If you’ve got a pair of Apple’s bluetooth headphones, dubbed “AirPods,” then it’s good to know that there are tons of ways to check their battery levels. Considering that the AirPods don’t have a physical indicator of how much charge they’ve got, that’s a good thing! In today’s Quick Tip, Melissa Holt’s gonna go over a number of methods for finding out how much more listenin’ you can do.
RocksterTek Porta-Guitar Is a Portable Guitar Neck for Practice
I’m intrigued by the RocksterTek Porta-Guitar. It’s a collapsible guitar neck designed to let you practice chords anywhere. I imagine one could practice a subset of scales, too. This is one of those products that when I saw it made me instantly think, “Why hasn’t someone does this before?” And maybe they have, but I haven’t seen it. It’s a bit longer than 17-inches long when fully extended and just under 10-inches when collapsed. It can be restrung for lefties, and it comes with its own carrying back. I haven’t tested it yet, but it resonated with me when I first saw it. The RocksterTek Porta-Guitar is $39.95, and comes in black, pink, yellow, green, red, white, or sky blue.
How to Turn Siri into a Metronome (Video)
I love this! Drummer Richy Ramirez posted a video to Instagram where he used Siri as his metronome. Really, he used her as both metronome and backing track. It’s clever and entertaining, both, and I love the beat he lays down on top. Check it out.
Can WALTR 2 Really Be Your iTunes Replacement?
When you’re looking for an iTunes replacement, you want something that can do just about everything Apple’s software can do, but better. WALTR has been a good contender in this arena, and WALTR 2 offers functionality that iTunes doesn’t. The question is, does it work as designed? Come along with Jeff Butts as he reviews WALTR 2 and uncovers how well it performs.
How Apple Can Become a Media Giant in 2017
In the coming 12 months, the worlds of technology and media will converge even closer than they have in 2016. Here’s what Apple needs to do to become a media giant and avoid being left behind for good. Charlotte Henry weighs in with her recommendations.
Galactic Empire Rocks the Star Wars Theme
Just because the Empire is big and evil and hates the Jedi doesn’t mean they don’t know how to rock. To see just how well Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, and Boba Fett can rock, check out Galactic Empire’s cover of the Star Wars theme. And remember if you’re ever in charge of Vader’s guitar don’t screw up. Ever.
Turn Your MacBook Pro Touch Bar into a Piano
Turning your new MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar into a piano may not be practical but it is pretty cool, and that’s exactly what Touch Bar Piano does. The app lets you choose between 128 different instruments, and you can play chords, too. Touch Bar Piano is a free download, and while it isn’t the same as using an actual piano, it’s a cool example of the creative ideas developers are finding for the Touch Bar.
Give the Gift of Music… Apple Music
This week’s episode explores why Dr. Mac and his family love Apple Music so much and why it’s a great gift to give any music lover.
How to Turn Off Music Auto-Shuffle in iOS 10
Did the Music app in iOS 10 start auto-shuffling your albums? It’s easy to fix, but you have to know where to look. Bryan Chaffin walks you through it.
iOS 10.2 Beta Brings Star Ratings Back to Music App
The current beta for iOS 10.2 includes an option to turn Star Ratings back on in the Music app! Even more interesting, it’s being returned as an option, allowing users who don’t care about Star Ratings to leave them be. Bryan Chaffin walks you through what we’re seeing so far.
Amazon Music Unlimited versus Prime Music: What's the Difference?
If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber you can already stream music, so why would you want to pay US$7.99 for the just launched Amazon Music Unlimited? It’s the extras you get with Amazon Music Unlimited that set the two apart—but they may not be worth the price.
Amazon Plugs Ecosystem Hole with Streaming Music Service
Apple Music, Spotify, say hello to Amazon Music Unlimited. Amazon just launched its own streaming music service, and here’s the kicker: It doesn’t need to be better than Apple Music or Spotify, just more convenient. That’s enough to keep more people in Amazon’s ecosystem.
iOS 10: How to Optimize Downloaded Music Storage
One of the many new features in iOS 10 is the ability to “Optimize Storage” of the locally-cached data from your iCloud Music Library. When turned on by the user, this feature instructs your iPhone or iPad to remove local copies of your music if your device gets low on storage space. Don’t worry, only the local copies of those songs are removed. They still remain in the cloud.
iOS: Downloading Apple Music Items to Your Device
This Quick Tip is about how you can download songs, playlists, or albums to your iOS device if you’re using Apple Music, so you’re not out of luck if you lose network connectivity (or heck, if you just don’t want to stream your music and use up your cellular data). Music lovers, unite!
Watch Out Streaming Music Market, Apple wants to Buy Tidal
Apple is reportedly negotiating to buy competing streaming music service Tidal for an undisclosed amount. The deal, should it come together, holds several potential benefits for Apple Music, including an extra 4.2 million subscribers. But there’s still several places where it could implode.
