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      Hercules DJ Control MP3 e2: A beginner’s turntable for wannabe DJs

      June 12, 2010 /

      dj_control

      For anyone who’s ever wanted to try their hand at DJing but didn’t have the cash to invest in a turntable and record collection, Hercules has created a pretty nifty solution. Although it’s not the first of its kind, the DJ Control MP3 e2 (not exactly the sexiest name for a gadget) is one of the cheaper and more portable DJ units on the market. It contains everything you’ll need to get the party started, including two jog wheels to navigate your tracks, as well as a cross fader and two volume faders for mixing. You can also add automatic loops and sound effects, control the pitch of each track, and even scratch using the jog wheels, but chances are, most beginners won’t have any idea how a lot of that stuff works.

      It’s nice to see that Hercules has included these features in case users want to play around with more advanced techniques in the future, but it’s hard to imagine the DJ Control being used for anything other than casual parties and wedding receptions. This is not a professional unit, nor is it meant to be, but it is pretty user friendly and incredibly well-made for its price. It’s lightweight but sturdy, and can easily be carried around in a backpack with the confidence that it’ll survive the trip in one piece thanks to the inclusion of a tight-fitting, plastic protective cover.

      The Virtual DJ software also plays a big part in its accessibility, because while you might not want to mess with all of the knobs and buttons on the actual unit, the drag-and-drop nature of selecting songs from your computer practically guarantees that just about anyone can assume the role of DJ within minutes. Those who upgrade to the Pro version of the software will notice some cool enhancements (namely, the ability to mix music without having to plug the DJ Control into your computer), but it’s really not worth the extra $250 unless you’re really serious about it, in which case you should probably be using a better MP3 turntable.

      So is the DJ Control MP3 e2 just an expensive toy? Not exactly. While you’ll need to spend some money to reap the full benefits of the unit (especially if you don’t have a 5.1-channel sound card), it does just enough to warrant its $129 price tag. It’s hard to recommend to those who only plan on using it for simple mixing at parties, but if you also want to record your own tracks and learn the basics of DJing before graduating to something bigger and better, Hercules’ DJ Control does it all without breaking the bank.

      Digital Media, Music, Reviews

      iPhone 4 still won’t kill the Flip

      June 12, 2010 /

      Flip video.One of the best features of iPhone 4 is that it records video in 720p. As with the iPhone 3GS, a lot of people have been asking whether that functionality will kill the Flip. I think the answer is still no, but it will eventually turn into a yes.

      The problem is that the iPhone still isn’t prevalent enough. There are plenty of people in the world who are scared of smartphones – unsure that the additional cost of a data plan is actually worth it. For those people, the Flip is still a great option. It’s cheap, easy to use, and records great video.

      As smartphones become more and more prevalent, though, its inevitable that the Flip will die off. As I’ve said plenty of times about the Kindle, I still believe purpose-built devices are a thing of the past. The Flip is no exception. The more advanced our daily handhelds become, the less we’ll need things like a Flip to fill the gap.

      Apple, iPhone, Lifestyle

      Your piracy may be safe for now

      June 11, 2010 /

      Jolly Roger.There have been a lot of doom and gloom articles about digital media piracy over the last several months. Most of the concern stems from suits that have been filed by the US Copyright Group against large groups of John Does. The suits would require ISPs to provide the personal information attached to the IP addresses listed as downloading digital media in breach of copyright.

      A DC judge may have quashed things, for now anyway. Judge Rosemary Collyer made some blunt demands of the guys bringing these suits this week – prove that its worth the court’s time to handle the suits in batches as they have been filed. The actual wording looks like this: “MINUTE ORDER requiring Plaintiff to show cause in writing no later than June 21, 2010 why Doe Defendants 2 through 2000 should not be dismissed for misjoinder under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20.”

      Rule 20 says that plaintiffs may only join defendants in a lawsuit if:

      • They assert any right to relief jointly, severally, or in the alternative with respect to or arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences; and
      • Any question of law or fact common to all plaintiffs will arise in the action.

      If the plaintiff can’t show either of these conditions to be true, the suits will be “severed,” meaning they each have to be filed individually, which would be costly and time consuming, probably so much as to keep the suits from being filed.

      In other words, you’re safe for now, pirates.

      Digital Media, News

      What the iPhone 4 tells us about the next iPad

      June 10, 2010 /

      Steve Jobs with an iPad.I have never been so happy to not be an early adopter. I wanted an iPad and I wanted one badly, but I figured I’d wait. No sense in buying the first generation of a device that Apple will just improve in a big way for version two. After the iPhone 4 announcement, it’s clear just what we’re likely to see on the new iPad.

      First, a new screen. That “retina display” will be the envy of every iPad owner. Granted, it won’t likely be scaled to iPad sizes – there’s no way the chip could drive that dense a display – but the original iPad screen will likely get a refresh for version two.

      Next up, you can bet on at least one camera. Steve Jobs said during the keynote that there would be “tens of millions of FaceTime devices this year so there’s going to be a lot of people to talk to.” No way Apple is selling tens of millions of iPhone 4 units, so there’s got to be something else. That’s where the iPad comes in. FaceTime doesn’t thrill me on the iPhone. It looks small, shaky, and mostly unnecessary when a computer is typically close at hand where there’s a Wi-Fi network. With an iPad screen, though, FaceTime could be more appealing.

      As a longshot I’ll also suggest a body redesign. I love what Apple did with the iPhone 4 body. That’s the kind of engineering that makes Apple unique. If that design improves reception, I’ll be even happier. I could see the same happening for the iPad, even though the current design seems fine.

      Apple, iPad, iPhone, News

      DFW on video calling

      June 10, 2010 /

      DFW Infinite Jest.If you don’t know who David Foster Wallace is, you should. If you don’t read him, you need to. He was easily one of the smartest writers of our time and yet he manages to write with such charm and wit that you can’t help but love the guy.

      DFW’s great literary epic, Infinite Jest is chock-full of philosophical ramblings on could-be and once-was human conditions. Among his observations are the following thoughts on video calls, which in light of the recent iPhone 4 announcement, seemed appropriate to share.

      Good old traditional audio-only phone conversations allowed you to presume that the person on the other end was paying complete attention to you while also permitting you not to have to pay anything even close to complete attention to her. A traditional aural-only conversation […] let you enter a kind of highway-hypnotic semi-attentive fugue: while conversing, you could look around the room, doodle, fine-groom, peel tiny bits of dead skin away from your cuticles, compose phone-pad haiku, stir things on the stove; you could even carry on a whole separate additional sign-language-and-exaggerated-facial-expression type of conversation with people right there in the room with you, all while seeming to be right there attending closely to the voice on the phone. And yet — and this was the retrospectively marvelous part — even as you were dividing your attention between the phone call and all sorts of other idle little fuguelike activities, you were somehow never haunted by the suspicion that the person on the other end’s attention might be similarly divided.

      […] Video telephony rendered the fantasy insupportable. Callers now found they had to compose the same sort of earnest, slightly overintense listener’s expression they had to compose for in-person exchanges. Those caller who out of unconscious habit succumbed to fuguelike doodling or pants-crease-adjustment now came off looking extra rude, absentminded, or childishly self-absorbed. Callers who even more unconsciously blemish-scanned or nostril explored looked up to find horrified expressions.

      God damn it he was brilliant. For more of his thoughts on video calling, check out the source post at Kottke.org. Better yet, spend a month of your life reading this book.

      iPhone, Lifestyle

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