Technology News

Apple Reviews Netshare; Permanent Ban Likely

Source: All About Jazz
August 10, 2008

Nullriver's short-lived iPhone application NetShare, which turns your iPhone into a wireless modem for your laptop, might not be returning to the App Store after all.

Earlier in the week, Nullriver received a response from Apple saying the removal of NetShare was a mistake that required “technical review." It turns out that was a blanket term, because in a phone interview today Nullriver's CEO Adam Dan said Apple was reviewing user contracts with providers, including AT&T. Though Apple is continuing ...

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Recording Class A Tube Mic Preamps

Source: All About Jazz
August 10, 2008

Dan Alexander Audio Mic Preamp

Dan Alexander, a musician and recording engineer in San Francisco, has been a dealer of vintage pro audio gear for at least 20 years, and, in the early 1980s, sold me my first pair of Neumann M 50s and all my Schoeps 221Bs. I was thus quite curious when I heard that, in addition to selling large Neve consoles and individual channel strips, he had entered the manufacturing arena with a mic preamp-one whose circuitry ...

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Can Blu-Ray Save Blockbuster?

Source: All About Jazz
August 9, 2008

Blockbuster thinks (or hopes) Blu-ray is breathing some life into the movie disc.

The DVD may have less than a decade before it goes the way of VHS. Until then, the ailing rental chain says it saw “consistent growth" in sales of Blu-ray devices in what was an otherwise lackluster quarter.

“We're selling as many as [2,000] or 3,000 units per week today of Blu-ray devices, and that basically builds our customer base and our loyalty. Because once someone buys ...

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Recording Vocals (The Microphone)

Source: All About Jazz
August 9, 2008

The elusive “magic" vocal track is an age-old drama in the recording world and no matter how good technology is getting, recording vocals is still an art form in and of itself.

There are several factors involved. In Part One of this series we talked about the “Room." In Part Two we will discuss the “Vocal Mic."

This often takes a lot of trial and error and no one mic is perfect for every vocalist. A lot of producers both ...

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Survey: Public Divided on in-Flight Cell Use

Source: All About Jazz
August 8, 2008

CELL PHONE HELL 4 Out Of 10 Say Yes To Phones

WASHINGTON -- A new survey suggests nearly half of U.S. residents would oppose allowing cell phone use aboard flights even if there were no issues with the phones interfering with aircraft communications systems. According to the Department of Transportation survey, about four out of 10 residents who were polled said cell phone use should definitely or probably be permitted. There appears to be a cell phone generation gap. Among ...

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Pro Tools vs Logic Pro 8

Source: All About Jazz
August 8, 2008

I'm currently running M-Powered Pro Tools 7.1 on OS 10.4 but I'm strongly considering switching to Logic Pro 8. I investigated Logic after the price drop but found it does a lot more too.

Pro Tools: 32 tracks (only 16 stereo), this becomes problematic with aux. bus. no OMF/AAF support out of the box ($500USD plugin LE only) no 5.1 Only supports digidesign or m-audio hardware (might not suit your needs) Only 1 MIDI instrument out of the box (a ...

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'Consumer Reports' Warns of Safari Risks

Source: PC Magazine
August 8, 2008

We have reported many times on security problems in the Apple Safari browser, both on Windows and the Mac. Not only does it have a rich history of vulnerabilities that Apple takes its time fixing, but it lacks what have come to be standard security protection features found in other browsers. Now Consumer Reports, in its Protect yourself online report (full content is available only to subscribers), is warning Mac users against complacency. As they point out, there is nothing ...

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Online Music Sales Muddle Royalties, Lawyers Say

Source: PC Magazine
August 8, 2008

The current system for getting royalty payments to musicians in the United States is seriously hampering the introduction of new, innovative music distribution models, and that problem is not going to get any better in the era of the digital download, leading music experts said Thursday. As consumers abandon CDs for Internet-based downloads, the industry is filling the gap with new licensing models, but many of the most innovative models are being done internationally, like ISPs abroad bundling unlimited music ...

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