dj

Forget wires. Outdoor Tech brings CNET three can't-miss offers! Exclusively for Cyber Monday, our good friends at Outdoor Technology are back and hooking up the CNET audience with great deals on three of the company's best Bluetooth products.

If you are a follower of CNET Exclusives or this blog, you'll know I love Bluetooth technology. If you are new to this, welcome, let me fill you in on why Bluetooth is my favorite. Bluetooth speakers mean I don't have to monopolize my iPhone in order to listen to music because docking is no longer necessary. And … Read more

In the crowded DJ app world, VirtualDJ Home sets itself apart for the casual user. VirtualDJ Home is probably the widest-used home DJ app for the Mac, based on downloads, and there's a good reason for its popularity.

The VirtualDJ Home interface is like many others: two controllers at the top for two audio tracks, and a set of buttons, knobs, and sliders to control the mixing between the two. The bottom of the interface shows a track list and can display album art. There are some really attractive features to VirtualDJ Home, including beat matching, looping, and a … Read more

Gone are the days when you had to haul expensive, large equipment to a wedding or party to crank out the tunes. Now that music has gone digital, you just need your computer and an expansive MP3 playlist. And with Virtual DJ, you can mix and scratch your tunes like a professional to be the life of the party.

Now, we don't have a lot of experience with DJ software, but we think it speaks to Virtual DJ's smart design that we were able to immediately drag and drop a track to play. The program immediately pulled our … Read more

Digital Multi Soft's Dj ProMixer Free is a basic but capable digital music mixing suite, and it's free. It's based on a premium tool, Dj ProMixer Pro, only with fewer features. It offers a lot -- enough to overcome some confusing steps at setup, not to mention one of the most cluttered interfaces we've seen, though that's actually part of the design. But it offers flexible two-track recording and mixing, automatic beat detection, tracklists, and effects like echo and looping. It has some limitations, such as only six samples per load. You'll still need … Read more

First off, congrats to Harold M. of Charlotte, N.C., for winning a pair of San Francisco-themed V-Moda Crossfade LP headphones in last week's Crave giveaway. And now... ding-dong! Who's that at the door? Why, it's this week's prize, a Swann MP3 DJ Doorbell. The wireless, customizable gadget turns any song you want into your doorbell chime.

The product has two main battery-powered components: a doorbell unit backed with double-sided tape for easy mounting in your doorway and a speaker unit for mounting with the included screws up to 330 feet away. The bell comes with 32 built-in tones, and you can add a removable SD card up to 32GB (not included) to store up to 10,000 tracks, transferable via the included USB cable. You'll also get editing software so you don't have to listen to every last note of "Ring My Bell."

Normally, a Swann MP3 DJ Doorbell would cost you $49.99, but you have the chance to score one for free. So how do you turn your doorbell into a personal DJ that caters to your every musical mood? Well, there are a few rules, so please listen up.… Read more

On today's 404 episode, we'll solve the mystery of phantom cell phone vibrations and why we're so often tricked into thinking our phones have a mind of their own. One psychologist from the University of Sydney thinks that it has to do with electrical currents running through parts of the body surrounding the phone, while another professor of psychology believes it's in ours heads, that our addiction to technology has made us paranoid about e-notifications.

Walking around New York in this heatwave is enough of a workout for anyone these days, but some gym-goers in Canada are so sick of skinny people making them look bad that they've issued a ban on anyone that can't be described as "plus size."

According to the NY Daily News, Body Exchange gym in Vancouver claims to be a "safe haven" for overweight people that feel scrutinized when they work out next to those without an addiction to food. Unfortunately, we'll have to defer to Richard to comment on this story, as neither Jeff nor I have ever been inside a gym.… Read more

VJay, from the makers of DJay for iPhone, is mixing software for videos much like a DJ setup, but instead you'll record, mix, and add audio and effects to create cool-looking video mashups.

The interface is sleek-looking and fairly easy to use with a little bit of digging around. It is set up with video screens on the bottom on both sides, then the main viewing window up top. On each side you can touch a button to add a video source and work with playback and loop controls. You also have a button that brings up tools for … Read more

Shure is one of the leading professional microphone manufacturers, and it makes terrific headphones, but my first brush with a Shure product was with one of its phono cartridges in the early 1970s. Shure cartridges were known for their superior tracking ability, and had lower distortion than most competitors. Shure now offers a full line of consumer and DJ phono cartridges.

I recently chatted with Shure's Michael Pettersen to learn more about how to get the best sound from any phono cartridge, and his first order of business was keeping the "needle" in the groove.

Pettersen says … Read more

Virtual DJ for Mac is a virtual music-mixing program, the capabilities of which vary greatly depending on what version you're paying for -- from the free "Home" edition on up to the $299 "Virtual DJ Pro Full."

That is to say that Virtual DJ for Mac is serious software, and experienced turntablists and club DJs will almost certainly want to check out one of the more full-featured packages, which offer extras like practically unlimited decks (up to 99), full-screen video output, and support for MIDI/HID controllers. For DJing neophytes, being plunged into the overwhelming … Read more