This is probably the most charming
instrument that we’ve seen in a long time. It looks great, it’s analog, and it’s useful despite certain limitations (and, as any musician will tell you, sometimes you need limitations to get the creative juices flowing). Designed and built by Mike Walters (aka Mystery Circuits), the Drumssette is a drum machine derived from an old Tascam four track cassette recorder. It features sampled Roland TR-808 drum hits, a sixteen step sequencer, analog echo and digital delay, clock output for controlling the rhythmic phrasing of an external instrument (allowing it to act like an arpeggiator, except that it controls the phrasing of the note, but not the pitch) and more. It’s pretty wild! This guy goes into extreme geeky detail as to the inner workings of this device, which you can see at the Source link if you’re so inclined. If not, make sure you check out select videos of the thing in action after the break.
Continue reading Drumssette DIY drum machine was once a four track, perfect for your Big Audio Dynamite cover band
Drumssette DIY drum machine was once a four track, perfect for your Big Audio Dynamite cover band originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: Audio, Band, Cover, Drum, Drumssette, Dynamite, four, Machine, once, Perfect, Track
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.
A core part of Microsoft’s strategy from days gone by was known as embrace and extend. With a reboot of their mobile platform due later this year, is it time for Microsoft to think about moving some of their services and applications to competitor’s platforms? To some degree, it’s already happening. Microsoft licenses the ActiveSync protocol which allows Android, iOS and other platforms to wirelessly sync with Exchange. It’s developed Bing and Live Messenger apps for iOS and also done a deal to bring mobile Office apps to Nokia’s platforms. One could argue that in some of these cases Microsoft has given competitors access to what could have been key differentiators for its own mobile efforts. I’m not sure I disagree with that analysis, but now that it’s happening, I think Microsoft should think even more broadly about porting some applications and services. Here’s what I’d like to see made available for other platforms.
Office Mobile: Sure, there are other solutions for viewing and editing Office documents on almost every platform, but none of them carry the Microsoft Office brand. A version of Office for mobile (including a touch-enabled version of OneNote) would be an instant best seller on every platform and a become the de facto standard for mobile office applications. A combination of free document viewers and a suite of applications at a reasonable cost would put Microsoft at the top of mobile productivity and at the same time help continue to drive Office sales for PCs and Macs.
Continue reading Entelligence: Time for Microsoft to once again embrace and extend
Entelligence: Time for Microsoft to once again embrace and extend originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: Again, embrace, Entelligence, Extend, Microsoft, once, Time
It’s happened before, and it’s happening again: the EVO 4G’s getting hard to find. We’re sure you’d be able to track it down locally, but the option that requires the least dreadful physical movement — ordering online — isn’t an option for now, with Sprint saying “this device is so hot we can’t keep it on our virtual shelves.” We imagine the situation will clear itself up shortly, but it makes you wonder — could the screen separation fix on the assembly line be the culprit behind the shortage?
[Thanks, James]
HTC EVO 4G sold out online once again originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Jun 2010 19:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: Again, once, ONLINE, sold
Nothing new here, but at this point, Motorola’s delicious duo of fresh Android phones for Verizon is leaking like… well, like a leaky faucet, we suppose. We’ve already got the full scoop on the keyboardless 4.3-inch Droid X — a beast ready to take on sworn enemies from HTC like the EVO 4G and the Droid Incredible — and we’ve seen plenty of details on the so-called Droid 2, too. The latter appears destined to replace the original Droid with a better keyboard layout and ever-so-gently refined ergonomics, but the latest leak from a Gizmodo tipster confirms that the cam’s still 5 megapixels and it’s currently running Android 2.1 atop Moto’s new-look Blur (interestingly, the “Droid 2″ name couldn’t be confirmed). Apparently it’s set for release in the “next few weeks,” which would line up with rumors we’ve heard in the past of a launch windows somewhere between July and August — so here’s the real question: X or 2?
Droid 2 (or whatever it’s called) for Verizon breaks cover once again originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 23:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: Again, breaks, called, Cover, Droid, It's, once, Verizon, whatever
We’re still not really sure how Toshiba managed to do both 2D and glasses-free 3D in a single display, but we do now know that it isn’t the only company to have achieved this stereoscopic feat. Engadget Chinese caught sight of ITRI’s similar composite display, which is able to add depth to individual sections of the screen whilst leaving the rest of it stuck in Flatland. It’s a 22-inch, 1680 x 1050 panel and, while 3D content is said to be rendered in much lower resolution than the rest of the display, SecondLife doesn’t really require that many pixels to freak you out anyhow. No word on a possible retail release, so you’ll just have to keep crossing your eyes at your current monitor.
ITRI’s display manages 2D and 3D at once, set to challenge Toshiba for hybrid supremacy originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: Challenge, Display, Hybrid, ITRI's, manages, once, supremacy, Toshiba
“Dominator I” sounds more like a monster truck than a collection of small boxes that collectively erase 20 years of relatively secure wireless phone service, doesn’t it? Alas, what you’re looking at here is a convenient, plug-and-play solution for exploiting the hard work the world’s hacking community has put into cracking the A5/1 encryption used on GSM networks in Europe and the US over the past few years. The system consists of two nondescript white boxes, two directional antennas that you’ll point in the direction of your victim, and a laptop that you can use to get a glimpse at all of the phones currently connected to your nearest cell site and record up to four active calls simultaneously — and if you’re more of the text messaging type, Dominator I’s got you covered there, too, with full access to SMS. The company claims that the system was “declassified only last week” and is completely undetectable both by the operator and the end user, putting it in this rare nexus of “awesome” and “completely terrifying.” It can’t do A5/3, but now that it’s been cracked in a somewhat practical way, we’re sure the Dominator II can’t be far behind. Follow the break for Meganet’s video of the system in action.
Continue reading Meganet’s Dominator I snoops on four GSM convos at once, fits in your overnight bag
Meganet’s Dominator I snoops on four GSM convos at once, fits in your overnight bag originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 May 2010 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: convos, Dominator, fits, four, Meganet's, once, overnight, snoops
While iPhone 3G owners and would-be Windows Phone 7 buyers sit in the corner, quietly weeping over their lack of true multitasking, webOS and Symbian continue to point and laugh. In mid-January, a Palm Pre Plus was seen cackling with joy over its rivals’ misfortune even as the device staggered under the weight of 50 simultaneous applications, and less than a week later, a Samsung Omnia HD performed the very same feat, despite having only half the Pre Plus’ RAM (i.e. 256MB) to work with. Now, in what we can only interpret as a large middle finger and “come here” gesture to all who aspire to the cell phone multitasking heavyweight title, we have a video of the i8910 running no less than sixty-two applications thanks to a custom ROM by HyperX. Watch in stunned silence as a finger scrolls through them, right after the break.
Continue reading Samsung i8910 HD runs 62 apps at once, multitaskers bow their heads
Samsung i8910 HD runs 62 apps at once, multitaskers bow their heads originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tags: Apps, heads, I8910, multitaskers, once, runs, Samsung, Their
