We covered Pix & Stix back in May, when they were just a Kickstarter project looking for funding. A year on, they’re now in full production.
The rubberized drumsticks and guitar pick are designed to make iPad apps like GarageBand a much more enjoyable experience, allowing you to rock out on the drums or on guitar just like you would in real life, without brusing your finger tips. But are they any good?
Apple has reportedly bought small Italian startup Redmatica, a company that specializes in making digita music-editing apps that all run on the Mac.
Apple released a slew of iOS app updates today in the App Store. iMovie, iPhoto, Garageband, Cards and iTunes U were all updated with various improvements and bug fixes.
All of the updates can be downloaded for free and are available now.
The recently-updated version of GarageBand — Apple’s popular music-making app for the iPad — finally turns it into a serious tool for bands rather than something limited to solo artists and their session collaborators. With a shared connection, up to four band members can play or jam to a piece of music, be it a pop song or a classical overture. For the first time, it brings live performance to the iPad app.
Wow! 2011 has been one of the most interesting years in recent memory for Apple Inc. Of course the death of Apple’s co-founder, Steve Jobs, stands out as one of the most important events of the year for Apple, but there have been a load of other stories too that have made 2011 a very memorable year for the fruit company. From one controversy to the next, to record-breaking earnings, and new products, Apple has plowed through 2011 with a steady determination to be the best technology company on the planet. Only one device underwent a redesign (the iPad), while other form factors stayed the same. Instead of focusing on making pivotal leaps forward with hardware, Apple’s main focus of 2011 was to fortify their strong foundation in the software game.
Here’s Cult of Mac’s look back on the Apple in the year 2011.
GarageBand is one of the best apps you can show off on your iPad 2 to convince even the most ornery skeptic, and it just got even better: with the 1.1 update, GarageBand is now a $4.99 universal app, and can run on the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
If you’ve ever dropped $14.99 on the Mac App Store for iPhoto ’11, iMovie ’11 or GarageBand ’11, you might want to check the update tab, because three large stability updates for the iLife trio have dropped. Here’s what is new.
GarageBand and iMovie for iOS, and while iMovie’s update is just a bug fix patch, GarageBand has gotten some more meaty improvements.
Apple has released an update to Logic Express and Pro so that both applications support the ability to open projects that users create on an iPad using GarageBand on that platform.
Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) have existed for quite some time on desktop machines. Logic Pro, Digital Performer and Pro Tools are just a few DAWs that are used in the daily workflow of audio professionals.
But now, thanks to the iPad, the digital audio workstation has officially become mobile. Say hello to creating pro-level music with the iPad.
Pix and Stix is a new accessory duo designed for those who love to rock out with GarageBand on the iPad. It’s a set of drum sticks and a guitar pick featuring electro-conductive rubber tips that make them compatible with the iPad’s touchscreen, allowing you to drum and strum naturally without wearing out your fingertips.
The team behind Pix and Stix is currently trying to get Kickstarter-like funding, so the kit isn’t quite available just yet. If you want to get your hands on it, you can order now for $14.95 and as soon as it reaches its funding goal of $8000, the team will start making them and your order will be guaranteed. If it doesn’t reach its funding goal, you’ll get your money back.
I wondered how long it would take for someone to release a song or album that had been recorded using GarageBand for the iPad. Well, not even a month after its launch, pop punk band The Ultramods are the first to record all instruments and vocals for their 12-track album using the $4.99 application.
In an interview with The Loop, the band – which writes “pervy pop punk” and “technologically obsessed new wave” music – said that all of the instruments used on the album were those included in the GarageBand app.
If you’d like to hear their album, ‘Underwear Party’ is now available in the iTunes Store for $10, or you can listen for free on the band’s website.
Though The Ultramods are the first to record an album with GarageBand, English band Gorillaz announced back in November that their upcoming album ‘The Fall’ was recorded entirely on an iPad using a range of third-party apps. The album was released to the band’s fan club in December, and is currently available for pre-order through iTunes with an expected release date of April 19th.
In just two and a half hours, we can all expect Steve Jobs to strut on stage and orgiastically unburden himself of the many new secret products and developments kept a lid upon in Cupertino for the past few months… but thanks to some too-eager web monkey’s blunder over on the official Apple support forums, we have semi-official confirmation of several new products that we now know to expect later today.
Apparently, the official Apple forums have already been setup with new sections dedicated to iMovie ’11, iPhoto ’11 and GarageBand ’11… all of which are applications to be found in the rumored iLife ’11 software suite that is expected to be announced today.
There’s more juicy gossip than that though: the Polish geeks who found the new product sections also found one for the new MacBook Air, as well as a “Reserved 2010” section, which could be just about anything. Does Steve have a surprise announcement up his sleeve, or will that Reserved 2010 sub-forum turn into an official section for Mac OS X 10.7 or even the CDMA iPhone?
If you take the Basic Lessons on GarageBand ’09, your improving finger work on the guitar and piano will be thanks to a guy who introduces himself at the beginning of each segment as just “Tim.”
That’s Tim Blane, a Boston singer-songwriter with a decade of live performances under his belt. Other credentials include ringtones for Pepsi, he also opened for Guster and KT Tunstall and writes his own soulful pop tunes.
When Blane received an e-mail from an Apple guy last summer saying that he’d seen Blane’s clips online and wondered if he would be interested in auditioning for a job, he jumped at the chance.
“I thought maybe they needed someone to show up at a trade show,” recalls Blane, who was sent a script and flown to LA for an on-camera audition. Nearly a thousand actors and musicians auditioned for the gig. Four screen tests later Steve Jobs selected Blane, who has never taught a lesson in his life, to be GarageBand‘s music instructor.
“They didn’t want a preachy vibe, but more a vibe of sitting down with your little brother. I had a great time, although I had to wear super HD makeup on my face and hands and arms. I think I ate more makeup than lunch.”
