Monthly Archive for January, 2009

E-mu Emulator X3 has been released

Published on 31 January, 2009 in Music. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

emulatorx3 150x150 E mu Emulator X3 has been releasedAt the WinterNAMM 2009 E-mu has announced that Emulator X3 is shipping. Emulator X3 features full Vista compatibility, native 64-bit applications, multi-processor and multi-threading support. New features have been added. In addition, the E-MU hardware lock has been removed so that E-MU hardware is no longer required as a dongle. Emulator X3 features E-MU’s XstreamTM streaming sound engine with up to 192kHz sampling and playback, an arsenal of automated sampling/beat analysis/editing tools and almost unlimited sound manipulation that builds on E-MU’s 35 years of synthesis experience.

Emulator X3 is currently shipping at an estimated street price of £349.99/ €499.99 (including VAT). US estimated street price is $499.99.

Emulator X3 ships with:

X Producer Four classic Emulator banks: Proteus X Composer, Hip Hop Producer, E-MU General MIDI, Saint Thomas Strings

Studio Grand – A stunning 1.4 GB grand piano bank

Beat Shop 1 – Contains nine great drum kits with beats and grooves

Xperience – Examples of TwistaLoop, morphing filters and more

Xtreme Lead-1 – An inspiring Techno/Industrial with clock-synchronization

LoopMasters – Top quality, copyright-free samples from the masters of loop

Translator X2 Convertor

  • Akai S-1000/3000
  • Akai MPC
  • Emu EIII/ESi/Emax
  • Tascam GigaStudio 1 + 2
  • SoundFont
  • Native Instruments Kontakt 1 + 2
  • Steinberg HALion I and I

New Features in Emulator X3:
XstreamTM
New improved and Vista compatible Xstream 24-bit/192kHz Streaming Engine-32-bit and native 64-bit applications optimized for Multi-core and Multi-threaded processors. Xstream intelligently balances the processing load across all available resources for exceptional performance.Region Xplode Beat Slicer
This great new feature translates recorded drum parts into MIDI files. The Xplode function generates new voices from the selected Region, then creates a MIDI file that maps the new regions to MIDI notes. Just import the Standard MIDI File into your favorite MIDI sequencer and have authentic drum grooves under your control.

Tempo Map Export
TwistaLoop can now analyze and export the Tempo Map of a song. This indispensable tool allows you to synchronize a rhythm track to a performance that was recorded without a metronome. You sequencer will “groove” with you instead of marching to its own beat.

XtractorTM
The Xtractor is a new audio manipulation tool that can cut or boost audio levels based on stereo position and frequency. If a song was mixed using stereo panning, this tool allows specific instruments or vocals to be removed, isolated, or pitch shifted. You can remove or isolate vocals, basses, or other instruments, process them and then return them to the mix if you like. The Xtractor is also a powerful analysis tool, since it visually displays the location of each instrument in a stereo mix.

Translator X2 Convertor
The Translator Emulator X2 Convertor, by Chicken Systems, enables you to convert many popular sampler formats into the Emulator X’s .exb file format. The bundled Translator Emulator X2 Convertor application can convert the following types of files:
Over 3.3 GB of sounds (2500 presets) from E-MU’s premier sound library are included:

Emulator X3 upgrades/crossgrades for existing users will be available via the E-MU web-store in early February.
32-bit Emulator X3 Application (Windows® XP/Vista) 64-bit Emulator X3 Application (Windows® x64/Vista) Over 3.3 GB of sounds (over 2500 presets) from E-MU’s premier sound library

KDE 4.2.0 has been released

Published on 29 January, 2009 in Software releases. 0 Comments Tags: .

The KDE Community released KDE 4.2.0 aka “The Answer”.

Release announcement:

Desktop Improves User Experience

  • Further refinement of the Plasma desktop interface makes organizing your workspace easier. New and improved applets include a Quicklauncher, weather information, newsfeeds, comics, quick file sharing via “pastebin” services. Plasma applets can now be used on top of the screensaver, for example for leaving a note while the owner is absent. Plasma optionally acts as traditional, file manager-like desktop. Previews for the file icons and persistant locations of icons have been added.
    The Plasma Panel now groups tasks and display multiple rows. The enhanced system tray now tracks longer running tasks such as downloads. System and application notifications are displayed in a unified fashion via the system tray. To save space, system tray icons can now be hidden. The panel can now automatically hide in order to free up screen space. Widgets can be displayed in panels as well as on the desktop.

  • KWin offers smooth and efficient window management. In KDE 4.2 it employs motion physics to give a natural feel to old and new effects like the “Cube” and “Magic Lamp”. KWin only enables desktop effects in the default setup on computers that are able to handle them. Easier configuration allows the user to select different effects as window switcher, making changing windows most efficient.

  • New and improved workspace tools increase productivity. PowerDevil supports mobile life by bringing modern and unobtrusive power management to laptops and mobile devices. Ark offers smart extraction and creation of archives, and the new printer tools allow the user to easily manage printers and print jobs.

Moreover, support for several new languages have been added expanding the number of users for whom KDE is available in their native language by roughly 700 million people. Newly supported languages include are Arabic, Icelandic, Basque, Hebrew, Romanian, Tajik and several Indian languages (Bengali India, Gujarati, Kannada, Maithili, Marathi) indicating a rise in popularity in this part of Asia.

The Plasma desktop interface in KDE 4.2
(video has been cut out!)
Ogg Theora version

Applications Leap Forward

  • File management becomes faster and more efficient. The Dolphin file manager now has a slider to easily adjust the icon size. Further user interface improvements include tooltips with previews and a capacity indicator for removable media devices. These changes have also been applied to the file dialogs in KDE, making it easier to spot the right file.

