One of the most interesting technologies at the recent Audio Engineering Society show wasn't accompanied by pulsing LEDs or Bavarian vacuum tubes. In a simple booth, CEntrance was showing its Universal Driver (UD), a $79 piece of software that enhances FireWire audio and MIDI on Windows. In addition to low latency (reportedly 5ms roundtrip), UD supports device aggregation, which...

I realize that there are some podcasters who feel very strongly about keeping the dream alive of an inexpensive platform, driven by social media and ready access to affordable technology. But I think that soon, (like it or not) the podcasting community may have to re-assess its opinion of what constitutes "affordable" and what level of quality the audience will come to expect. I'm not saying I want this to happen. I am predicting it will happen. Please note the difference.

Looking for some creepy soundscapes for Halloween? Check out the latest release from Darwin Chamber, 3D Halloween Sound FX 2006, which just hit the iTunes Store. Chamber, aka Mark Greenfield, brings an unusual musical sensibility to his environmental soundtracks, thanks to his background in techno music and sound editing for TV and film. Instead of simply pointing a mic...

My colleagues at PaidContent.org shared some insights from a recent Steven Levy article in Newsweek regarding the iPod turniing five.......here are the most entertaining pieces: iPods are cool and useful, but the fifth anniversary of the digital music player is getting an enormous hype party -- the full cultural milestone treatment, sort of like when Tom Cruise turned 40. Newsweek...

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. " -Benjamin Franklin --Or Not. I could stand it no more, so I did a little research, using the "World Wide Web," where the digital media lives....

SO there's this thing called Project Bar-B-Q, which i will be attending again this year, to my great delight. last year was the 10th anniversary, so "this one goes up to 11" as they say; i expect it will be fun, productive, creative, and loud ... what more could you ask for? BBQ #9, however, was the year i was...

Executive Summary: The easiest-to-use voice processor on the market, with more bang for the buck than anything I've ever seen. The 230 is versatile, valuable and powerful and replaces a rack full of gear. It will help almost any podcaster create big voice-overs with a minimal learning curve and an affordable price.

During a long flight recently, I had to clean up some audio I had recorded for a podcast. Too many "ums" and "ahs" for my taste, so a little surgery was required. I fired up Rogue Amoeba's Fission, and cut through 30 minutes of yak yak faster than bare feet running on hot sand. That's what this Universal Binary...

UPDATE, 2007-08-02: Our in-depth MR-1 review is now online. We also have a new discussion area at the end of the review, so please feel free to continue this conversation over there. Breezing through the AES show press room last Friday, I saw something that made me want to rush down to the exhibit floor: a palm-size recorder with 1-bit,...

One of the most brilliant products I saw at this week's AES show was also one of the most affordable....