30
Aug

DJ Biography – How to Write One Without Sounding like a Douche

   Posted by:AUDIOMIND

I remember…….back when raves were promoted primarily by flyers printed on actual paper and distributed to record shops that had storefronts you could go and visit……….that a “DJ profile/bio” used to just mean someone’s name and their affiliations to rave collectives and later to record labels. Sure, DJs that were big enough to have an agent probably already had a paragraph or two about them written down somewhere, but they circulated in a smaller, closed circuit of “professionals” behind the scenes. Fast forward 15 years later, even beginning DJs have a carefully-crafted “bio” to email to anyone, to bundle into their press kit, and to post on their blog, personal website, MySpace Music profile, Facebook fanpage, Soundcloud user page, Resident Advisor DJ page, and so on. The move of event promotion from paper flyers (where space is limited and expensive) to the internet (where space is cheap, but attention is hard to keep) has vastly expanded the amount of information we expect to have available for a DJ: a few well-targeted web searches about any particular DJ will provide you with a discography (including collaborations and remixes), DJ charts (where a DJ lists his/her “top ten” records of the moment), several versions of the DJ’s biography, images of him/her, DJ mixes/podcasts, videos of the DJ performing live, and if he/she is doing well, a few interviews. These changed expectations mean that DJs launching their careers now are under enormous pressure to generate media presence at levels that DJs of the 80s and 90s never even imagined. In particular, the “biographic” aspect of the DJ profile has become an important element of career-building and marketing and, like any other type of marketing, there are certain narratives (story lines, themes, events) that sell well.

In other words there are clichés and standard formulas for writing a DJ profile, and the sheer number of DJ profiles available today makes these clichés obvious and played. Certainly anyone who goes out to Electronic Dance Music (EDM) events (and, therefore, is active in the online communities that list these events) has probably read hundreds if not thousands of DJ bios already and can probably name a few of these formulas without effort. Here’s the short list of some of these formulas:

DJ XYZ

  • “…started playing records when s/he was 10 years old.”
  • “…benefited from his/her parent(s)’s vast eclectic record collection and so started from a very young age.”
  • “…is the child of professional musicians.”
  • “…is a classically trained pianist.” (i.e., took piano lessons at age 9-11)
  • “…is not just a whiz behind the decks, but also a classically-trained trombonist and has a doctorate in quantum physics.” (extra points if these things have nothing to do with the kind of music s/he makes)
  • “…has always had a keen interest in music.” (no shit!)
  • “…started playing at local parties.” Or, for bonus points: “…Originally hailing from Quietville, WI, soon found the club scene of nearby Trendycity irresistable, and so relocated at age 19 to try his hand behind the decks.” (i.e., a combination of “authentic” small-scene origins and trendy big-city prestige: “I’m not fake and snobby like these scenesters here, but I proved myself on their turf.”)
  • “…developed his/her encyclopedic knowledge of electronic music by working in the local recordshop.”
  • “…has shared the decks with such techno luminaries as SuperstarDJ1, RetiredButRespectedVeteran2, and FlavorOfTheMonth3.” (i.e., s/he played 6 hours earlier/later and never met any of them)
  • “…has influences ranging from Kraftwerk to Miles Davis, via George Clinton, Joy Division, and classic sixties beat pop” (especially when there’s absolutely no evidence of these sounds in his/her fairly straight-up minimal techno)
  • “…is deeply steeped in the legacy of Chicago house and/or Detroit techno and/or New York garage.”
  • “…is known for spinning eclectic sets,” or “…is not limited to any genre, combining deep house, pounding techno, dubstep, disco, and baile funk.” (+1 point for every genre named that never actually appears in any of his/her mixes)
  • “…is completely self-taught, not having even the benefit of observing/consulting other DJs. So pure is her/his talent on the decks.”
  • “…always whips the crowd into a frenzy,” or some variation on this theme. This is, after all, what counts as the “bottom line” for promoters who are looking to book a DJ; the biographical information might help sell the event, but the promoter wants a guarantee that the DJ will create the sort of excitement that drives up drink sales and builds the club’s reputation.
  • “…has released the banging tune Y, with support from Ritchie Hawtin, DJ Hell, William Orbit and others” (where tune Y probably isn’t all that well known, and “support” is vague and ill-defined.)

Read altogether like this, these clichés are ripe for parody. In fact, let me improvise a spoof profile in five minutes:

DJ Glittersnizz has been rocking the decks since he was barely toilet-trained, when he rifled through his parents’ vast and eclectic record collection and started experimenting with the controls on their old walnut-veneered record player. He grew up in a profoundly musical household, his parents being professional musicians who put him into classical piano and jazz guitar lessons from the moment he had enough motor control in his hands to hold a guitar pick. He is nonetheless a completely self-taught DJ, buying all the necessary gear with money saved up from a part-time job as a dishwasher and learning by bringing a new piece of musical technology home, plugging it in, and pushing all the buttons until something happened. The first record he bought was a now-out-of-print EP of Parliament Funkadelic covering Kraftwerk’s “Calculator.”

He began playing in local bars and clubs in his hometown of  Nowheresville, getting his first break when the DJ called in sick at a local pub where he washed dishes. He soon blew up in Nowheresville and began playing in TrendyStateCapital, after he was discovered by Well-ConnectedScenester of the BigCityPartyPromoter crew. He was taken under the wing of EstablishedVeteranDJ1, who took him on tour to Ibiza, Berlin, Tokyo, Santiago, Miami, and some secret techno resort that common tourists don’t know about. He has since enjoyed immense success, blowing up dancefloors across the globe (OK, OK, mostly around TrendyStateCapital) to sold-out crowds. He has shared the decks with the likes of SuperStarDJ1, EstablishedVeteranDJ2, and HotForTheNextMonth3, all of whom played at his afterparties in the swank uptown loft that his parents are TOTALLY not paying for, he swears. He is also a prolific and respected producer, having released two albums and 10 EPs since he got up this morning. His most recent mega-hit track, “My Snizz is Glittery,” has been charted by every single fucking DJ listed on Resident Advisor and Discogs combined, with support from all the leading DJs signed to any label that ever mattered—plus his grandma.

