The Droid arrives: So, so, so ugly!

I love it when Motorola partners with a carrier to put out a cell phone. You’re always guaranted a complete cluster-f*ck of a branding experience.  Thankfully, Google has its way with software, but try your hand at the 360 degree gallery to see the shell.  On the front, they manage to shove the Verizon logo into the lower right of the hardware.  Can you see those branding/sales executives arguing about how large it should be?  It looks as though the sales executives won – that logo looks so shoved into place that it looks….awkward and unfriendly.  In other words, it looks like an afterthought that came AFTER manufacturing.  Now flip to the back.  This just makes one giggle.  Motorola and Verizon are so frightened that you might forget who made this phone that they slapped the same logo’s on the hardware AGAIN.  The phone just feels insecure!  Way to go!  Great example of a potentially great piece of hardware being compromised by a splintered design/manufacturing process.

Quicksilver: Mind Shortcuts

I hesitated giving Quicksilver a try when I first heard of it. I would find blogs and Mac news-sources gushing over it, but the descriptions tended to go on for what seemed pages. It seemed no one could encapsulate what Quicksilver does in a short paragraph. I was turned off by the vagueness surrounding it. 2 weeks ago, i stumbled on The Apple Blog’s Quicksilver tutorials, and I decided to give it another look. After watching 30 minutes of some well-made video tutorials, I’m now an avid Quicksilver user, and I’d encourage you to use it too! It’s an absolute time-saver in so many ways. As well, I now finally understand why so many people have such a hard time describing it. It does so much. I’ll take a stab at it. Quicksilver shortens the distance between you and the task you want to accomplish via the keyboard. I could provide you with specific examples, but, like so many others, those examples are just a small part of all of what Quicksilver can do.  The makers of Quicksilver are modest in the manner in which they talk about their gorgeous application. If you visit Blacktree, you see a seriously spartan approach to application marketing. Then again, they provide this amazing tool to the Mac using public at no cost, hidden or otherwise.

Download Quicksilver, then watch the tutorials here,and here. I’m convinced that if you take the time to climb the learning curve upward, you’ll be forever grateful to me for having suggested it. Quicksilver is just that great. Here are a couple more links for you to enjoy. Try the info source at usingmac.com, and of course, try all of the tutorials and tips on Blacktree’s product page.

Quicksilver supports plugins that allow one to extend the range of its abilities. I’ve taken the time to collect all of the plugins. If you’re interested, let me know and I’ll find a way to get them to you.

Disco XT is the new Laptop DJ Coolness

iTunes is a fantastic jukebox application, but when it comes to tweaking how your tracks are played, the options are not as varied as one would like.
A work friend of mine is a dance instructor for a swing class, and the issue she runs into is, she wants a 30 second gap between swing tunes so that people can find/switch dance partners. In iTunes, you’re able to switch between fade and gap, and change the gap on a limited basis, but it’s obvious that the good developers weren’t taking swing classes into mind.
So, I set out to look far and wide for an Applescript that would automatically create a pause in play for 30 seconds between songs on any give playlist. The search was to no avail. The closest I came to a solution was creating a 30 track that was blank and placing it between each song. It was an unworkable solution.

Enter DiscoXT, a DJ application with a monumental amount of features. I was shocked to discover how easy it was to use the fade editor to create gaps that would automatically create the break between songs that my friend was looking for.

DiscoXT isn’t the cheapest app on the market (129 Dollars for a single user license), but it exists for both the PC and the Mac, and it’s a perfect solution for any dance instructors out there looking to extend the gap between songs in your class playlist.  There’s a free demo available with limited functions, so give it a try if you think this may work for you.
You can find more information on this app at: http://www.discoxt.com

Every conversation leads to….Soviet era synth!

It’s interesting to think about whether the constant discussion of Russians and their surging influence in Electronica is a matter of perspective or reality.  It seems to be the latest trend in musical journalism, to highlight an artist from the old Soviet Union, where so many unique synthesizers were manufactured in relative isolation from their western counterparts during the years of Gorbachev and Brezhnev eras.  Regardless, there’s no denying that there’s some gorgeous stuff flowing out of Russia these days.  Musicians and producers like Novel 23 lead that pack, but there are many right there with him.  To get a feel for some of it, visit last.fm and type in ‘Russian’ for ‘Tags’.  Or just click here for a Russkie Synth database.  If you do decide to become a member of last.fm, friend me.  I’m micahboswell.