Sending files over the internet is a task that is spoiled for choice. No longer the domain of FTP and email accounts alone, there have emerged a wide range of options and technologies to get those bits and bytes from one end of the internet to the other. In recent years in particular, a handful of services have come to vie for the lead amongst an almost overwhelming selection of contenders. Much like “Google” went from a company name to a verb, the digital hordes are now making a household name out of Rapidshare, YouSendIt, Dropbox and Megaupload. It would appear that the popularity of each particular service is driven almost entirely out of established habits of certain communities, where an internet forum swapping DJ mixes might favour one service by virtue of precedent alone.

For example, Megaupload remains a popular choice despite not only the Flash animation advertising, but a Captcha password page and a countdown timer. There have been criticisms in the past that certain Megaupoad service add-ons contain elements of spyware, as well as a number of search sites that have emerged with the sole purpose of indexing the user files uploaded. The latter is an issue that has caught more than a few music producers off guard. As the creative arts are often the vanguard of file transfer services, countless artists have sent pre-releases, promo mixes and remix stems via Megaupload and Rapidshare without realising that their files are anything but invisible.

Illustrating this to a fellow music producer recently, we immediately stumbled across a zip file containing the audio files from a commercial release of theirs that they had sent to another producer to remix. It may not be uncommon to place a great deal of faith in the intentions and abilities of a service provider these days, but content developers and businesses need to start taking a greater interest in the security and character of the systems that they use.

If the site says your files are safe, then this must be a hoax. Right?

There are of course other ways to send files that avoid the third party commercial service. Despite such wonderfully vague announcements that the city of Los Angeles uses YouSendIt, businesses are still controlling their data through FTP or synchronisation and transfer services such as Dropbox, which operates by way of a program that copies all data saved into a special folder on the user’s system to a server, allowing those files to be controlled and shared specifically. There is a generous 2gig limit on the free version, although some may not like the requirement of a third party program to install to access the service. After all, there is something to be said about simply typing in a web address and clicking upload.

The good news is that there are some great alternatives emerging that are free of advertising, safe from remote indexing and refrain from annoying Captchas and waiting periods. One of the most notable of these, and my new personal favourite, is the Drop.io service. I first came across it while chatting about an article idea with the editor of Create Digital Music, who works across the river from the Drop.io offices which are based in Dumbo Brooklyn. Intrigued by the human element of what is otherwise a world inhabited by faceless data warehouses, I tried the service out and quickly became a fan. Visit the site and evaluate the service for yourself by all means, but it’s safe to say the privacy, ability to set expiry dates on your files or the entire account, lack of intrusive advertising and simplicity of the service are virtues in an age of almost “tacky” service providers.

The communication between Drop.io and Create Digital Music is by no means an accident, or anything other than a “heaps up”, but it should serve as a suitable frame of reference for the range of community that the service wishes to work with, and not against. Chatting with them recently about a login issue I was having (which, I will admit, turns out that I had forgotten that I had set an expiry date on one of my Drop.io accounts entirely!) we got to chatting about privacy. I was pleased that they confirmed that their service is “absolutely not” open to indexing and that “drops aren’t searchable and are completely private”.

Drop.io gives you powerful file transer without the spam

As to the greater world of file transfer in particular, there are simply more services and methodologies out there than one might attempt to round up of their own volition. With the existence of services such as Drop.io however, there is a clear alternative to the insecure, annoying, and costly services provided by the likes of Megaupload and Yousendit. There are undoubtedly even more to come. For the time being, a reminder to ask yourself what these companies are doing with your data, and why they aren’t protecting, it is surely a timely one. Unless you enjoy typing in codewords, clicking through pages of links, dodging banner advertising and having to wait for downloads to begin, there are better options. It’s time to start using them.

If you have any other suggestions, or if I’ve been unfairly harsh on the downside of the established players, let me know in the comments.

I was at this event, and I believe it was in the following year that I played my first AdventJah party, having joined a live act that wrote and played Breakbeat. This video does remind me, as someone into Breaks and some of the early Progressive House of the time, that I always found the main room Hard House pretty amusing. Here we are, some 8 or so years on, in the studio writing a 124bpm deep house track in collaboration with a DJ who used to play Hard House at these events. Music evolution is a beautiful thing, but so is fond reminiscing.

Somewhere along the way, over the past few years of metageeking, I have attracted what can only be described as a pile of computers. Looking around the studio late in 2008, I did a quick stock take of all the computers and laptops lying around and wondered if there was something I could be doing with it all. Sure the big tower is for audio production and the smaller one is a media center and download box, but what about those laptops? The Asus M6R is the laptop previously used in my electronic band, the Macbook is its likely replacement and my dipping into the world of Mac and OSX, the Acer Aspire One is my travel netbook I took on a fundraising trip in Cambodia and as for the Toshiba Satellite? I’m not sure. What I am sure about, is that this makes for a lot of idle processing power.