Glittersnizz’s musical style reflects his eclectic influences—from high-modernist integral serialism to jazz-funk fusion to Armenian epic poetry to 80s hair metal—all distilled down to pure, crystalline minimal techno. He’s not limited to minimal techno, instead combining disco, dubstep, clickpop, glitch, and progressive house to create a new sound that the entire staff of Pitchfork has been trying to name for the last year (the senior what-is-this-electronica-crap editor suggested “jigglestep” and then resigned in shame).

There you go. That took a bit more than a few minutes because I got carried away. There’s this interesting collision between the 19th-century Romantic “natural genius” narrative and the 20th-century American Dream “I earned this all through hard work” narrative, which produces odd contrasts and contradictions. A greater challenge, however, is to write a DJ bio that is the opposite of these clichés. I’m not thinking of replacing the positive hyperbole with negative hyperbole—that would be far too easy and much too boring—but instead produce a biography that is unremarkable, banal, modest, ambivalent, and even a bit realistic. Here’s what I came up with:

DJ Meh never really had a particular interest in music, and is only really getting into DJing because his other friends have been doing it and he’s beginning to feel left out. He comes from a middle-class, suburban home, where he shuffled his way through the educational system without any major incidents and moved on to the nearest state university to pursue a degree in economics (with a minor in psychology). His parents supported him through school, so he was able to buy cassettes and CDs when he liked (never vinyl records, though) and he could occasionally indulge in musical whims: he bought a used Roland 606 from a pawn shop during a moment when he was fascinated by sampling technology and, not knowing its market value, sold it back to the pawn shop for $20 when he got bored with it. The same thing happened to a guitar, an ill-fated hamster, a Dungeons & Dragons gaming set, and a screenprinting kit. Despite his financial security, he did have a part-time job during high school at a chain fast-food restaurant, where the only music-related thing he learned is that you shouldn’t call banda music “mariachi” music, especially in the presence of those Latino guys that were always working the fryers.

Meh used the funds from his lucrative consulting job to buy all the top-of-the-line gear on a whim, which he may or may not be using in a month. Too impatient to learn through trial-and-error and observation, he purchased several “How to DJ” instructional videos and has hired a local wedding/event DJ to teach him how to mix records. His musical influences have mostly been top-40 chart-pop, not-so-indie rock, and whatever hip-hop and r’n’b that iTunes recommends to him. His musical style is a generic mix of house and tech-house, mostly chosen from whatever tracks show up on DJ-charts, whatever Beatport suggests when he logs in, and any tracks that his DJ friends mention more than once.

DJ Meh feels quite good about his infrequent gigs over the past few months, which some people in attendance have described as “surprisingly decent.” Some guy from a downtown event promoter has expressed interest in booking him as an opening DJ, and there is some hope that he might even get booked out of town. He hasn’t played with any internationally-known DJs (or nationally-known, for that matter), but he once picked up Richie Hawtin from the airport for a gig, and he had very polite things to say about the mix-CD that DJ Meh insisted on playing the whole drive into town. Other DJs have said that Meh is “a very nice guy” and “vaguely memorable.” He has enjoyed moderate success with his first track, “Sigh, Shrug, and Continue,” which has garnered support from a handful of B-list DJs—although maybe they were just providing support to increase their own profile in the industry.

DJ Meh doesn’t really know what he’s up to next. He’s been digging this DJ thing alright, but it doesn’t feel all that important to him.

So how will you update or create your next bio? Observe my actions, don’t follow my lead, but most of make sure to develop a better bio than I have.

21
Aug

How To Make An Instrument Cable

   Posted by:AUDIOMIND

Buying Components

Buy cable “off the reel”

With a little online research, you should be able to find an electrical parts supplier near you that sells good quality cables “off the reel” (i.e., they’ll cut you a length of whatever cable you want). Look out for cables from manufacturers including Canare, Klotz, Sommer and Van den Hul, but don’t be afraid to check out the specifications on others, too, and if it looks good, see if they store will let you have a free sample to test it out with.

It’s usually worth buying about 1 m (3 ft) more than you think you’ll need, just to give you a wide margin for error.

Get the right plugs

For one guitar cable, you’ll need 2 good quality mono plugs. As I mentioned earlier, any good quality, metal cased straight or angled 1/4” plug will work well: there’s no need to use gold plated plugs.

Set Up Your Workspace

Any desk or table where you can sit comfortably will work fine as a workbench but, unless it’s an actual workbench, do take care to put down an old blanket or some newspaper before starting work.

You’ll need:

  • A soldering iron and stand
  • Some solder
  • A damp sponge or cloth to wipe the iron on
  • A sharp knife or wire strippers
  • And, since we’re dealing with hot things and cable that can have a mind of its own, some means of holding the cable steady while you work. You can buy “helping hands” which have adjustable arms and crocodile clips but, if you don’t have one, I’ve found that using some Blu-Tack to hold the wire or plug still works quite well.

Step 1: Stripping the Insulation

At each end of your cable, carefully strip about 1 cm of the plastic insulation from the cable. I like to do this by rolling the cable on a penknife blade since it feels more precise and controlled than using my (admittedly rather blunt) wire strippers, especially when dealing with the conductor. Whatever method you use, be careful to apply only enough pressure to cut the cable jacket: don’t snip right through the copper wire! This is where that extra metre of cable can come in handy.

