically syncs tempo to the loops played ("first loop sync"), and managing loops is a matter of simple drag and drop.
* New effects
Live 8 includes five powerful new effects, each with a strong personality and serious "classic" potential: Vocoder, Multiband Dynamics, Overdrive, Limiter and Frequency Shifter. These effects obviously contain all the well-known aspects of these devices, but they really shine due to some innovative new features and enhancements from the Ableton labs. These are effects that are not only practical and easy to use but also inspiring.
* Workflow enhancements
Version 8 makes Live easier with a number of most-wanted enhancements and some deceptively simple detail work. These include real-time crossfades in the Arrangement View, enhanced MIDI editing, group tracks, multiple track selection, a screen magnifier and more.
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2. New in Ableton Suite 8
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* World-class sound library
Ableton Suite 8's library completely surpasses everything that Ableton has ever offered before. With the hard-working creative professional in mind, Ableton has put together a well-balanced and comprehensive tool set, including synthesis, real-world "Sound Objects," presets, grooves, templates and, above all, a wide-ranging set of beautiful sounds. No need to be quiet in this library.
* Collision and Corpus
Collision is a unique instrument for authentic mallet sounds and creative percussion. Co-developed with AAS, it uses physical modeling technology to reproduce real-world instruments such as xylophones, marimbas and glockenspiels, but also provides enough depth to create truly dramatic new instruments and sounds. Corpus, a separate effect that reproduces Collision's resonator section, widens the scope even further, giving you a far-reaching sonic continuum from authentic real-world sounds to exotic, experimental effects.
* Latin Percussion
Latin Percussion is a collection of acoustic percussion instruments such as congas, bongos, timbales, claves, shakers, tambourines and bells from the worlds of Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and African music. It includes a wide selection of clips and grooves, so you don't only get the drums, you also get the drummer. The package contains over 1GB of carefully sampled percussion instruments, 8 multi-articulation kits, 32 individual instrument groups, 50 clips of patterns and phrases, and a set of Latin grooves. The instruments feature realistic articulations, detailed velocity layers and additional features to ensure playability and stress-free integration with your hardware. Latin Percussion was produced in association with E-Instruments.
* More Operator: more power
Operator, Ableton's renowned do-it-all synthesizer, has been given a major overhaul. We opened up the hood, took a long hard look inside and did some serious hot-rod stuff. New filter types, more modulation routing options and additive wavetable synthesis with drawable partials make Operator more powerful and flexible than ever.
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Otronicon
“January 16-20, 2009. Orlando Science Center. Open to schools Jan 20-23, 2009.Serious gamer? Or simply curious? Either way, this year’s Otronicon V.4 is how everyone gets their hands on the coolest innovations of the digital revolution. (And some of those old-school favorites, too)”.
“History of Macintosh” at Otronicon V.4
TechSpansion
“...After much soul-searching (it's not you, it's me), for personal reasons, Techspansion is closing its virtual doors. The Support Forum and Support E-mail will be available for a while longer to take care of any remaining issues for you.”
In the last site update, they provided directions on how to backup VisualHub.
“In order to preserve VisualHub (or AudialHub) if you need to switch computers, you need to back up two things:
1: The VisualHub (or AudialHub) app itself
2: The conversion engine
To back up the conversion engine,
copy the folder at: /Library/Application Support/Techspansion
...for good measure, you can also back up your Preferences file, containing your registration info in case you lose the original purchase e-mail.
It's at:
/Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/
com.techspansion.visualhub.plist
...or for AudialHub:
/Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/
com.techspansion.audialhub.plist
As far as I can tell, the two programs will continue to work in Snow Leopard, but I obviously can't predict the future or what Apple will do in it, though.“