ASL First FireTuesday, February 17, 2004
Completely Off-Topic
Of course, it's my blog, so I can define what's on-topic. :-)
Every once in a while, I feel very sorry for those people who do not have a Mac on which to do their computing. Yeah, I know Apple's market share is very small and there are a lot of programs not available for the Mac. However, in all honesty, most of the programs that are not Mac-compatible are video games, and frankly I'd generally rather play a boardgame than a computer game in most circumstances, so this doesn't affect me all that much. Besides, most of the major applications are either available in Mac format or have nearly equivalent alternatives that are as good or nearly so. And multi-media is a field where the PCs cannot hold a candle to the Macs (ever notice that most computers depicted on TV and in movies are Macs?). Apple has led the way in graphic design and publishing since the first Mac was released. With iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, etc., Apple continues to excel.
And then they go and release Garageband.
Wow. Garageband is included in Apple's $50 package iLife, which also includes the iApps listed above. Garageband alone is worth the price of admission. I bought this on Saturday and have had an absolute blast playing with it. I have an old MIDI-compatible keyboard and in between using the loops included with the program and input (either MIDI or direct audio input) from my keyboard, I've already created several pieces. Garageband is essentially a software based multi-track recording studio with the option to mix tracks that are either MIDI-based or CD-quality audio, existing loops or music from your own external source. Great for making your own songs or creating soundtracks to go with your digitial movies or digital photo slideshows (not surprisingly, these work great with iMovie and iPhoto). You can also export the songs in CD-quality aif format and I already have a CD with several of my "compositions." The only downside I've found is that now I'm going to have to spring for Jam Pack, the expansion. Sure, you can probably find software that does what each of the iLife apps do, and possibly better.
But not for $50.
You can keep your PC video games. I'm having more fun than you are. :-)
Next up, maybe a primer on OBA (to get back to ASL).
Every once in a while, I feel very sorry for those people who do not have a Mac on which to do their computing. Yeah, I know Apple's market share is very small and there are a lot of programs not available for the Mac. However, in all honesty, most of the programs that are not Mac-compatible are video games, and frankly I'd generally rather play a boardgame than a computer game in most circumstances, so this doesn't affect me all that much. Besides, most of the major applications are either available in Mac format or have nearly equivalent alternatives that are as good or nearly so. And multi-media is a field where the PCs cannot hold a candle to the Macs (ever notice that most computers depicted on TV and in movies are Macs?). Apple has led the way in graphic design and publishing since the first Mac was released. With iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, etc., Apple continues to excel.
And then they go and release Garageband.
Wow. Garageband is included in Apple's $50 package iLife, which also includes the iApps listed above. Garageband alone is worth the price of admission. I bought this on Saturday and have had an absolute blast playing with it. I have an old MIDI-compatible keyboard and in between using the loops included with the program and input (either MIDI or direct audio input) from my keyboard, I've already created several pieces. Garageband is essentially a software based multi-track recording studio with the option to mix tracks that are either MIDI-based or CD-quality audio, existing loops or music from your own external source. Great for making your own songs or creating soundtracks to go with your digitial movies or digital photo slideshows (not surprisingly, these work great with iMovie and iPhoto). You can also export the songs in CD-quality aif format and I already have a CD with several of my "compositions." The only downside I've found is that now I'm going to have to spring for Jam Pack, the expansion. Sure, you can probably find software that does what each of the iLife apps do, and possibly better.
But not for $50.
You can keep your PC video games. I'm having more fun than you are. :-)
Next up, maybe a primer on OBA (to get back to ASL).
