greepo
http://macosx.com/forums
Compressing Mp3's
Hi there,
I'm new to the forum so I hope I'm going about this the right way. I'm looking for a program that will compress mp3 files to 3gp or similar. I came across one called 'Make3gp' for the mac but it only seems to compress around 7 minutes of audio at any one time. I have a podcast which I would like to compress but it's 33 mins in duration. If anyone could help me I'd be grateful.
Cheers,
Craig
Consolidating Multiple Loans
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Adobe Photoshop + Mac: John Nack has hit back at criticism of his firm’s Mac commitment.
Adobe Photoshop product manager John Nack has hit back at criticism of his firm’s Mac commitment.
Nack has also confirmed that Photoshop and the other component products of Adobe Creative Suite 3 will run natively on Intel and PowerPC-based Macs when the software ships next year.
The comments were in response to critics who derided Adobe for not offering support for Apple’s legacy PowerPC Macs when it released new beta audio software, Soundbooth, last week.
He asked Mac users to think on the reality of future Mac software development: "Apple’s migration to Intel chips means that it’s easier to develop for both Mac and Windows, because instead of splitting development resources optimizing for two different chip architectures, you can focus on just one."
He added that this also meant Adobe was able to use Intel processor skills within its Windows development teams to build the Soundbooth beta for Intel Macs.
He asked: "If you were Adobe and had started developing a new application at exactly the time when Apple told you, ‘This other chip architecture is dead to us,’ would you rather put your efforts into developing for that platform, or would you focus elsewhere?"
There is a difference between developing new applications and extending existing ones, he added in an attempt to calm user fears that Adobe will cease PowerPC development for Photoshop and other important creative applications.
These applications have already been tuned for the PowerPC processor, which means maintaining support for them is less challenging (and expensive) than developing software for two chip platforms from scratch, he explained.
"Someday Apple, Adobe and everyone else will stop supporting PowerPC, as they did with 68k chips and Mac OS 9, but not anytime soon," he said.
Summing up, he asked: "If Adobe were to bring other Windows-only applications to the Mac, would [Mac users] be happy about that, or would [they] rather give it hell for focusing on features and functionality, rather than a discontinued chip architecture?"
- Jonny Evans, Macworld.co.uk
Nack has also confirmed that Photoshop and the other component products of Adobe Creative Suite 3 will run natively on Intel and PowerPC-based Macs when the software ships next year.
The comments were in response to critics who derided Adobe for not offering support for Apple’s legacy PowerPC Macs when it released new beta audio software, Soundbooth, last week.
He asked Mac users to think on the reality of future Mac software development: "Apple’s migration to Intel chips means that it’s easier to develop for both Mac and Windows, because instead of splitting development resources optimizing for two different chip architectures, you can focus on just one."
He added that this also meant Adobe was able to use Intel processor skills within its Windows development teams to build the Soundbooth beta for Intel Macs.
He asked: "If you were Adobe and had started developing a new application at exactly the time when Apple told you, ‘This other chip architecture is dead to us,’ would you rather put your efforts into developing for that platform, or would you focus elsewhere?"
There is a difference between developing new applications and extending existing ones, he added in an attempt to calm user fears that Adobe will cease PowerPC development for Photoshop and other important creative applications.
These applications have already been tuned for the PowerPC processor, which means maintaining support for them is less challenging (and expensive) than developing software for two chip platforms from scratch, he explained.
"Someday Apple, Adobe and everyone else will stop supporting PowerPC, as they did with 68k chips and Mac OS 9, but not anytime soon," he said.
Summing up, he asked: "If Adobe were to bring other Windows-only applications to the Mac, would [Mac users] be happy about that, or would [they] rather give it hell for focusing on features and functionality, rather than a discontinued chip architecture?"
- Jonny Evans, Macworld.co.uk
New Film Scoring Site; Mac mini, PC Sampler Farms for Samples
The music technology blogosophere continues to expand, now with an excellent new site dedicated to film scoring. The site also has a bonus: its name begins with the word “Create”, which means it can join CDM’s unofficial “Create [Stuff]” network! Jerome Leroy, an L.A.-based music systems technician, is editing the new site. Jerome tells CDM he works as a studio technician and technical assistant and had a specific “thirst for film music tech news” that led him to start his own specialized resource. We’re of course always happy to see the community of practical sites for digital musicians growing, so this is great news — welcome, Jerome!
