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The Magic Behind Apple's Notification Sounds
Jul 7th, 2017 - Category: SoundNow that the 13 part series “Online Security” is done, it’s time to get back to other interesting topics like Sound and nobody does Sound like Apple. Even the earliest Apple II computers had sound generation. I remember my amazement when I heard Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” played on the Apple Music Synthesizer in 1978.
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Sound Matters: Booting Up My Old Computer
Jan 30th, 2017 - Category: SoundHere’s a blast from the past to end the week thanks to an article in The Verge this morning, “Happy fourth anniversary to my favorite tech video, ‘Booting up my old computer’,”
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Acoustics - Apple’s Future is 'Ear'
Nov 9th, 2016 - Category: SoundLast month’s recap ended by citing one expert’s opinion (John Kirk) that the future of Apple is potentially intimately entwined with acoustics. His article, ”Apple’s Future is Ear“ from Tech.pinions provided a detailed analysis of the historical and current events leading to his conclusion. It’s obviously a clever title. To summarize, the author thinks that Apple is paving the way for an audio user interface accessed through the soon to be released Apple AirPods. This is not as far fetched as it sounds. Siri had an early lead in this area and currently Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Now personal assistants are gaining popularity. What didn’t do well was the visually based system called Google Glass. Due to its invasive nature, people who wore them became known as “Glassholes.”
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Day 5 of 5 - Five More Uncommon Acoustic Applications
Apr 22nd, 2016 - Category: SoundThere are so many uncommon applications for acoustics that here are five more that are even more unusual than the first five.
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Day 4 of 5 - Five Uncommon Acoustic Applications
Apr 21st, 2016 - Category: SoundOver the years, I’ve come across some very strange and fascinating uses for acoustics. Here are my top 5 favorites.
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Day 3 of 5 - The Audio Cookbook From iZotope
Apr 20th, 2016 - Category: SoundBad audio seems to be everywhere these days. From technical webinars recorded on cheap headsets to videos recorded using a smartphone’s built-in microphone, there are some truly bad examples. Problems can include clipping, distortion, background noise, loudness issues, buzz, hiss, and poor room “ambience” just to name a few.
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Day 2 of 5 – Visualization versus Sonification
Apr 19th, 2016 - Category: Sound
I first wrote about Sonification back in 2014 in the post, “Sonification: The Science of Auditory Displays.” This YouTube interview (starting at 2 minutes) with David Worrall explains why the human ear is well suited for this task. He’s not the best presenter, but explains the concepts well. -
Day 1 of 5 - Listening to the Universe
Apr 18th, 2016 - Category: Sound
Being involved with Acoustics for over 20 years, I regularly come across articles on the topic from a wide variety of sources. Recently, they have been collecting in my To-Write file so this week will feature five days of acoustics posts. Enjoy! -
From the NY Times - Dear Architects: Sound Matters
Apr 6th, 2016 - Category: Sound
A little acoustic nugget for a lazy Sunday morning: the interactive format of this article from the New York Times, “Dear Architects: Sound Matters” is very creative. Hovering over the photos of the acoustic environments causes the sound from that environment to play. For some of the locations further down in the article, clicking and holding compares the sound to another, related sound. For example, New York subway compared to Paris subway or solid door compared to hollow door. -
The Power of Silence
Feb 14th, 2016 - Category: SoundIf you are reading this in a quiet place, stop for a moment and listen. What do you hear? I hear a morning dove, traffic and the clang of the Phoenix Light Rail in the distance, aircraft overhead, and children in the street. I immediately felt more relaxed and focused. New ideas for this post popped into my head. For some people however, silence can be uncomfortable. Here are a few examples: