4 de enero de 2013

Echo Piano – An iPhone Musical Instrument Done Right [iOS, Free For A Limited Time]

When the App Store first launched, one of the first kinds of apps that seemed to make sense was musical instruments. Playing piano and strumming a guitar on a touch screen just seemed like a natural thing to do. Most of those apps in those days were lacking on features and functionality, and we’ve certainly come a long way in terms of quality of apps on the App Store. That said, there are still some fantastic music apps out there, and Echo Piano is a great example of an app to play the piano done right.


With Echo Piano you get all the features you could need for playing music on your iPhone. It is simple to use, and it has some cool features that will help people who have never even played the piano figure out how to use it and make some cool music.


Best of all, you can grab Echo Piano on the App Store free for a limited time. The App comes with a regular price of $0.99, so you can save yourself a little cash while making some cool music with the piano.


Features


The feature that makes this app stand out among the competition is the fact that you can quickly scroll the keyboard to different octaves without stopping the flow of music. You can simply swipe the screen to the left or right to move along the keyboard. You can also tap the image of the piano above the play field to jump to a certain spot. This creates a more authentic experience, even if you are still using the small iPhone screen.



The app comes with a record function, so you can keep your musical creations. To record, simply tap the red button on the top left of the screen and begin playing your music. Once you finish, you can save your music and share it with friends through email. You can send the songs in MIDI formats, so your friends can hear your creations in almost any music player.



The app comes with the notes written right on the keys. This is incredibly helpful if you are just learning to play the piano. Having the notes right on the keys makes it easy to identify them and get to making your music faster.



The app also comes with a bunch of songs that you can play along with. To get access to these, you tap the file cabinet button on the top of the screen. This is also where you will come to see your own saved songs once you have created your own masterpieces.



The app also has a lock button, which resides next to the file button. Pressing this will make it so you cannot scroll through the keyboard, which will prevent you from accidentally sliding if you only want to play in one spot. Generally, you will want to move around, but if you don’t, this comes in handy.



The settings screen of Echo Piano offers you the ability to turn off the note labels on the keys and adjusting how long the sustain is on for. It also offers tips and tricks for using the app and recoding songs.


Conclusion


This is easily one of the best piano applications available on the App Store. It comes with all the features you need whether you are an experienced pianist or a newbie just learning to play. Best of all, you can grab it free from the App Store for a limited time. Don’t wait, because the price will go up before you know it!


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Shop Smart And Save Money – Check The Price History For Any Product With Camelizer [Chrome]

check price historyDon’t pay more for a product just because of poor timing — see a history of price fluctuations before you buy anything. Camelizer is an extension for Google Chrome that shows you a chart of price history, helping you avoid the highs so you buy during the lows.


The New York Times recently pointed out that online retailers like Amazon rapidly change prices to maximize profit. In the article they discussed how a Black Friday shopper may have paid far more — or far less – than the average shopper depending on what time they purchased a given item.


Camelizer can’t predict when prices will be lower, but it does give context to your purchasing decisions by showing you a price history for any given item. If the price is higher now than it was last week, consider waiting.


We’ve shown you Amazon price trackers in the past — including CamelCamelCamel. Camelizer is a service provided by CamelCamelCamel that quickly shows you price history charts without the need to leave the page you’re looking at.


How Camelizer Works


This extension is useful, but also shows economic forces at work. Here’s how.


Camelizer shows up in Chrome’s address bar whenever you shop online. Click the now-visible icon and you’ll soon see a chart outlining price fluctuation. Here’s one for an XBox 360:


check price history


As you can see, the price has been steadily declining in the used market while more or less holding steady in the new. This makes sense: as time marches on there are more and more used XBox 360s on the market – and fewer potential customers as more people who want the device buy it – pushing the price down.


Game consoles, of course, are only replaced every six years or so. Things get more interesting when you look at a device updated regularly, like the iPad 2:


chrome price history


See that downward spike in March? That’s around the time when the iPad 3 was released, destroying interest in the new iPad 2 and flooding the used market. Things went back up after that, but overall the picture is one of steady decline in value.


You get the idea: looking at trends tells you when the best time to buy is. Balance your willingness to wait with your desire for a new device and you just might hit that sweet spot where you pay exactly what you’re willing to.


This works beyond Amazon, though that’s probably the site that changes its prices more frequently. On NewEgg, for example, I had a hard time finding charts that fluctuated quite as often as those above. Here’s Windows 8 tablet from that site:


check price history


The price goes down as it becomes clear demand is low, but only once. Stay tuned, I suppose.


Supported Sites


Which sites does this support? Here’s a quick rundown:



  • Most Amazon sites, including those in the USA, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, China, Italy, and Spain.

  • Best Buy

  • Newegg

  • Backcountry

  • Overstock

  • zZounds


If other sites are supported I didn’t notice; correct me in the comments below.


