| Giveaway: Bracketron Case | If outdoor adventures are in your future this summer, enter to win a Bracketron Sport Case with Mount Strap from MacNN and keep that iPhone, iPod or other electronic device safe from the elements. |
Earlier today, Apple released an update for the iOS version of GarageBand, incrementing the app to version 1.4. The new update contains bug fixes and support for Audiobus, a third-party app that can record audio from other apps that support the application as well.
Up until about two weeks ago, I had no idea about how to get a song up on iTunes. As of today, my song “The Fallout” has gone live on iTunes under the band name Neodymium Project. It all began on my iMac using Apple’s brilliant Garageband with my iPad, Tunecore, Pro Tools, iWeb, Dropbox, Paypal, Bigcartel, Snapseed, Pixelmator, Yousendit, Jango, MySpace and Facebook all playing a part in making it happen. But it was through social media, that I was able to have my guitar hero Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) play the lead solo on the track. The one common thread – technology.
Apple has started announcing the 2012 slate of its annual summer camps for kids. The events in fact take place at Apple Stores, and include two 90-minute workshops in which children aged 8 to 12 learn how to make movies using iMovie on a Mac, paired with a song produced on GarageBand for the iPad. An optional Saturday morning event lets friends and family see the finished videos.
Apple has finally brought iPhoto to the iPad, while introducing updates to the existing iMovie, iWork and GarageBand apps. The apps, introduced alongside the new iPad, have been reworked to take advantage of the third-generation tablet's 2048x1536 'Retina Display', which quadruples the pixel density from the 1024x768 display of the original iPad and iPad 2.
Apple's upcoming education event is being "over-hyped," a new Forbes report suggests. The business publication cites for instance an anonymous former Apple executive, who claims that the event "is being blown out of proportion." More critically Forbes says it has interviewed Matt MacInnis, the Inkling CEO used as a source for an Ars Technica piece suggesting Apple is working on a "GarageBand for e-books."
Apple's New York City education event is nothing less than a rethinking of how publishers create e-books as a whole, leaks divulged Monday. One scoop characterized the process to Ars Technica as a "GarageBand for e-books" that would let authors and publishers easily build e-books for iPads and iPhones, including interactive books. iBooks would also start supporting ePub 3, which supports audio and video natively and would make the store much more standards-compatible than Apple's custom take on ePub 2.
Apple gave iPhone and iPod touch owners parity in its creative apps once more on Tuesday by launching a universal version of GarageBand ($5, App Store). The new 1.1 update makes use of more contextual menus and panning to accommodate the smaller screens. The change curbs musicians to seeing four tracks at a time and less of a given instrument, although a whole drum set stays visible.
Apple has discontinued boxed copies of several Mac software titles, a note to resellers reveals. Major titles that are now online-only include Aperture 3, Xsan 2, iWork '09 and the iLife '11 suite. Remote Desktop is also being kept off shelves, along with an assortment of Jam Pack add-ons for GarageBand.
Using the Mac App Store, Apple has released updates to the three apps in iLife '11: GarageBand, iMovie and iPhoto. In each circumstance the updates address underlying bugs instead of adding new features. GarageBand 6.0.4 for instance fixes problems with the Lesson Store not finishing downloads, and tempo-based effects slipping out of sync with the main tempo. Magic GarageBand project files should open properly in the tracks view.
Relative newcomer indie band The Ultramods reached an inevitable milestone on Monday by becoming the first known band to record entirely using GarageBand for iPad. Their new release Underwear Party ($10, iTunes) was composed and recorded entirely on the Apple tablet by the duo, Max Sparber and Coco Mault, over the course of two weeks. To fill in instruments they didn't have, they used both a Smart Drum for beats and a directly composed but virtual lead guitar.
It may have been some time since iWeb, Apple’s simple WYSIWYG web page design tool, has received new features. However, it appears that Apple has at the very least considered bringing it across to the iPad. A new patent application has emerged that shows a version of iWeb for the iPad. It would join GarageBand, Keynote, Numbers, Pages and iMovie as productivity and creativity apps ported from its Mac OS X platform over to its burgeoning iOS platform.
Apple has released iPad versions of its iMovie and GarageBand applications, which were initially previewed alongside the iPad 2. Both titles replicate many of the basic functions that are available in their Mac OS X counterparts, enabling users to create music with a variety of instruments or edit videos with transitions and other elements.
Online orders of the iPad 2 will open at Apple around 1AM Pacific time on Friday, or about 4AM Eastern, according to the company. The timing mirrors that announced by AT&T, one of Apple's two US carrier partners. Buyers will otherwise have to line up for 5PM (local time) launches at retail chains, including not just Apple and AT&T but Best Buy, Target, Verizon, Walmart and some smaller resellers.
Apple has previewed new iPad versions of several iOS apps, including iLife titles iMovie and GarageBand, along with several apps that take advantage of the dual-camera configuration of the iPad 2. FaceTime for iPad will provide the same basic functionality as the iPhone edition, enabling video calls with easy switching between the primary and front-facing camera sensors. Photo Booth is geared for self portraits and snapshots, which can be tweaked with a variety of unique effects.
Apple today revealed iLife '11, a new version of the software suite pre-installed on every Mac. Three core apps have been updated, beginning with iPhoto '11, which has gained new fullscreen views for Faces, Places, Albums and photobooks, in areas using iPad-style interfaces with iOS-like buttons located along the bottom. Facebook sharing lets people view responses to posted images, and a special e-mail sharing tool lets people auto-arrange photos into an attractive layout. Some other changes include new slideshow templates, and a Project view with a bookshelf similar to iBooks.
Plans to launch a new MacBook Air and iLife '11 have been virtually confirmed this morning both by unofficial leaks and by Apple itself. The company's discussion forums already have placeholder categories for the "MBA" notebook as well as iMovie '11, GarageBand '11 and iPhoto '11. Polish site Spidersweb, who first found the leaks, also discovered a mystery "Reserved 10 20" category that could represent a new app or piece of hardware.
Apple has added several new instructional lessons to its Garage Band software for musicians. Users now have access to several titles from the Canadian rock band Rush, including the 1981 hits "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight" from the group's Moving Pictures album. Both artist lessons are provided by guitarist Alex Lifeson.
Apple today released the GarageBand 5.1 update, which it says addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and fixes a number of other minor issues along with an addressing an important security issue that allowed third-party to track usage of the app. According to the documentation, the specific issues addressed include the ability to add GarageBand track effects and Audio Units to a guitar track, improved support for Apogee audio interfaces, faster switching to full screen in Magic GarageBand, and improved access to audio monitoring settings. Apple says the update is recommended for all users of GarageBand ’09.
Apple has published updates for two of its main media playback utilities, iTunes and QuickTime. The most crucial is iTunes 8.2, which introduces support for the yet-to-be-released iPhone 3.0 firmware; the upgrade may signify an iPhone 3.0 debut on or around Apple's imminent WWDC event, scheduled to begin June 8th. Also addressed in the download are unspecified bugfixes and accessibility improvements.
In brief: A new iTunes visualizer, TRAKART has been released as a public alpha. The visualizer builds slideshows based on a song's lyrics, analyzing each track to extract keywords which it then uses to search Flickr. Images are then arranged into a slideshow which plays along with the song. Three guides have been released by Peachpit which teach users how to make better use of iLife '09, iWork '09 and GarageBand '09. The guides cover the basics of using each application, along with tips to create more professional products. Meanwhile, Ascender has released a new font style that is based on one of Goudy's original typefaces. The Friar Pro font is based on the original Friar typeface that was lost in a fire at Goudy's studio in 1939.
Apple has expanded the number of song lessons available at the GarageBand Lesson Store. Now available are videos for three more songs, including "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan, and Sting versions of "Fragile" and "Message in a Bottle." As with a number of other lessons sold through GarageBand, the original artists help to present the material.
In brief: We have posted the second part of our review of Steinberg Sequel, the Vue 3D Environment Competition 2008 has been announced, fmDataGuard has announced its "First Anniverary Sale," and there is a newly announced DEVONthink 2.0 upgrade grace period ... We have posted the second part of our review of Steinberg Sequel. The tool allows you to record using a MIDI controller or through an external microphone, which is very similar to GarageBand. We recorded live audio from a microphone and it worked well. The intuitive design worked as we thought it would. Cutting and arranging segments of recorded material is also similar to GarageBand. You can move segments freely or snap them to a metronomic grid.
MacNN has reviewed the Treadz for the 3G iPod nano, Sonnet repositioned the Fusion F2 with a new price, and two new eBooks to train users on Garageband. This extra-thick polished silicone case offers good corner protection and covers the basic nano form. Don't let the extra-thick marketing fool you though, it is only 1mm thicker than other cases I tested, which means it's 2mm thick instead of one. iFrogz is currently offering 40-percent off all products for its Memorial Day Sale.
British rock act Radiohead has taken a different approach with its latest single, the band has announced. Rather than commission a series of professional remixes for "Nude," any musician can now buy the song's underlying elements on iTunes (link), and remix them into a new track. Available "stems" include the voice, bass, guitar, drum, and string/FX layers; while shoppers have to buy before April 8th to get free GarageBand project files, the layers can be edited using many other programs, such as Logic.
Apple today issued an update to GarageBand, its personal music creation software for Mac users. The latest release improves overall stability, according to the company. The update also addresses issues with the automation of software instrument parameters, FireWire as well as USB based audio devices, and Magic GarageBand. Users can update to GarageBand 4.1.2 by choosing the Software Update feature under the Apple Menu in Mac OS X, or can manually download the latest release from Apple's updates page (19.1MB)
Apple today released an informational note about creating custom ringtones in GarageBand 4.1.1. "With GarageBand 4.1.1 you can export your original song, your original audio recordings, or use Apple Loops and iLife jingles to create a custom ringtone for your iPhone," the company says. Users need GarageBand 4.1.1, iTunes 7.5 or later, and an iPhone with firmware version 1.1.2 or later. The process involves setting up a cycle region that covers the desired area of a song to use in a GarageBand song, which must be 40 seconds or less in length.
Apple today issued security updates to its QuickTime 7.3.1 software (Panther, Tiger, Leopard, Windows) for Mac OS X 10.3.9 Panther, 10.4.9 Tiger, 10.5 Leopard, and Windows Vista/XP SP2 that bolsters security. The Cupertino-based company also enhanced its GarageBand audio software. GarageBand 4.1.1 features better overall stability and fixes to issues with file export to iPhone. [updated]
