StudioLALA Pics

 

Digital Performer, Then and Now

Then

Now

 

corralling those wild infobits…

I have been asked to post a link to a utility that I’ve been caught using on a regular basis. Truth be told, after years of using the traditional “copy/paste into a text doc” method of grabbing info, there are actually two utils that I have been using that have given me more elegant ways to do my mundane data housekeeping. The first is called “Fresh“. It is a palette that sits at the edge of your screen, waiting for you to drag and drop files and images that it captures and holds for later recall. This palette is split into two parts; one, keeps a running list of docs and files which are new, changed or recently opened and, two, is a place where one can drag files from the aforementioned running list to an archive that keeps a more semi-permanent record of those files. I usually archive files stored there elsewhere for permanent storage. The second tool is called “Yojimbo” and it does functionally the same thing as “Fresh” does but is much more comprehensive and the deep features (like tags, flags, date stamping, etc.) are more obvious to the eye. It has a GUI that is similar to the browser software that we have grown accustomed to these days. Both of these tools are easy to figure out once you have hands on, so take a look at each and see if either (or both) can be a useful scrapbook for you in this new digital age.

 

Words from Jaron Lanier

“Technology and the Future of the Human Soul”  or “What is a Person?”

Technology is getting powerful enough that it will soon change the meaning of the word “person”. How will we find meaning and direction when biotechnology 
and artificial intelligence threaten to undo every assumption we have about our identities?  One easy answer is to embrace some idea of progress for its own sake, even if it means demoting the human agenda. The other easy answer is to turn backwards, to a seemingly traditional, or fundamentalist, vision of human 
identity, even if this vision is actually a recent invention.  What is difficult is finding a new, but human-centered, path forward.
________________________________________________________________
“Advice to a Young Digital Artist”

Technology offers convenience, but people are searching for meaning.  Most digital developments offer neither, for the simple reason that the creators are confused about what a computer is.  A skeptical appraisal of computers and the psychology of relating to them can break through the 
blandness barrier that confines most digital creations.

Essays by Jaron Lanier

 

Three Things You Need to Know About Software…

1) Most software is not sold, merely licensed. What that means for you is that you don’t actually own the software, you are just being allowed to use it, provided you adhere to the stipulations which are contained in what’s called a EULA (Yoo’-la).The End User License Agreement in practical terms, sets out guidelines that may or may not put restrictions on what you are allowed to do with the software. Normal usage for the most part is fine. What is a little more murky, for example, is whether or not you can sell or transfer the license to another party. And it usually limits the company’s liability related to usage of the product. There are also the usual copyright protections against creating new software derivative of the design of their product without express permision. Many users don’t notice that they have in essence, signed off on this contractual agreement during the install without having read it. Most people don’t actually need to have read it, though. For most, the boundaries set by the agreement are not in conflict with most common usage practices. The few rulebreakers that should have read it probably aren’t paying attention to that kind of stuff anyway. Those users that are sticklers for details, are already on the phone with their attorneys.

2) Software designers and developers are always designing forward. Though many companies attempt to keep new versions of their software compatible with the previous ones, they are always adapting what they create to the latest and greatest hardware developments. And for you this means, it is probable if not inevitable that the demands of evolving software will breach the ceiling capacity of the hardware you use. So, it will serve you well to develop a mindset that is aware of the dynamic dance of keeping the hardware you use current enough to handle the demands of the more mercurial software platform development cycle.  You do dance, don’t you?

3) There is no way that anyone can anticipate every situation or problem that might occur in life. It is no different in a life crossed with software, either. Look at your last major software purchase. The manual that came with your software might be a thousand or so pages long, but it is sometimes not all that clear whether that is a good or a bad thing.  Sometimes the information you need will not be there or the case could be that the specific info you need is just too hard to find in the midst of this massive word party. This means that sometimes you may find yourself having to navigate your own pathway through the little glitches and impasses that come up. (To Be Continued…)

 

It’s Only a Dream…(another one)

Ok, it wasn’t a dream. For twenty years now, there has been this one road case that has travelled with me every time I’ve moved for work. For some unfathomable reason, I had never opened it to check to see what was in it. Of course, it was only one case out of the thirty that I used to travel with, back in the day. The point that I’m having trouble getting to is… Well, I opened it today. Snakes! Snakes! Ahem! Ok, not all snakes… there are loose wires, cables, wraps, string and a lot of other kinds of studio and road kack that was left over from I don’t know how many completed projects, long since forgotten. My first impulse was to just toss the whole mess because the time it would take to sort and untangle that thicket is time that might be better spent elsewhere. If I hadn’t missed what was in the case after that length of time, I must not have really needed any of that stuff that badly. Still, someone else might have a use for some of this madness…So, I set aside an afternoon to right this oversight from my dark and distant past. I told myself that I might find something cool for me, like my old E-bow or an old Fender Blender distortion pedal that I haven’t seen in ages. I got started.

To be continued…

 

“Pop” Quiz

Here are five questions to see whether you’ve been paying attention…

1) How much usable space do you have on your primary hard drive (You know, the one with your OS on it)?

2) What is one of the worst places (acoustically) to listen to music, that is also one of the most popular places to listen to music? (OK, I mean “one” mentioned on this site; someone with too, too much time on their hands emailed me a list way too long to print…)

3) Identify at least one of the authors of the four quotes featured on this site’s home page.

4) Name one of the movies that is used as an example in one of the mini-classes here.

5) True or False – A unidirectional microphone is one which picks up sound basically from all surrounding directions.

Extra credit essay: If your hard drive died, and you could only install 3 things after you reinstalled the OS, which 3 would they be? And why?

Extra, extra credit if you didn’t have to look around again for answers.

 

Breadcrumbs – Words of Wisdom from Sally Potter

Leading a life centered primarily in music does not necessarily mean that one must close one’s mind to learning from people working in other fields. I have found wisdom in these words from filmmaker Sally Potter whose work I admire greatly. Her reflections give insight into her working process. Much of what she ruminates about here, can be applied in the world of music and technology which is the focus of this site. Sally wrote:

 

First Contact

I don’t know if I’m late to this party, but… through the graces of Nick Batzdorf and his lifeline of a magazine, “Virtual Instruments”, I received a gift of a software plug-in “lite” that I had been curious to check out. I haven’t delved too deeply into the plug yet, but I did encounter the first alien tech support system that I have come in contact with.

 

Hard Drives and Intimacy

You can tell a lot about a person by looking at how they treat their hard drives.