Audio > Features

NI has fused six of its high-end synths and effects into a single "greatest hits" instrument and piled on an elegant hardware control surface. Kore 2 delivers the full sound of the component instruments in a streamlined package at a friendly price. Jochen Wolters dives deep and comes away impressed.

tags: digital music, music, music technology

Audio > Features

In pop music, the beat is the foundation. And one of the fastest, easiest ways to build a beat is with a drum loop. But don't just settle for the loops everyone else is using. Jim Aikin demonstrates a variety of ways to customize beats in GarageBand and other drag-and-drop music programs.

tags: audio production, computer music, digital music, how-to

Mac > Features

Earlier this year Apple shipped Final Cut Server, its media asset management and workflow automation solution. Unlike Final Cut Pro and the other creative applications bundled in Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server is not a content creation application. In fact it's something quite different: a powerful server-based solution for managing media and assisting users with tools to automate time- consuming pieces of your workflow. Charlie Miller explains how.

tags: photo organizing, photo production, workflow

Mac > Features

In the movies, smart homes automatically greet you when you return after a hard day's work. But in reality, this hasn't been very easy to do. In this article, Gordon Meyer shows you how you can program your Mac to know you're there. Once you get started, you'll find all sorts of useful ways your Mac can welcome you home.

tags: applescript, automation, how-to, mobile phone

Mac > Features

ScreenFlow grabs audio and video from the computer and external sources, provides a timeline for editing these recordings, and offers a range of effects aimed specifically at creating on-screen software presentations. This screencasting studio is easy to use and affordable. And if you have a Mac running Leopard with ScreenFlow loaded up, you're suddenly in the educational movie making business. Jochen Wolters reviews this application and provides plenty of video samples.

tags: audio production, review, screencasting, video production

Mac > Features

Most of the features of VectorDesigner are available in higher-end vector drawing programs, but the $70 cost of VectorDesigner is hard to beat. Moreover, if you've never used a vector drawing program before, the simple features you'd end up using in a higher-end program aren't much different than the standard features in VectorDesigner -- and in VectorDesigner, they're easy to find. Adam Goldstein delves into his discovery from the Macworld Expo floor.

tags: macworld, raster image, software, vector image