Acme Voiceworx

This month we take a look at several embedded audio players for use in HTML websites, as well as for those based on blogging software like WordPress. Nearly all of these players require MP3-formatted audio players to work, although some will play other formats as well. The players themselves are based on Adobe’s Flash technology combined with some Java scripting.

The reason for this is simple; nearly 97% of all online users have Adobe’s Flash player already installed on their computers, and almost all modern browsers know how to handle javascript properly. Using Flash insures that your clients will be able to hear your demos without the annoyance of having to stop and install yet another plug-in in their web browser.

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A free tool that removes the iServices Trojan is now available, courtesy of anti-spyware developer MacScan. This tool removes both the OSX.Trojan.iServices.A and OSX.Trojan.iServices.B Trojan horse, and can be downloaded from this page.

As reported last week, the first remotely-controlled “botnet” created from Macintosh computers has been identified in the field. These Macs are infected with one of the above-named Trojan horse programs, which were identified back in January as being spread via illegal copies of Adobe CS-4 and iWork 2009 software.

MacScan’s removal tool is a stand-alone program that searches for these trojans and removes them if they exist. If neither Trojan exists, the program displays the dialog box to the left and you’re free to quit the program.

Mac users have been particularly fortunate, in that little in the way of malware has yet been aimed their computers. Clearly that has now changed, and given the potential of this malware to at minimum slow your Mac’s performance, and at worst to turn it into a “zombie,” there’s simply no reason not to download and run the removal tool.

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The first botnet based on Macintosh computers is here, according to security researchers at Symantec and reported in Ars Technica. A botnet is a collection of software robots (so-called “bots”) which can act automatically and autonomously after being infected with (usually) malevolent software. Botnets consist of a number of such compromised computers known as “zombies,” and these can be directed by the originator of the bot software (the so-called “bot herder”) to perform various nefarious tasks, such as conducting organized DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks on servers, or sending spam emails. Botnets are commonly comprised of Windows computers, although this is the first known botnet comprised of Macs.

Mac users who downloaded pirated copies of Adobe’s Creative Suite CS4 or iWork 2009 may have got more than they bargained for, as some of these copies contained trojan horse software OSX.Trojan.iServices.A and OSX.Trojan.iServices.B. When the user unpacks the pirated software, the trojan is installed and becomes active, turning the Mac into a “zombie.” Since the trojan software was first discovered in January 2009, most anti-virus software has by now been updated to remove the trojan and its remnants. Still, the botnet was recently implicated in DDoS attacks on several servers.

This incident provides yet another reason to avoid installing pirated software on your computer. The success of this Mac-based botnet almost guarantees that more pirated software will be released that is infected, so it’s best to stay away… stay far, far away.

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In the upcoming issue of Radio & Production magazine, I’ve explained the basics of SEO and how it can help clients find you. More importantly, I show you how joining and participating in social networks increases your visibility on the interwebz, which can be good for your business.

In short, you need good content and good participation from other sites (in other words, incoming links) to get good results from Google. Got that? Good.

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In the April 2009 issue of Radio & Production magazine I’m taking a look at the AKG Perception line of microphones.

AKG has a long and storied reputation for producing some of the best studio mics around — can you say 414? — but can their latest line of inexpensive Chinese-made microphones maintain that reputation? How well do they stack up against the competition?

The short answer is yes, mostly. Read RAP for the whole story.

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I mentioned the concept of WiMax as it pertained to megayachts awhile ago, and like many of us I’m still waiting for it (or something that looks just like it).

For those who haven’t kept up, c|net has posted a good explanation of the WiMax technology, how it compares to Wi-Fi and 3G, and why you should care. From the article:

“The WiMax Forum claims the technology can deliver 40 Mbps of capacity per channel, which can then be split ‘among hundreds of businesses, thousands of residences, and thousands of mobile Internet users.’ Specifically, the group believes the technology can offer 30 Mbps of capacity within a typical cell radius of up to 3 kilometers.”

Heady stuff, if it works and becomes widely adopted. That, of course, is the issue. Realtime speeds tend to be substantially less than the theoretical:

“By comparison, WiMax can deliver theoretical download speeds to individual users around 10 Mbps to 20 Mbps. But most people using a mobile WiMax service will get between 2 Mbps and 4 Mbps of bandwidth.”

