Having never used one, nor the software in question, nor any other software (yet to be developed or shown), you're sure of this... exactly how?
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Promising iPad Apps: Mixr and iMockups
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Having never used one, nor the software in question, nor any other software (yet to be developed or shown), you're sure of this... exactly how?
Pages?
Seriously, while Pages falls a little short in some areas, if you set up objects ahead of time in a library, you could achieve almost all of the functionality demonstrated in that video pretty easily. Now, how easily you could do the same thing on the iPad is another question. Can you have more than one document open at a time on the iPad?
One comment to all the DJs criticizing the iPad, I'd like to suggest that you make it clear that you're criticisms are of the Mixr app, not the iPad itself. That app may fall short, but isn't it possible that a real professional DJ who also happened to be a developer could come up with an app that would really answer most of your criticisms? Is the fault with the app or the iPad? In most cases it seems clear that it's with the app...
People who write things like this simply don't have a grasp of the math behind digital sampling... because if they did, they'd understand that what you're saying makes absolutely no sense.
Now, I'm sure that playing vinyl records feels different to you, and that is important, as it feeds the creative process. But, as far as the real acoustics of sound go, it simply doesn't make any sense.
just imagine....
Just imagine a MacBook Pro any size... the exact same proportions... WITH A TOUCH SCREEN like the iPad's!!!
Wouldn't that be AWESOME?!?!?!??!!?!
Just imagine a MacBook Pro any size... the exact same proportions... WITH A TOUCH SCREEN like the iPad's!!!
Wouldn't that be AWESOME?!?!?!??!!?!
Ok, so youre a photographer. Lets just put it this way:
You buy yourself two strobes with a bundled transmitter and only one receiver, and neither of the strobes have send a signal to fire the other or even a sync port to split the recieving signal for both flashes. So really, you only get half the result, therefor, not all that professional. Or another example: you buy yourself some lights to shoot at night but they dont have any modelling lights. How do you focus???
The problem with the ipad is that you cant preview a track that about to play or cue it before you fade in on the main crossfader. The hardware isnt there, thus rendering it pretty much completely useless. I've never done it myself nor have I ever seen any DJ blindly fade into an upcoming track without knowing where the track was when faded into it.
Now, since I already pointed out the applications flaws, im expected hell on this comment as well, simple understanding and logic is not evident in some macrumor members, and call my comments 'non-constructive'
Anyway, this type of software is pure gimmick, always has been. The reason you might see some wedding DJs actually use software like this is because they dont really do any kind of actual beatmatching or technical mixing like you'd see from DJs like James Zabiela.....
What audio outputs does the iPad have? What DJ in their right mind would use a big iPod to play at anything but a child's party?
LOL, childs party. for the price of two ipads youre better off buying a couple entry level CDJs and a basic mixer for way less than the price of two ipads and still have cash left over. Sound quality would be far better as well, controls would be completely reliable and you'd have all the proper outputs to hook up ur gear to eachother and to speakers or an amp.
I should know better, but frankly it still stuns me how quickly these threads turn into pissing matches. Once again we're back to arguing minutiae and missing the point of this article. We don't know jack about the quality of these apps - they may be great, they may 'suck' (in web parlance) - we just don't know.
But, to get back to the point, what we DO know is that these apps would never have been developed for the Ipod/Iphone.
And they effectively demonstrate the range of apps possible on the Ipad to such an extent that anyone still insistent on calling it just a "big Ipod" is only revealing their own inability to grasp what exactly a touch operated computer device is capable of doing. Whoever is manufacturing it.
Apple just happened to get there first.
Dave
But, to get back to the point, what we DO know is that these apps would never have been developed for the Ipod/Iphone.
And they effectively demonstrate the range of apps possible on the Ipad to such an extent that anyone still insistent on calling it just a "big Ipod" is only revealing their own inability to grasp what exactly a touch operated computer device is capable of doing. Whoever is manufacturing it.
Apple just happened to get there first.
Dave
I hear you. I believe you believe it.
I believe you have never heard audio with analog capture, recording, and playback, that is a near original item/media.
I believe.
I am totally used to being name-called.
Oh, BTW, math and rocket scientist, you do the math. 7-9 simultaneous variables, dude. N-dimensional theory, 12 of which have been conclusively proven. I'm askin' fur 4, and a kask of Old Forrester.
Rocketman
Balsamiq Mockups - available in a free version and a $79 version, with a UI oddly similar to iMockups (though Balsamiq uses "drawn" style lines). http://www.balsamiq.com/products/mockups/desktop
I think having an app like iMockups on the iPad would be cool, but it highlights what I suspect will be a common problem - the iPad will likely never be my PRIMARY work system, and not having a way to work on something like a mockup from both my desktop and from my portable while on the go makes things much more difficult - especially if my only real export option from the portable app is to output as a saved image.
