Tech Talk: Shut Up And Drive

Spring time is here and it’s time to get out and have

some fun. Go hit the club, find a new

outdoor activity or just go for a drive. These tech toys might be involved in any of the above.

In previous Tech Talk columns, I’ve featured a few

items great for music production. This

week I wanted to give DJ’s a little shine.

MixMeister from

Numark comes in two flavors, Fusion ($299.95-$399.95) for the party

rockers and Studio ($169.95) for the

mixtape DJ. I was able to get Boston’s own 85 Live to try it out,

and they offered some valuable feedback. In terms of ease of use, meeting

expectations and overall rating, they gave it 7 out of 10.

On the up side, 85 Live liked that it could blend track

automatically as well as “the interactive demos, which help a lot more than

reading a manual.” On the down side, it

doesn’t allow you to “drag the actual track in the mix window” or “mix down the

tracks into one mix”.

Good or bad, they feel if you can operate a computer,

MixMeister can turn you into a DJ.

Here are just a few of the features now available:

Native

Mac OSX version is universal binary for PowerPC or Intel processorsImproved

time stretching accurately matches beats with fast or slow temposEnhanced

timeline display provides clear division of measuresEffect

automation via MIDI controllers –

External hardware can now manipulate effect parametersSupport

for stored EQ settings in transition templates for advanced usersFade

and Cue Next feature fades and pauses your mix then starts at the next track

– perfect for voice over announcementsNew

master volume control for preview output – headphone and main out can be

controlled independently

Numark demoed the 7.2 version at NAMM in January:

I want to step outside the box for minute. No matter

what business you’re in, golf could be a good way to hang with the big boys – not to mention meeting up on the green with the rising number of rappers taking up the game. Sky Caddie may be a good tool for you to stay

on par. It’s a GPS based handheld tool

that measures the distance between you, greens, hazards and the whole course. You have several price point options, like the SG5, SG4, SG3, SG2.5 and previous models, all the way down to the SG1.

Features:

Brilliant,

outdoor-readable color display with automatic backlightPatented

IntelliGreen technologyRugged,

water-resistant caseDrop-in

lithium-rechargeable batteryLED

battery charging indicatorUser-selectable

color themesEasy

to use, one-handed operation

Hustle Simmons gives his thumbs-up for the Sky Caddie!

This week’s last gadget is the iNAVI from Korean-based company Thinkware. This unit puts you “in” the map with its 3-D

display. If you can get to Korea, take an extra $550 or so to pick one up!