For those who, like myself, have wondered if there was a better use for idle computing power, the answer is a resounding yes! Of course you could convert systems into media centres, try out alternative and open source operating systems like Linux or simply pull them apart and make drink coasters and magnets out of them. That might be fun. On the other hand, you might consider, as I did, utilising all that potential processing power for the greater good. Enter the World Community Grid.

The Grid is essentially a venture undertaken by IBM to host, maintain and resource “the world’s largest public computing grid to tackle projects that benefit humanity”. The idea is relatively simple, as most great ideas are. Essentially, there are a lot of computers sitting idle around the world. There are also a lot of really interesting questions that we might be asking that require a lot of processing power to determine the answer. By creating a means for organisations to distribute packets of data to participating computers, and allow otherwise idle processors to contribute their power to these bite size chunks of the greater whole, there is clearly a resource available that would otherwise be too expensive or unrealistic to attempt.

The first instance of this concept that I came across was care of a friend in the late 1990’s, dedicating his old Pentium II 300 system to the SETI@Home project. This box was literally destined for the scap heap, and instead added its relative might to the processing of data obtained from the Arecibo radio telescope. In short, space signals are analyzed to seek out anything not attributable to “noise”. In other words, as SETI stands for itself, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. One of the outcomes sought from the SETI@Home project was the development of the concept of distributed computing technology in the public realm. The other outcome was the search for extra-terrestrial life. While the Vulcans are still hidden from us for the time being, the distributed networking concept is a massive success.

So what else do you need to know about the WDC and distributed networking to get involved? Not much. In the case of WDC, you simply download a small application which handles the scheduling of the data packets and allows you full control of how much system power you allow for the processing. This is handy if you just want to dedicate 10% of your CPU power to the application if you’re leaving a computer on overnight, perhaps while downloading torrents or podcasts. The application handles the chunks of data, which can be considered as a digital assignment, rather than digital homework, in the sense that a packet of data will take a few days to process before the results are transmitted. Given the control over the how your system works with the project, the low footprint on your internet quota and the ability to dip in and out at will, it’s quite simple a fantastic way to explore the possibilities of contributing otherwise idle resources for a great geeky good.

The World Community Grid is far from the only distributed networking community out there, and this Wikipedia entry lists many more. Virtually any computing device will be “useful” as a contributor of processing power, as we reach a point where mobile handheld devices and mobile phones are now reaching the power of the old computers first employed around the time the Seti@Home project began. If you have some downtime on your system, or some computers lying around, then consider adding your processing might to the collective. Borg references aside, this is one simple way for metageeks and casual computing enthusiasts to assimilate a disparate array of technology and to contribute to a positive global outcome with readily available, and otherwise idle, resources.

Of note, the first preview airing of a track by our mutual friend, Chris “Vitreous” Buckridge. Formerly from Brisbane where he was the bass guitarist for eternal festival band My Ninja Lover, Chris has settled in Amsterdam and has been releasing a steady flow of tracks on labels like Dektek Records, Smash Bang Records and BeatGeek Records. As an example of how fantastic the internet is, here is a track he wrote, sent over and the boys played all within the space of a week. Added to that, it’s now also signed and Vitreous will be announcing the release date shortly. Technology wins.

Below is the rough and ready video capturing some of the fun, and “Guise” getting it’s sneaky Australian preview.

There is an official Ableton Twitter account, which perhaps takes the notion of German minimalism to a far extreme. Or they simply haven’t bothered to post anything yet. I would be surprised if this remained the case in coming months as Live 8 and even the Akai APC40 roll out into the retail world. For the time being, one of the better emergent Ableton Live related Twitter accounts appears to be the recently created AbletonTweets. If they can keep up the daily tips, they will be garnering thousands of followers within a dizzyingly short amount of time. Like, well, Ableton should be. This is of course simply using Twitter for something it’s good at. It is an externalised “Daily Startup Tip”, like the ones we all got used to disabling in most programs in the 1990’s. Here’s a recent one from AbletonTweets:

“Daily Tip: After pausing a clip in Ableton, you press play again and it starts over. Use the combo shift-spacebar to start where you stopped”

Sometimes the simplest tips are the useful stuff, as everyone is bound to interact with their software slightly different. How many people are manually renaming tracks or simply using their mouse to open the GUI of plugins? While these examples focus only on keyboard shortcuts, there is a lot that someone can say in 140 keystrokes, so we’ll be watching AbletonTweets with interest. As for Abelton themselves, they can be forgiven for simply securing their namesake on what is to some just another social media tool. It is perhaps better for a creative arts software company to simply stake out their land than make token efforts and seemingly give up. The Twitter account for VJ software Resolume seems a bit like this. Many software companies don’t seem to even bother, including Adobe, so the enthyusiasts are filling the gap. Adobe Lightroom enthusiast Scott Rouse for instance manages at the time of writing, a sizable 1232 followers for his TheLightroomLab tweets.

