iOS 7 Flat and Colorful

Apple announced the new version of OSX, Mavericks, alongside the new version of iOS. iOS 7 maintains most of the past iOS functionality while adding a new visual aesthetic. How would I describe iOS 7 to someone who has not seen one image of it? 

• Lots of Gaussian blur: overlay screens
• More colorful:  shift focus away from primary colors, instead a focus on colorful tones and shades
•  Change in UX/UI : some buttons are now just text, and they added a swipe up feature
• Typography: Helvetica Neue Light
• A Blend: it looks like a was inspired by WebOS(multitasking), Windows Phone 8, and the new Google Mobile Apps (Google Search, Gmail) 

The new iOS will evoke a different emotion when using the iPhone or iPad than the current design. The new design feels youthful and light. Just by the looks of it, I do not want to create spreadsheets or write long documents. It makes me want to take pictures and listen to some music. I wanted iOS 7 to implement more choices! They redesigned the whole system around their new motif. But, the OS still lacks widgets and a customizable homescreen.

I use my phone all day and consume all sorts of content; video, pictures, games, pdfs, etc. I have a Galaxy Nexus running stock Android 4.2.2 with a different launcher, and an icon pack. From the beginning the phone felt sterile, and robotic. One of the reasons why I choose Android was for the choices.  I wanted to change the "look" and "feel" of the OS.  I dug around the Play store and found apps that altered the OS's native feel. They enhanced and changed the tone of my phone.  

It took me a while to understand how something simple, like a color scheme, can effect my mood. I can not stress enough how great it is to have choices on my phone. I want the iOS 7 to bring more user defined settings. I think Apple's hardware is great and would like to own an iPhone or iPad, but not until I can have more open platform.

R.A.M. Review

Daft Punk's Random Access Memories album has leaked. In quick response, Daft let users stream it on iTunes. It was great move to appease the crowd.

This album will stand as a great contrast to Homework, their first album. Homework and their earlier work, was meta(remix) commentary on the disco/funk movement with an ear for modern sounds. R.A.M. stops being part of the commentary and joins the movement. It use indie-rock, jazz, disco, italo-disco, funk, and electronic touches to create a more "human" dance music LP. 

Daft Punk choose several collaborators on the album to bring a different angle on their dance music. 

This album is a disco revival contender. Disco has been bubbling in the dance music community for a little while now, Nu-disco. This side steps that genre with less software/midi work and instead focuses on live recordings. I will give the album merit for looking back to bring a fresh sound to the masses. 

The interview laced, "Giorgio by Moroder," has some great instrumentation mixed with Giorgio's interview. Easily one of the more fun tracks on the album. "Get lucky" sits nicely on the album tracklist. It incorporates a richer sound, than found on the single released earlier. "Fragments of time" is a killer throwback track toward the end of the album. It will be enjoyed with the Fleetwood Mac era crowd. "Doin' it right," a collaboration with Panda Bear, feels out of place on the album. Daft started their careers as DJ's, I think they would have omitted that track from this "mix." Julian Casablancas, from The Strokes, provides the vocals on "Instant Crush." It leans more towards popular  80's sounds. Later in the album, "Beyond," recalls work from Boz Scaggs, and other smooth jazz sounds. Overall, the album maintains the disco-era aesthetic, and "Get Lucky" is a great single to kickoff their comeback. 

I'm glad Daft Punk is back to bring a different sound to mainstream dance music. I expect some great remixes to come from this album. The album is 74 minutes long, and eschews for shorter tracks instead of longer (daft punk) tracks. 

I grew up with these guys. I remember buying a bootleg copy of Discovery while vacationing in Mexico, when I was 14. It was their early work that pointed me towards the disco sounds of the 70's. With R.A.M. they no longer point back. 

The Album

Sounds of Yesteryear

Ago - For You

Lime - Angel Eyes

Simple Godzilla

Lately, I have been working in a house surrounded by Godzilla toys. Godzilla has seeped into my dreams. This my five minute take on Gojira.  

Merge

Modern smartphones introduced the capacitive touchscreen to the masses. Today, we welcome touchscreens in our devices.  Our smartphones have become an extension of ourselves. As a technology, touchscreens, are not new. The first touchscreen debuted in 1965. We have come a long way from a screen that senses only one input. However, it took a long time for these devices to trickle to consumers' hands. A big part of touchscreen's commercial success came when it merged with the smartphone. I mention touchscreens, because they are have become a dominant input method like the keyboard and mouse. While touchscreens have become a life staple, input methods are always changing. Recently, several companies are releasing new methods to interact with the digital world. I want to talk about two Myo and Google Glass

Myo, a wearable band with motion sensing capabilities, introduces a new way to interact with computers. It uses electrical sensors to measure muscle movement and it uses a sensor to measure spatial movement. Combined Myo's creators claim that, "the device can detect changes in hand gesture right down to each individual finger."

In their promotional video they show people communicating orders/commands through gestures. They show several scenarios where this type of input method works well in. One example shows a man preparing a chicken on his countertop. He gestures a video playing on his Macbook to pause and rewind without ever touching his computer. 

Myo is working on gesture recognizing and Google is working heavily on speech. Google has vision for a new device that will enhance our lives. Google Glass records, takes pictures, and gives relevant information to the user through a small screen. The screen is attached a metal frame that sits above the user's eyes. It takes the premise of Google Now one step further. Google Now promises to give one the right information at the right time. That is now incorporated into Google Glass. This device wants to liberate us from our pocketable screens. Glass can give the user directions, appointment times, call/text notifications, and more without needing to hold a device. It uses voice dictations as input methods. One can say, record video, and it will begin to record a ten second video. 

These two technologies are looking forward. They are looking past the touchscreen. They will provide us with more methods of interaction. Myo, the wearable band, is useful when near a computer that can understand it. But, unpractical to wear all the time. Google Glass will work well in many situations, but sometimes speech is not the best method for communicating. I would like to think both technologies will intertwine. Computers will welcome multiple input methods. Until now we have gotten away with mouse and keyboard interaction. Recently, touchscreens have been added to the mix. Different situations call for different modes of interaction. This is where I see Google Glass and Myo come into play. I carry my smartphone everywhere, but the screen is not always my friend. For example; driving, riding a bicycle, or even walking. 

What if humans could only communicate through one medium? That would hinder our ability to communicate. We are slowly creating more methods of interaction between ourselves and our digital devices/world. 

On Digital Audio Signals

I work on a digital audio workstation, Ableton Live. Understanding how digital audio signals work can be hard for someone who is not an engineer. I stumbled upon this video at Hacker News. It does a great job of explaining several core ideas; bit depth, dithering, band-limitation, and more.