Category: Tech

At times wonderful, and at times totally frustrating too. That’s technology, my experience of it anyway. I do a lot of stuff with technology and I suspect I will continue to do that.

iPad 3 announcement next week?

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So Apple have posted details of their much rumoured 7th of March event. It looks like an iPad 3 event to me, and not before time. In fact the only thing I really want answered is how long before I can actually get one? I most certainly don’t want to wait for months like with iPad 1, and what I’d really like to hear is something like ‘… and they’re available or order now with immediate shipping’, now that would be wonderful.

Aside from that I’m actually not too fussed about what’s in the next model. I’m sure it’ll be faster, with more memory, maybe a better camera and a retina display. I can’t think of anything else that’s been rumoured. I’d love to hear that they’ve brought something really amazing in the 3rd generation iPad. Something really unexpected, but I’ll settle for getting one quick as my iPad 2 is really unusable now, which is a real shame and I’m really missing it.

A sketch a day, day 1

Posted by on in Making things, Tech

[processing width=”480″ height=”480″ file=”http://www.ashleyelsdon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Day_1.jar” method=”inline”]Load the applet[/processing]

I decided that I’d go through the ‘Getting Started with Processing’ book and do all the example sketches (well most of them anyway) and post each of the sketches as I go through day by day.

So, day 1. Today’s sketch is pretty simple really. Just move your mouse around to make little circles and when you click your mouse they’re black.

The old beam

Posted by on in Tech

When I was moving files from one old Palm OS PDA to another the other day I beamed them, over infrared! I have not done that for years! What a very simple way of getting things moved.

Making a Lumiphone

Posted by on in Music, Tech

One of the things I wanted to do a lot more of this year was make stuff, kits, gadgets, whatever, and I’ve got started at last. I made my lumiphone kit. I soldered it all up and it works!

So far so good, I’ll be moving on to my next project in a week.

MIDI experiments

Posted by on in Music, Tech

For some reason I got it into my head that I should attempt to get a old Palm OS PDA to output MIDI into my Yamaha MU15 tone module and then record that using an iPhone 3G and Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer.

Well first off it didn’t work at all. I tried multiple Palm cradles, MIDI cables and was about to give up until I decided to try a different old PDA. Guess what? It worked first time. That is to say that it worked in terms of getting MIDI out of the PDA and into the MU15. After that the iPhone/MIDI mobilizer combo didn’t want to record from the MIDI out. The MU15 doesn’t have a thru port so I doubt I can get around that.

Anyway, the 2nd PDA was a success, but I still don’t know what the first one (a TRG Pro) stubbornly refuses to put MIDI through it’s serial port. I guess I’ll just have to do some research on it, but it’s not like it’s something I can contact the manufacturer about is it!

Just so you know, the TRG Pro is the grey device and the black one is the IIIxe which actually works.

TRG Pro

Posted by on in Tech

I was thinking about my old TRG Pro the other day so I put batteries in it and it fired up straight away. What a great old piece of hardware!

What am I going to do with it? Good question. I think I might see what I can do with it MIDI wise, and I might even connect it up to some other handhelds if I can.

When did Processing get updated?

Posted by on in Tech

I only just realised! The new version seems to have a lot more, although not the ‘export signed package’ functionality as yet. Even so, It’s a big step, so that’s something else to spend some time with at the weekend. I might even get another sketch out.

Thingamagoop and the Monotrons

Posted by on in Music, Tech

That would be a good name for a band wouldn’t it? Anyway, I plugged my Thingamagoop 2 into my original Monotron aux and that into my new Monotron Delay. How much more fun can you have?

Anyway, I’ve recorded the noises and I’m going to do some manipulating with them, so you can expect the end result up on SoundCloud soon enough.