Some parents of autistic children see benefits from the use of apps and technology; however, experts raise concerns.   Mac Central

Two major mobile apps got updates for special features at the end of the week. Spotify on iOS (App Store) now has the option to both stream and sync audio at 320Kbps, the same quality as it exists on the desktop. While it requires either a more intensive Internet connection or extra storage for cached tracks, it puts the app's audio quality ahead of other on-demand music rivals....   MacNN

Cider port house TransGaming's download service GameTreeMac is now accepting pre-orders for The Darkness II, a first-person shooter released earlier this month for Windows and consoles originally from 2K Games, TheLoop reports. The Mac version is expected in March, and the sequel is based on the same comic book series that inspired the original game, which was released in 2007. ...   MacNN

Two different tech gear companies have announced two new products for music lovers who want small speakers. Gear4 out of El Segundo are launching the AirZone Series 1 home speaker and iPhone/iPod dock that incorporates AirPlay compatibility for remote sounds and control, while iPod accessory maker iHome is offering two different mini-speakers that stream music and more via Bluetooth ...   MacNN

A somewhat sensationalist press release from Russian forensic-cryptology company ElComSoft claims that it can "crack" passwords users put on documents created in Apple's iWork software (which comprises Pages, Numbers and Keynote). However, the company admits that the attack is just a variation on a brute-force cracking method that attempts to guess the password....   MacNN

Instagram finished the week with a significant update to its app (App Store). The 2.1 update now has Lux, an image adustment option that automatically brings out details in highlights and shadows in a rough equivalent to high dynamic range (HDR) shooting. Similar to the tilt-shift effect, Lux can stack with other filters....   MacNN

Two new job listings have hinted that Amazon will be the next commercial Internet video service to produce some of its own content. Its studio division is hiring for the People's Production Company to create comedies and children's shows. Unlike its counterparts, though, it would be developing for traditional formats as well....   MacNN

Apple's new Siri commercials are a little too comprehensible, the designer of the Mac has an unusual Steve Jobs souvenir, and one Google acquisition apparently came with some guts.   Mac Central

A staff memo has leaked plans for AT&T to hike its device upgrade fee. The BGR copy had the cost jumping from $18 to $36. The cost was allegedly necessary because the "overall costs" for upgrading to a new device had gone up, AT&T said....   MacNN

Apple is now selling a special scaled-back 13-inch MacBook Air to schools, a report says. The model is said to have the same internal specifications as the standard 11-inch Air, including a 1.6GHz Core i5 processor, 2GB of RAM, 64GB of flash storage, and Intel graphics. The new option is limited to schools buying in bulk, though, at a price of $999 per system, or $4,995 for a group of five. ...   MacNN

A German court has thrown out a Motorola Mobility patent lawsuit against Apple, breaking a recent run of courtroom successes for the company.   Mac Central

Apple's lawsuit retaliation continued on Friday after it sued Motorola in the US over 3G patent issues. The iPhone designer sought to block Motorola from making patent violation accusations based on its use of Qualcomm's MDM6610 cellular chipset as well as any others it might use. ...   MacNN

Large portions of the western half of the U.S. do not have access to 3G or faster mobile broadband service, according to a new map released by the Federal Communications Commission.   Mac Central

An escaped USA Today presentation has uncovered some of the real results of mobile news app downloads. GeekWire's copy showed a wide gap between downloads for the iPad and Android tablets: at over 2.9 million downloads, the iPad version had more than seven times the downloads of Android, which had 390,000 combined. ...   MacNN

O'Reilly has released a new programming book for iOS developers with more than 100 lessons. iOS 5 Programming Cookbook is geared towards users that are comfortable with the iOS SDK and includes lessons that show different approaches to designing an interface, how to develop location-aware apps, access the accelerometer, and more. ...   MacNN

The App Store offers so many new offerings each week (as well as updates of old favorites) that it can sometimes be difficult to track them all. That’s why we're starting The Week in iOS Apps, to highlight some of the best offerings of the past few days.   Mac Central

It’s been almost 12 months since Thunderbolt made its debut on the 2011 MacBook Pro. In that time, just a few dozen Thunderbolt products have shipped, to the disappointment of users eager to take advantage of the fast connection.   Mac Central

On and off rumors of a major MacBook Pro redesign were supported on Friday with leaks supporting a complete overhaul. The AppleInsider hints had Apple's high-end notebooks being overhauled over the course of 2012 to more closely resemble the MacBook Air, dropping optical drives and slimming down. ...   MacNN