Conclusion


Download Camelizer from the Chrome Web Store, if you think it will come in handy. It’s lightweight and free, so there’s little reason not to install it.


There are many useful skills to have as a shopper; understanding how and why prices fluctuate is one of them. Camelizer can help you do that, and if you use it properly you just might save a bunch of money.


Of course, there are other Chrome extensions that can save you money while shopping online, so be sure to check those out.


Not a Chrome user? Check out the Firefox version of Camelizer instead.


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thehometrotters, viajando gratis de casa en casa

viajar


Nos presenten thehometrotters.com como na red de contactos que ofrecen alojamiento gratuito a otros miembros de la comunidad, una idea que no es nueva, aunque en este caso está perfectamente ejecutada.


La forma de hacer homesurfing es sencilla y práctica usando este proyecto, que permite conectarnos con personas de otros países en busca de entablar algo más que un simple contacto.



Brindamos la oportunidad de tener un amigo en cada país que visitas, apostamos por una forma de viajar más amigable, más social y además más económica.



Podemos ofrecer alojamiento gratuito en nuestra casa y no pagar nada por las noches que pasemos en las casas de los otros usuarios. Para equilibrar la oferta y demanda, usa el sistema de Noches THT, que utiliza las noches como moneda virtual. Cuando te alojas en otra casa gastas tus Noches THT y cuando alojas a alguien en tu casa recibes Noches THT.


Podemos abrir así las puertas de nuestra casa y acumular puntos para gastarlos cuando lo deseemos en casa de otras personas. Los invitados que lleguen a nuestro hogar serán eso, invitados, con un anfitrión, nosotros, que les ayudará a conocer mejor la ciudad a la que han viajado.


Otra característica original de thehometrotters son los Planes THT, eventos que suben a la web los propios usuarios para hacer más atractiva su ciudad y por lo tanto su casa, ayudando así a los que buscan algún evento deportivo, cultural, música en vivo, etc.



[...] si has encontrado un vuelo barato, o hay un concierto en una ciudad europea y te apetece ir… entras en la web, buscas casas disponibles en esa ciudad y contactas con el propietario, acordáis fecha y duración del viaje y adelante.



Hospedaje gratuito, monedas virtuales, anfitriones locales, eventos… un gran proyecto que seguiremos de cerca durante este año.




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Podcastomatic, convierte tu blog favorito en un podcast

podcastomatic


Podcastomatic es un sitio web que de forma instantánea nos permite convertir y reproducir sitios web y blogs en podcasts para ser escuchados como queramos y donde queramos.


Como he comentado la lista de posts y artículos para reproducir en podcast se creará al instante basándose en los feeds RSS del blog, pero también podremos escucharla al momento ya que disponemos de dos opciones: o bien reproducirla en streaming o bien descargar el podcast de cada artículo utilizando iTunes u otros reproductores de podcasts que podremos reproducir al gusto desde nuestros respectivos dispositivos.


Eso sí, Podcastomatic está diseñado para reproducir audios con acento inglés, y si intentamos podcastear un blog en español, italiano, francés, etc. sonará un poco extraño.


Link: Podcastomatic




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9×9.tv nos ofrece la tv a la carta mediante YouTube a nuestros terminales Android

9x9.tv


Aprovechando la reciente aparición de la nueva API del reproductor nativo de YouTube para Android, aparece la aplicación 9×9.tv, la cual convierte nuestros terminales en una especie de televisión a la carta basado en YouTube, donde la característica más destacada es la selección de nueve canales para visualizar en función de la hora del día o de nuestros gustos personales, donde con simples gestos en la pantalla, podemos ir cambiando de vídeos en un mismo canal o cambiar por completo a otro canal, algo similar al zapping en la televisión convencional.


Además, 9×9.tv nos servirá de aplicación de descubrimiento de canales de vídeos en YouTube que nos acercará a aquellos canales y a aquellos vídeos que no conocíamos de su existencia, lo que nos servirá para disfrutar mediante la visualización de los contenidos.


Para ello basta con iniciar la aplicación, la cual nos llevará a los canales de conocidas marcas de medios de comunicación, sin que para ello necesitemos cuenta de usuario. Eso si, si queremos personalizar nuestra experiencia para hacer seguimiento de canales u otros aspectos, tendremos que crearnos nuestra cuenta de usuario, que por desgracia, no se integra con nuestra cuenta de YouTube.


Otras de las posibilidades que nos ofrece la aplicación es la posibilidad de pasar la emisión del contenido de una pantalla de un terminal Android a otra, dejando la pantalla inicial como control remoto.


Recientemente actualizada durante el día de ayer, con mejoras y arreglos menores, 9×9.tv ya nos espera en Google Play para disfrutar de nuestra propia experiencia televisiva online.


Enlace: 9×9.tv en Google Play | Vía: TNW




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