Among the early articles is a great piece on assembling farms of Mac minis to help process samples for Vienna Instruments and their massive Symphonic Cube package. The minis are a little underpowered in the hard drive department, but thanks to a cheap price and fast processor, they can be an economical way of adding necessary sample-processing power. The article also details composer John Frizzell’s setup, which originally, like a lot of film composers, used a Mac as the main machine and PC slaves for GigaStudio; Frizzell has sinced switched to an all-Mac rig of three G5s. Jerome says this is the first of a series; we’ll be watching:
Mac minis as VSL Farms: An Overview
Related: CDM’s resident game composer talked to Tomb Raider’s Troels Brun Folmann, who uses a similarly massive computer farm for his music. His setup: one master computer, eight sample slaves, all PC. (His sample library of choice is East West’s Symphonic Library XP rather than Vienna’s.)
CDM Interview: Tomb Raider: Legend Composer Troels Brun Folmann on Adaptive “Micro-Scoring”
Got a sampler farm of your own? Let us know about it. (Don’t worry, we won’t get into pissing contests over who has the most computers — for those of us who don’t need to use enormous orchestral libraries, one machine often does just fine!)
Mac Minis as VSL Farms: An Overview
by Jerome
http://www.createfilmscores.net/
The concept of computer farms is rather simple : “a collection of computers networked together to accomplish performance needs far beyond the capability of one machine”. This is, in many ways, not a new concept in the world of composer’s studios ; back to the days of hardware samplers, it was quite often necessary to buy more than one sampler to load more samples and get more polyphony.
Take for example a typical GigaStudio setup, in which the whole idea is to unload the sequencer from the task of processing the samples. As a result, and for performance and memory reasons, loading a full orchestra, with a certain number of articulations per instrument, usually requires to install two or three GigaStudio computers.
In the world of Apple computers, this concept has rarely been applied because, for many years and until the PowerMac Quad and the recent Intel Macs came out, the performance/cost ratio was most of the time in favor of their PC counterparts. Yes, there have been, and for some time now, very good examples of server farms made solely of Apple Xserves, but this was far beyond the scope of a modest composer’s studio.
A dedicated Apple user, John Frizzell (Alien Resurrection, Gods & Generals…) has been looking in this direction for a long time. As many composers, John found himself forced to use GigaStudio - even though he didn’t like using Windows. So he finally designed a system of three PowerMac G5, one host (the sequencer) and two slaves. On the host, he runs Logic, Rax, and Plogue Bidule. Each software allows him to load up to about 2.5GB of samples. Then, on each slaves, he loads another 2.5GB of samples in Rax. Memory and performances being the main limitation on today’s computers, this allows him to have all his samples always loaded in the background, like in a typical GigaStudio setup, but without ever using Windows (which, for some users, is not a small benefit).
Using PowerMacs to spread your samples is a great idea, but it has its downsides too. PowerMacs are bulky, take a lot of space, generate a lot of heat, and use up to 400W (this is not going to help your electricity bill!). They are also expensive, and require a rather complicated setup if you are using more than one host.
Here is another problem, this one specifically related to how Vienna Instruments handles memory. We already know that a 32-bit application can only use up to 2.5 GB of ram. This means that you can load up to 2.5GB of samples in Logic, 2.5GB of samples in Rax, 2.5GB of samples in Plogue Bidule (remember that this is a theoretical limit - in the real world, most apps hardly reach it). Basically, this allows you to have a PowerMac with 8GB of memory running three hosts.
But the Vienna Instruments loads its samples in a separate application, called “VSL Server”. You do not see this application - it simply runs in the background. Because it is a process separated from the host, it can go higher than the usual 2.5GB limit, up to 3.25GB (some users have reported going even higher than that.) However, if you are running two or three hosts on your computer, you will not be able to load more than a total of 3GB of VI samples on this computer, because they will point to the VSL Server process. Suddenly, the PowerMac is way less interesting - why bother buying such an expensive and powerful computer, to only use less than half of its capacities?
Well, that’s where the Mac Mini comes in. In terms of raw power, the new Intel Mac Minis are as powerful as a PowerMac Dual 2 Ghz (this is not too surprising, considering the fact that the processor inside the Minis, the Intel Core Duo, is also a dual-core processor, and runs at 1.6 or 1.8 Ghz), and they are also way smaller, generate little heat, and consume only 80W. You can load up to 2GB of memory on each of these little babies. And they come with optical S/PDIF (2-channel) I/O connectors.
They do come with one downside though : the internal, SATA hard drive only runs at 4200rpm. This can be a problem when working with samples, so it is highly recommended to add in a faster, external firewire drive, or to pop the Mac Mini open and replace its internal drive by a faster one. Firewire drive are IDE, not SATA, so the second solution is even better (however, since you open up the computer, you will lose the manufacturer’s warranty).