Imogen Heap - Photographed live by Eugene

Whilst a corporate monster like Adobe could easily get a third party agency in to do their social networking, or hand an internal a release schedule from the PR division, it is perhaps best when enthusiasts fill the gap of this kind of genuine engagement. Certainly music technology sites like Create Digital Music maintain a unique CDM feed that adds a little extra flavour to an already vibrant music production community. Many musicians make good use of Twitter of course, including the wonderfully eclectic Imogen Heap, with an insight into her studio and creative process. This has certainly inspired tweets from Segue, on the progressive house live act angle.

The list could go on, but the ever changing face of social media tools and their relevance to established products is an issue for the self appointed experts. For the time being, services like Twitter and participants like AbletonTweets do bring a useful sliver of information and inspiration to the digital artist. Certainly a little more useful than various Vladimir Putin imposters.

Like many people I first laid eyes on this in a music store and assumed it was the follow up to the hugely successful Korg MicroKorg. I don’t actually like the MicroKorg personally which is probably as much to do with being bored of seeing it on stage in live acts and used as a vocoder in Indie bands. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, but I doubt I’m the only music tech geek hoping to see some more interesting hardware make its way back on stage. As to the Micro-X, oddly enough it’s nothing like its namesake and is in fact a budget priced rompler. It does add some interesting features like four outputs and a VST style plugin to raise the bar on what is probably best described as a cut down Triton. My actual review is relatively pleased, given the demographic that this is aimed at, so there are few surprises that a rompler looks and behaves like a rompler. I never buy into the price-points of gear unless it is a bargain or absurdly overpriced, but I would imagine that the cost of the Micro-X at present is largely due to the financial crisis affecting the Australian dollar and thus causing import price hikes. If one ignores the fact that a Novation X-Station can be had at a relatively similar price (adding a proper virtual analogue synth, effects, ASIO audio interface, midi controller and S/PDIF out to boot) and focuses on the Micro-X soundset as the bulk of its desirability, then there is a very real niche to be exploited here as an alternative to the largely synthetic and abstract world of VST plugins.

While I’m not going to recap my review here, I can say that there were some surprises amongst the relatively safe package. The software included enables the Micro-X to behave as something of a VST, and takes its cues from the Virus Ti in that regards. This should help to squeeze even more out of the onboard sounds, which herald from the Triton style of HI synthesis. It’s easy to forget when surrounded by Kontakt packs and a collection of synths and samples that there is a need amongst new or genre specific producers to turn to a stock soundset and dial up some piano or bass tones without wading through plugins or shelling out for the big ticket gear. In this regards, I fired up Ableton as I do with any review, and started to scroll through sounds, letting some musical ideas form.

The following little loop is derived quickly with all sounds being played manually from the Micro-X, bar the kick drum and a hat pattern. The percussion is quickly EQ’d in Ableton, as is the delay on the piano for my own sanity sake, but the bass is surprisingly usable.

Full Loop:

Bass Solo:

Piano Solo:

Every bit of music gear that comes through the studio for review gets recorded as I poke and prod my way around the device, with the odd bit of inspiration stemming from some serendipitous moment. These are essential reference points for reviews at times, recalling interesting things that make the gear unique (or terrible!!) but are usually consigned to the archive folder unless a useful sample or phrase can be extracted from the random noise. I post the above as much as a reminder that the most unassuming gear can yield a few nice sounds, and also to force myself to get more into the habit of sharing these explorations! With that, I must get some sleep, pack some bags and catch a plane.

It goes from scary to stupid once you consider the increasing evidence that the system will be costly, will slow down our already sub-world-standard broadband and be (the best bit) easily circumvented. So why all the fuss? The usual well meaning discussion against Bad People looking at photos of children. A worthy battle but one that is being fought in the wrong arena. All is not lost however, as much loved geek ISP iiNet has volunteered to participate in the study with claims that it is doing so to prove how ineffective it is. An odd stance, truly. Further more some powerful opposition is mounting against the ill-formed proposal. On the public front, there are plenty of ways to be involved, ranging from the usual well meaning Facebook Group to the excellent resource and thinking person’s activist site, GetUp.

