records

The 404 1,048: Where we can't believe how much it made (podcast)

$200 million. That's how much money "The Avengers" brought in this weekend. And who says the movie industry is in trouble? On today's show we welcome CNET editor Scott Stein to the show and discuss the disgusting amount of money Joss Whedon's Marvel mash-up accumulated. We'll compare it to the other top weekend grossing film of the past 30 years and then decide on whether or not "The Dark Knight Rises" will join the list.

Next we'll get into a discussion about the possibility of an $800 MacBook Air and whether or not Apple settled on the design of the iPad 3. Finally, it's an E3 2012 preview. Scott and I will be at the big show in Los Angeles next month and have some pretty bleak outlooks on what the world's biggest video game expo will bring.… Read more

Meet the next generation of music tech

NYU's advanced audio production course is offered to both master's and undergraduate students. They work in 10 recording and computer music studios, listening rooms, and research labs where more than 40 music technology courses are taught.

The night I attended the class, the students were preparing to record a large jazz band, with horns, piano, keyboards, electric guitar, bass, and drums. One of the students, Charles DeChants, currently works in a studio in Brooklyn; he hopes to eventually make records for a living. "That's the dream, and that's why I came out here, so I … Read more

Critics say feds, RIAA too closely linked in music site seizure

Critics of the U.S. government's antipiracy efforts have new ammunition to support claims that authorities are too eager to do the bidding of copyright owners.

Authorities seized Dajaz1.com, a music blog, and held onto it for more than a year before returning the domain to the owners. This only occurred after the government repeatedly failed to produce evidence that the site had violated copyright laws. David Kravets of Wired.com first reported the story.

This appears to be the latest public-relations setbacks for the large entertainment companies lobbying Congress for tougher antipiracy laws. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (… Read more

Spinning on a Mac

Virtual DJ for Mac is a virtual music-mixing program, the capabilities of which vary greatly depending on what version you're paying for -- from the free "Home" edition on up to the $299 "Virtual DJ Pro Full."

That is to say that Virtual DJ for Mac is serious software, and experienced turntablists and club DJs will almost certainly want to check out one of the more full-featured packages, which offer extras like practically unlimited decks (up to 99), full-screen video output, and support for MIDI/HID controllers. For DJing neophytes, being plunged into the overwhelming … Read more

The 404 1,042: Where the Enterprise has landed (podcast)

Steve Sphere Guttenberg returns to close out the week and he's calling on all our listeners to submit and vote for their favorite speakers, sound bars, headphones, subwoofers, and other home theater products for the first ever Stevie Awards for Excellence in Audio. So far, my personal top pick, the Koss PortaPros, are leading the headphones category!

Steve also tells Jeff and me about the leaps in technology that blew his mind growing up, the most prolific of which happens to be a head-shaped JVC binaural recording device that he used as a wingman in bars around New York … Read more

Soccer fans set tweet-per-second record

In the Twitter world of sports, soccer proves to be king. During the peak of the Champions League match between Barcelona and Chelsea in Barcelona yesterday, 13,684 tweets per second were sent out globally -- setting a Twitter record for tweets during a sporting event.

"The conversation reached its high point immediately following Fernando Torres' late goal, which tied the game and sealed Chelsea's victory in the semi-final," Twitter said in a blog post today.

This means that soccer fans have now beat out football fans on the social network. According to the blog post, the … Read more

Camtasia makes your screencasts look professional

Camtasia for Mac received an update today that makes it easy to create professional screencasts (capturing all actions on screen) for demonstration videos, instructional videos, and other screen-recording projects. Some new features offered in version 2.1 of the software should make it even more useful, adding new Clip Speed and Remove a Color options to add to your screencasts.

Clip Speed lets you adjust play speed easily The new Clip Speed feature can be accessed from the Video FX tab, and lets you speed through slow processes in a demonstration or slow down a faster process you want your … Read more

How to catalog your vinyl collection online

The resurgence of vinyl as a preferred music format may baffle some who can't get enough of their Spotify subscription, but for those who get the experience of digging for records at your favorite local music store or prefer the warmer sounds provided by a vinyl LP, keeping track of your music collection is a priority.

If you're anything like John Cusack's character, the obsessive music-file, Rob Gordon from the movie "High Fidelity," you might categorize your albums chronologically one day and biographically the next.

If you want to keep better tabs on your 7-inches, … Read more

Kick the iTunes habit and celebrate Record Store Day

Kick the iTunes habit and stop streaming, it's time to get physical with music you can touch!

Record Store Day is a celebration of the joys of buying music in the real world, and brick and mortar stores all over the country are participating in the event on Saturday, April 21.

The first Record Store Day was in 2007, and every year more and more stores get involved. The Record Store Day Web site has this quote from author Nick Hornby:

"Yes, yes, I know. It's easier to download music, and probably cheaper. But what's playing … Read more