Step 2: Prepare the Wire

The conductor is the thin wire in the centre of the cable. The shield is the outer layer of copper strands, and is usually braided around the circumference of the cable.

Tightly twist the shield strands together, making sure there are no loose strands, and fold it back out of the way. Now strip around 5 mm of the inner jacket from the end of the conductor wire, using either a knife or wire strippers. As before, twist the copper strands together.

Before going any further, check that the cable fits properly into the plug. The grip on the connector needs to be able to clasp around the outer jacket of the cable, and the two wires should be able to reach their respective terminals (centre conductor to the centre terminal, outer shielding to the outer terminal). Ideally, we want as little exposed wire in there as possible, so it should be quite a tight fit without straining the wire. If necessary, strip a little more insulation until you have a good fit.

Now, we’ll “tin” the ends of these wires with solder to keep them from unravelling and help them adhere to the terminals in the plug. We want to ensure there are no stray strands of copper so, before soldering, double check that the wire is properly twisted together.

Get your soldering iron hot and, starting with the shield, place it under the twisted wire. Touch the iron to the copper for a moment before bringing the solder down on to the top of the wire. The solder should melt over the twisted copper strands, forming a neat cap of solder. You may need to repeat the process a couple of times to get even coverage.

Warning: copper is a good conductor of heat, as well as electricity, so avoid holding the wire with bare hands.

Step 3: Solder the Cable to the Plug

Before you solder, do a quick trial assembly to make sure everything fits and you know which parts of the plug casing need to be on the cable before you attach the plug.

Grip the connector with your helping hand, or Blu-Tack it to your workbench, and gently heat the outer terminal with the iron. Don’t overdo it or you may damage the plug. Touch a little solder onto the terminal and then solder the screening wire to it. Now do the same thing with the centre conductor, attaching it to the centre terminal of the plug.

Make sure your work is tidy: you don’t want any stray strands of wire touching across the terminals or the outer casing of the plug.

Now assemble the plug and screw it together, being careful not to twist the cable in the plug casing.

Step 4: Rinse, Repeat and Test

Clean your soldering iron and repeat the above process for the other end of the cable. Before you pack up your soldering iron, plug the cable in to make sure it works and that there are no unwanted noises. If it isn’t working, or there is noise, check both ends of the cable to see that there are no stray strands of wire and that you’ve connected to the correct terminals.

Step 5: Rock!

http://audio.tutsplus.com/articles/general/quality-instrument-cable-why-it-matters-and-how-to-make-your-own/

17
Aug

Optical Illusion Animations Created Using a Turntable

   Posted by:AUDIOMIND

YouTube persona brusspup used a turntable spinning at 45RPM for several creative optical illusion animations. To the human eye everything appears to look like a blur on the turntable, but when recorded at 2 dozen frames per second cool animations appear!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoetrope

In the video description he writes;

Watch as hidden animations come alive by using a specific frame rate and shutter speeds of a camera and RPM of a record player.

To me this is one of the ultimate illusions.

Definition of Illusion: something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.

I used a Numark turntable set to 45 RPM and the camera was set to 24 FPS. The shutter speed was set to around 840. With that combination of settings a 30 frame animation would appear to stand still. I used the slider to increase / descrease rpms which caused the images to move foward or backward.

The sequence of the guy jumping on the blocks was the most difficult but turned out the best, in my opinion.

The images of the guy jumping is me. I recorded myself jumping in the living room then took 30 frames from that footage and traced the images in photoshop and filled with black. Then printed out the 30 images and cut each one out. I used 30 wooden blocks and glued them to a piece of construction paper then taped the images of the jumping guy to the clear sheet and aligned them with the blocks.

I also love the pac-man animation. It’s so simple but just has such a cool feel to see the mouth opening and closing.

Publish

Published Edit

OK Cancel

Visibility: Public Edit





OK Cancel
Published on: Aug 17, 2010 @ 22:37 Edit

,

@

:

OK Cancel

Post Tags

Add or remove tags

Separate tags with commas.

X animations X digital photography X optical illusions X turntable

Choose from the most used tags in Post Tags

Categories

+ Add New Category

Permalink: http://www.audiomind.us/blog/2010/08/17/optical-illusi…ng-a-turntable/ Edit optical-illusion-animations-created-using-a-turntable View Post

HTML Visual

Upload/Insert Add an Image Add Video Add Audio Add Media
Font family
Font size

Path: blockquote » p » em

Word count: 263 Last edited by AUDIOMIND on August 17, 2010 at 10:37 PM

Excerpt

Excerpts are optional hand-crafted summaries of your content that can be used in your theme. Learn more about manual excerpts.

Send Trackbacks

(Separate multiple URLs with spaces)

Trackbacks are a way to notify legacy blog systems that you’ve linked to them. If you link other WordPress blogs they’ll be notified automatically using pingbacks, no other action necessary.

Custom Fields

Name Value

Add new custom field:
Enter new

Custom fields can be used to add extra metadata to a post that you can use in your theme.

Discussion

Allow comments on this post

Post Author

Comments

No comments yet.