Two insiders claimed Friday that the European Commission was likely to approve Google's acquisition of Motorola. In sync with talk of a likely US approval, Reuters understood that the EU regulatory body would greenlight the deal in "unconditional" form. The EC had reportedly decided that the takeover wouldn't be anti-competitive....   MacNN

As patent infringement lawsuits continue to pile up in the mobile industry, Google, Apple and Microsoft appear to be trying individually to reassure regulators and standards bodies that they won't use their patents to build a monopoly, experts said.   Mac Central

Apple scaled up its legal attacks late this week with lawsuits against Samsung both in the US and in Germany. The American complaint, details of which were filed in a Northern District of California court in San Jose on Wednesday and published on Friday, accuses Samsung of violating two patents that it had only just obtained in December. ...   MacNN

Google is planning to enter the home entertainment market with a Google-branded wireless device that streams music within a house, according to the Wall Street Journal.   Mac Central

Apple has updated its "iPad in Business" promotional page with a new profile, the Theatre Consultants Collaborative. The firm designs and builds theater spaces around the world, and Apple is marketing the iPad as an essential part of TCC operations. ...   MacNN

New Chitika traffic data has seen Apple possibly cross a milestone for web use online. As of February, 8.15 percent of all web traffic being monitored was coming from an iOS device, passing the Mac for the first time with OS X share at 7.96 percent. The two platforms had been converging since October, with the Mac losing share mostly as Apple's other OS gained prominence....   MacNN

Google in the same breath as the Chrome 17 final release has also posted a beta release of Chrome 18. The new version swings attention to graphics and now hardware accelerates 2D elements using HTML5's Canvas spec, a common part of more advanced websites. Animations and action-sensitive websites should see the most benefit....   MacNN

Today's Deals from DealNN include price breaks on Mac Pros, Flash memory cards, and more. Apple.com has recently lowered the cost of the refurbished 2.8GHz Mac Pro, which includes 3GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive, 18x SuperDrive, and ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics processor with 1GB GDDR5 memory. ...   MacNN

The US Commerce Department has confirmed that Steve Jobs did in fact serve on the President's Export Council during the George Bush Sr. administration, according to the Associated Press. This week the FBI published a 191-page file on Jobs from 1991, dealing mainly with a background investigation for an appointment to the Council. ...   MacNN

A Mizuho Securities hire, Abhey Lamba, has started Apple coverage at his new firm with a $635 target, says Barron's. The analyst argues that Apple will continue to succeed, and that Wall Street consensus figures are probably too low, despite more intense competition. Android smartphones are mainly taking away share from Nokia and Research in Motion, not the iPhone, he notes....   MacNN

AT&T's plans for the year took a step forward Friday after a sighting of its first LTE-capable micro-SIM cards. A store contact for Phone Arena caught a briefing that sales staff were to get rid of older cards and replace them with the new versions fully capable of talking to the 4G network. The memo didn't specifically attach the cards to any one device....   MacNN

Read the full story @ KVR Audio Sonokinetic has announced the release of Vivace, a new Cinematic Orchestral FX and Textures sample library programmed for Kontakt 5 and the free Kontakt 5 Player. It costs €199.90. Vivace features t [Read More]   KVR Audio

Montclair, NJ (February  10, 2012) - Incident in New Baghdad has been nominated for an Oscar this year in the Best Documentary Short Feature category. The film was scored by Emile D. Menasche, author of The Desktop Studio, Your Sound Onstage, and Home Studio Clinic. He recorded the soundtrack to Incident in New Baghdad in his home studio using his MacBook Pro. ...   Harmony Central

Read the full story @ KVR Audio The CoreStylerz has updated Hardcore Kicks VSTi 2 to version 2.0.1. Changes: Fixed: Issue on expansions. Fixed: Does not show registered to in information. Fixed: Sawtooth sampling corrected. Ad [Read More]   KVR Audio

Read the full story @ KVR Audio Klanghelm has updated VUMT, the VU meter and trim plug-in/standalone - to version 1.8.2. Changes: VST3 support has been added. Both Mac and Windows Versions now have a dedicated installer. The PP [Read More]   KVR Audio

Read the full story @ KVR Audio Sinevibes has released Deep, a new AudioUnit plugin for Mac OS X for creating rhythmic filter effects. Deep's flexible envelope sequencer runs precisely synchronized to your DAW and modulates an ult [Read More]   KVR Audio

