Bob Gebert and I have been working dilligently on our Macworld presentation. For me, it starts with pencil on paper. I like a messy erasable medium at this stage.
The presentation will include background on Beckinfield, the Theatrics production process, what it’s like to start a startup, and a few other behind-the-sceens items. Our special guest will announce the winner of the Theatrics Ultimate Online Audition Contest, then participate is a special surprise. More on this tomorrow.
The 6th gen iPod Nano replacement arrived today. It is a very slick piece of tech, superior in every way to my old, scratched up, non-functioning 1st gen model. But I still miss that old guy.
To me, the older Nano represents an exciting technology time period. While iPods had been around for a few years, they still felt like an amazing achievement. Those were the days when carrying around a large music library in your pocket still felt special. These days, while still awesome, it just feels ubiquitous.
I am very excited to report that Bob Gebert and I have been invited to speak at Macworld/iWorld. We will be discussing MPTV, Theatrics.com and Beckinfield, the worlds first Mass Participation TV web series. We will have a special guest and will also be shooting a live segment of Beckinfield during the presentation, with the audience playing a part. It will be quite the unique event. More details to come. Stay tuned.
These parties are rare enough, but rarer still are ones where the guest of honor is sharp as a tack, healthy as a horse and also my Dad. Happy 90th Birthday Dad.
The good news is that Apple informed me today that a 6th generation iPod Nano is winging it’s way to my door. The bad news is the same.
Thanks for the new gear Apple. I will miss my old classic 1st gen iPod. Please take good care of it.
With all the talk today of 6th generation iPod Nanos showing up as recall replacements for 1st gen models, I called Apple to ask about my pending shipment. During my conversation with the AppleCare rep I was amazed to hear …
“Apple put the 1st generation iPod back into manufacture.”
It seems hard to believe that Apple could fire up a production line for a six-year old device. When the rep told me this, I re-asked the question two more times to preclude the possibility of misunderstanding. He assured me that Apple re-manufactured (not just refurbished) units to meet the needs of the Nano recall.
“It’s a customer satisfaction thing. People have accessories, arm bands and such, for this model and would not be happy to have to re-buy those items.”
– AppleCare Representative
He went on to remind me however that the terms of the replacement offer state that Apple can replace the unit with either the same unit or one with identical, or better, features.
I told the Apple rep that most people would not complain over receiving newer device as a replacement – had the 1st gen Nano not been so cool. I have a particular fondness for my scratched-up original – so much so that it was difficult to part with.
One never knows if these friendly front-line Apple reps have been provided with accurate or up-to-date information. As of today, it is still a suspenseful mystery as to what Nano may show up at ones door, and when it may arrive. I for one will be keeping a watchful eye out for UPS.
This iTunes advert is worth watching frame by frame as you fly through 12 Beatles album covers. There is some nice motion graphics work here and what appears to be some new cell animation, and even a bit of 3D, done in the same style as Yellow Submarine.
I spoke with Apple today regarding the iPod Nano replacement (it’s not a recall, it’s a replacement.) I sent my Nano to Apple about three weeks ago in a shipping box they provided. The friendly Apple rep told me they were running about a six week turn around on nano replacements. Having not anticipated so many returns, they had run out of shipping boxes. He apologized profusely for the delay.
Funny that Apple easily has a stockpile of seven-year-old, first-generation iPod Nanos to give out, but the difficult part is cardboard boxes. Are they not just recycling the boxes they sent out? I should know in another three weeks.
In this excerpt from his CBC radio program, Randy Bachman (The Guess Who, Bachman Turner Overdrive) explains the opening chord to the classic Beatles tune, A Hard Days Night. George Harrisson once described this sforzando 12-string sting thus:
It is F with a G on top, but you’ll have to ask Paul about the bass note to get the proper story.
George Harrisson – (source The Beatles Bible)
Bachman’s interest in this strident kickoff chord took him to the source. During the recent remastering sessions of the Beatles collection, Giles Martin invited him to Abbey Road for a listen. “What do you want to hear?” asked Giles, two-time Grammy winner and now official custodian of the material. Randy went straight to a ProTools assisted examination of that iconic signature, a chord that opened the song, the album, the movie, and sonically defined the The Beatles early mop-top era.
Roll on down the vinyl highway with Randy’s Vinyl Tap, Mr. Bachman’s critically acclaimed CBC radio show. And special thanks to SonicState.com for turning me on to the video.
Printed concert tickets are rapidly becoming a relic of the past. Today, there are probably more tickets coming out of home inkjet printers than popping out of countertop trapdoors in ticket booths. Even inkjet prints will soon be supplanted by cell phone simulacrums.
I for one will regret the passing into history of this bit of memorabilia, having saved almost every concert ticket from my teenage years to date. Long after the T-shirt have faded and the battle scars healed, a little box of show stubs remains my own ticket to fond memories of the past.
PeterGabriel.com is looking for any tickets, trinkets or other items you may have for the upcoming 25th anniversary of the So album, as they prepare for a special release edition. They are asking “you to help us build the story of So with your own memories”. So if you have any original So merchandise, posters or tickets from the tour, pop over to petergabriel.com/so-submissions and upload a scan and your story.
Here’s Peter with more info:
In a maze of phone camera apps, Paper Camera stands out as a fun image processor. Given the right source material, it can create impressive images with a hand drawn look. For the “drawing” above. I started with a 3D render (by Preston Brousard) from a video we are currently producing. This image processed particularly well with Paper Cameras Sketch Up (above) and Gotham Noir settings.
Other presents include Comic Boom, Half Ton and Old Printer. Slider controls allow you to adjust contrast, brightness and line weight. Check out the original image and a few others in the gallery below.
Interesting that Paper Camera does it’s image processing in real time, so you can see the image effect live displayed in the camera preview. This app is a bargain at 99¢ for iPhone and still a steal at twice the price on Android.
Spacial thanks to producer, director Gary Hayes for turning me on to this app.
The rendering above, of the upcoming Highland Village Apple store, is based on dozens of photos and several trips to the construction site to verify details. This drawing corrects items that were unclear in our previous drawing.
This location will be the first incarnation of Apple’s impressive new design, a variation of the patented look and feel of the Upper West Side store in New York.
The Houston store sports a unique glass back wall, with an additional entrance, identical to the front wall. Back entrances are typical of other shops in the center, but unusual for Apple stores. The photo to the right shows the current state of construction of the back wall. Note that while most construction sites are littered with lumber and steel, an Apple construction site stockpiles very thick glass panes.
Smaller than the proposed 8,000 sq ft Santa Monica location (yet to begin construction), this store will feature 3,100 sq ft of retail space under a curving glass roof, bookended by limestone clad slabs.
The “backstage” area of the store is concealed in what appears to be the adjacent building, but is actually an extension constructed for this store, as evidenced in the photo (left) by Jeff Peoples. Like an architectural magic trick, it is styled to the rather plain look of that building so as to appear separate and not effect the clean ascetics of the glass and stone minimalism.
In addition to this eight foot extension, Apple may also be taking over some of the second story space above the cupcake shop next door. Current photos show the second story windows have been recently covered over.
More Apple news…
