mixes

The NoMix toilet, which rather appropriately collects urine in the front and feces in the back, has gained wide support by consumers throughout seven countries in Europe as a means of reducing pollution and conserving water, according to a new paper by scientists in Switzerland.

The just-publicized article, which calls on authorities to push for early adoption of the high-tech toilet, appears in the semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology by ACS Publications.

Of the 2,700 people surveyed in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark, 80 percent say they support the idea behind the technology, and … Read more

There are two Oscar categories for best sound: best sound editing and best sound mixing. The sound editor designs and pre-plans the sound for the film. If it's a special-effects movie like "Avatar," the sound editor supervises the crew charged with creating the film's soundscape, including all of the sound effects.

Sound editors and mixers are the Rodney Dangerfields of the film biz; they don't get any respect. Look for their names at the very end of the credits, way, way down there with the caterers, hair stylists, and dog wranglers. Yet their mission is near impossible: create a seamless soundtrack that is, in fact, constructed from thousands of sonic fragments.

It's a colossal multichannel jigsaw puzzle, except a lot of the pieces don't fit. It's the mixers' soundtrack machinations that thrust the audience into the reality of the film they're experiencing--the subterfuge totally works--most viewers believe they're watching a literal record of what the camera "saw" and what the microphones "heard." Depending on the type of movie you're watching, most, sometimes 90 percent of the sound was recorded after the film was shot.

The mixers typically work on 15- to 20-second sections of a film, running the sequence over and over, constantly tweaking the balances. They might get hung up on a single music cue for 2 hours. Movies still run at 24 frames per second, and each frame of picture might have hundreds of sound elements. There are background tracks (traffic, wind noise, etc), specific effects tracks (gun shots, birds chirping, etc), foreground dialogue tracks, background dialog (for crowd scenes), plus lots and lots of music tracks.

Music mixing always requires finesse, moving the music in relationship to the picture as little as two frames can completely shift its impact on the scene. Moving a bar here, a downbeat there--it's all about how the music blends with the effects and dialogue--it's easy to lose it. Changes in the music's equalization, balance, and volume can change from picture cut to cut.

Mixing a film is a highly technical endeavor, but at the end of the day, it's not a nuts-and-bolts medium, the film has to feel right. Picture editing dictates the internal rhythms, but sound pushes the film; it has all the little engines that make things happen. It's what gets you caught up in the emotions of the story.… Read more

MixVibes' Digital Vinyl System is a mobile and studio DJ mixing software package that enables you to control digital music files with a turntable or CD deck, or both, with or without specially time-coded CDs or vinyl records. To take full advantage of the DVS's unique capabilities users need the special discs as well as an audio interface with two inputs and two outputs, such as an internal or external sound card, audio interface, or MIDI controller with a USB, PCI, or FireWire connection to your PC. But even without its special features in play, it's a good … Read more

DJ software like AdionSoft's DjDecks can put pro-level audio programming and playback capabilities at your fingertips. You can mix and sequence many different file types and play them back in programmed sequences, like most DJ-oriented software. It has a raft of beats, loops, echoes, and other special effects you can apply during playback or save in your chosen file type, as well as plug-in expandability, like some of its competitors. But what sets it apart from and above most similar software is its flexibility and compatibility with external devices, such as multiple sound cards, including ASIO driver support, and … Read more

Ots CD Scratch 1200 is a fun and easy-to-use program that lets users play CDs in a virtual turntable environment. It's not as complex as some of the DJ software that we've seen, which may be a drawback for more advanced users, but this program is a great choice for those just getting started with turntable-style DJing.

The program's interface isn't the most intuitive we've ever seen, but it gets points for being fun. The design seeks to replicate the appearance of a real DJ deck, with two turntables and various cables and buttons. We … Read more

For decades people have been making mix tapes for their love interests. There was a time when that meant gathering up all your favorite CDs or vinyl albums to make a tape, but now it's easy to create a playlist in iTunes or any other music player.

This Valentine's Day, Apple is making it even easier. The company has a section on iTunes where you can purchase albums or collections of love songs for setting that special mood.

In a recorded interview, Alex Luke, Apple's director of programming and label relations, explains how you can give the … Read more

FotoMix is an intuitive photo-editing tool that allows users to create dual-layer images, making it possible to add, remove, and combine elements. Although it doesn't begin to compare to full-featured software like Photoshop, it's not a bad choice for non-professional users who need something that's quick and easy to use.

The program's interface is quite simple, with the five-step photo-editing process arranged with buttons across the top. Users simply select a background image, select a foreground image, do the necessary editing on each, tweak the settings on the final composition, and save the result. We, for … Read more

WireTap Anywhere is a professional audio-capture utility that can take input from any source and redirect it to any audio-recording application. That means you can take audio from your entire system, a hardware input, or an app like Skype, and then take that directly into GarageBand, Peak, or any other recording app.

You manage WireTap Anywhere through your System Preferences, and you can create and save any number of "virtual microphones," which show up almost as if they were hardware. There are other apps (including open-source ones) that can help you with this kind of redirection, but WireTap … Read more

For this week's installment of the weekly Crave giveaway, we're offering another iPod/iPhone speaker system--and it's one of our favorites: The Altec Lansing Mix iMT800.

I happen to have reviewed this guy myself and here's the bottom line on it: "While the retrolicious design of Altec Lansing's Mix iMT800 may not appeal to everyone, its winning combination of good performance, lots of oomph, and portability makes it one of the best iPod speaker options out there." (Read the full review).

Normally, Altec Lansing's Mix iMT800 would cost about $300, but you … Read more