Read the full story @ KVR Audio Jack O'Donnell, owner of Numark Industries, Akai Professional, Alesis, Alto Professional and ION Audio, has announced the acquisition of Sonivox, a software company that specializes in developing virt [Read More]   KVR Audio

Read the full story @ KVR Audio Two Notes Audio Engineering has updated its freeware Torpedo PI-FREE to version 2.0.12. This update benefits from all the improvements and bug corrections made on the Torpedo PI-101 since last PI-FREE [Read More]   KVR Audio

Use of Aviom Products Helps Attract New Clients, Makes Production and Maintenance Easier at The Loop Studios and Venue Rental and Recording ServicesCORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, JANUARY 19, 2012—An Aviom Pro16® Personal Mixing System (NAMM Booth 6720, Hall A) is key to the launch of Grammy Award-winner Dylan Ely’s two new companies, The Loop Studios and Venue Rental ...   Harmony Central

NILES, Ill., February 8, 2012 — With a platinum-selling album, three trophies from the Country Music Awards, and a GRAMMY® nomination for Best New Artist, The Band Perry has risen quickly to the  top of the charts. ...   Harmony Central

GERMAN RADIO GROUP TUNES IN SONNOX BROADCAST BUNDLES  LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY: Attracting over 10 million daily listeners, RPR1., Radio Regenbogen and bigFM are three of Southwest Germany’s largest privately-owned radio stations. ...   Harmony Central

—  Bose Panaray® MA12EX system and supporting technologies, as well as an acoustical treatment that cut the reverb time in the mosque in half and restored speech intelligibility during worship, show how GC Pro is the single best resource for any HOW AV need ——  Project was completed through GC Pro’s Affiliate program, with the ...   Harmony Central

High-speed, enhanced MIDI interface delivers a portable, plug-and-play solution for music production on iOS devicesEnables communication among 5 pin MIDI, USB MIDI, Mac, PC and iOS devices – all at the same timeZero latency for immediate resultsConnects to all standards-based MIDI gear with the ability to handle twelve MIDI ports total2 mini USB ports for iOS devices1 USB A Host ...   Harmony Central

Release Date: February 8th, 2012 Equinox Sounds has released 'Electro & Tech Sylenth1 Soundbank', a  downloadable soundset for Lennar Digital's Sylenth1 VSTi that includes  64 fresh and up-to-date sounds featuring leads, basses, plucks, pads and  FX's that will enhance any Electro, Tech and House production. ...   Harmony Central

Los Angeles, CA — February 8, 2012: Alfred Music Publishing, in partnership with National Guitar Workshop, releases Therapeutic Guitar, a comprehensive resource for therapists and guitar teachers of students  with special learning needs, written by board-certified music therapist  Dr. Robert E. Krout. ...   Harmony Central

—New software makes mashup creation easier than ever— Miami Beach, Florida—February 8, 2012 —Mixed  In Key has released Mashup (mashup.mixedinkey.com) for Windows and Mac  OS X, a new software application that lets you quickly and easily beatmatch two or more audio files, edit them, and  save your results to a new audio file. ...   Harmony Central

Read the full story @ KVR Audio Celemony has been awarded a Grammy for technical merit. The Munich-based company will be honored by the Recording Academy with its Technical Grammy, which is given in recognition of 'contributions of [Read More]   KVR Audio

Read the full story @ KVR Audio Audiority has announced the release of a deep-sampled and designed Guiro for Kontakt, called Epic Pig Guiro. It is aimed to provide a useful companion for both soundtrack composing and cinematic scor [Read More]   KVR Audio

Read the full story @ KVR Audio Equinox Sounds has released Electro and Tech Sylenth1 Soundbank, a downloadable soundset for Lennar Digital's Sylenth1 that includes 64 sounds featuring leads, basses, plucks, pads and FX that will en [Read More]   KVR Audio

ROLAND ANNOUNCES RP301 DIGITAL  PIANOSuperNATURAL Piano Sound in an Entry-Level Instrument Los Angeles, CA, January 19,  2012 — Roland is pleased to announce the RP301  Digital Piano,  an affordable home instrument whose rich sound and impressive  playability belies its modest Equipped with the acclaimed ...   Harmony Central

Splurgo Audio ( announces the release of two new sample packs in odd timings: Hard Rock  Ballad Guitars (6/8) and Progressive Rock Guitar Loops (5/4 and 7/4).  All loops were recorded with a Gibson Les Paul and have been dubbed to  create a fat stereo sound. ...   Harmony Central