It's not a matter of belief. It's a matter of physics. Any sound that can be made can be made digitally. And human ears simply can't tell the difference. It makes the world a pretty dull place, but that's just how it is.
That said, I do think vinyl records are cool. They do indeed "sound differently" than most crisp digital recordings. But if someone wants to, they can easily add-in the secret "vinyl mojo"... To the extent that they don't, you might have a point. But, they very well could...
I love balsamiq, but the discrepancy between having an idea and getting it down via a mouse/pointer keeps driving me back to pen/paper for mockups.
For UI designers, web developers, and lots of other people, a 1024 x 768 touchscreen is the greatest medium ever devised for mocking up interfaces.
That mouse-driven discrepancy is also why I don't really use keynote or powerpoint. For me, Keynote and iMockups are the first 2 work-related apps that may qualify under Apple's "better on iPad than laptop or iPhone".
Between that, Instapaper, eBooks, and a little shipping notification, you can now officially color me excited.
For UI designers, web developers, and lots of other people, a 1024 x 768 touchscreen is the greatest medium ever devised for mocking up interfaces.
That mouse-driven discrepancy is also why I don't really use keynote or powerpoint. For me, Keynote and iMockups are the first 2 work-related apps that may qualify under Apple's "better on iPad than laptop or iPhone".
Between that, Instapaper, eBooks, and a little shipping notification, you can now officially color me excited.
This is only sort of true. Sample rate on CD-quality audio is 44.1 kHz and 16-bit. This is not pristine. Higher-quality formats like DVD-audio run typically at 96 kHz and 24-bit, and it produces a warmer, more analog-sounding experience.
Vinyl has the equivalent of an infinite sample rate. I'm not a vinyl snob (I don't own any), but on my setup, I can sense when I'm listening to above-CD-quality, and I sure as hell can tell when my music's been compressed below 320kb/sec.
Also, yeah, how will the DJ app handle preview audio separately? A2DP? Specialized, Dock-connected hardware?
yes, I understand the preview problem. But, it could possible be done with some add-on hardware to the dock, or two mixed mono-channels L=preview track, R=mixed track. You'd need an alternate way to get the mixed stereo output in that case. Another idea - 2 or more iPads as independent audio sources that could supply either pre-mixed audio, plain audio, audio with various effects, and/or just about any synthesized sound... At 2x $499, it'd still be reasonable.
I think the iPad's strength will be to augment the rest of your toolset in some way (as some posts have suggested, perhaps one of yours?)... Perhaps in a way that has yet to be invented. Yes, there are limitations in the hardware - there are plenty of things the iPad simply "can't do". But to just dismiss the iPad as "unprofessional" is completely short-sighted.
As for your questions wrt/ photography - how about using natural light, simple cheap reflectors, and focusing manually? These are all simple tools and techniques that can be used to great effect. Surely, for any situation, there is a minimum set of tools you'll need to have to get the results you want. But sometimes, the simplest tools are the best.
I don't plan for the iPad to replace my camera, but it's going to be a great portable portfolio, dayplanner, cost calculator, etc... these are all things I need to have to do my job - just as much as I need a camera. And who knows... maybe a solid white screen could be an interesting lighting source...
That's the thing that many people haven't been able to grasp. "Why would I want something that's just a big iPhone?" They don't see the wider possibilities of a device which is more capable simply because it's bigger. And since Apple doesn't tell them one specific, defined, limited, pre-packaged and boxed reason for the iPad, like the addition of video to the iPod, or Malibu Stacey with NEW HAT, they go "nah, it's an iFlop."
One of the reasons the iPad will drive even more innovative multi-touch is simply that you can now (more readily and comfortably) use both hands. And it's possible to involve other people. There must surely be something clever you can do with both hands and another person? Something that's more fun than just by yourself with one hand? Anyone?
I keep coming back to Jeff Han's video from several years ago. All the things that were demonstrated with those cool games and stuff? Now possible.
Agreed, you can get some amazing pictures with a P&S camera & crayons (even better if combined!) and Itzakh Perlman can still make a cheap violin weep.
But the simple fact is the iPad has a hardware limitation (one stereo output) that make it impossible to use this as a DJ app. Mixmeister (www.mixmeister.com) has a MUCH better chance of doing a great iPhone/iPad app, because they have SO much automation built in already.
Like many posters before me have said, if you see your wedding/bat mitzvah/quincenera/etc DJ pull one of these out, fire him on the spot.
