The adventure has started. This summer (winter at the south pole) a team of scientists and one children’s author, Nancy Etchemendy, will sail on the National Science Foundation’s icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer and study the marine biology of the area.
To follow the action, check out the blog for adults:
http://etchemendy.com/rmmblog/
And the blog for kids:
http:/etchemendy.com/unblog/
And find what dwells in the cold at the bottom of the world.
Computer Music: the Complete Guide for Mac and PC, is a great monthly magazine published in the UK, with clear tutorials, reviews of music equipment and software, and articles about the many aspects of making, sharing, and selling music, even a page on music theory. It also features interviews with band members and producers, focusing on how they work and the gear they use.
Computer Music : the Complete Guide for Mac and PC
But maybe the greatest thing about this magazine is the digital material that comes on the included DVD. Each month it contains samples, tutorials, reader-submitted music, videos, and free and demo software. Eagerly awaited each month, enjoy as much as you can use.
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Sure, you can get Microsoft Word, the ultimate text program, which can drive you to the store, buy breakfast, cook it for you, eat it for you, then drop you off back home.
And when you are writing a book or other elaborate project, there’s nothing like it.
But for everyday notes and pounding out fictions and essays, the handy little shareware Tex-Edit Plus fits the bill perfectly.
It is lightweight, very fast, and awesomely stable. Back when Apple’s built-in SimpleText/TextEdit was too simple and cranky, Tex-Edit came along to carry the load, and those who started using it then have never stopped.
It’s fine for the most basic use: pop it open, type, save. Then do some basic formatting, change fonts, save as RTF or ASCII or Word, and leave it running quietly in the background, ever ready.
If you feel adventurous, do some exploring, because it has lots of capabilities— record sound, choose from a variety of Applescripts, write html code, and clean up or sort text.
It is also the most polite of sharewares— does not nag, expire, or turn purple (unless you want it to.) This surely has cost developer Tom Bender some revenues over the years, but has also made him legendary. Tex-Edit Plus is like a good pencil— it does exactly what you want, yet supports finesse. And, bonus, it never needs sharpening.
http://www.tex-edit.com $15.00
For everyone who has enjoyed and tussled with MacSpeech iListen, there’s a new kid on the block and it looks amazing.
It’s called MacSpeech Dictate, and according to the manufacturer, it learns your speech exceptionally fast, with “up to” 99% accuracy. And is based on the venerable Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition system.
It will be great to have voice recognition that reliably recognizes voices–a task that Bill Gates said several years ago was one of the most difficult in computing.
But we may miss the sheer poetry that erupted when iListen attempted to interpret mumbles or unusual phrasing.
There’s a discount when you upgrade from iListen.
At the moment, the Zoom H4 is very tempting– and that’s not ALL based on looks.
You can put several hours of high quality audio on the 2 gig flash card. You can use it as a USB interface, and it includes Cubase LE.
All in all, a great choice of gear, and a fun way to begin here.
The cool thing about these recorders is that they are unobtrusive (unless you buy the red Edirol,) great for recording an interview while reducing self-consciousness.
Also, they are small, so they will actually be there when you need them, and versatile– all use flash drives and have USB hookups, so they talk nice with your computer.
The Edirol can timestamp, has additional mic in and headphone out, as well as effects like reverb.
The Zoom H4 adds microphone and headphone jacks, as well as effects, and looks awesomely geeky.
The Zoom H2 is the newest one, appears to be the smallest, and all use rechargeable AA batteries, a big bonus.