Post Revisions

Tweet This

Please enter your Twitter username and password under Settings > Tweet This

6
Jul

Dr. Boom on MixCloud – Mixsets from Beyond A Break Apart

   Posted by:AUDIOMIND

My good mate Mike Robertson aka Dr. Boom is an integral part of the A Break Apart family, currently living in Boston, MA. Below you will undoubtedly become accustomed to various new ways he can sonically light your ears up, as he throws down on the wheels of steel! Join me as we listen to his vivid interpretation of electronic music funk. Support your local dj’s and aBa. As always, 100% vinyl baby!

http://www.mixcloud.com/drboom/

10
Jun

The Forum, A Charlotte Night Life Hotspot, Closing After Only 5 Years

   Posted by:AUDIOMIND

Since 2005, The Forum Nightclub has hosted remarkable events, showcasing world-renowned acts such as Tiësto, Paul Van Dyk, DJ AM, Armin Van Buuren, Steve Aoki, and John Digweed, Common, Nelly, T-Pain, the Roots, and MSTRKRFT. There is no denying that this venue has brought the most (quantity and notoriety) recognizable names in electronic music to Charlotte, North Carolina in the past five years. And it is with a saddened heart that we must embrace the end of era. After June 19th, The Forum will close its doors to the public.

The first time I walked down the stairwell leads to the basement of the club, I picked up on this walking to a water sewer feeling, halfway expecting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to come out and attack me at any moment. That pepto bismal colored stairwell leads down to an ivory colored room, complete with a dated paisley carpet and a diamond studded motif amidst the gloriously creepy padded white walls. This is the room: the VIP room to be exact, of the former great Mythos. A club that, in its hay-day, housed the greatest parties, spun the best music, and made it to the top of the nightlife hierarchy that many clubs, to this day, still try to aspire to emulate. Prince, Madonna, Frankie Knuckles, Sasha and Digweed, Deep Dish, Icey, DJ Skribble, Armand Van Helden, and Grandmaster Flash only touch on the greats that have been through this room.

300 N. College St. has seen myriad of good times. The Forum Nightclub had a magnificent precedent thanks to Mythos. And I can only say the same for the next establishment that opens in The Forum’s place. But for now, we wait…

……………………………….

The End of an Era: Uptown Nightclub, The Forum, to close on June 19th
Charlotte, NC, June 05 2010:

The Forum, the trailblazing nightclub known for spectacled soirees featuring world class deejays, performers and A-list celebrities, will close its doors for daily operations after one final celebration on Saturday June 19th. The venue will continue to operate for previously obligated private events for a few weeks after the main closing party.

The Forum opened its doors in September 2005 with considerable fanfare and instantaneously became a habitual haunt for everyone from clued-up connoisseurs to weekend warriors alike, offering guests a crack at an extraordinary nightlife experience often expected but rarely achieved.

The Forum’s size and stature greatly contributed to its lasting impact on Uptown’s entertainment landscape. Would-be party goers from around the Carolina’s and abroad flocked to the property to experience the area’s first three level nightclub replete with a fully integrated world class sound, lighting, & video system, a rooftop garden terrace, Vegas-style bottle service, and even a bar top made of ice.

A marquee project from the nightlife impresarios responsible for Cosmos Café and Mythos, the Forum quickly became a requisite stop for many of the world’s top deejays including Tiësto, Paul Van Dyk, DJ AM, Armin Van Buuren, Steve Aoki, and John Digweed, amongst others. Common, Nelly, T-Pain, the Roots, Matt & Kim, and MSTRKRFT have all graced the venue’s stage with memorable intimate live performances. The venue has also been a hotspot for sports world elite celebrating a victory, award winning actors reveling in the wrap of a film, and countless others simply celebrating their fifteen minutes.

Managing Partner, Andy Kastanas, summarizes, “We wish to thank everyone for an incredible run. While the Forum’s closing is a bit bitter sweet, we are grateful to have surpassed our creative and financial goals with this project beyond our wildest dreams.” He goes on to say “While this may be the last hooray for the Forum, we are very excited about our plans for the property located on the 300 block of College Street where the venue is currently housed. We have always prided ourselves on staying ahead of the curve and offering innovative entertainment options – our decision to close the Forum and forge ahead with a new concept is an extension of this philosophy.”

Party goers looking for one last dance should mark their calendars for a star studded gala, to be held Saturday June 19th. Miami’s three time DMC champion, DJ Craze, will guest deejay alongside numerous special guests stopping by throughout the night. There will be an invite only VIP reception beginning at 09:00PM with the doors opening one final time to the public at 10:30PM. The closing party will continue until 03:00AM or later, so that our friends in the hospitality industry will have the opportunity to join in our final farewell.

UPDATE

There is a FINAL final party July 03 at 300 N College (formerly the Forum–since it will have been closed since June 19th) One night only all-nighter with UBERZONE vs BASSBIN TWINS!! So let’s party here one more time, when Forum rules do not apply ;)

Sugar Society & Top Down are teaming up to bring the party kid friendly vibe back to Charlotte’s largest and most revered nightclub space! The property located at 300 North College Street has housed the legendary Mythos (1993-2004) and most recently, the Forum (2005-2010). The hallowed walls have hosted scores of the planet’s top deejay talent and countless all night dance parties…join us for ONE NIGHT ONLY as we bring the GROOVE BACK INTO THE BUILDING for this monumental occasion!

For more details go here: http://bit.ly/dw9Sfw

23
May

Audiomind – Night of the Beats – A Continuous DJ Mix of Uplifting Electronic Music

   Posted by:AUDIOMIND

Audiomind’s leap into the realm of Native Instruments Traktor. Swim through the waves of sonically enhanced effervescent bliss as he explores the depths of his own emblematic consciousness and the interpreted aural manifestations of his inspiration derived from the movie Night of the Creeps.

