May 7, 2014
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Multiple podcasts, including Twins podcast “Gleeman and the Geek” (hosted by HardballTalk’s own Aaron Gleeman), another Twins podcast “Talk to Contact,” Pirates podcast “Pirates Prospects,” Mets podcast “Mets Musings,” Cubs podcast “Bleacher Nation,” Yankees podcast “It’s About the Yankees, Stupid,” Rangers Podcast “Rangers Podcast in Arlington” and several others were removed from iTunes.
This is odd. MLBAM released a statement saying they didn’t ask for the podcasts to be removed, but did ask for trademark issues to be resolved.
There are many products on the market, like the Apollo, that will give you studio-quality audio, but finding that same quality in a small package is a bit more difficult. With the Apollo Twin, Universal Audio hit on a great balance between power and portability.
Musicians and engineers often have to make a decision when they are working with audio on the road: Do I want quality or convenience? Obviously, taking a rack mount unit with you to a hotel or on a plane isn’t practical, so, a more compact interface is used in its place. Clearly, there are sacrifices made with that decision.
Usually, that sacrifice is quality. If you’re laying down another guitar track or even doing a rough mix, you want the best quality gear you can get your hands on. In my studio, I use an Apollo. I’m familiar with how it works, what settings work in a variety of situations and how it’s going to react when I track or mix. Using it is like putting on an old pair of slippers—it just feels good.
That’s exactly how I felt with the Apollo Twin. The device includes the same software applications (Console and UAD Meter & Control Panel) that its big brother, Apollo does, so even that is familiar to the user right away.
Apollo Twin includes a large knob in the center of the device that controls volume and preamp gain, if the preamp is selected. The front panel includes everything you need without even looking at the software1 Input Select, Low Cut Filter, +48, Pad, Polarity, Link. Preamp, and Monitor are all available on the front of Apollo Twin.
Apollo Twin is Thunderbolt-only, so you’ll need a Mac to connect and use it. With the speed of that connection, even processing audio with plug-ins enabled in the Console app is done with near zero latency. I don’t believe Universal Audio actually says zero latency, but that’s probably because they aren’t allowed by law. In every piece of audio tracking or mixing I’ve tried it was indistinguishable, so I’m saying zero latency.
The Apollo Twin has two high-quality Mic/Line inputs on the back, as well as a Hi-Z instrument input, and headphone jack on the front. That’s more than enough to get your project going. It also has two Monitor outputs and two Line Outputs on the back. The Apollo Twin is capable of 24-bit/192 kHz audio conversion.
To get you started, Universal Audio provides a generous collection of plug-ins including amp modelers, compressors, EQs, and Reverb. The real magic of Apollo Twin for me was the inclusion of the UA 610-B Tube Preamp and EQ and UA’s Unison technology.
Unison allows the user to emulate a classic analog mic preamp gain stage. Turning it on in the Console app means that everything coming through that channel is recorded as if it was going through a 610-B Tube Preamp. The difference is amazing.
I’m a huge fan of classic analog gear and the warmth it brings to my recordings. We’ve all tried hitting that sweet spot of digital recording and analog sound, but I haven’t had anything help quite like UA’s Unison technology. It’s been on my tracks from the minute I started using the Apollo Twin, and it’s made a difference too.
I rely on my Apollo to do all the heavy audio lifting in my studio. Now, I rely on Apollo Twin to match that quality and ease-of-use when I’m on the road. There is simply nothing better.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
On stage today at TechCrunch Disrupt New York, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer pushed against the narrative that Yahoo is worth nothing. The company has a market capitalization in the tens of billions, but’s it been pointed out that if you add up the value of its stakes in Yahoo Japan, and Alibaba, the company could be valued at something approaching zero.
Yahoo’s Web sites still look like something out of the ’90s to me. Having said that, I have faith in Mayer.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
I want to teach you how to take better photographs with the camera you already have.
Whether it’s an iPhone or a point and shoot or a DSLR, I’ve got ten easy to grasp tips, tricks and techniques that I promise will make the next photograph you take better than the last one.
Great idea to have the teacher online with you, giving the course and answering questions.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
During her nearly two decades at Apple, Cotton served as gatekeeper to company co-founder Steve Jobs and current CEO Tim Cook, and guided the media narrative around pretty much everything from the iMac to the iPad. She’s long been among the company’s most powerful executives and played a key role in shaping the mystique and exclusivity surrounding the Apple brand.
