You may not be familiar with the company Tronical but you will know their work because they are responsible for Gibson’s Robot Guitar tuning systems. Well judging by this video it appears that Tronical are about to launch some standalone systems that can be retrofit to pretty much any guitar be it a Les Paul [...]
Archive for December, 2008
Audio Hijack Pro 2.9 – Record and enhance audio from any application. (Demo)
Audio Hijack Pro 2.9
Audio Hijack Pro drastically changes the way you use audio on your computer, giving you the freedom to listen to audio when you want and how you want. Record and enhance any audio with Audio Hijack Pro – it’s the cornerstone of your digital audio experience.
Audio Hijack Pro will allow you to record any application’s audio, from internet streams to DVD audio and everywhere in between. If your machine can play it, Audio Hijack Pro can record it. And that’s not all – Audio Hijack Pro will also enhance any audio, unsing industry-standard VST and AudioUnit audio effects to make your music sound incredible. Record. Enhance. Enjoy!
WHAT’S NEW
Version 2.9:
- Improved and polished user interface, including a global status LCD and updated Recording Bin with file inspector
ID3 tags for recordings can now be edited in the Recording Bin, using the Inspector
Fixes a bug introduced in Mac OS X 10.5.6, which could cause a crash with the Recording Bin
Now includes Soundflower 1.4.2, for grabbing System Audio
The Artwork tag is now supported, for adding art to recordings
Timers: Now support scripts for post-processing
Recording: Now uses the LAME 3.9.8-2 MP3 encoding engine for recording MP3s
Hijacker: Better compatability with several applications (more Auto-MegaMixing)
AppleScript: Using scripts with Audio Hijack Pro that use the ‘do shell script’ command now behave as expected
Many small bugs fixed and memory leaks removed.
(Via MacUpdate – Mac OS X.)
KickYouTubes Lets You Download Videos Without Extra Software or Hassle
KickYouTube is one of the simplest solutions for downloading YouTube videos we’ve reviewed at Lifehacker. So simple that if you can find YouTube videos you like and type the word ‘kick’ you’re in business.
The mechanism is web based and very straight forward. When you’re watching a YouTube video that you would like to download for archiving or later perusal, simply add the word ‘kick’ to the URL immediately in front of the word youtube. For example if you wanted to download the Merlin Mann video we suggested as weekend viewing to throw on your iPod for a subway commute, you would do the following:
Load the URL for the video in your browser:
http ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOgHE5nEq04Insert the word ‘kick’ between the www. and the youtube.com section of the URL:
http://www.kickyoutube.com/watch?v=uOgHE5nEq04
That’s it! After you send that URL, the page will reload with the KickYouTube toolbar at the top of the screen, as seen in the screenshot above. From there you can download the file from YouTube as an FLV, MPG, MP3, and even HD MP4. Note: going to the KickYouTube website directly will just give you a video demonstration on how to use the service, to actually engage the toolbar and begin grabbing files you have to find a YouTube video you want and insert the ‘kick’ into the URL of the video. For another simple and cross platform method of downloading files from video sharing sites, check out All-In-One-Video Bookmarklet.
(Via Lifehacker.)
WordPress 2.7 – 20 Must See Features
WordPress is quickly becoming the standard software for the majority of blogs. This fact makes every major release of the software seem like a huge event, but the thing is that this time it is. WordPress 2.7 comes with a huge number of changes, a good chunk of them making some older plugins redundant. This will be a huge upgrade for all blog owners.
The following lists 20 of the biggest changes coming, but all together there have been over 400 changes to the program this time around. Any way you slice it, there is a little bit of something for everyone in this release. Take a look through and you’re sure to find something that appeals to you.
Unfortunately this is only available for the blogs on WordPress.com for now, but it will be released for self-hosted blogs on December 10th.
What are the changes you are most excited about?
Comments
Close Comments On Old Posts – Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense to continue letting comments come in on an old post, and it is a favorite trick of spammers anyway. WordPress 2.7 will allow you to close comments on older posts, eliminating the need for yet another plugin.
Comment Paging – Comments broken into pages instead of being a never ending bottom to your post.