Audiomind – Night of the Beats by DJAUDIOMIND

Track Listing:
1. Silly Night of the Creepy Beats Intro
2. Antix – Manta
3. Fedde Le Grand – Scared Of Me
4. John Dalhback – Blink
5. Eleven Five – Assignment 16
6. Mark Broom & Brothers Vibe – Mind/Feeling
7. Ramon Tapia – Ibis
8. Funkagenda – Nobody Listens To Techno
9. Lutzenkirchen & John Acquaviva – Satellite
10. Sidney Samson – Riverside
11. Calvin Harris – The Girls
12. Photek – Love and War
13. Spencer and Hill – Cool
14. Elite Force – Melodik Hypnotik
15. Pirupa & Pigi – Sweet Devil.mp3
16. Dennis De Laat – Sound Of Violence

5
May

Top 40 Best Free Android Phone Apps of 2010

   Posted by:AUDIOMIND

best android phone apps

Though I’ve only had my new Samsung Moment for just a little over a week now, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time researching, downloading, installing and testing out numerous android smart phone applications. And let me tell you, there are an endless sea of app possibilities out there. What you will find below are my personal recommendations for dozens of the best FREE android phone applications that the Android Market has to offer. Feel free to post your own suggestions and recommendations below. Enjoy and pass along the word. http://www.android.com/market/

====================>

Advanced Task Killer
Advanced Task Killer gives you the ability to close your running applications in one click. Use this android app to check what apps are currently running, and kill/auto-kill any tasks. Works like the task manager on a PC would. The downside to Android’s multi-tasking is that sometimes, some apps can unexpectedly become memory or bandwidth hogs, or bring your phone down with them when they crash. Few apps provide a direct, easy “Quit” option and sometimes you can’t get to the app to close it. The Advanced Task Killer android app allows you to stop running background processes or apps in memory. This app should be used as more of a last resort than regular maintenance tool—killing processes and apps carelessly can turn off alarms, kill background syncing, and have other unintended consequences. ATK has a more user-friendly interface than its competitor TasKiller, as it focuses on killing lagging apps rather than essential Android services. http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-arron-taskmanager-zpp.aspx

Aloqa
Using your Android phone’s GPS, Aloqa scans the surrounding area for a wide range of attractions, landmarks and places of interest. The  application adds ‘intelligent extras’; search for cinemas and it will bring up what time films are showing, for example, while clicking on a restaurant will also unveil a phone number and address. It’s possible to customize your searches with dozens of filters – from cash machines and comedy clubs, to local Wikipedia pages and trendy bars.

AppAware

AppAware is a companion to the Android Market and helps you discover new and interesting apps that you may have never found otherwise. It’s great for discovering what Android apps to download. It displays the top downloads of other AppAware users, highlighting what’s new and popular. Highlight by hour, day, or week. Naturally I find myself checking AppAware frequently to see what new apps I want to test.  We all know how difficult it is to find great new apps and this app greatly supports us in the incessant search.  http://www.cyrket.com/p/android/org.appaware/

Astrid
Astrid is a stylish to-do list task manager application for android phone’s that helps you become more effective at getting things done. With features including tagging, timers, annoying reminders, smart task sorting, hiding tasks & partial progress you will be more efficient in handling your day to day responsibilities.

You can backup your lists to RemembertheMilk.com, a free online to-do list application. Tasks are easy to add and easy to check off when you’re done. Astrid is one of the best Android apps to aid your productivity.  Astrid adds audio notifications to tasks and there’s a timer so you can see how long you spend on a particular task. What makes Astrid the queen of the Android app productivity tools is the level of customization – you can set different deadlines, hide a task until a certain date and integrate your list with Google Calendar. Astrid can also be told to keep quiet during certain times so you don’t get interrupted by your Android phone bleeping in the middle of work.

This app is the ultimate task manager. What’s great about it, you can use simple features or use all the features for more robust task management.
http://www.weloveastrid.com

astridtasktodolist-lg-03

Astro File Manager
Astro is essential for keeping your android phone healthy. This free program keeps your files and system performance

in check. It backs up your apps to a memory card, lets you see what processes are running, how much memory your system is using, and details CPU usage. ASTRO android file manager features helps manage your files and maximize your memory. With this app you can browser your files, create and extract zip files, backup and restore public applications to the SD card, create shortcuts, send files as attachments, and more. It allows you to manage files on your phone without the need for a computer. What’s convenient about Astro File Manager is the ability to select multiple files to perform actions on. Another convenient feature is the ability to search for files. ASTRO File Manager does a great job of letting you navigate files on your SD card and accessible internal memory, sure, but it also has its own built-in task killer, backs up applications, can send files as email attachments and much more. Astro is a lot more complicated than a simple task-killer, but it’s also far more powerful.
http://www.metago.net/astro/fm/

Backgrounds
Browse 1000’s of wallpapers for your android phone, easily searchable via categories. Also includes an automatic wallpaper changing feature for images that you set as favorites. Use the Backgrounds android app to spice up those boring preinstalled home screens on your Android phone. Copious amounts of images stretch from basic patterns and abstract art to sports teams, games,  movies, and more.

Barcode Scanner
Barcode Scanner uses Google’s ZXing Java library to process barcodes on pretty much any product. Point the camera at the code and use the screen to ensure it fits within the target rectangle. Once the app recognizes the barcode, it performs either a product search to see if you’re getting the best possible price, or a general Google search for more information.

C:Geo Geocaching
C:Geo ~ Go Geocaching is a simple, yet powerful standalone geocaching client.  If you’re unfamiliar with geocaching, it’s similar to an app like Foursquare, except you have the ability to hide and seek “containers” called caches anywhere by using your GPS. C:Geo is the best geocaching android app currently available on Android and is steadily improving with each new update. This application allows you to go geocaching without any preparation. C:geo also allows you find caches or trackables without any exports and even without a web browser. This android application integrates searches for caches and trackables, reveals their details, and finally displays them on a map, with functions to navigate to the caches and its waypoints. Users can also post logs of their adventure(s) to the www.geocaching.com servers.