I’ve known Katie for a many years and am sad to see her go.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Apple ranks highest in overall satisfaction with a score of 830 and performs highest in all study factors except cost. Samsung ranks second with a score of 822 and achieves above-average scores in the features, styling and design, and cost factors.
Apple is known for its superior design and quality. When you put that together with price and the ecosystem of apps, music and videos, the iPad is unbeatable.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Researchers have uncovered Android-based malware that disables infected handsets until end users pay a hefty cash payment to settle trumped-up criminal charges involving the viewing of illegal pornography.
Sweet baby Jesus, go get an iPhone people.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Wired’s Philip Di Salvo interviewed Om Malik on the future of journalism. Good read.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Justin Williams:
I’ve been a founding member of the ADN movement since 2012 and have renewed each of my developer accounts without much hestitation. I’m abnormal however. I prefer paying my products rather than being advertised to, want to pay higher air fares for better service…
This is such a great article. I’m like Justin: I don’t mind paying for a good product or service, but we’ve become so accustomed to receiving everything for free with services like Twitter and Facebook, that it’s become the norm.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
In other words, U.S. Internet providers are the worst at making sure their networks can meet demand, at least from Level 3. Instead of augmenting their network capacity (at costs that are “not significant,” according to Level 3), these ISPs are holding out for payments, either from middlemen or from content providers such as Netflix.
This is what we pay for. As consumers, there seems to be very little we can do because they are all part of the scheme.
Written by Dave Mark
When you look at the memory consumption on your iOS device, chances are high that a good chunk of it is taken up by a category labeled simply as “other”. Read the linked post for three steps you can take to free up some space. Even if none of these fixes are new to you, it’s nice to be reminded to clear the backlog every once in a while.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Peter Cohen:
I also use iTunes Match, which has a 25,000 song limit. What happens when I hit the limit? Turns out things get weird.
It’s ridiculous that this happens these days, and the solutions are cumbersome and awful.
Written by Dave Mark
The corporate titans who lead Australia’s top 50 companies are as likely to have degrees in engineering as ones in business or economics, according to a recent Leading Company analysis. Nor is it only Australian mining conglomerates where engineers are rising to the top. Around the world a combination of engineering experience with an MBA from a top business school tends to be a common path to the corner office. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is an engineer. So are General Motors’ Mary Barra and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and the list goes on.
In fact, engineering long has ranked as the most common undergraduate degree among Fortune 500 CEOs. Even Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, has an engineering Ph.D under his belt.
Why do engineers end up leading companies? Is it because engineers as such are CEO material, or is it because they are more likely to have changes of heart during their careers? If so, why, how and when does this occur?
I think one value of having a technical leader is that they have a deeper understanding of the problems their company is trying to solve. A background in sales and marketing is just not a big enough hook on which to hang a company’s vision.
Not that a CEO needs to know the tech itself. They need to know enough to appreciate the difficulty of the problem they are trying to solve, to understand how to communicate with the people who are solving the problems so the truth makes its way from one end of the company to the other.
Written by Dave Mark
Symantec Corp. invented commercial antivirus software to protect computers from hackers a quarter-century ago. Now the company says such tactics are doomed to failure.
Antivirus “is dead,” says Brian Dye, Symantec’s senior vice president for information security. “We don’t think of antivirus as a moneymaker in any way.”
The basic antivirus mechanism is too limited to keep up with both the sheer number of worms and viruses and the evolution of more sophisticated means of attack.
Symantec pioneered computer security with its antivirus software in the late 1980s. The technology keeps hackers out by checking against a list of malicious code spotted on computers. Think of it as an immune system for machines.
But hackers increasingly use novel bugs. Mr. Dye estimates antivirus now catches just 45% of cyberattacks.
That last bit is eye-opening. Just 45%? That’s a lot of malware slipping over, no, flowing over the gates.
You might think that Symantec was throwing in the towel. But no, they’ve got a new strategy. Interesting read.
May 6, 2014
Written by Jim Dalrymple
The Galaxy S5 has 40 applications only, which is much reduced compared to, for example, the Galaxy Note 3 having 51 apps. 40 applications in the 2 pages. That’s it. If wanted, other relatively less frequently used apps can be easily downloaded through Galaxy Essential and Galaxy Gift widget.
