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Tech News & Commentary
Team Discussion – Apple’s new Macs
The team discussed the introduction of the new 13″ Retina Macbook Pro, the new ultrathin iMac and the updated Mac Mini.
Stephen in Melbourne, Australia listens to the Podcast – calling in via the App asked: “I want to do some voice recording. I was thinking of doing Live365 to do a radio show, or perhaps do a talk podcast. I have a mixer, but I was wondering if I should plug the mixer into a smaller laptop or maybe use a tablet, I know a tablet’s more mobile. Just wondering what the best way to go is. Also, can you play my music on Live365, I just looked at the website and I’m a bit confused..”
A tablet may just not be an option for you… you may not have a way to connect that mixer to the tablet at all. Even if you do, your choice of software will be much more limited, both for recording and for editing whatever you record.
You mention portability, a tablet would be a little more portable, but laptops are still mobile and, how much portability do you really need in your recording studio?
For the sake of flexibility, you should probably go with the laptop, you’ll have more options for record, more options for editing, more options for streaming live (if that’s what you want), more space to store your episodes, and a much higher likelihood of it working with your mixer.
You asked about Live365 and if you can play music on it, you can, there’s nothing to it, you just play the music and that’s it, they pay for the licensing from your monthly membership fee. Just make sure you’re choosing a service tier that offers decent sound quality if you’re going to focus on music, Live365 offers up to 128kbps which should be around CD quality.
The issue with using a tablet to record is that, depending on the tablet, you might have to buy some additional adapters. The iPad, for example, will take a microphone in the headphone jack, but it’s a mic level input and records mono only. Your mixing board will usually give line level output. Your best bet for the iPad is to buy a recording adapter like the MIKEY from our friends at Blue Microphone. It connects to the iPad 30 pin connector (nothing for Lightning, yet) and offers stereo recording of line level input and offers a USB passthrough connector at the same time. MIKEY isn’t cheap though, it’ll cost you around $100.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline
Guests in this hour:
Scott Edwards, Co-Founder – PlayMG
Mom and Dad will soon get their smartphones back! PlayMG has created the first pocketable Wi-Fi Android app-gaming system for young people.
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT with Rob: Rukus Solar Bluetooth Stereo Speaker & FRX3 Weather Alert Radio from Eton Corporation
1) Rukus Solar Speaker
stereo speaker that can pair with your smart phone, tablet or laptop. And, it’s versatile. You can lay it flat … or upright. It’s also very lightweight and has an E-Ink display, which gives you great visibility outdoors in the sun and uses minimal power.
While it has a solar panel that can keep this unit charged while you use it outdoors, it also has a rechargeable battery you can charge with an A/C adapter. It takes about 6 hours for the Rukus to be charged outside in the sun or 4 hours using AC/DC power.
In addition to playing music wirelessly, the Rukus can also play your music by connecting your device using the AUX input on the back. And, you can keep your USB compatible devices charged by keeping the USB cord plugged in to the Rukus.
The sound quality is very good for small rooms, like your kitchen, bedroom or office.
It retails under $150 and comes in green, black or white.
2) FRX3 Weather Alert Radio
Etón has a turbine AM/FM/Weather Alert radio that can be helpful during any major storm. It’s called the FRX3.
This radio has a solar panel on the top side for solar power, has a rechargeable battery that can be charged with a USB cable … or you can use 3 AAA batteries … or you can keep it plugged in to DC power … or you can turn the hand turbine for power. And yes, it also charges your smartphone. Just plug in its corresponding USB cable.
The FRX3 also serves as a clock and alarm clock. And, it has an LED flashlight on the side. It also has an AUX input. This small unit is packed with some cool and useful tech. We found it online for only 60 bucks.
Geoff in Jersey, British Channel Islands – calling in via the App called us last week and asked us how he could rescue some information from a hard drive after his laptop was damaged by lightning. He called back this week and let us know how it went.
Thank you, Geoff.
For more information tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners:
Dane-Elec: Several 8GB USB Flash Drives from Marvel’s The Avengers Collection
Magix: Copies of Music Maker 2013 – Create your own tunes! Even beginners can easily create music.
Microsoft: Copies of Microsoft Streets & Trips 2013 Software
Steve Nicholls: Copies of his book “Social Media in Business – Succeeding in the New Internet Revolution” – A guide to the understanding of social media’s business value.