Facebook for Android
This Facebook app is a decent way to read and post status updates. Update your status, post pictures, check out your friends profiles, and make comments all from the comfort of your android phone. This is a must have if you have a Facebook account. This android app is lacking in some features offered by Facebook.com itself, but is being constantly  updated to include new functions. This android app is fast and stable, with a simplicity that reminds you of the ‘old days’, when using Facebook used to be much easier.

facebook-lg-02

Foursquare
This social media application is represented in excellent form on android phones, with the Google app offering easy one-click check-ins, integrated Google Maps for a seamless experience and home page shortcut options to all your favorite places. www.foursquare.com/mobile/

Gmote
Gmote has two functions: one streams music from your phone to your Android device, and the other remotely controls media played on a computer. You can even use the touchpad features to control a PowerPoint presentation. http://www.cyrket.com/p/android/org.gmote.client.android/

Google Earth
This stunning Google Earth application offers the same high-resolution satellite imagery we’re used to on a PC, but lies in the palm of your hand. Tilt to adjust perspective, click to get geo-located Wikipedia information, and add the Panoramio layer for access to millions of geo-located photos for good measure. Connect to Wi-Fi, rather than the unreliable 3G, to avoid any graphical stuttering as you zoom down from the sky. http://www.google.com/mobile/earth/

Google Maps Navigation
Possibly the best android map app out there. Enter a landmark, business name, or any other vague criteria and Google Maps will produce results. Includes live traffic data, satellite view, street view, and turn-by-turn navigation. You can even search by talking to the app.

The Google Maps for Android app also has turn-by-turn directions and a really simple main menu with four simple buttons – to search for place, get directions, call a location or switch to Google Street View. Watch out if you do turn your wallpaper into a live map though as it’ll burn through your battery pretty swiftly. As long as you have Android 1.6 or above, the latest update to Google Maps introduces turn-by-turn voice navigation, simultaneously overwhelming the satnav industry. Route calculations are done at the outset of your trip, minimizing data transfer en route and keeping you on target even when the GPS signal drops. It’s amazing, it works well, and it’s free. http://www.google.com/mobile/maps/

googlemaps-lg-03

Google Sky Map
Google Sky Maps happens to be one of those Android phone apps that forces you to utter the phrase, “This app is a MUST HAVE!” Want to know what that star is over there?  Point the phone at it and Google Sky Map will tell you.  Want to know where your zodiac sign is?  Sky Map figures out where you are in the world through GPS and will tell you which way you need to look to find the constellation or star of your choice. Google Sky Map for Android can help you put a name to the stars, planets, and constellations above you.  Just move the phone along the sky in the direction it tells you and you’ll find planets, solar systems, celestial objects and other astrological data.

Getting your phone and the sky aligned can be a bit tricky, but overall this is a fun and educational app. Google SkyMap is an armchair astronomer’s dream come true. You can also disengage the co

mpass view and float freely through the galaxy with your finger, browsing the celestial map or searching for objects at will. http://www.google.com/sky/skymap/

skymap-lg-02

Handcent SMS
The Handcent SMS android app is the best texting tool for sending or reading SMS messages. Settings allow popup notifications, reminders for unread messages, pre-typed quick messages, batch deleting, and a much better interface for communicating than the default android phone texting app.  Handcent SMS is a free SMS tool for Android, unleashing full support for SMS & MMS, extensive customization options, and incredible functionality. Handcent SMS is a must-have app.

Last.FM
Last.FM is a brilliant android application that streams music from last.fm radio directly to your phone. As with the desktop version of this music streaming service, you can create playlists based on your favorite artists and genres – or browse through tags to find hidden gems – before sharing your favorites with fellow users. It’s like having your own personal radio station on your phone. Choose an artist or genre and build a perfect playlist with the aid of this application. It provides innovative features and provides new musical discoveries powered by millions of Last.fm users sharing the music they love. Songs can be skipped and details about concerts can be found. If you’re too tight to pay out for a Spotify subscription, the free thrills of Last.fm open up a world of streaming music on your mobile. http://www.last.fm/android

lastfm-lg-01

Layar
If augmented reality is the future then Layar sparked the revolution for Android. Layar displays real time digital information on top of reality on the camera screen of your android mobile phone. The Layar browser allows you to see things in real time based on your location with embedded info from Flickr, Wikipedia, Yelp, and Google local search among others. You pick a location, scan the camera around and it will show you exactly where you want to go with a distance notification changing as you get closer. Walking around with your phone and seeing Wikipedia subjects, apartments for sale, and what Twitter users have raved about through your phone is a pretty clever thing, and potentially helpful when you’re looking for things to do in a new city. But as Layar continues to add new layers, and as camera and mobile processing power continue to improve, Layar could even become a lot more interesting than it already is. http://layar.com

layar-lg-02

Meebo IM
Meebo is a free Instant Messaging app that supports AIM, MSN, Yahoo, MySpace IM, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, Jabber and ICQ. You can also sign in using a Meebo account and your chat history will be saved forever, and can be accessed from anywhere by logging in at www.meebo.com. Meebo IM is the one IM Android app to rule them all.

The Meebo IM Android app also stores your chats so you can keep track of what you’ve been saying and runs in the background so you’ll be able to hop into other apps to check your mail or search for something without having to disconnect. http://www.meebo.com/android/

meebo-lg-03

Mobile Defense
Mobile Defense is a security service that allows you to remotely protect and manage your phone via a secure website using Google Maps. It is like a LoJack for your android phone. It offers a robust set of tools to safeguard your privacy and data. Remotely lock, backup, and wipe your phone from this secure website. You can also be notified of suspicious activity and fraud detection. This is a must have android app for those who have a bad habit of losing their phone.

