Propellerhead shipped Reason 9 on Tuesday. The newest version of the digital audio workstation and sequencer adds two main features: Players automate and process MIDI input, and Pitch Edit, a pitch editor designed for vocals (think Melodyne or Auto-Tune). There are other new features, too, including Bounce In Place, new visual themes, and reverse MIDI clips. On the content side, Reason 9 adds more than 1,000 new “cutting-edge” sounds, and Pulsar dual channel LFO, a rack extension that was previously available only as a stand-alone $49 purchase. I love Reason, especially for sequencing. It’s powerful software, and Propellerhead makes it ever-more capable with each new release. Reason 9 is priced at €405/US$449, while upgrades from any previous version are €129/$129. Propellerhead also has a stripped down version called Reason Essentials 9 priced at €120/$129. The software shipped today and is available now.
YoCam Versatile Waterproof Camera: $179
Check out the YoCam, a small camera that is waterproof up to 20 feet (IP68). It takes photos or video, and has video stabilization, too. It weighs just 1.9 ounces, and it has a companion app for iPhone and Android devices for processing images. You can get YoCam through our deal for $179.
What We've Learned About Apple's New File System, APFS
It wasn’t discussed in the WWDC keynote. But Apple’s has been developing a new file system for all its devices called Apple File System. It’s been a hot topic of discussion over the last week. Here are some of the notable things we’ve learned since the first day of WWDC along with some context.
Apple Should Confirm the iPhone 7 Headphone Jack is Gone
The only big design change we can expect to see in the iPhone 7 when it ships this fall will be the lack of a headphone jack. That’s what the latest report claims, and it also says it’ll be 2017 before a major redesign comes. Considering this report comes from the Wall Street Journal, Apple should just go ahead and officially confirm the headphone jack is gone.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-06-21: Phone-free Concerts, Russia’s Anti-Encryption Bill
Going to an Alicia Keys concert will get your iPhone locked away, but not by the police. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on concert goers being forced to drop their smartphones in locked bags as a condition to see the show. They also take a look at Russia’s bill calling for backdoors into encrypted chat apps.
Apple Puts Non-Retina MacBook Pro on Death Row
Apple’s 13-inch non-Retina MacBook Pro looks to be close to end of life because the company is pulling it from retail displays, and it’s unavailable in some locations. Once the 13-incher is gone, the MacBook Air will be the only non-Retina laptop Apple sells, and none of its computers will ship with an internal optical drive.
6 Things I Learned about Apple from Gruber's Interview with Phil Schiller and Craig Federighi
John Gruber has posted the full video of The Talk Show Live from last week’s World Wide Developer Conference, where his guests were Apple senior vice presidents Phil Schiller and Craig Federighi. It’s a great interview, and I highly encourage you to watch it in its entirety, but there were six things in particular I learned.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-06-20: Apple Power Plans, what's Coming for Passcodes
Apple wants to be an electric company, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be buying iElectricity soon. John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to talk about Apple’s plans for the surplus electricity it generates through its renewable energy efforts, plus they share their thoughts on Apple’s plans for biometric passcodes and protecting our privacy.
Apple Says No to GOP Convention Over Trump
Apple won’t provide any funding or support to the Republican presidential convention because of Donald Trump’s negatively charged position on women, minorities, and immigrants. Other tech companies are staying out of this year’s event, too, and some are scaling back their support, showing how controversial the Republican presumptive president nominee is.
Chatlight Video Chatting Light: $19
Check out the Chatlight—I did a Cool Stuff Found during January’s CES show, and now Stack Commerce has put together a deal for this device. It’s designed to light you for selfies and video chats. It clips onto the edge of your mobile device and two banks of LEDs light your face. The bank of LEDs rotates, too, allowing you to control your lighting. You can get Chatlight through our deal for $19.