You're assuming that:
a) people at a wedding/bat mitzvah/quincenera/etc actually care about anything more than stereo. People are drunk at these things. As long as it plays "Celebration" and "Nutbush City Limits", even if it's mono they won't give a crap.
b) there will be no accessories.
Correction: Mixr isn't a "device", it's just software. [and i doubt Apple collaborated with Pixil.info for the iPad's purpose.]
Yes... and we all know what avid audiophiles club-goers are. They must have impeccable hearing as well, seeing as how you believe they could possibly distinguish a 90db noise floor from a 96db noise floor while the par-tay is in full swing. Unless perhaps they're all sitting quietly, listening intently... in utter amazement at your incredibly good taste in music (no doubt).
Total harmonic distortion (or transient intermodulation maybe)? Forget fuzz guitars friend, nowadays producers *add* distortion to even the vocal tracks. Sound effects and synthesizers galore. But of course i understand... you want only the purest quality in reproduction when you're tinkering around with that little scratchy-scratchy noisemaker thing... lookin' all cool 'n' stuff, as the crowd silently monitors every waveform for accuracy.
Please, entertain us with some more criticisms.
-§-
The 6th harmonic of what? 20 KHz? I wonder if even my dog can detect that degree of colorization. [At that point, we're talking about how clearly cymbals shimmer... and i do agree that the digital mastering needs to be done with great care, to avoid audible artifacts (assuming the recording was perfect to begin with).]
I think —given our current media (analog LP vs. digital 44.1K/16-bit) —things like microphone quality and placement (to minimize phase cancellations) are the real determination in the final quality... at least in terms of capturing live acoustic sounds. The only thing "warm" about analog is its high-frequency rolloff (which is perhaps more humane than the brick wall imposed by digital). I agree to the extent that things would have been better today if the digital "standard" was set higher than the current 44/16 (as established by the AES back in the 80's)... but it's simply not true that LPs sound better than CDs. It's all about how well the sound was recorded, mixed and mastered.
The iPad doesn't have enough outputs for professional audio.
But, if the iPad becomes a ubiquitous programmable multi-touch/multi-gesture music controller, some professional audio mixing decks will eventually allow you to use an iPad (or two) as the console and/or controller. Netbooks might have specs, but since when is a cheap looking box with just specs cool enough for a successful performing musician or DJ?
But, if the iPad becomes a ubiquitous programmable multi-touch/multi-gesture music controller, some professional audio mixing decks will eventually allow you to use an iPad (or two) as the console and/or controller. Netbooks might have specs, but since when is a cheap looking box with just specs cool enough for a successful performing musician or DJ?
"Professional" grade? Feh. What are we, Neanderthals? I won't listen to music unless the artist, having been examined by a doctor at Cedars-Sinai for respiratory infection and after having their instruments hermetically sealed for 2 weeks, plays for me, live, in my humidity and temperature-controlled bedroom, lined with sound-deadening materials developed by NASA, while sitting in bed with me in my sound-absorbing pyjamas. I mean, how can you stand to listen to music any other way? You might as well listen to *shudder* Blu-Ray audio.
P.S. "Professional", by definition, means that it's good enough for someone to pay you to use it, and for you to be able to make a living with it.
Wow. THANK YOU. This is very, very nice, and precisely what I'm looking for... except... it's using Adobe Air. I generally don't care, but I'm immediately seeing interface problems... like the fact that the floating palettes can ONLY exist inside the application window... much like an MS Windows style MDI application. Not only can I NOT arrange the palettes out of my workspace on another screen, but they seem incapable of using any other tricks to keep out of my way (minimize, etc).
All that said, I'm also taken by how similar this is to iMockups.
Hm...
http://community.balsamiq.com/balsamiq/topics/apple_ipad_mockups
"Mockups running on the iPad: we'll see what we can do there as well! Let us get our hands on one first.
"Also, apparently they have the idea of creating mockups for iPad down too:
http://mockupstogo.net/ipad-controls
Looks like someone had the same idea and just beat them to the punch. I was half-wondering if this was an example of Flash CS5 outputting an iPad app from something originally based in Adobe Air.
GTMA I guess. I like the idea behind Balsamiq's web app version too:
http://www.balsamiq.com/blog/2010/02/22/mybalsamiq-sneak/
~ CB
Okay, over the whole Mixr issue. Some people don't care about the hardware and just want to DJ for fun. Now since most DJ Booths cost as much as a Mac Pro (possibly even more), your better off getting Mixr. Its closet thing to the real thing as you can get for the average joe without spending a fortune. Better yet; just use your imagination, jeeze.
Just my 2 cents since I plan on getting it as well.
Just my 2 cents since I plan on getting it as well.