MySpace Mobile
The free Android MySpace client gives you all the basic MySpace features, though it unfortunately lacks both media streaming and all the plug-ins that people tend to put on their pages. You can view and/or add comments, blogs, photos, add new friends and most importantly send e-mail. You can also always access those full-on scary MySpace pages using your Android phone’s mobile browser; this app is for quickly checking out and messaging your friends.

myspace-lg-03

PicSay
PicSay is a small app that lets you edit and modify photos on your android phone. PicSay is an award winning application for Android, Google’s upcoming platform for mobile phones. PicSay will liven up the pictures on your mobile phone by enabling you to add text, graphics, effects, and more. You can add speech balloons, any of a range of text styles, and images like hearts and stars to your photos. Or if you’re feeling less whimsical, you can modify the picture’s contrast, tint, hue and saturation levels; flip and rotate your image; and do other basic editing tasks. Photoshop Mobile may have grabbed the headlines when it launched, but PicSay is a far more powerful picture editor. It’s crammed with tools that you’d expect on desktop software – exposure, contrast, saturation and hue modifiers sit alongside a variety of tints, color tweaks and distortions.

It uploads pictures direct to your Facebook, Flickr, Picasa and Twitter accounts, and the Pro version adds more effects and distortions, such as color extraction, finger painting and photo filters, as well as geotagging. All in an intuitive easy-to-use interface, making PicSay the perfect all-in-one solution for editing images on your Android powered device. http://www.picsaypro.com/

picsay

Phonebook
Phonebook is a brand new user interface for viewing and managing your contacts. It displays your contacts with pictures and contextual information such as upcoming birthdays, missed calls and unread text messages. Phonebook comes with a nice landscape view, a dialer and a quick access to your favorites and most called contacts. With Phonebook, you will be amused while browsing your contacts. http://www.voxmobili.com/phonebook/

phonebook android app

Photoshop.com Mobile
Free photo editing apps aren’t more well-designed than this. Adobe’s Photoshop.com mobile lets you browse all the photos on your phone and crop, rotate, color-correct or change them to black-and-white with a beautifully intuitive interface. If you have a free account at photoshop.com, you can upload and store your photos online. It’s worth noting that this Adobe Photoshop android app is a companion to the Photoshop.com online sharing site. You also get a handful of artistic effects to mask the smeary photos afforded by Smartphone cameras. http://mobile.photoshop.com

Ringdroid
The Ringdroid android app lets you create free ringtones from your favorite songs. Just load a song onto your SD card, select start and end points, and save it as a ringtone, alert or notification. You can even record your own ringtones with Ringdroid. It lets you edit any MP3 on your phone or record a new sound and turn it into a ringtone, alarm, or notification. Simple is the watchword with this app. It isn’t nearly as powerful as a desktop audio editor like Audacity, but for the vast majority of people, that’s entirely OK. http://code.google.com/p/ringdroid/

ringdroid-lg-02

Save MMS
This android application allows you to save pictures, audio and video from MMS text messages directly to your android phone’s memory card. Files are stored in the SavedMMS directory and are accessible from Pictures and Music. http://andrewoid.blogspot.com/

savemms-lg-02

Shazam
This app is for anyone who has ever asked “What song is that?” This android app identifies the artist and title of a song while it’s playing, and then allows the user to download the song or visit the artist’s MySpace page. The Shazam android app enables you to tap into a massive database of 8 million tracks, giving you instant satisfaction for those times when you want to know the tune that is playing, learn more about the artist, buy the song immediately or simply add it to your playlist. http://www.shazam.com

shazam-lg-03

Sherpa
Sherpa is an android app that helps you find new places based on your own personal preferences. This app is your indispensable all-in-one guide that brings the nearest eateries, businesses, attractions, etc., to you, and does it with style. Sherpa “intelligently harvests” your likes and dislikes, then uses your location information to suggest restaurants, stores, and attractions in your area that reflect your taste. Get location details, reviews, and contacts. Spin the virtual carousel of attractions, view them on Google maps (with aerial view of buildings), or view them in a list. http://www.geodelic.com/sherpa/

ShopSavvy
ShopSavvy is the one android app that is all about getting the best deals. Enter a product name or barcode (using the keypad or the camera), and ShopSavvy identifies the product, searches the Web and local chain stores for the best prices, and collects reviews of the item. Is a powerful app to have on your android phone. It gives you real time price comparison. For local products, you get map directions, store website, and telephone number. For online stores, you can visit their website. It also has features for facebook and twitter. http://www.biggu.com

shopsavvy-lg-03

Skyfire 2.0
For Android phones comes the browser of the future. This feature-rich browser opens the door for increased speed and functionality with the exciting new ability to watch Flash videos! The Skyfire browser supports Flash content, popping up a little window when it detects something like an embedded YouTube video. The actual Flash business is handled by Skyfire’s server, which does all the digital stuff and then sends the file back to your handset. A bit clunky on slower Android phones, but works like a dream on models with faster processors.