Portable 2.1 Monitor Systems for Project Studios, Practice and Multi-Media Displays Los Angeles, CA, January 19, 2012 — Roland is proud to introduce the CM-220 and CM-110 CUBE Monitors, two portable 2.1 speaker systems for playing,  practicing, and recording musicians. ...   Harmony Central

Full frequency vocal reproduction for the most discerning presenter Buena Park, CA - February 2012. Hosa Technology, the leading innovator of analog and digital connectivity solutions for the modern musician and audio/video professional, is pleased to announce that the Mogan Elite Omni Earset Microphone, the newest addition to the Mogan Microphones brand of subminiature microphones, is now ...   Harmony Central

Read the full story @ KVR Audio Sound Magic has updated Imperial Grand to Version 2.6 and Neo EQ to Version 1.1. Changes in Imperial Grand 2.6: Greatly improved CPU usage, now it only consume 40% of CPU compared to Version 2.5. Fi [Read More]   KVR Audio

Read the full story @ KVR Audio Precisionsound has released Orfeo Accordion for Kontakt, EXS24, HALion and SoundFont. Orfeo Accordion is a multi-sampled Italian accordion from the 1950s with 5 registers and a separate noise prog [Read More]   KVR Audio

Read the full story @ KVR Audio Aiyn Zahev Sounds has released Serenity, a new sound bank for AAS Ultra Analog VA-1 designed for a modern trance sound but retaining the warm of Analog Synths. There are 180 presets divided into: 4 [Read More]   KVR Audio

New Models Feature SuperNATURAL Piano and Acoustic Projection Sound Systems Los Angeles, CA, January 19, 2012 — Roland is proud to announce the HP500 series, the latest additions to its industry-leading lineup of  cabinet-style digital pianos. ...   Harmony Central

New Flagship Instrument with Enhanced Features and SuperNATURAL Sounds Los Angeles, CA, January 19,  2012 — Roland, the premier manufacturer of quality organs for home, church,  and stage, is pleased to announce the most recent addition to their  MUSIC ATELIER® family. ...   Harmony Central

The reopened Islington Assembly Hall in London has selected an Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system, comprising iDR-48 and iDR-32 MixRacks with two iLive-T112 Control Surfaces, to manage both FOH and monitors.   Originally  opened in 1930, the fully refurbished 800-capacity Hall was reopened in  2010 having fallen into disuse for nearly 30 years. ...   Harmony Central

Interactive Learning Software for All V-Drums Users Los Angeles, CA, January 19, 2012 — Roland is proud to announce the DT-1  V-Drums® Tutor,  a new drum lesson software application for all V-Drums users. ...   Harmony Central

MONTCLAIR, NJ (February 7, 2012)—Hal Leonard’s best-selling book and DVD  series MusicPro Guides brings together the most experienced authors in  the music industry to give established and aspiring music professionals  quality instruction that yields professional results. ...   Harmony Central

iPhone, iPad / Education / Training: ★ the best note trainer app for iphone ★ BEST IN ITS CLASS 'As a beginner I tried (and paid for) a lot of similar apps and this one is by far the best. Thanks!' by Ruslan Hristov, United States WORTH A LOT MORE....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Drums: If you are into drums and want free video lessons, current drum related news and articles, free tuition books, drum based ringtones, online drum tracks or info on all thing drum based then this is the app for you....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Others: Make inspiring music creations with NodeBeat, the intuitive and fun visual music app for all ages. Whether you're 5 or 105, NodeBeat will make you sound like a pro. Create your own music in a matter of minutes or listen to NodeBeat generate its own....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Others: Make inspiring music creations with NodeBeat, the intuitive and fun visual music app for all ages. Whether you're 5 or 105, NodeBeat will make you sound like a pro. Create your own music in a matter of minutes or listen to NodeBeat generate its own....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Training: Learn how to read music in a game. Five minutes here - five minutes there and your reading will improve dramatically. Mozart is a program designed to aid in the process of learning how to read music. It does that in form of a game....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Chords and Scales: Listen to and learn complete musical modes! The App ‘Modesâ€ô is a great training tool for musicians to improve their improvisation and aural skills....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Chords and Scales: This is a great tool for learning and exploring extended chords. The App that will help you to master extended chords; the 9th, 11th and the 13th chords....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Guitars: In celebration of being the #1 iPad music app in 30+ countries!! If you like guitar, you will love this. Perhaps you are not a professional guitarist, but can still play a convincing music....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Chords and Scales: This App, ‘Chord & Triadâ€ô is a comprehensive learning tool for all levels. This is a perfect tool for ear training and for improving your improvisation skills....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Courses: Want to learn Balvihar shlokas!!! This app helps to memorize the basic shlokas. The text is in both transliterated English and Sanskrit which will help to read-along. Volume can be adjusted from the settings page....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Drums: Make music on 10 drums and themes Comes with 3 FREE drums and backgrounds Little Drummer is hours of drumming fun for you and your kids....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Drums: Make music on 10 drums and themes Little Drummer is hours of drumming fun for you and your kids....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Metronomes: We are working on an issue with timing. An update fixing it will be released shortly. The Epic metronome will help you find your pace while playing music. Open the settings menu and modify the beats per minute to change the tempo....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Others: Enjoy ambient music? How about some nice background drones as you work? Looking for unique soundscapes to lay down as a music bed for that film? Generate ambient music, drones and unique soundscapes with ease....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Percussions: If you think bongo and conga drums are pretty much the same, you'd be right, but then again you'd also be wrong. Both are percussion instruments, both are indispensable to Latin American music and both are played primarily using a person's hands....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Reference: Clarinet Notes is the cheapest and the most full-packaged beginner clarinet app on the app store. Clarinet Notes allows a beginner to look at each aspect of learning a clarinet in a clear and isolated form. NO CLUTTER....   440Software