Comment Replies From the Admin Section – A feature that has long been needed is the ability to reply to comments from your admin section without having to go to the front end of your blog.
Comment Threading – It’s not just admin comment replies that are getting love, but all comments will now be in a threaded format. Great for those long debates you get into about what ‘sux’ or why someone is a ‘newb,’ at last no one will be confused about to whom you are referring!
XMLRPC Comments API -Support for the XML-RPC protocol which is a simplified API that encodes your comments in XML and transports them via HTTP.
Keyboard Shortcuts For Comments -Once you’re in your comments, you can use the keys j and k to navigate through the comments. Once selected, some of the keys you can use will be ‘a’ to approve, ‘s’ to mark as spam and ‘d’ to delete.
Theme & Plugin Related
One-Click Plugin Installs – Another long time plugin favorite is going the way of the dinosaurs with the introduction of the ability to install plugins from the dashboard.
Plugin Browser – Browsing for plugins, one of the favorite pastimes of many bloggers, will be made easier by being able to do it without ever leaving your WordPress install.
Sticky Posts – There have been numerous WordPress plugins over the years to make a post ‘sticky’ so that it stays as the top post on your front page no matter how many posts you publish after it. The feature has now been built in to the core program.
Updating the Core WordPress – Yet another WordPress plugin finds its way into the core WordPress program. For those users who haven’t used something like Fantastico or Simple Scripts to install their blog, there will now be a more automated way for you to keep up with all of those pesky security updates.
Theme Update API Notices – You will receive updates when your installed themes are updated just like WordPress does now with plugins.
Greater Controls
Batch Editing for Posts – Ever needed to edit the tags for several posts, but couldn’t do it because of the work involved? Batch editing will now allow you to do mass edits of your posts so that you can make as many changes as you want to your blog no matter how old it is.
Column Control – On any management page that shows columns, you will now be able to choose which columns are shown and how.
Ping & Trackback Moderation – With the ever increasing wave of ‘splogs’ trackbacking your blog, there will finally be moderation of them in a more manageable, frame-like format.
QuickPress – Ever wanted to just do a quick post without having to load the entire write page? Now you can directly from the Dashboard page with QuickPress.
Recent Drafts – There will now be a module on your dashboard to get to your most recent drafts so you can quickly get access to your posts that are in progress.
Other Tweaks
Dashboard and Write Rearrangements – There have been significant redesigns to navigation and general layouts of the dashboard and write pages.
PHPXref – Ever go slightly loopy trying to make sense of PHP files? PHPXref will help you by making PHP into easy to digest documents that you can read through. All of this will be hosted on WordPress.org.
Image Size Tweaks – Thumbnail and Medium commands will stay the same, but Large will now be restricted to 1024 pixels, or the constraints of your theme. If you want no restrictions and post insane sized pictures, you will now be able to select ‘Full Size’ which will post your image at its original size. You will also now see the dimensions for each size next to the radio buttons.
Redundant Coding – Theme authors will be happy to see some changes to the wp_page_menu wrapper that will simplify their coding and add conveniences like making ‘Home’ part of the list.
Interested in more WordPress resources? Check these out:
WordPress Themes: ‘Top 12 Stunning WordPress Themes‘, ‘30+ WordPress 3 Column Themes,’ ‘20 WordPress 4-Column Themes,’ ‘30+ WordPress 1-Column Themes,’ ‘10 Unusual & Original WordPress Themes’
Plugins: ‘50+ WordPress Plugins for Multimedia,’ ‘30+ WordPress Plugins for Statistics,’ ‘30+ WordPress Plugins for Comments,’ ‘30+ WordPress Plugins to Get More Blog Readers.’
Miscellaneous: ‘WordPress God: 300+ Tools for Running Your WordPress Blog,’ ‘The 7 Weirdest and Wackiest Uses for WordPress‘
(Via Mashable!.)
Voyager Billed as World’s First Quad Interface SATA Hard Drive Docking Station
NewerTech’s new Voyager is being billed as the world’s first ‘Quad Interface’ SATA I/II Hard Drive Docking Station with support for FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0, and eSATA for 2.5′ or 3.5′ drives up to 2TB.
