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Technology
can be cool or hot, shiny, corroded, heavy and strong, compact,
huge, finely machined or good enough.
But
however they look and feel and seem, the machines and gadgets that
we use to create and change and improve our world are the totally
coolest kind of tech.
Let's
explore!
MUSICPOLE
MIDI device and synth
Musicians seem
to be especially adept at inventing unique instruments, and these
days that often
means ones that can also be connected
to a computer. Here's a recent novel MIDI device: the MusicPole
http://www.themusicpole.com/
Apparently you
strap contact strips to your thumbs, then to hit the notes you
slide your thumbs
over live areas, the “keys,” arrayed
on a tube in a unique way to improve usability.
It costs about
$400, and is lightweight, festive looking, and versatile, since
it can serve
as keyboard, percussion, or other synth instrument. It
is being sold by the musician-inventor.
Tex-Edit
Plus, richly basic text handling software
Sure, you can get Microsoft Word, the ultimate text program,
which can drive you to the store, buy breakfast, cook it for
you, eat it for you, then drop you off back home.
And when
you are writing a book or other elaborate project, there’s
nothing like it.
But for everyday notes and pounding out fictions and essays,
the handy little shareware Tex-Edit Plus fits the bill perfectly.
It is lightweight,
very fast, and awesomely stable. Back when Apple’s built-in
SimpleText/TextEdit was too simple and cranky, Tex-Edit came
along to carry the load, and those who started
using it then have never stopped.
It’s fine
for the most basic use: pop it open, type, save. Then do some
basic
formatting, change fonts, save as RTF or ASCII
or Word, and leave it running quietly in the background, ever
ready.
If you feel
adventurous, do some exploring, because it has lots of capabilities— record
sound, choose from a variety of Applescripts, write html code,
and clean up or sort text.
It is also
the most polite of sharewares— does not nag, expire,
or turn purple (unless you want it to.) This surely has cost
developer Tom Bender some revenues over the years, but has also
made him legendary. Tex-Edit Plus is like a good pencil— it does
exactly what you want, yet supports finesse. And, bonus, it never
needs sharpening.
http://www.tex-edit.com $15.00
MacSpeech Dictate
For everyone
who has enjoyed and tussled with MacSpeech iListen, there’s
a new kid on the block and it looks amazing.
It’s called MacSpeech Dictate, and according to the manufacturer,
it learns your speech exceptionally fast, with “up to” 99%
accuracy. And is based on the venerable Dragon NaturallySpeaking
voice recognition system.
It will be
great to have voice recognition that reliably recognizes voices–a
task that Bill Gates said several years ago was one of the
most difficult in computing.
But we may miss the sheer poetry that erupted when iListen attempted
to interpret mumbles or unusual phrasing.
There’s
a discount when you upgrade from iListen.
MacBook Air
The MacBook
Air has arrived!
The flash
memory (rather than hard drive) version costs a fortune, but
while most will
opt for the hard drive, it’s good to
see the future arriving.
And the light
weight is sure less back-breaking than the old portable–amazing
how much difference a couple of pounds makes.
But how will life be with only 1 USB connection to the world?
And is there a place for a lock?
The consensus
seems to be to buy a USB to Ethernet converter to transfer
the contents of your old Mac to this machine, otherwise it's
too
tricky and takes too long.
Apple
MacBook Air 13.3″ Laptop (1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive)
Three
high
quality handheld audio recorders
Many
people need to record high quality audio--music, podcasts, or
tutorials--outside a studio. The latest recorders can do that in
a compact package,
with large storage capacity, and with quality high enough for live
music recording.
Three
of the newest hottest recorders (Thanks
for the tip, Bill!) are the Edirol R-09 digital hand
recorder, the Zoom H4, and the Zoom H2. These three offer lightweight,
high quality, portable audio recording. All are suitable for no-frills
live music or voice
recording. They differ in features, such as effects and input/output
options.
The
Edirol R-09 Wave MP3
Features-It
has a 1/8" mic input for an external microphone.
Weight-
Power
source-AA batteries
Storage-SD
card
Sound-MP3,
and WAV up to 24bit/48kHz sample rates
Price-About $400
The cool thing about these recorders is that they are unobtrusive
(unless you buy the red Edirol,) great for recording an interview
while reducing self-consciousness.
Also, they
are small, so they will actually be there when you need them,
and versatile– all
use flash drives and have USB hookups, so they talk nice
with your computer.
The Edirol can timestamp, has additional mic in and headphone
out, as well as effects like reverb.
The
Zoom H4 Handy 4 Track Recorder
Features-It
has a 1/8" mic input for an external microphone. And it can
be used as a USB input!
Weight-
Power source-AA Batteries you can
buy anywhere--the most convenient.
Storage-SD
card
Sound-MP3,
and WAV up to 24bit/96kHz
Price-About
$300
The Zoom H4 adds
microphone and headphone jacks, as well as effects, and looks awesomely
geeky.At
the moment, the Zoom H4 is very tempting– and
that’s not ALL based on looks.
You can put several
hours of high quality audio on the 2 gig flash card. You can use
it as a USB interface, and it includes Cubase LE.
The
Zoom H2 Handy 2 Track Recorder
This
is the smallest and newest of the three.
Features-It
has a 1/8" mic input for an external microphone.
Weight-
Power source-AA batteries
Storage-Flash
memory card
Sound-MP3,
and WAV up to 24bit/96kHz
Price-About
$200
The Zoom H2 is the newest one, appears to be the smallest,
and all use rechargeable AA batteries, a big bonus.
© 2008
techtotally.com
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