Developages - Development and Technology Blog

There’s not long to go now before Apple fans get another dose of The Jobster [who’s not actually dead] in action and rolling out new software and gadgets for the faithful. A new iPod nano is on the cards and, if what has been leaked [or completely fabricated from absolutely no hard evidence] can be believed, then the above shot could be what the new one looks like. It conforms to what has been revealed/made up so far, in that the shape will have curved edges and be longer than the current model. It’s certainly prettier than the shot Kevin Rose turned up a week or so ago. That said, can anyone tell me how all leaked product photos are blurry? Last time I checked even cameras on mobiles have auto-focus. I guess we’ll know soon enough.-Martin Lynch [MacNN] ipod apple music

Original post by nafiz

Anyone who hates wires or, has a partner who hates wires, will be happy to see the new On Air WEM-1 Wireless Expansion kit from JBL. Apart from all its technical capabilities, it is ‘Missus-Friendly’, in that it will allow you to finally get the surround sound system into the living room without risk of divorce. The WEM-1 in its simplest form adds wireless capability to any loudspeaker, eliminating the need to run speaker wires across a room, through walls, floors or ceilings. This is very handy if you want those extra surround speakers at the back off the room without any wires. It comprises a transmitter module that hooks up to your audio source, a receiver/amplifier unit that connects to a pair of speakers, a remote control and some accessories. It can also be used for distributing audio from a PC around the home. The WEM-1 has an operating range of up to 70 feet and comes with a decent selection of connection options [line- and speaker-level outputs], to fit most audio equipment. It will cost around £180-200 when it launches later this month. [JBL] audio wireless home

Original post by nafiz

With more and more people listening to music on their mobiles it’s not surprising to see companies like Sennheiser coming up with stylish combo-devices like the MM-200. The audio giant’s latest addition to its Bluetooth headset range combines the powerful CX-400 in-ear buds (which cost £55 if you buy them separately) with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support that allows you to switch between audio playback and your phone at the touch of a button. A built-in microphone means you can chat hands-free on your mobile and the whole unit can either be clipped onto a shirt or lapel or slung around the neck using the supplied lanyard. It uses the latest Bluetooth standard for improved call and audio quality and you can even use it to replace the traditional headset for things like PS3 gaming. The MM 200 is compatible with most modern music phones and will be launched later this year for an expected price of £99, which when you consider the price of the earphones by themselves seems like pretty good value. - Paul Lester [Sennheiser] earphones music mobile phone

Original post by nafiz

Hardcore Apple fans have to pretty much live their life under the shadow of iTunes, so most will be interested in the upcoming version 8 and what additional features it has to offer. On the 9th of September Apple hosts its ‘Lets Rock’ event which is the official launch of the new software, but we’ve heard some leaked details that’ll give you a taster of what you can expect to find.The biggest talking point is the new ‘Genius’ element which is capable of creating playlists from songs in your library that iTunes reckons would sound good together. Of course Papa-Bear needs his honey, so a Genius sidebar will also sit alongside the interface bugging you to download other tunes it thinks would work great with your playlist from the Apple store. Elsewhere a new grid view allows you to browse around more visually, which looks a little like something Microsoft uses on the Zune and can replace Apple’s cover-flow aesthetic. You can also download HD-quality TV shows from the store directly and there’s a ’stunning’ new music visualiser to enjoy. There are bound to be a few more tweaks and touches that’ll be described as ‘and much, much more…’, but this seems to be the meat of it. Which is sad really, because while the Genius feature sounds pretty cool what we’d really like to see is a ballsy move like ditching DRM or finally working in some automatic folder monitoring. Still, I guess this would make life a lot easier and that’s not something Apple seems interested in building its reputation on. - Paul Lester [TechDigest] Apple iTunes iPod

Original post by nafiz

NYC electronic artist Rucyl Mills hacked an M-Audio USB MIDI controller into the fashionably wearable Elektro-07 music controller -

I built the elektro-07 so I could control the sonic and visual parameters of my live performances without having to look deep into the eye of my laptop, hunched over in computer music stance. I’m still learning how to play it.. Software wise, it runs a maxMSP/Jitter patch smoothly, connected to my laptop by a long usb cable. Major thanks to Luke DuBois. Originally it was named the Chakakhantroller after Chaka Khan… but you wouldn’t believe how many people don’t get the reference.. so I changed it to Elektro-07 after my newly launched label, Elektrocardio. Next version will be wireless, and yes… it’s made of black leather and snakeskin.