Basically, that means you can enjoy plug-and-play access to match your level of performance. It is also completely hot-swappable, so users can change drives while their computer is already running. At $100, it seems like a pretty decent buy—but if you can do without Firewire, a USB + eSATA Brando HDD dock with 4 card reader ports can be had for $79.
NEWERTECH ANNOUNCES VOYAGER –
WORLD’S FIRST ‘QUAD INTERFACE’ SATA HARD DRIVE
DOCKING STATION
Turns Any 2.5′ or 3.5′ SATA I/II Hard Drive up to 2.0TB into an External Drive
Mac & PC Plug and Play Ready – Boot and Swap Drives
December 2, 2008, Woodstock, IL — Newer Technology, Inc. (NewerTech®) http://www.newertech.com, the leading developer of PC, Macintosh®, iPod®, and iPhone® performance upgrades and accessories, today announced NewerTech Voyager, the world’s first ‘Quad Interface’ SATA I/II Hard Drive Docking Station with support for four interfaces: FireWire® 800/400, USB 2.0, and eSATA. NewerTech Voyager turns any 2.5′ or 3.5′ Serial ATA (SATA) I/II hard drive up to 2.0TB into a fully bootable and hot-swappable external drive solution.
Easy & Convenient To Use
Using Voyager is so simple: just insert any standard 2.5′ or 3.5′ SATA I/II hard drive (up to 2.0TB) into Voyager’s compact docking base and select the fastest of the four interfaces supported by your computer for read/write data speeds of up to 3.0Gb/s. There’s nothing else to install or configure. Voyager saves users the time and inconvenience of installing a hard drive into a computer or using an external hard drive enclosure with limited interfaces and slower speeds.
Plug and Play Hot-Swap Ready
With the most interfaces available on the market, Voyager provides Plug and Play ease of use for a fast external hard drive solution that works with both Macs and PCs. In fact, Voyager is so easy to use, that combined with today’s low cost of hard drive storage, users can think of a bare SATA I/II drive as being as convenient to use as a flash memory card, with the same instant access benefits and the addition of huge storage capacity gains. In addition, Voyager is completely hot-swappable for consumers wanting to move multiple drives at will while their computer is on and running. Its unique design and drive eject button makes inserting, using, and removing SATA I/II hard drives a safe and effortless procedure.
Ideal Solution for Storage Archives
The ideal solution for storage archives, professional photographers, videographers, and other hard drive storage archivers will no longer need multiple drive enclosures and power supplies for every archived hard drive. ‘Whether consumers want to re-task an older swapped-out hard drive, need to access multiple drives, or want to add big capacity, low cost external storage capacity to their desktop, Voyager is able to travel any computer user’s data universe needs with ease,’ said Grant Dahlke, NewerTech’s Product Manager. ‘Its design and ‘Quad Interface’ functionality offer high speed ‘slide and swap’ hard drive read/write performance and convenience never before available.’
NewerTech Voyager Features:
• Supports all 2.5′ and 3.5′ SATA I/II hard drives up to 2.0TB
• ‘Quad Interface’ for maximum system compatibility and data transfer rates
• Data transfer rates up to 3.0Gb/s (300MB/s)
• Push button drive eject for safe hard drive removal
• Hot-Swap functionality for fast access of multiple hard drives
• Weighted base and non skid rubber feet for stable operation
• 2-Color Status LED: left side blue for power on, right side flashing red for disk activity
• Compact design: measures 5.28′ x 3.70′ x 2.68′ inches and weighs 1.35lbs without drive
• Whisper Quiet operation – no cooling fan needed
• Plug and Play with Macs and PCs
• All interface connection cables included
• RoHS Compliant
• One year warranty
NewerTech Voyager is priced at $99.95 MSRP and is available immediately from NewerTech’s exclusive distributor, Other World Computing (OWC®), at www.macsales.com, as well as through the retail channel. Voyager includes all its supported interface connector cables and an auto-switching power supply for worldwide compatibility.
(Via Gizmodo.)
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