Set a powerful precedent by being involved in: Save The Net.

Recommended Reading: ABC News article on the factual fairytales of the filter advocates.

One of the music geek outlets I enjoy is writing a monthly column for local street press, as well as a weekly music hardware reviews. The music tech reviews are certainly inspiring, and I can’t argue that picking up a new toy each week to put through its paces is anything but a blast. There is a certain weight to the experience, in having to push and pull and prod to get under the hood of understanding such gear and step outside of my own personal habits for using equipment, but the experience is a kind of discipline in itself. Some of these I will publish on Segwist after they have had their run on paper, although at times it feels like the internet is overflowing with “reviews”. I do have a certain soft spot for first impression review videos on YouTube. The same cannot be said for the sheer volume of advertorial text reviews that flood the internet, or the sad reality of people parroting the same half truths on internet forums with casual disregard for actual verifying things themselves. In that sense, I hope Segwist proves useful!

Partly due to the above, i have jumped back into the potential of this site with renewed excitement. There is always a place for individuals to share interesting resources and personal experiences, and the challenge of actually contributing interesting creativity is one to enjoy likewise. Apart from writing for street press i have enjoyed writing some articles for Createdigitalmusic.com, and have guested in a colleague’s band for a few gigs. This means it’s been more of a chance to collaborate and explore in different directions without having to pull the studio apart or rush tunes to completion for Segue gigs. Over the next fortnight I’ll be upping some of the hardware reviews and ideally getting this SH1000 multisample pack recorded once and for all! Until then.

“Tracks from many of our new releases and back-catalogue are being uploaded to ccMixter. We know how well you all produce and we want to see what will happen…We believe in music and its power to unite, and this is why we have teamed up with ccMixter - to involve as many people as possible in the music and to seek the finest emerging talent out there.

Soon we’ll be releasing the One Self project, where the whole world is welcome to come and work on an album. We’ll be getting things started with a few accapellas and beats and we’ll just see where it takes us. We’re going to record wherever we go and upload to the site and hand it over to you and see what collaborations emerge.”

This is of course very Web 2.0 in terms of the great open source trend that the likes of Elton John seem to think needs to be stopped, but there is no stopping the increasing participation in the community creative process. It’s interesting to note it has already been 5 years since the One Giant Leap project displayed the beautiful possibilities of a world of musicianship and music coming together on the same project, through the travels and skills of Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman. With airplanes replaced by modems and the reigns handed to anyone with an interest in participating, only time with tell as to the immediate and continual outcomes.

In the meantime The Soundcatcher is ripe for the plucking though one might take the time to understand the policies and rules of ccMixer. If you’re new to the Creative Commons concept then give the FAQ a read too.

The curious thing about the history of this unit was that it arrived DOA unbeknownst to my bandmate and myself some many many moons ago. Given we purchased two units initially and due to my being based interstate at the time, we simply used my bandmate’s unit and were happy to know we had a backup if needed. I had planned on using it for a variety of things, but always made do with the rather suitable recording quality of the Novation X-Station instead. Rather suitable isn’t quite rather awesome though. When we eventually tried to install mine we were surprised and unpleased to find it dead to the world. Cue a walk to the filing cabinet for the warranty card and opening Outlook for the first of a few “Its dead, please fix it” emails. To our surprise the process was pretty smooth and we were looked after well, though the months in between posting and receiving the unit were a little much.

So this is a post of excitement that the Ultralite is back and a tip of the hat to Major Music who were fantastic once all things were considered. They took a peek at it in their Melbourne offices before agreeing that it was indeed mightily borked and sent it off to the USA for a closer look. Presumably for their engineers to marvel at how such a faulty unit made it to Australia in the first place, or perhaps to make their Quality Control officer eat it. I think the former is the logical scenario as I have been sent back a completely new unit which is interestingly housed in my original box and filled with the full retail collection of discs, cables and manuals. A little needless but a cute gesture.

As a final note, this means that right now I’m loading the drivers and getting the Ultralite up and running on the Asus M6R to my left which is about to record a certain synthesiser on my right. I aim to record multisamples of the old Roland SH1000 a colleague has left with me for close to a year this week before I pack the studio up and move. I’ll update how I’m going on this during the week and make as much progress on editing sample packs for Kontakt and the MPC before the big move. I’m also expecting more packages to arrive this week so its certainly looking like it will be The Week Of The Cardboard Box.

PS: The fact that MOTU stands for “Mark of the Unicorn” still makes me laugh. A little.