Chakakhantroller = best controller name ever. - elektro-07 v.1 [via Create Digital Music]

Fashioning Technology

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Original post by Collin Cunningham

The “Sound of Light ” by Matthew Fernandez is a case made for a flourescent tube light that was made by recording and graphic 1 second of the “hum” sound produced by the light. The pattern was made by laser cutting clear acrylic and 50 layers of the substance were uses where each layer corresponds to 20ms of the recording. Another interesting physical visualization of sound by this talented artist / product designer.

The Work of Matthew Plummer Fenandez, via Information Aesthetics

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Original post by Jonah Brucker-Cohen

Following up on its award-winning FireWire speakers, LaCie has decided there’s cash to be made from making a USB version. And so it has. Here are the LaCie USB speakers which look almost identical to the FireWire speakers but, at £39, are half the price. Whoopee. The design comes from LaCie regular Neil Poulton, who’s made a mark in designing great storage devices for LaCie. We especially liked the Hard Disk, a slab-like removable storage drive inspired by the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey and, of course, the LaCie Lego Bricks. The LaCie USB Speakers offer a frequency response of 90Hz-20kHz for ‘clear, vibrant sound’ and the cables can be neatly tucked under the speakers so as not to spoil their clean, modern lines. They are powered off the USB port and can also be used to hook up to an MP3 player, as long as you fork out for an optional adaptor. See another shot below, complete with floating laptop.-Martin Lynch music USB pc lacie

Original post by nafiz

As an homage to Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstein axe, Connecticut electro-percussionist Steve Lovelace created this kit of impressive visually loudness -

OK folks… Here it is, in all its ’80s glory: the 6-sided Red Rig. Made to mimic the look of the vintage drum pads, it’s made of 100% PVC pipe and copper pad fittings. All custom designed - made it up as I went along. The wiring harness took about a day to make, and is almost completely hidden inside the tubes themselves. The ends just hang in place for quick connection to the pads when setting up, and to connect to the snake that feeds the equipment rack.

- The Red Rig

- Red Rig on Flickr

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Original post by Collin Cunningham

Harmon Kardon know a thing or two about decent speakers but no one at IFA 2008 was expecting the company to go design mental and introduce the stunningly different GLA-55 speakers. They’re a high-end, two piece speaker system for use use with hi-fis or PCs, and yes, that is cut-glass you’re looking through. They sport a 3.5in mini-jack for hooking you up to audio systems, PCs and even MP3 players. And, being rated at 56Watts you should be able to really drive anyone nearby nuts with these cracking looking audio, glass paperweights. Apparently the company is only going to make 2000 -3000 sets, but at £500 a pair, we’re guessing they’ll make a profit. So,what do we think? Fantastically modern looking speakers or tacky in a Barbara-Cartland-drawing-room kinda way?-Martin Lynch [Harmon Kardon] music speakers design

Original post by nafiz

Barence takes us to PCPro for a look at the failures of DRM and a discussion of its impending death. Quoting: “Luckily, DRM is dying, at least in the download sphere. Napster’s Dan Nash believes that DRM-free is ‘the general way things are going.’ In his opinion, record companies ‘have no choice but to adapt;’ those that ’stick to DRM on a pay-per-download basis will not remain competitive.’ In the US, Napster has joined Amazon in selling DRM-free content in MP3 format from all the major labels. … Going DRM-free makes sense not just for consumers, but for the industry. Deutche Telekom says three out of four technical support calls its Musicload service had to deal with were the result of DRM. And when it offered a DRM-free option to artists they saw a 40% increase in sales.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post by Soulskill

The Aurora USB control surface has just been released in kit and prebuilt versions. It’s aesthetics and synchronized light effects definitely set it apart from the usual retail offerings - and the open source design means it’s quite friendly to modification. Create Digital Music had a sit-down with the device’s creators and gave took it for a spin.