  • KMail’s email list views have been reworked by a Google Summer of Code student. The user can now configure the display of additional information optimizing the workflow for each individual folder. Support for IMAP and other protocols has also been improved making KMail much faster.

  • Web browsing becomes better. The Konqueror web browser improves support for scalable vector graphics and receives many performance enhancements. A new find dialog makes for less intrusive searching inside webpages. Konqueror now shows your bookmarks on start-up.


Ogg Theora version

Platform Accelerates Development

  • Enhanced Scripting Support. Plasma widgets can now be written in JavaScript, Python and Ruby. These widgets can be distributed online via web-services and online collaboration tools such as OpenDesktop.org. GoogleGadgets can be used in Plasma, and support for Mac OS X dashboard widgets has been further improved.

  • Technology previews of various KDE applications for Windows and Mac OS X are available, some applications are nearing release quality already, while others need some work depending on the functionality they implement. Support for OpenSolaris is upcoming and approaching stable quality. KDE4 on FreeBSD continues to mature.

  • After Qt will be released under the terms of the LGPL, both the KDE libraries and beneath it Qt are available under those more relaxed licensing terms, making for a more compelling platform for commercial software development.

Installing KDE 4.2.0

KDE, including all its libraries and its applications, is available for free under Open Source licenses. KDE can be obtained in source and various binary formats from http://download.kde.org and can also be obtained on CD-ROM or with any of the major GNU/Linux and UNIX systems shipping today.

Packagers. Some Linux/UNIX OS vendors have kindly provided binary packages of KDE 4.2.0 for some versions of their distribution, and in other cases community volunteers have done so. Some of these binary packages are available for free download from KDE’s http://download.kde.org. Additional binary packages, as well as updates to the packages now available, will become available over the coming weeks.

Package Locations. For a current list of available binary packages of which the KDE Project has been informed, please visit the KDE 4.2.0 Info Page.

Performance problems with the NVidia binary graphics driver have been resolved in the latest beta releases of the driver available from NVidia.

Screenshot:kde42 desktop 384x240 KDE 4.2.0 has been released

WordPress MU 2.7 has been released

Published on 29 January, 2009 in Software releases. 0 Comments Tags: .

WordPress MU version 2.7 has been released. Most important change to this version is that it`s based on WordPress 2.7 (see my post for more info). Whereas WP is made for single-blog/site systems WPMU is made for multi-user multi-blog systems like schools and companies.

The latest version can be downloaded for free at http://mu.wordpress.org/download/

Access Virus Ti2 has been released

Published on 25 January, 2009 in Music. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Access has announced the Access Virus Ti 2 synthesizer, the new version of the Ti synth. The Ti 2 has 25% more power then the original Ti and is shipped with the latest Ti OS version 3. The new operating system adds several new FX such as a Tape Delay, Frequency Shifter and several new Distortion algorithms along with a new feature called Character.

Character allows you to adjust the overall tone of a preset reminiscent of several vintage and well-known synthesizers. In addition you can emphasis certain aspects of the patch to allow it to cut better through the mix, or fade it into the background with an extra-wide stereo field.

The new distortions were built from scratch and feature an extreme dynamic range along with sophisticated controls to tailor the sound to your specific needs. They can add everything from warm, tube-like overtones to complete sonic deconstruction more reminiscent of circuit-bending. The new algorithms also include a revamped bit and sampling-rate reduction, allowing you to change the quality and cutoff point with precise, continuously variable control.

The stereo Frequency Shifter and the new Ring Modulator are state of the art algorithms modelled with old ’70s stomp boxes in mind.

The Tape Delay goes way beyond the possibilities of the real Tape Delays in the ’60s and ’70s. It smoothly syncs to tempo, lets you decide if a Doppler effect takes place when changing the tempo, and even switching the delay time between presets is all smooth, making it perfect for performers. Last but not least, a modification to the main “VCA” algorithm enables OS3 users to design gating FX known from electro and minimal influenced music.

Virus Control has received a completely redesigned user-interface thanks to various improvement requests over the last years. The plug-in now features a side chain input allowing you to mangle audio from a sequencer track with the FX and sound engine of the hardware Virus (for selected hosts only). The best news, however, is that OS3 is compatible with all legacy Virus TIs and the Virus TI Snow, thus enabling Access’ vast user base to update their existing instruments with all the new software features totally free of charge.

OS3 will be available immediately, downloads can be found at http://www.access-music.de/downloads.php4?category=18 . The Virus TI2 will be available on short term.

EON NAS Server 0.58.9 has been released

Published on 23 January, 2009 in Software releases. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

eon boot splash 150x150 EON NAS Server 0.58.9 has been releasedEON stands for Embedded Operating system/Networking. EON is a Damn Small Solaris NAS (Network Attached Storage) image based on OpenSolaris. This is a RAM based live/install image which runs from CD, USB or CF (compact flash). The appliance image provides a high performance 32 bit storage solution built on ZFS using cost effective disks. An optional build script provides the basis for building your own network attached storage appliance on x86 hardware from the Solaris Express Community Edition CD’s.

The latest release (0.58.9) is based on OpenSolaris repository/kernel 104, which is newer then OpenSolaris 2008.11. EON is available als CIFS and Samba versions.

Download link:
CIFS version: http://www.genunix.org/dist/eon/eon-0.58.9-b104-32-cifs.iso
Samba version:  http://www.genunix.org/dist/eon/eon-0.58.9-b104-32-smb.iso

More info: http://eonstorage.blogspot.com/