Tweetbot 2 for Mac is out. If you are a Twitter power user or just plain addicted, this is worth checking out. It provides a far superior experience to twitter.com and especially the official Twitter app for Mac. Best of all, it is now permanently 13 dollars.
Screenshot 2015-06-23 13.19.23
Highnote is an excellent little app for iOS that allows you to change the tempo and key of the music in your library. Like all Mac and iOS apps that require access to your device’s music library, it can only work with audio files that are locally downloaded. My iTunes Match subscription allows me to stream my iTunes library from multiple Macs and iDevices without the files occupying any space. Other apps cannot access songs in the cloud unless they are also downloaded to the device. This is a disappointment of mine that I wish Apple would address. While it is a drag to have to go into the Music app and download songs before use, Highnote is still a great little utility for slowing down, speeding up, or changing the key of the songs in your music library, tasks I typically associate with doing on a desktop computer.
For $1.99, it is worth checking out. And they’ve already announced an Apple Watch app! Good for them, though I’m not sure I will be needing to use these tools on my wrist.
IMG_2552
Never seen anyone make this piece look so easy before. http://youtu.be/DTliXQ0GxB0
Marco Arment sums up my largest concerns about Apple in his recent post, Apple has lost the functional high ground.
Below I have quoted a few highlights (but read the whole thing yourself, it is very short).
Apple’s hardware today is amazing — it has never been better. But the software quality has taken such a nosedive in the last few years that I’m deeply concerned for its future. I’m typing this on a computer whose existence I didn’t even think would be possible yet, but it runs an OS riddled with embarrassing bugs and fundamental regressions. Just a few years ago, we would have relentlessly made fun of Windows users for these same bugs on their inferior OS, but we can’t talk anymore.
And also…
I suspect the rapid decline of Apple’s software is a sign that marketing is too high a priority at Apple today: having major new releases every year is clearly impossible for the engineering teams to keep up with while maintaining quality. Maybe it’s an engineering problem, but I suspect not — I doubt that any cohesive engineering team could keep up with these demands and maintain significantly higher quality.
I could not agree more.
day 7: every piece of gear you’ll need for self-recording — ROB KNOPPER:
welcome to day 7 of the #12daysofdelécluse, in which we count down to the release of my new album, delécluse:douze études for snare drum. in addition to posting étude 7 today, i’m posting day 2 (of 3) of the complete guide to self-recording. see day one of the complete guide to self-recording here.
I am so impressed with these recordings and the entire presentation of Rob Knopper’s website. Every performing musician should have a website with a design and focus that represent their accomplishments so tastefully.
I will surely be buying the album and his clever Delécluse Starter Stickings™.
Find Robby elsewhere on the web
