Besides using Skype for instant messaging and video chats, a musician has found a way to use the service to his advantage – by giving his fans personal one on one concerts over the internet. Denison Witmer, a singer/songwriter, had to turn down a tour to spend time with his wife and newborn child but he still wanted to keep performing for other people.  Fortunately with the technology available today – he managed to make it happen.

(Via Ubergizmo.)

With all of the different music streaming services it’s often difficult to find what you’re looking for quickly. Music Smash partially solves this problem by giving you a simple way to search Rdio, Spotify, Grooveshark, Soundcloud, Mog, and Bandcamp.

Music Smasher doesn’t handle every music streaming service out there, but it does a great job of filtering through the ones it can. When you fire up the search you’re linked directly to streaming tracks and the corresponding app will open them. The database is directly from the streaming services and it’s quick to search and launch tracks. For anyone who is swapping back and forth between a few different services it’s a handy tool to have.

Music Smasher | via Evolver.fm

One thing that iTunes has over Spotify’s online music service is its wireless connectivity to the Apple TV. But it is actually possible to get the same kind of connectivity with Spotify, and use it from any room in your house, with the addition of a classic Mac app and a couple of third-party iOS apps.

Step 1: Get Spotify

There are two ways to get a Spotify account: either by invitation for a free account, or by paying for premium or unlimited accounts. Once you have an account set up, you’ll need to download and install the Spotify OS X client application. Then just start browsing for music and create playlists. Just a few more steps, and you’ll turn your house into one big Spotify jukebox.

Step 2: Extend AirPlay to any Mac music app with Airfoil

Next you’ll need Rogue Amoeba’s Airfoil for Mac. Airfoil has been around since long before Apple introduced AirPlay and the second generation Apple TV. Any audio application on the Mac (including Spotify), or even the Mac’s system output can be made accessible to AirPlay devices with Airfoil.

1. Download and install Rogue Amoeba’s Airfoil for Mac.
2. Choose Spotify in Airfoil as the application you want to play.
3. Choose the AirPlay and/or Airfoil device(s) you want to connect to.
4. Play music using Spotify.

Step 3: Extend your range with Airfoil speakers

One of the limitations of Apple’s AirPlay has been the fact that iOS devices themselves are not able to receive AirPlay streams, only send them. Luckily, Rogue Amoeba created an app called Airfoil Speakers Touch for iOS devices that allows Airfoil to play music on any and all iOS devices connected to your local network. This works great if you want to extend your playback to speakers that otherwise would not be connected. There’s also a version of Speakers for OS X (.zip file) that will allow you to extend your playback to all the Macs on your network. Keep in mind that you are limited to your local network, so this is not a workaround for taking your library on the go, which is only included in the premium and unlimited Spotify accounts.

Bonus: Remote control options to round it all off

Now that you’re playing music from Spotify around your house, how can you also control it remotely? There are two good third-party solutions to help with this: One will let you control Airfoil on your Mac, and the other will allow you to control Spotify.

• Reemote for Airfoil. Kai Aras’ Reemote lets turn on and off different combinations of Airfoil and AirPlay enabled devices on your network. You can even control their individual volumes, to some extent, and you can switch your audio source application on the host Mac. There is an iPhone as well as an iPad version of Reemote. To make this work, you’ll also need to download and install the Reemote Server application for Mac.
• Two Remotes for Spotify. To control what playlists you’re listening to from within Spotify on the Mac, there are two good solutions. Axel Moller’s Spot Remote and Anders O’s Remoteless. Both apps are universal, supporting both the iPhone and iPad. Both allow you to browse and start Spotify playlists, as well as search for tracks, artist and albums. Another thing they both share is the use of an open source library called SIMBL. The server software for Spot Remote as well as Remoteless requires that SIMBL be installed on the host Mac in order for either solution to work. SIMBL allows third-party developers to enhance the functionality of other applications from other developers. Unfortunately, while it seems to work for some, OS X Lion does not yet appear to be officially supported by either solution.

Since this does require a bit of setup, it isn’t quite as easy as just using iTunes and an Apple TV. But if you’re looking for an alternative that makes use of Spotify’s great new service, maybe this is the whole home music solution you’ve been waiting for.