Read the entire c|net article here.

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UPDATE: YouTube appears to have fixed the “problem” with their new compression scheme, according to Wired.com. What’s interesting is that they seem to have undone the previous damage to users’ files, which implies that they either kept uncompressed copies that they could re-encode, or that the new scheme worked in real time. Read the update here.

No, it’s not a man-bites-dog story. It is a story about how YouTube’s new audio compression algorithm not only makes all the sound louder, including any noise, but also destroys any dynamic range in music. In some cases it actually generates distortion where their previously was none.

It’s particularly hard on classical or acoustic music as it also raises the level of quiet passages, increasing their noise significantly. We can only hope they get it right at some point. Soon, please.

New YouTube Audio Compression Stymies Uploaders | Listening Post from Wired.com

And yes, it has been reported as a bug:

Recent audio compression issue – Bug Reports & Issues | Google Groups

As they say on comedy-news on local TV: More later as the situation develops.

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Since we’re looking at interesting controllers, here’s an entirely different take on the issue… what if you could just stick a physical knob onto your computer screen, and the physical knob became one with the onscreen knob? Intriguing.

There’s a prophead-type gent in Cambridge UK that proposes to give you exactly that. Seems this Lyndsay Williams fellow and his company, Girton Labs, are busy working out how to build knobs that magnetically stick to your lappy screen, and via both hardware and software, let you manipulate the underlying onscreen controls and therefore the attached software function.

It’s all very much in the beta test phase, and no prices or delivery date is set (or even hinted at). But there are videos on the website showing the SenseSurface in action… you should go check it out for yourself.

I’m not sure a laptop is the best platform for this — I’m thinking 30″ flat-screen monitors angled back — but if this can truly be made to work it would give us DIY controllers that could be easily re-configured on the fly, depending on the application. I can visualize a box ‘o pots and sliders next to the monitor… sweet.

Hat tip to Charlie Richmond at Richmond Sound Design; the full story at Girton’s website: girtonlabs – SenseSurface – Girton Labs Cambridge

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According to antivirus software maker Intego, there’s a new Trojan horse program that targets Macs running OSX. Designed to allow a hacker to take control of the computer, delete files, or damage the operating system, this little nasty masquerades as a poker game called “Ace in the Hole” or simply “PokerGame”. When downloaded and run, a shell script inside the Trojan opens an SSH connection, then transmits the username, password, and IP address of the infected computer.

The moral of the story: don’t download software you receive in email from people you don’t know, or from websites you don’t completely trust. Here’s the link to Intego’s page announcing the discovery, and the Get Info screenshot at right is from their page as well.

I’ll be investigating this further to see how widespread it is. Intego lists its threat level as low, since you have to explicitly download and run it in order for it to do nasty things to your machine. Just don’t, okay?

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In the midst of recording and editing dialog for a new videogame (whose name I unfortunately cannot divulge), I caught wind of these new workstation controllers from Korg, cleverly grouped together as the nanoSERIES:

There are three of them, and each is designed specifically for laptop use. They connect to your computer via USB, and appear to be bus-powered (at least for one at a time use. Don’t know if you can connect more with a hub or not). They all speak MIDI, so it should be possible to program them to perform various functions, as most Mac and PC software editors now support MIDI controllers and Continuous Controller (CC) messages. The music keyboard and drum pad units look like fun, but the money piece is the mix controller, shown below.

The nanoKONTROL comes with nine very short throw faders, nine associated knobs, and eighteen buttons for (I presume) mute and solo. It also features a transport section that lacks only a jog/shuttle wheel, and speaks MIDI Machine Control (MMC). A software app called Korg KONTROL Editor promises to provide a friendly interface when it’s time to program this Bad Boy, and the ability to store programs and settings on computer for later recall. I’ll def have to get my mitts on one of these mix controllers for review in RAP, ASAP.

Pricing and delivery information is not yet available, of course. But you can get firsthand info at Korg’s USA website here, or if you’re fluent reading Japanese you can check it out at the source here.

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