The Aurora really is something special; you can tell that it’s not the typical store-bought controller and people do respond very well to it. Also, while there are control surfaces with cross-faders like Novation’s adorable Nocturn, I can’t think of anything (amazingly) with this particular, balanced layout of effects controls and two-channel mixing. And it really is open source: the enclosure specs, schematics, firmware, and computer software are all available for editing.

- Hands-on with Aurora, Open Source DJ Control Surface, Shipping Now

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Original post by Collin Cunningham

So, what’s the difference between the new Squeezbox Boom music streaming system and the original Squeezbox from Logitech? Well, this time, Logitech has squeezed in some real audio power meaning you don’t have to hook this up to separate speakers. Inside is a 30Watt all-digital amplifier accompanied by two ¾in, high-definition, soft-dome tweeters and two 3in, high-power, long-throw woofers. Logitech says the bi-amplified design ‘delivers crystal clear sound with minimal noise and distortion’. There’s even a connection for hooking it up to an external, dedicated subwoofer if you need even more low-end thump. You just plug it in wherever you are at home and it will detect your network automatically. After that you can stream your tunes over an 802.11g wireless network connection or listen into thousands of Internet radio broadcasts. The Squeezebox Boom - sadly - also operates as an alarm clock, so it’s not all fun. There are 6 preset buttons for finding your favourite tracks or stations and the remote control even features a tiny magnet so that you can stick it to the unit or the fridge. It’s due for launch here in a few weeks and will cost more than the £150 US price, especially considering the existing Squeezbox costs around £180.-Martin Lynch music wireless

Original post by nafiz

In Singapore, the Dutch consumer electronics maker Philips is designing a multimedia server to stream audio and video through the air, from the Internet to any device in the home.

In Munich, a former unit of Siemens envisions a cordless phone that would double as a music player, wirelessly drawing music from home computers.

In Japan, members of Sony’s global “digital home team” are redesigning 90% of the company’s home electronics components to connect wirelessly to the Internet by 2011.

Across the consumer electronics industry, the leading players are revamping their audio and video equipment for a future centered around the Internet, a world in which televisions, stereos, computers — even kitchen appliances like dishwashers and refrigerators — can communicate with each other over a wireless home network.

Some industry executives say the new focus on Internet content and wireless networks reflects a fundamental shift in home entertainment. 

Expanded lines of “networked entertainment equipment” took center stage this week at the Internationale Funkausstellung in Berlin, the largest consumer electronics convention in Europe, with 1,200 exhibitors and 200,000 visitors.

Sony is introducing plug-in adapters to enable some of its Bravia television sets to connect to the Internet wirelessly. Philips is demonstrating a line of hard-disc stereo systems that can wirelessly read and play music stored on personal computers or laptops in other rooms, streaming music selectively through the house.

Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp are presenting flat-panel TVs that hook up to the Internet, some with wires, some without. Hewlett Packard’s MediaSmart LCD TV will wirelessly stream high-definition video. 

More at the International Herald Tribune.

Tags: HP, philips, samsung, sharp, siemens, sony

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Original post by nafiz

Charles Martin’s wrote a program for use with Pure Data which converts an incoming audio signals pitch and amplitude into a MIDI control value. In addition to the theremin it seems this could be used with a number of different audio signals - Theremin to MIDI control in Pd [via Create Digital Music]

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Original post by Collin Cunningham

With IFA 2008 almost upon us, expect to find some really cool gadgets and consumer technology on show. This weekend we saw some rumoured reports about the new iPod nano and a photo [possibly fake] of its new, longer shape and tapered edges. Sure, it’s alright looking but nothing near as sweet as the new Cowon S9 Curve, which will be making its debut at consumer tech heaven, the IFA Show 2008 in Berlin, from Friday.This baby just eats up the style points like Pac Man. Like its name, it’s a beautifully curved, metal-backed PMP (portable media player) with a 3.3in, 480 x 272-pixel AMOLED screen with touchscreen capabilities. It’s powered by 500MHz dual-core processor, has Bluetooth, T-DMB, G-Sensor (a gesture control) and a ‘dynamic dictionary’, FM radio and voice recorder. Battery life for music is rated at 40 hours. There’s no price but it certainly looks expensive. Let’s hope it isn’t.-Martin Lynch [PMPtoday] music pmp gadget

Original post by nafiz