Samsung is praising itself for only pre-installing 40 apps? That’s 40 apps… pre-installed. While admitting they used to pre-install more. Fucking morons.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
I love this device. I just spent two weeks away in Ireland and Scotland, and was able to keep up on the NHL playoff games, thanks to my Slingbox. The only problem is that I need another one so I can watch my cable box too.
Written by Shawn King
Ken Segall:
As product names go, iWatch is every bit as obvious as iPhone was. Apple would desire it for exactly the same reason: it clearly describes the category it is about to disrupt, and it echoes all the i-goodness that came before it. It’s a name that single-handedly does an awful lot of the heavy lifting for the marketing dept. Second, securing the iWatch name may require some fancy footwork. According to Bloomberg there are more than 50 companies that can lay claim to the name. The biggest one of the bunch is Swatch, which has been marketing a product called iSwatch since 2009. Swatch is already making noise that the name iWatch will cause confusion in the marketplace.
It will be easier for Apple when it comes to light that “iWatch” isn’t a product but an OS/platform.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Dalton Caldwell, App.net co-founder:
The good news is that the renewal rate was high enough for App.net to be profitable and self-sustaining on a forward basis. Operational and hosting costs are sufficiently covered by revenue for us to feel confident in the continued viability of the service. No one should notice any change in the way the App.net API/service operates. To repeat, App.net will continue to operate normally on an indefinite basis.
The bad news is that the renewal rate was not high enough for us to have sufficient budget for full-time employees. After carefully considering a few different options, we are making the difficult decision to no longer employ any salaried employees, including founders. Dalton and Bryan will continue to be responsible for the operation of App.net, but no longer as employees. Additionally, as part of our efforts to ensure App.net is generating positive cash flow, we are winding down the Developer Incentive Program. We will be reaching out to developers currently enrolled in the program with more information.
Very sad.
Written by Shawn King
Ars Technica:
Yahoo yesterday announced that it will stop complying with Do Not Track signals that Web browsers send on behalf of users who wish to not be monitored for advertising purposes. “As of today, web browser Do Not Track settings will no longer be enabled on Yahoo,” a company blog said. “As the first major tech company to implement Do Not Track, we’ve been at the heart of conversations surrounding how to develop the most user-friendly standard. However, we have yet to see a single standard emerge that is effective, easy to use and has been adopted by the broader tech industry.”
As one of the commenters pointed out, “this is in a nutshell why optional compliance doesn’t work.”
Written by Jim Dalrymple
EZdrummer 2 is the easiest and the best drum sampler I’ve ever used—and I’ve used almost everything on the market.
It’s a good day for Jazz lovers—iTunes has just added Blue Note Records to its list of labels on the store. That’s not all, iTunes Radio is also featuring Blue Note in a special channel that streaming music from 75 years of The Finest In Jazz.
Blue Note says its goal is to deliver all of its albums to iTunes. All of the 100 albums will be “Mastered for iTunes,” a technique recommended by Apple to ensure listeners get the best quality digital music possible.
Today’s catalog releases include a 75-track anniversary collection titled Blue Note 75 that spans the label’s entire history as well as six exclusive introductory 10-track Blue Note 101 compilations. A series of Blue Note Select collections will also be featured beginning with Miles Davis’ Take Off: The Complete Blue Note Albums on May 19, and Clifford Brown’s Brownie Speaks: The Complete Blue Note Recordings, which will be released June 10.
Blue Note’s iTunes space will feature a monthly Artist Spotlight, beginning with today’s spotlight on Herbie Hancock. His Blue Note albums include his debut album Takin’ Off which was recorded 1962, and comprises numerous classics such as My Point Of View, Empyrean Isles, Maiden Voyage, and Speak Like A Child.
The iTunes Radio station dedicated to Blue Note Jazz will feature songs from all 75 years of the catalog and will be updated as new music is released. Artists will include one of my personal all-time favorites, Thelonious Monk.
You can download the albums on iTunes or listen to Blue Note artists on iTunes Radio today.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Matt Gemmell does a great job on offering some advice on the dos and don’ts of working from home. Over the years, the hardest thing I’ve found is the discipline to leave work and spend time doing something else. I still haven’t found a remedy for that.