(Via GigaOM.)

Ok, so vertically you have a scale of tones. The squares across any row horizontally are all the same note, but different beats. So clicking multiple squares in the same column makes a chord as the notes are voiced simultaneously. You can make patterns of rhythm, syncopation and single note melodies by selecting squares across the rows which don’t correspond to the same column as another squares above or below. A perfect demonstration of why rhythm is the most important element in music.

If you’re looking to set up a media center, you need to know what free software is out there. Choose the media center application that works best for you by comparing the best programs on the market.

If you’re looking for a program to watch your favorite videos from the comfort of your couch, you’re going to need a good TV media center program. These programs are designed to be readable and browsable from your couch, and present you with the media on the web and on your hard drive. All vary in terms of features, and all have something to offer. One of them is right for you. This list is by no means definitive, but it does cover most of the major players.

Browse the list, find more information. Try them all out if you have to; after all, all of these programs are free.

XMBC

It started as a media center for the original Xbox, but it’s evolved to become so much more than that. XBMC is considered by many to be the best media center out there, and it’s not hard to see why. Insanely customizable, and giving you quick access to your movies, music and TV shows, it’s simply a hard program to top. Like XBMC, but want more online content? Check out NaviX, the ultimate extension for XMBC. You’ll find lots of streaming content there, so enjoy.

Boxee

Built using code from XBMC, Boxee can seem overwhelming at first. There are TV shows, movies and more to browse, and even an entire App store. Start using it for a while, though, and you’ll wonder how you lived without it. That’s because Boxee allows you to customize everything enough that your favorite videos on the web are only a few clicks away.

Want to learn more? Read 5 things you should do after installing Boxee.

Hulu Desktop

Simply put: it’s all of Hulu’s videos, from your TV. There’s really not much more to this program; you can’t add your own videos, or watch any videos that aren’t on Hulu.com. This makes it useless outside of the USA, naturally, but assuming you’re in the States and most of the shows you like are on Hulu, this can be a good program to have around. Read more about the Hulu Desktop

Kylo

This one’s a little different. Basically a web browser built for television, Kylo is a pretty good media center in itself. Links to most of the major video sites on the web are easily accessible, and an interesting control paradigm makes for easy browsing. Sadly, Hulu is blocked, but there’s still a lot to discover here. If you want your media experience to be the web, try out Kylo.

Moovida

A slick user interface for browsing your own videos. While lacking in online content, Moovida is a great option for those looking to organize their desktop video collection. Lots of customization options await, so check it out!

Enna

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A recent addition to the field, Linux media center Enna comes with some capabilities not seen elsewhere. Support for couchbound book reading, for example and a pretty slick photo browser as well. This exciting new application also gives you access to your local music and videos, so give it a spin.

(Via MakeUseOf.com.)

If you’re a digitally aware couch potato like me, you risk burning a significant number of calories surfing between Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and iTunes to get your fix of movies and television shows.

If you’re interested in mitigating that risk, you’ll want to take a look at Moki.tv, an all-in-one guide to the Internet’s entertainment offerings.

From Moki, you can browse a broad and deep catalog of almost all the silver-screen and small-screen content available on the web. You can watch free content from Hulu; subscription stuff from Hulu Plus, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Comcast’s xfinity tv; and on-demand TV and movies from iTunes and Amazon Video On Demand. You can sign up with Facebook Connect, then simply select the content services you already use; Moki makes it easy to connect service with third-party authentication, so you won’t need to remember any logins.

Once you’re in, you’ll be able to rate movies and get recommendations — you can even pull your rating from Netflix to Moki and vice versa — and create a queue of shows and movies to watch. The site uses your ratings as well as ratings from IMDb, Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes to make recommendations for you; and the recommendations I got were spot-on, especially after I had imported my Netflix ratings.

Not only can you find and watch what you love without visiting a half-dozen websites; you can also find new shows and films to watch that are similar to ones you’ve already watched. You can sort content by genre, rating, popularity and release date; or you can browse award-winning films and TV shows. The site also has fascinating curated collections of content, like Shakespeare adaptations or Clint Eastwood flicks hand-picked by Eastwood himself.