Thesaurus
Retrieve the synonym and antonyms , related terms, similar words and user suggestions for every word in the dictionary. Tap one of the results to start a quick new search for that term. The Thesaurus android app also keeps a history of your search terms. A must have app for the English language enthusiast on the go. http://thesaurus.speedymarks.com

thesaurus-lg-02

Trapster
Trapster takes advantage of the GPS radio in modern smart phones to provide free speed camera and speed trap alerts, and displays them on a special version of Google Maps. The database is user-generated, as well as the alerts, and provides the facility to report unmarked speed cameras – just tap a button onscreen to mark the spot. The phalanx of user-spotted cameras means Trapster is updated more often than satnav systems, and it marks mobile speed camera sites as well as static ones. http://www.trapster.com/

TuneWiki
An open source music-based social network, TuneWiki is a replacement for Android’s built-in media player, offering a number of enjoyable features. TuneWiki originally became famous as a media player that also shows the lyrics for songs. It also plays Internet radio, shows music videos from YouTube and offers free music downloads from independent artists you may or may not have ever heard of. Most notable is the lyric scroll, which pulls lyrics off the Internet and scrolls them along with the song. The TuneWiki android app can also be integrated with Last.fm and Shoutcast radio streaming, or YouTube video search. Translates lyrics up to 40+ languages. TuneWiki lets users share what they’re listening to with each other, or to use Google Maps to find what users around the world are listening to. The application creates a virtual library of songs that hooks up to the Internet and suggests similar-sounding songs or artists.  This app is a vital download if your Smartphone is your primary music device. http://www.tunewiki.com/

TweetCaster
The TweetCaster android phone app brings a new look and feel to the realm of Twitter Android apps.  The UI is very attractive.  Like previous Twitter apps, you have 5 tabs to choose from; tweets, @replies, direct messages, favorites, and lists.  This offers you quick access to your most important content.

Your basic Twitter feed includes tweets in a bubble-like text box. Tweets by you have your picture on the opposite side of the page (right) and will be green in color. Similarly, if someone includes you in an @ mention, the tweet will be pink in color. These color settings allow you to quickly scan and search your Twitter feed.

TweetCaster is a strong threat for other top rated android twitter apps like Twidroid and Seesmic. This twitter android app has room to grow but it’s a great start for such a new app.

Twidroid
Twidroid is a full-featured Twitter client app on the android platform that includes direct messaging, photo posting, replies and background notifications for android phones. You also can retrieve detailed user information, follow and unfollow other members, and get the latest news from twitter buzz and more. http://tomatic.com

twidroid-lg-02

Voice Recorder
 This android application is a handy voice recorder. The data is recorded to a SD card. The following features are available on the Voice Recorder android app – send data as an attached file via Gmail – timer & background recording – search by TITLE and DATE – register to ringtones. http://tokasiki.com/

voicerecorder-lg-03

Where
Where is a bundle of cool GPS apps all wrapped into one. Are you looking for the hottest restaurants, craving your next coffee fix, or need a cheap fill-up? Maybe you want to know the local weather, traffic or headlines? Whatever you are after, WHERE has it. http://www.where.com/

where-lg-02

Wi-Fi Analyzer
Turn your Android phone into a Wi-Fi Analyzer. This handy app is a great tool for anyone in IT or who is looking for the best internet connection on the go. Find a less crowded channel for your router with Wi-Fi Analyzer. Definitely another great tool offered for free on Android! Before using the app, make sure that you have Wi-Fi enabled on your android device.

WordPress
WordPress for Android is an open source app that offers you the ability to use the most important features to keep your wordpress site up and running on the go. This android app is great for a quick post on the run but lacks some of the functionality that would make it truly great. Cross your fingers in hopes of future updates. In the mean time, download it and give it a try if you’re a current WordPress user. It’s very feature-packed, with the latest version offering full integration with other apps, letting you spin content and send it direct to the app for easy updating.

World War Android Game
If you are a fan of the Mobsters online game then you will love World War. It’s 2012 and a nuclear war has broken out leaving only 5 nations as superpowers. Which side will you be fighting for? Great time waster for those long trips on the highway.

Yelp
The Yelp android app searches for places to eat, shop, drink, relax and play and provides reviews from an active community of locals in the know. This app is a little better than the Places Directory android application.

28
Apr

Stephen Hawking Warns Against Contacting Extraterrestrials

   Posted by:AUDIOMIND

Stephen Hawkings with Sun Back Drop
As Stephen Hawking is promoting his new series on the Discovery channel, he has also given an interview to the Times of London in which ‘he has suggested that extraterrestrials are almost certain to exist but that instead of seeking them out, humanity should be doing all that it can to avoid any contact.’ Hawking says, ‘I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach. … If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.‘

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7107207.ece

Is hiding under our collective bed here on Earth an option for humanity in the wider galaxy?

The whole concept is one of paranoia. Considering the age of the galaxy, advanced species could be of immense ages. Any new interstellar aggressor species would find itself confronted by a whole range of progressively more advanced species each in turn more capable of deploying more advanced and often more subtle forms of social stabilization. The simplest method by which to judge species and what measures may be required to control threats implied by them, is the way in which they interact with less advanced species.

Much the same way a species upon it’s own planet would be judged by the way they interact with each other, with suppositions of racial differences where none exist, of artificial regional divides, specifically demonstrated where a species of one region preys upon and exploits the same species in another region, with claims of racial differences to hide or degenerative social diseases, like psychopathy and narcissism.

Most likely any threatening species would be dealt with, likely well before they became destructive upon an interstellar basis. The greater the gap in advancement the less likely communication will occur, as there will always be more similarly advanced species to fill that interaction and monitoring gap, who in turn would be monitored by next nearest level of amelioration.

Besides, in reality planets are pretty crappy resources for any interstellar species, nebula and dust clouds have stupendously huge quantities of material available, sufficient to make thousands even millions of suns, already in affect mined, granulated to a fine powder and just requiring filtering to extract the desired elements.

Humanity has to be far more concerned with how they interact with each other and how that interaction could be interpreted from an external viewpoint and whether it could be considered as potentially threatening and what actions are required to nip the threat in the bud. Whether it be social modification and, or culling of specific socially destructive elements.

Of course it is interesting to note that Carl Sagan pointed out that the first high-powered TV broadcasts that might be intercepted by the aliens show Hitler at the Nürnberg party rally. :(

Page 3 of 9412345...1015202530...Last »