Technology News

iPhone's New 'FaceTime' Video Calls Are Free

Source: Michael Ricci
June 21, 2010

Looking to save money on your wireless bill? Have the new iPhone? Maybe you should start making video calls instead.

With this week's launch of the new iPhone 4 and it's accompanying software, the Apple smartphone now enables a video calling feature by way of a new application called “FaceTime." And apparently, these videos calls, unlike their voice counterparts, are free.

Video calls don't count against your carrier allotment of minutes, an Apple representative confirms today. Even though video calls ...

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Phone Software Takes the Taps out of Typing

Source: Michael Ricci
June 21, 2010

Back in the 1990s, typing out hello on most cellphones required an exhausting 13 taps on the number keys, like so: 44-33-555-555-666. That was before the inventor Cliff Kushler, based here in Seattle, and a partner created software called T9, which could bring that number down to three by guessing the word being typed.

Now there is a new challenge to typing on phones. More phones are using virtual keyboards on a touch screen, replacing physical buttons. But pecking out ...

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Apple's iPhone Software Upgrade -- iOS 4 -- Released Via iTunes

Source: Michael Ricci
June 21, 2010

Apple is allowing iPhone and iPod touch users to download the newest version of its mobile operating system, called iOS 4.

The revamped operating system will allow users to run multiple applications at the same time, as well as feature a gaming platform, a built-in advertising system and Apple's proprietary iBook application. Users will also be able to organize their apps into folders, and there are several enhancements to the built-in mail program, including the ability to keep related messages ...

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June 21, 1948: Columbia's Microgroove LP Makes Albums Sound Good

Source: All About Jazz
June 21, 2010

1948: Columbia Records puts the needle down on historys first successful microgroove plastic, 12-inch, 33-1/3 LPs in New York, sparking a music-industry standard so strong that the digital age has yet to kill it.

Columbia engineer Peter Carl Goldmark set out with his staff in 1939 to evolve the 78-rpm record forward to 33-1/3 rpm, extend playback time to more than 20 minutes per side, and shrink vinyl grooves to an accessible, acceptable millimeter size. Before that time, music labels, ...

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Is the Mac Mini the New Apple TV?

Source: All About Jazz
June 21, 2010

Apple was rumored to release a new Apple TV at WWDC and it never came to pass. But it did release a brand-new Mac mini in the days hence. Could the new Mac mini be the replacement for the Apple TV?

I have to admit to getting caught up in the excitement when rumors of a new Apple TV surfaced in the runup to WWDC. It went like this: the new Apple HDTV (my name) would be a smaller $99 ...

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YouTube Introduces Free Video Editing Tool

Source: HypeBot
June 18, 2010

With the introduction of YouTube's free editing tool, it's clear that Google is extending its cloud computing initiatives beyond the consumption of content to enabling the creation of it too. The new editor, though basic in application, is intended to help users easily navigate tasks such as trimming their videos or constructing longer montages from several clips. In democratizing this editing tool, YouTube has given their video-sharing site a new found creative aspect that can be utilized both by artists ...

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Musical Mad Scientist Concocts Bizarre Instruments, Strange Sounds

Source: All About Jazz
June 19, 2010

Diego Stocco forged a niche for himself in the music world by creating sounds using custom-made instruments and unusual sources. His sonic palette includes sounds culled from sources as simple as sand and as drastic as a burning piano.

The hybrid instruments Stocco concocts, like the Experibass, generally involve sawing common musical instruments in half and attaching them to other instruments or less- conventional objects. Film composers use Stocco's sought-after sounds -- which are delivered in a multisample format or ...

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GigsWiz Opens Free Beta to All Artists

Source: HypeBot
June 18, 2010

GigsWiz has opened its free fan request widget to all artists. Still in open beta, the service is designed to to help bands and their agents quantify the demand for gigs geographically, and help them make better decisions on where to play. Hard stas, Gigwiz hopes, will make it much easier for agents toconvince local promoters to book their bands.

The service enables bands to place a widget on their website and Facebook and MySpace pages, allowing them to collect ...

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