In addition to getting boatloads of online video, you can explore trending lists of actors and directors, read synopses, write reviews, leave comments, and more. And perhaps best of all, if you signed up with Facebook Connect, you have an instant social connection and can see your friends’ ratings and reviews on content, too.

The site, though new, is remarkably full-featured; many of these cool features are made possible by clever integrations with existing sites and apps.

You can expect to see streaming media sources on Moki.tv soon. Currently, the site’s founders are polling users to find out which streaming sources are the most requested. Moki’s also working on an API.

We like the premise of the site — one-stop shopping for watching TV and movies online — and we like the UI, which is sleekly designed with lots of nice touches. Check it out for yourself, and let us know what you think.

Moki, Inc. is an San Francisco-based Y Combinator startup founded by Matt Huang, a recent MIT math grad, and another dev who is taking pains to keep his identity rather private. The company is currently hiring looking for local engineering talent.

(Via Mashable!.)

Besides the Lady Gaga in the egg thing, and some of the expected pop horsesh#*, last nite’s Grammy’s weren’t too bad for actual artists. Jeff Beck was nominated for five, and managed to take home two– actually three, when you count his involvement with Herbie Hancock’s Best Pop Collaboration Grammy. Jeffs two were: Best Pop Instrumental ‘Nessun Dorma’ & Best Rock Instrumental ‘Hammerhead’ from the Emotion and Commotion album

Other significant awards were Neil Youngs Grammy for Best Rock Song ‘Angry World’. And believe it or not, this is Neils FIRST ever Grammy. Seems kinda weird huh. Well, when songs like Old Man & Heart of Gold came out, the Grammys werent hip enough I guess.

Another award I really dig is Best New Artist for Esperanza Spalding. This girl is a serious badass Jazz musician who sings and plays upright bass. You must check her out!

Best Rock Album went to Muse. A spooky thing about this is that just yesterday, I was watching an interview clip of the late Gary Moore in which he mentioned Muse as a newer Rock band he dug.

So, I’m officially dubbing Jeff Beck the C.O.S./ Chairman of the Strat nowadays. Any problem with that?

(Via Strat-O-Blogster Guitar Blog.)

Hulu Desktop is a lean-back viewing experience for your personal computer. It features a sleek new look that’s optimized for use with standard Windows Media Center remote controls or Apple remote controls, allowing you to navigate Hulu’s entire library with just six buttons. For users without remotes, the application is keyboard and mouse-enabled. Hulu Desktop is a downloadable application and will work on PCs and Macs. It will initially launch as a beta product during which we plan to gather and incorporate user feedback to improve the service.

Version 0.9.10:

• This update includes general bug fixes for everyone and Hulu Plus support if you are a Hulu Plus subscriber. The update should be automatic for Mac and Windows users.
• **One known issue we’ve noticed – if you are already signed into your Hulu Plus account when the update installs, you may not see your entire queue. In this case, sign out and sign back in again, and your full queue should appear. Our apologies on this glitch – we should get it fixed soon.

• Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz.
• At least 2.0 GB of RAM.
• Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
• 2 Mbps Internet connection.
• Flash 9.0.124.

Download Now

(Via MacUpdate – Mac OS X.)

Netflix are not doing too badly at the moment, for they reported, ‘Apple TV has done very well for us, and in just four months has passed the also-growing iPad in Netflix viewing hours.’

This is added on top of their pretty-looking quarterly report.

(Via ZiggyTek Blog.)

K Multimedia are on a roll right now, I’m a massive fan of Amplitube 3 but then they released an iPad version of Amplitube and it just looks like iPad’s were designed to run Amplitube rather than the other way around. Aside from being visually stunning it also has the most amazing amp models too and now IK Multimedia have announced a new version for NAMM 2011 of their Fender licensed amp collection called AmpliTube Fender™ for iPad, iPhone and iPod. As you can hear the emulations of classic Fender amps and effects are incredibly realistic as we have come to expect from Amplitube but the combination of beautiful graphics and the tactile interface make it worth buying an iP