Monday, January 4, 2010

All Mac all the time

Happy New Year! Its time to get back into work mode...this Christmas was an "all Mac" holiday...new iPhone and the newest MacBook (yes, I'm spoiled) which have proven to be incredible! I am currently discovering new apps, new features on iTunes and of course, playing with Garageband.

My new favourite apps for singing and teaching include Virtuoso Lite which is a keyboard with 6 octaves and great sound; iTranslate which allows instant translations in 50-odd languages; Intermundia librettos of 24 different operas and Bump which allows iPhone users to exchange their business cards by "bumping" phones (get it downloaded before the NATS convention and you won't need business cards!).

While playing on the iPhone (a great way to kill time while waiting in line) I discovered iTunes U where universities have uploaded videos and audio files of lectures, concerts and tours of their schools! Check out Ithaca, NY and their tutorial on learning Les Berceaux and Indiana University for all the free student and faculty concerts.

Finally, Garageband is the coolest, easiest way to record your lessons, create audio samples for web pages and upload anything into iTunes.

Let me know what your favourite apps are and how you use them in your work and play...you can also see from my picture some of the silliness I have also discovered!

Cheers for a happy and productive 2010!

2 comments:

Jeannine said...

Thanks for the apps recommendations. I wasn't familiar with these. I've only had my iphone about 6 months, but I love it! I don't have a MacBook yet, but I do use the memo function on the phone to record students. The sound isn't as good, but it is much easier to use than the CD (or tape) recorders. I've also used the camera function to make video recordings of students.

I also frequently use the BlogPress app to write and post short blogs. It works very well for the things that I need to do.

Unknown said...

Hi Jeannie:

Thanks for reading. You might want to try the iTalk plug in for your iPhone...i have used it with my iPod to record a few times and it works ok...basically its an external mic that plugs into your phone.

How has the video camera worked for recording students? Do you hand-hold or have a tripod?

Thanks for sharing...will have to check out the BlogPress app!

Cheers!

From the voice of....