mixing

iTunes 9 Genius Mixes: Mixing up users

Several users who have recently installed iTunes 9 hoping to enjoy the new Genius Mixes capability have run into issues with their mixes not appearing in iTunes. Forum postings suggest several possible fixes, though some users have reported that they still encounter the problem (systems include Mac OS X 10.5.x and 10.6.x). Common solutions that users have found are:

From the iTunes 9 menu bar, select Store, Turn on Genius. If Genius is already turned on, select Update Genius. Delete Safari Cookies. Reinstall iTunes 9.

For users who have Genius Mixes activated in iTunes 9 but … Read more

Altec Lansing Mix iMT800: Old school boom box packs new school iPhone dock

Back in the 1980s, when portable audio was synonymous with "cassette tapes," boom boxes were a mainstay of music culture. While luggable, battery-powered speaker systems still exist today, they tend to be somewhat dainty iPod speakers. Altec Lansing's new Mix iMT800, meanwhile, aims to mix and match the best of the old and new. It has the look and feel of an old-school, crank-it-til-your-ears-bleed boom box--albeit a rather stylish one--but it boasts an iPod/iPhone dock (and it's GSM-shielded to boot, so you don't need to flip the iPhone into airplane mode). The Mix also … Read more

Mixtapes vs. playlists

Making a cassette mixtape in the 1970s was a labor-intensive effort.

Cueing up a LP or 45 single, dropping the needle and releasing the recorder's "pause" button required a deft touch. If you didn't get it just right, you'd either have too much lead-in groove time before the tune started, or start too late and cut off the first second of the next song.

Mess up, and you have to stop, back up the tape, recue and start the process over again. Oh, and you'd have to carefully match the record volume level of each new tune, or suffer the consequences of a too loud/too soft varying volume mixtape. The horror!

Sometimes in the middle of a mixtape session I'd stop and review what I had so far. That could be scary, especially when I discovered the fourth song of the eight I laid down interrupted the flow. I'd have to go back and start again after the third song. It could easily take seven or eight hours to make a 90-minute tape. … Read more

The best Firefox extension: AutoCopy

Oh yes, I did just go there. Hands-down, without a skerrick of doubt, AutoCopy is the best Firefox extension. It may also be the best Firefox extension you've never heard of. Here's what it does, and then I'll tell you what makes it so great.

Developed at Mozilla, AutoCopy is a lightweight, single-feature add-on that copies any text you highlight to your clipboard. No more hitting CTRL+C, or using the context menu. That in and of itself is not so revolutionary. The feature has been around for a while in other programs. What makes it the … Read more

A four-legged gadget with a very special purpose

In my line of work, I run across a ton of gadgets that are the appliance equivalents of one-hit wonders. Some serve unique purposes that are necessary for accomplishing very specific tasks, and some are just plain ridiculous. A few, although not necessary, are pretty enough to warrant owning, even if you can only use them on rare occasions.

A perfect example of the latter is this Brütül Lagerhead Black & Tan Turtle, featured in Popular Mechanic's "Top 10 Wild Kitchen Gadgets You'll Use Only Once." The sentiment written at the top … Read more

No mess mixing bowl

The differences between most mixing bowls and the Silicone Mixing Bowl starts with the material the bowl is made from--but goes much further than that. The silicone used is sturdy enough for the bowl to keep its shape, yet so flexible that you can use the bowl to pour ingredients into a stand mixer without making a mess. To make things that much easier, the outside of the bowl is textured so that you can keep a secure grip; the inside is smooth and has capacity marks so that you can tell at a glance how much you've poured. … Read more

Make music magic

If you've got the talent, Magix's Music Maker can provide you with a digital mixing tool that rocks. Expect a fairly steep learning curve if you're new to the program, but don't let that intimidate you: along with a robust feature set, Music Maker comes with tutorials and direct links to the help forums.

The new features are robust additions to the already loaded feature set. The built-in drum machine, BeatBox, has been overhauled and is more flexible. The Infobox feature teaches you about music as you're producing it, as well as displaying long-form tooltips … Read more

DSiWare, WiiWare, and Virtual Console releases for this week

This week adds more downloads for the DSi, a party pirate game to WiiWare, and a Sega Genesis remake of the Pitfall series. DSiWare Mixed Messages (Activision, 500 DSi Points): Mixed Messages is a party game all about communication. Play along with up to 21 different users in the game of "telephone" for your DSi. Master of Illusion Express: Shuffle Games (Nintendo, 200 DSi Points): The Master of Illusion series continues with Shuffle Games. This mini game will allow you to predict what your audience is thinking! WiiWare Party Fun Pirate (TOMY Corporation, 500 Wii points): Exchange turns … Read more

Buxton: Microsoft starting to get design

LAS VEGAS--When Bill Buxton talks about good product design, his favorite example is the Avalanche beacon he takes with him on his ice climbing expeditions.

"It's a technology that I bet my life on," Buxton said. "How many (of those) do we have?"

The product he said is fairly complex to do and yet the market for it is small. "Precisely because of that, there are no frills. You don't add features. There are no gratuitous features."

Buxton, a former Xerox PARC researcher who helped pioneer the technology behind multitouch interfaces, says … Read more