A Mac Mini will handle up to about 1.6 GB of VI samples loaded in memory (the rest is dedicated to running the OS and other regular tasks). As a comparison, a PowerMac or a Mac Pro with 4 GB of memory will allow you to load about 3 GB of samples. So, four Mac Mini will do the task of two PowerMacs / Mac Pros. Money wise, this comes down to $4000 for four 2GB, 1.8 Ghz Mac Minis (along with an external Firewire drive) against $6400 for the two 4GB, 2 Ghz Mac Pros. Nice savings, to be added to the other positive factors of buying a Mac Mini (space, heat, power consumption).
The cool thing with this solution is that you can buy Mac Mini’s at your own pace, as you would for the VI collections. For example, if you only have Strings I and Strings II, and you want to use all of the Level 1 articulations, then you won’t need more than two Mac Minis. If you later buy the Woodwinds I collection, then you can buy another Mac Mini and load it up.
Ultimately, if you want to use the full power of the Symphonic Cube package, you will probably need about 10 Mac Minis - one for each collection. But this will still be way cheaper than buying PowerMacs or Mac Pros.
Keep in mind that the whole concept of computer farms applied to the composer’s studio is only useful if you want to have your samples loaded at all time. It does not help you if you are more likely to load your instruments / samples on a project basis.
In later articles, I will talk more in depth about setting up your sequencer and MIDI gear to interact with the VI interface, spreading your samples over the whole Mac Mini farm, and the different options to get the sound out from your slaves, back to your host.
http://www.createfilmscores.net/
The concept of computer farms is rather simple : “a collection of computers networked together to accomplish performance needs far beyond the capability of one machine”. This is, in many ways, not a new concept in the world of composer’s studios ; back to the days of hardware samplers, it was quite often necessary to buy more than one sampler to load more samples and get more polyphony.
Take for example a typical GigaStudio setup, in which the whole idea is to unload the sequencer from the task of processing the samples. As a result, and for performance and memory reasons, loading a full orchestra, with a certain number of articulations per instrument, usually requires to install two or three GigaStudio computers.
In the world of Apple computers, this concept has rarely been applied because, for many years and until the PowerMac Quad and the recent Intel Macs came out, the performance/cost ratio was most of the time in favor of their PC counterparts. Yes, there have been, and for some time now, very good examples of server farms made solely of Apple Xserves, but this was far beyond the scope of a modest composer’s studio.
A dedicated Apple user, John Frizzell (Alien Resurrection, Gods & Generals…) has been looking in this direction for a long time. As many composers, John found himself forced to use GigaStudio - even though he didn’t like using Windows. So he finally designed a system of three PowerMac G5, one host (the sequencer) and two slaves. On the host, he runs Logic, Rax, and Plogue Bidule. Each software allows him to load up to about 2.5GB of samples. Then, on each slaves, he loads another 2.5GB of samples in Rax. Memory and performances being the main limitation on today’s computers, this allows him to have all his samples always loaded in the background, like in a typical GigaStudio setup, but without ever using Windows (which, for some users, is not a small benefit).
Using PowerMacs to spread your samples is a great idea, but it has its downsides too. PowerMacs are bulky, take a lot of space, generate a lot of heat, and use up to 400W (this is not going to help your electricity bill!). They are also expensive, and require a rather complicated setup if you are using more than one host.
Here is another problem, this one specifically related to how Vienna Instruments handles memory. We already know that a 32-bit application can only use up to 2.5 GB of ram. This means that you can load up to 2.5GB of samples in Logic, 2.5GB of samples in Rax, 2.5GB of samples in Plogue Bidule (remember that this is a theoretical limit - in the real world, most apps hardly reach it). Basically, this allows you to have a PowerMac with 8GB of memory running three hosts.
But the Vienna Instruments loads its samples in a separate application, called “VSL Server”. You do not see this application - it simply runs in the background. Because it is a process separated from the host, it can go higher than the usual 2.5GB limit, up to 3.25GB (some users have reported going even higher than that.) However, if you are running two or three hosts on your computer, you will not be able to load more than a total of 3GB of VI samples on this computer, because they will point to the VSL Server process. Suddenly, the PowerMac is way less interesting - why bother buying such an expensive and powerful computer, to only use less than half of its capacities?
Well, that’s where the Mac Mini comes in. In terms of raw power, the new Intel Mac Minis are as powerful as a PowerMac Dual 2 Ghz (this is not too surprising, considering the fact that the processor inside the Minis, the Intel Core Duo, is also a dual-core processor, and runs at 1.6 or 1.8 Ghz), and they are also way smaller, generate little heat, and consume only 80W. You can load up to 2GB of memory on each of these little babies. And they come with optical S/PDIF (2-channel) I/O connectors.
