Holiday Gift Guide 2023, with David MacDonald

Robby and David discuss their current computing devices, favorite gift ideas, and lament the use of Microsoft Teams.  

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Show Notes:

Books

- Grading for Growth

- Critique is Creative

- unGrading

- On Music Theory

Software/Services

- Audio Hijack

- 1Password

- Things

- Farrago

- Affinity Apps - Designer / Photo / Publisher

- Musio

- Chat GPT Plus

Gadgets

- Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe

- Anker PowerCore MagGo

- Material Dock

- AirTags

- Hidrate smart water bottle and Ember smart mugs

Games

- Hori Split Pad Pro

- Super Mario Bros Wonder

- Elden Ring

- Baldur’s Gate 3

- Dave the Diver

- Steam Deck

Pens, Notebooks, Misc.

- Mark One

- Mark Two

- Mark Three

- SideKick Notepad

- Studio Neat Pen Tray

- LightDims

App of the Week:

Robby - Narwal 2

David - Sports Alerts / Fotmob

Music of the Week:

Robby - Braxton Cook: Somewhere In Between

David - Darcy James Argue: Dynamic Maximum Tension

Tech Tip of the Week:

Robby - Use things as they are designed to be used

David - LightDims  

Where to Find Us:

Robby - Blog | Book

David - Website

Please don't forget to rate the show and share it with others!

Holiday Gift Guide 2022, with David MacDonald and Craig McClellan

I've got a new podcast episode out, and while it's probably not in time for most of your shopping, the stuff we discussed are amongst my favorite things of 2022 and are certainly great ideas to treat yourself with down the road, if not sooner.

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Show regulars Craig McClellan and Dr. David MacDonald join the show to talk about stuff we like.

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Thanks to my sponsors this month, Scale Exercise Play-Along Tracks.

Show Notes:

Music Ed and Tech News

• Music Ed Tech Talk Episode 62
• Free Form
• Ableton Note
• Ableton Link in Logic

Books

• Two from Dan Charnas:
  • Dilla Time
  • Clean Work
• Liz Lerman and John Borstel: Critique is Creative
• New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets By Women Composers

Software

• 1Password Gift Cards
• Farrago
• Affinity Apps - Designer / Photo / Publisher
• Drafts
• AirBuddy
• Fantastical

Services

• Trade Coffee
• YESPLZ Coffee
• Apple Fitness+
• Peloton Educator Pricing
• Headspace for Educators
• Duolingo Family

Hardware and Gadgets

• Apple MagSafe Battery Pack
• AirPods
• Kindle Paperwhite

• Stream Deck Notation Express Stream Deck Profile for Dorico - Notation Central

• Anker 733 Power Bank, 2-in-1 Hybrid Charger, 10,000mAh 30W USB-C Portable Charger with 65W Wall Charger, Works for iPhone 13, Samsung, Pixel, MacBook, Dell, and More https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W2H224F?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details) Anker 733 Power Bank (GaNPrime PowerCore 65W), 2-in-1 Hybrid Charger, 10,000mAh 30W USB-C Portable Charger with 65W Wall Charger, Works for iPhone 13, Samsung, Pixel, MacBook, Dell, and More

• Insta360 Link Webcam

Bags, Pens, and other Misc stuff

The Pen Addict Podcast

Pilot Metropolitan - 6 Cartridges https://www.jetpens.com/Pilot-Iroshizuku-Shin-kai-Ink-Deep-Sea-6-Cartridges/pd/34517)

JetPens.com - Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-kai Ink (Deep Sea) - 6 Cartridges

Rhodia Notepad

Plotter

Tom Bihn Bags

• Paragon
• Medium Cafe
• Freudian Slip
  • Peak Design Everyday Backpack
  • BAGSMART Electronic Organizer Small Travel Cable Organizer Bag for Hard Drives, Cables, USB, SD Card Grey BAGSMART Electronic Organizer Small Travel Cable Organizer Bag for Hard Drives, Cables, USB, SD Card Grey

App of the Week:

Robby - Spring for Twitter

David MacDonald - Cleanshot X / Spaceteam (Board game version)

Craig McClellan - Timery

Music of the Week:

Robby - Carly Rae Jepsen: The Loneliest Time

David MacDonald - Béla Fleck, Mike Marshall and Edgar Meyer: Uncommon Ritual

Craig McClellan - Bonny Light Horseman: Rolling Golden Holy

Tech Tip of the Week:

Robby - Curating your social media experience

David MacDonald - Firefox add-on: Display Anchors https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/display-_anchors/

Craig McClellan - Focus Mode Updates

Where to Find Us:

Robby - Twitter | Blog | Book

David MacDonald - Twitter | Website

Craig McClellan - Twitter | Website

Please don't forget to rate the show and share it with others!