Mac, Pc / Audio Production / MIDI: Midi tracker/editor. Added support for recording from MIDI keyboard/instrument Under Mac OS X, add support for selecting soundfont Added support for multiple program changes (multiple instruments per track) Support sending midi output to external devices...   440Software

Mac, Pc / Audio Production / Plug-ins & effects: Mastering processor. Absence of level metering in other channel groups beside the first one was fixed. Window resizing implemented. Plug-in's popup-windows now recover last position after reopening....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Courses: With the release of Reason 5, Live Sampling has arrived. Watch as Mo Volans demonstrates essential skills 7 workflow techniques for sampling in Reason 5. Reason is a sound designerâ€ôs dream machine....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Chords and Scales: Chord Walker is a training tool for musicians who need to 'walk' through chord changes. It was written by a bass player to practice Real Book sight-reading, and would be helpful for anyone who needs to navigate progressions....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Sheet Music & Tablatures: Canary.fm is a simple and convenient new way to take your Guitar tabs with you. Simply drag and drop tabs into your browser with a computer, and sync everything to your device wirelessly....   440Software

Mac, Pc / Audio Production / Plug-ins & effects: Guitar amp simulation. Improved power amp simulation New optimised sample rate conversion algorithm GUI improvements Minor bugs fixed   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Tools / Metronomes: BPM Tracker for iPhone is a simple app that helps DJs to easy find the tempo of a track when they aren't near their equipment. It works by pressing the tap button in the same time with the music tempo. The BPM is measured over the last 4 taps.   440Software

Mac, Pc / Audio Production / Plug-ins & effects: Animated filter. Deep is an AudioUnit plugin for creating rhythmic filter effects....   440Software

Mac, Pc / Audio Production / Virtual Instruments: Virtual analog synth. Jet another revision of the 4-pole ladder filter implementation. Placement of nonlinearities is now correct wrt....   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Sheet Music & Tablatures: MUSIC WITH SCORE The ultimate form of musical visualization is... SHEET MUSIC. Enjoy great music with synchronized scores. Album Information Complete Sonatas for Cello and piano....   440Software

Mac, Pc / Miscellaneous / Players & Jukeboxes: Music player. 1.2.0rc2 Feb 09 2012 - resolved an issue with FHXâ„¢ preferences on Mac OS X 10.6.8 1.2.0rc1 Feb 08 2012 - various bug fixes and improvements * Fidelia Heaphones is now FHX + added Monitoring controls to FHX preferences   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Instruments / Others: BaÄŸlama HD Thıs applıcatıon allows you to play the Turkısh classıcal ınstrument BaÄŸlama on your iPad. ıt ıs very easy to use and ıs just the same as playıng the classıcal ınstrument ın real lıfe....   440Software

Mac, Pc / Audio Production / Plug-ins & effects: Multi-band compressor. This update contains minor bug fixes and includes 64-bit versions for all platforms.   440Software

iPhone, iPad / Education / Training: This is an application for fingering practice of the third position of the violin. It is convenient when there is no violin. Feature: It is not the application which is pursuing a realistic sample sound....   440Software