They do come with one downside though : the internal, SATA hard drive only runs at 4200rpm. This can be a problem when working with samples, so it is highly recommended to add in a faster, external firewire drive, or to pop the Mac Mini open and replace its internal drive by a faster one. Firewire drive are IDE, not SATA, so the second solution is even better (however, since you open up the computer, you will lose the manufacturer’s warranty).
A Mac Mini will handle up to about 1.6 GB of VI samples loaded in memory (the rest is dedicated to running the OS and other regular tasks). As a comparison, a PowerMac or a Mac Pro with 4 GB of memory will allow you to load about 3 GB of samples. So, four Mac Mini will do the task of two PowerMacs / Mac Pros. Money wise, this comes down to $4000 for four 2GB, 1.8 Ghz Mac Minis (along with an external Firewire drive) against $6400 for the two 4GB, 2 Ghz Mac Pros. Nice savings, to be added to the other positive factors of buying a Mac Mini (space, heat, power consumption).
The cool thing with this solution is that you can buy Mac Mini’s at your own pace, as you would for the VI collections. For example, if you only have Strings I and Strings II, and you want to use all of the Level 1 articulations, then you won’t need more than two Mac Minis. If you later buy the Woodwinds I collection, then you can buy another Mac Mini and load it up.
Ultimately, if you want to use the full power of the Symphonic Cube package, you will probably need about 10 Mac Minis - one for each collection. But this will still be way cheaper than buying PowerMacs or Mac Pros.
Keep in mind that the whole concept of computer farms applied to the composer’s studio is only useful if you want to have your samples loaded at all time. It does not help you if you are more likely to load your instruments / samples on a project basis.
In later articles, I will talk more in depth about setting up your sequencer and MIDI gear to interact with the VI interface, spreading your samples over the whole Mac Mini farm, and the different options to get the sound out from your slaves, back to your host.
MediaCentral adds .Mac photocasts
By Peter Cohen
Equinux has updated their media center software for Mac OS X, MediaCentral, to version 2.4. A free update for registered users, the software costs $29.95.
MediaCentral provides you with a “hub” from which to run all of your media software on your Mac — Skype, IP TV, movies, DVDs, games, music, radio, photos and more are controllable through MediaCentral. It’s handy if you wish to use your Mac as a digital media hub in conjunction with a home entertainment system.
New to this release are customizable interface themes — color schemes including Deep Blue, Classic, Windows, Pacific Coast, Tequila Sunrise and others. You can create your own custom color schemes, too.
Also new is a TV Onscreen Display that appears semi-transparently above the running program; a TV device configuration tool and .Mac photocast support.
A trial version is available for download. MediaCentral is available as a Universal binary.
Equinux has updated their media center software for Mac OS X, MediaCentral, to version 2.4. A free update for registered users, the software costs $29.95.
MediaCentral provides you with a “hub” from which to run all of your media software on your Mac — Skype, IP TV, movies, DVDs, games, music, radio, photos and more are controllable through MediaCentral. It’s handy if you wish to use your Mac as a digital media hub in conjunction with a home entertainment system.
New to this release are customizable interface themes — color schemes including Deep Blue, Classic, Windows, Pacific Coast, Tequila Sunrise and others. You can create your own custom color schemes, too.
Also new is a TV Onscreen Display that appears semi-transparently above the running program; a TV device configuration tool and .Mac photocast support.
A trial version is available for download. MediaCentral is available as a Universal binary.
Podcast: Problems with WordPress 2.0.5, a review of Akismet, Bad Behavior 2 and Spam Karma 2, and more…
http://wp-community.org
Standard Podcast [18:13m]
Episode 9 covers:
Standard Podcast [18:13m]
Episode 9 covers:
- Our listeners get a discount on hosting at Fuzzy Hosting.
- WordPress 2.0.5 causes a 500-Internal Server Error for some users, but Mark Jaquith has a tune-up plug-in to correct it.
- WordPress MU 1.0 is released and bbPress 0.72 is reintroduced.
- Google allows you to create custom searchs for your blogs. Joel Pan (ketsugi) details its features while Steve Graham (Nezz) points out concerns with its terms of service.
- WP-Websnapr displays thumbnail images of sites you link to.
- Sara Cormeny provides a tutorial on how to restyle the WordPress log-in page to rebrand it.
- Mark Jaquith reviews and compares the three leading anti-comment spam plug-ins, Akismet, Bad Behavior 2 and Spam Karma 2.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)