Microsoft has released a new series of ads that takes aim at Macs, specifically regarding features versus pricing compared to Windows machines. The company hired Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the ad agency behind the commercials featuring Gates and Seinfeld, to pose as a research firm that recruited unsuspecting people into a mock study, according to the Associated Press. If the volunteers could find ...
Apple announces WWDC 2009 dates
Here we go: Apple's just announced that its Worldwide Developers Conference will take place June 8-12 in San Francisco. If you'll recall, last year's WWDC was where a little gadget called the iPhone 3G made its appearance, and we'd say chances are good we'll see new hardware this year as wel
Presented By:
Friday Favorite: The Levelator, friend to podcasters everywhere
Filed under: Audio, Cool tools, Podcasting, Friday Favorite
The Levelator is offered by The Conversations Network as a single-purpose tool: it takes uncompressed audio (WAV or AIFF files) and performs a small miracle. The file is leveled to a uniform loudness level, even if varying parts are recorded with different microphones, audio settings, or even in diverse corners of the world (if you've ever tried to record a podcast over Skype, you know what I'm talking about). While many audio apps have normalization or 'leveling' functions, in my admittedly amateur audio experience I haven't heard anything like The Levelator; those with more savvy in this area tell me that the output is akin to what you would get with a human engineer 'riding the meters' to adjust the sound dynamically as it varies.
The really nice thing about The Levelator -- and this is an odd thing to say about a Mac application -- is that it has, for all practical purposes, no controls. Drop a file on it, wait an appropriate amount of time and watch the blinking lights, then take your output file and continue on your merry way; the final file will simply sound way better than the original did. It's made my life much easier in editing the TUAW Talkcast, and if you have any hand in producing spoken-word audio it might do the same for you.
The Levelator is a free 48 MB Universal Binary download, and will work on either 10.4 or 10.5, as well as Windows and Linux. Enjoy!
TUAWFriday Favorite: The Levelator, friend to podcasters everywhere originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Alkaline offers cross-browsing testing tools
Litmus has announced Alkaline, a cross-browser testing tool that allows Mac-based website designers to preview their site designs on 17 different Windows browsers, without leaving the Mac interface or installing additional software. The service connects to a grid of remote Windows-based computers to obtain the screenshots. Users can also test sites from within Panic's Coda or Macromate's TextMate ...
The Bad Decision Blocker prevents dialing mistakes
Filed under: Odds and ends, Apple, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Enough of the fart apps -- here's an iPhone function we really need. The Bad Decision Blocker (BDB for short) is an iPhone app that will let you block any of your phone's contacts for a predetermined set of time. We've all been there -- you go out Friday night, get a few drinks in you, and suddenly calling up your former friend, or a girl you're trying to ask out, or a girl you used to go out with (who decided not to hang out with you any more thanks to all the drinking) becomes something you're suprisingly willing to do. BDB, however, will say no, and keep that contact out of the contact list, until whatever time you'd said it was OK to let it back in. And, presumably, by that time you can be in a more sober state of mind, and realize that you don't need any girl whose idea of a good time is keeping you from having fun. Take that, Susan!
It's helpful for sure. All the program seems to do is erase (and rewrite) whatever contacts you choose in your address book, so you've got to re-open the program after the set time if you want your contacts back. Also, the app doesn't actually block the phone, just the contacts you choose, so if you have their phone number memorized, you might still end up doing a little drunk dialing. But you never know -- BDB might be just the thing to help you leave that old relationship right where it is, or at least come to your senses long enough to not sabotage that new one. It's in the App Store right now for 99 cents.
TUAWThe Bad Decision Blocker prevents dialing mistakes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Microsoft ads take aim at Mac prices
Microsoft has released a new series of ads that takes aim at Macs, specifically regarding features versus pricing compared to Windows machines. The company hired Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the ad agency behind the commercials featuring Gates and Seinfeld, to pose as a research firm that recruited unsuspecting people into a mock study, according to the Associated Press. If the volunteers could find ...
Apple announces WWDC 2009 dates
Here we go: Apple's just announced that its Worldwide Developers Conference will take place June 8-12 in San Francisco. If you'll recall, last year's WWDC was where a little gadget called the iPhone 3G made its appearance, and we'd say chances are good we'll see new hardware this year as wel
Presented By:
Friday Favorite: The Levelator, friend to podcasters everywhere
Filed under: Audio, Cool tools, Podcasting, Friday Favorite
The Levelator is offered by The Conversations Network as a single-purpose tool: it takes uncompressed audio (WAV or AIFF files) and performs a small miracle. The file is leveled to a uniform loudness level, even if varying parts are recorded with different microphones, audio settings, or even in diverse corners of the world (if you've ever tried to record a podcast over Skype, you know what I'm talking about). While many audio apps have normalization or 'leveling' functions, in my admittedly amateur audio experience I haven't heard anything like The Levelator; those with more savvy in this area tell me that the output is akin to what you would get with a human engineer 'riding the meters' to adjust the sound dynamically as it varies.
The really nice thing about The Levelator -- and this is an odd thing to say about a Mac application -- is that it has, for all practical purposes, no controls. Drop a file on it, wait an appropriate amount of time and watch the blinking lights, then take your output file and continue on your merry way; the final file will simply sound way better than the original did. It's made my life much easier in editing the TUAW Talkcast, and if you have any hand in producing spoken-word audio it might do the same for you.
The Levelator is a free 48 MB Universal Binary download, and will work on either 10.4 or 10.5, as well as Windows and Linux. Enjoy!
TUAWFriday Favorite: The Levelator, friend to podcasters everywhere originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Alkaline offers cross-browsing testing tools
Litmus has announced Alkaline, a cross-browser testing tool that allows Mac-based website designers to preview their site designs on 17 different Windows browsers, without leaving the Mac interface or installing additional software. The service connects to a grid of remote Windows-based computers to obtain the screenshots. Users can also test sites from within Panic's Coda or Macromate's TextMate ...
The Bad Decision Blocker prevents dialing mistakes
Filed under: Odds and ends, Apple, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Enough of the fart apps -- here's an iPhone function we really need. The Bad Decision Blocker (BDB for short) is an iPhone app that will let you block any of your phone's contacts for a predetermined set of time. We've all been there -- you go out Friday night, get a few drinks in you, and suddenly calling up your former friend, or a girl you're trying to ask out, or a girl you used to go out with (who decided not to hang out with you any more thanks to all the drinking) becomes something you're suprisingly willing to do. BDB, however, will say no, and keep that contact out of the contact list, until whatever time you'd said it was OK to let it back in. And, presumably, by that time you can be in a more sober state of mind, and realize that you don't need any girl whose idea of a good time is keeping you from having fun. Take that, Susan!
It's helpful for sure. All the program seems to do is erase (and rewrite) whatever contacts you choose in your address book, so you've got to re-open the program after the set time if you want your contacts back. Also, the app doesn't actually block the phone, just the contacts you choose, so if you have their phone number memorized, you might still end up doing a little drunk dialing. But you never know -- BDB might be just the thing to help you leave that old relationship right where it is, or at least come to your senses long enough to not sabotage that new one. It's in the App Store right now for 99 cents.
TUAWThe Bad Decision Blocker prevents dialing mistakes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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