The Music Ed Tech Talk Holiday Gift Guide, featuring Dr. David MacDonald

David MacDonald joins Robby to share their favorite books, hardware, apps, services, and musical gift ideas.

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Show Notes:

• METT #43 - iOS 15 and macOS Monterey with Paul Shimmons
• Scoring Notes - Music notation software, macOS Monterey, and Apple Silicon M1 Macs
• Scoring Notes - Use Shortcuts to quickly create score templates on macOS and iOS | Robby Burns
• Noteflight Blog - Connecting the Strands: Teaching Melody and Harmony Writing with Ukulele, Noteflight, and Soundtrap | Robby Burns
• David's last appearance on this show to talk about smart speakers
• Chris Russell's recent appearance on this show to talk ukuleles
• Musician's Friend Stupid Deal of the Day

Books

• Scott L. Phillips - Beyond Sound
• V.J. Manzo - Foundations of Music Technology
• Will Kuhn, Ethan Hein - Electronic Music School
• Jorge Variego - Composing with Restraint
• Peter Perry - Technology Tips for Ensemble Teachers
• Robby Burns - Digital Organization Tips for Music Teachers
• Ronald Kearns - Recording Tips for Music Educators
• The Routledge Companion to Music Theory Pedagogy edited by Lee VanHandel
• Kathryn Finch, Theresa Hoover - Pass the Baton
• Sarah Urist Green - You Are An Artist: Assignments to Spark Creation

Hardware

• HomePod mini
• iPad mini
• MacBook Pro
• AirPods
• Elgato Stream Deck

More Hardware

• Scoring Notes Podcast
• Notation Central Stream Deck Profiles
• AT2020
• AKG P 420
• Røde Lavalier Go
• Røde Wireless GO II
• Scarlet Focusrite Audio Interfaces
• Twelve South StayGo | USB-C Hub
• Amazon Basics Studio Headphones

Software

• Rogue Amoeba Apps - Fission | Audio Hijack | Loopback | SoundSource | Farrago - Offers educator discount
• Drafts
• Craft - Offers educator discount
• OmniFocus - Offers educator discount
• Things
• Dorico - Offers educator discount
• StaffPad
• An evening with StaffPad - YouTube

Services

• Headspace for Educators
• Calm Schools
• Peloton Digital Teacher Discount
• Nebula

Misc

• Anker Nebula Capsule Projector
• Whoosh
• Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
• Atoms Shoes
• Bombas socks
• MacSparky Field Guides
• Paperless Field Guide
• Mac Pro Video
• Dorico Course - Leo Nicholson
• Skillshare
• Lamy Safari Fountain Pens
• Lush
• The Four Hour Chef
• Momofuku Cookbook

Music of the Week

Robby - Sarah Jarosz

David - Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Tech Tip of the Week

Robby - Focus Modes

David - CopyChar.cc

Where to Find Us:

Robby - Twitter | Blog | Book

David - Twitter | Website | Blog

Please don't forget to rate the show and share it with others!

Reflections on the iPhone X Apple Event

On Tuesday, Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 3, Apple TV 4K, iPhone 8, and iPhone X. 

Here are some quick takeaways from the event…

Apple Watch

In my opinion, this was the best part of the presentation. Definitely selling my Nike Series 2 to buy this. Can’t wait to have full access to my notifications and Apple Music while on the run. Combine this with AirPods in my ears and I can walk out of my house with nothing in my pockets, remain fully connected if I wish, work out, run errands, and even make purchases with Apple Pay.

Apple TV 4K

Disappointing. Well, sort of. I was hoping for some more software updates, but it is cool that they are upgrading everyone’s existing iTunes TV and Movies to 4K for free.

The highlight of this part of the presentation was definitely the demo of the game Sky. These are the developers behind two of my favorite games of all time: Flower, and Journey. There games are simple, elegant, profound, and insanely accessible to the non-gaming public. I can’t wait to see what they do with such a straightforward platform as the Apple TV. 

iPhone 8

Nicely done story here. Apple needed to make the iPhone 8 seem like a compelling update to the 7 so that people would buy it in volume, making their shipment of the iPhone X more manageable. iPhone X is rumored to be highly supply constrained. I think Apple did the best job they could at telling this story. But unfortunately, I don’t think it was good enough to keep most people from waiting for the X. If there was no X, I totally would buy this phone though. The new glass back looks slick! 

iPhone X

Because 7 ate 9? Not crazy about the name. iPhone Pro would have been better. Who cares. I am buying this phone.

AirPower

This looks really cool. Seems like something that could have existed before now. But what do I know?