On Apple’s 300+ Leopard Features List, iChat earns the recognition of having the most new features in the list–24 to be exact. Although iChat 4 includes a nice series of new features for the AV crowd and some other new ideas, is the new iChat any better at just plain, old-fashioned text chatting? I spent a couple of weeks with iChat to find out.
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Tags: Adium, AIM, audio, chat, Chax, collaboration, features, Google Talk, iChat, iChat Theater, Jabber, Leopard Feature Presentation, Mac, Mac OS X Leopard, preview, Quick Look, recording, review, Screen Sharing, sharing, text, Video

Probably one of the more interesting debates of our time would be which category of software application has the most competitors doing the same thing. I probably wouldn’t want to be the one to place a bet on that debate, but I’m pretty sure that the category of “iTunes Controller” must rank near the top of the list. I’ve tried many different iTunes controllers for Mac OS X for the past few years, and during this month of reviews, I’ll be reviewing two (the other review will be next Thursday). However, today’s review focuses on my personal favorite iTunes controller, Sophiestication’s CoverSutra.
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Tags: album artwork, audio, controller, iTunes, review, Software

The Levelator is a pretty basic application that serves a single purpose, but one that is very useful for podcasters with multiple participants. I use it for PreviewCast and phpBB Weekly editing, and even luminaries like Leo Laporte use it.

You drop an AIFF or WAV file on the Levelator, and the application then goes through and scans the different channels of the audio to equalize their audio levels. For example, when we record PreviewCast, sometimes we may have something happen where someone may be louder or quieter than everyone else, or there may even be a mix of volumes. No problem, I just drop the recorded audio on the Levelator, and it pops out a new audio file with all of the voices at the same volume. It works very well, and has dramatically helped to improve the PreviewCast audio quality.

Levelator does what it advertises, and it works very well. I recommend it for anyone who records podcasts over Skype or other teleconferencing methods, because it will make the quality of your audio SO much better, and you’ll practically never have to worry about volume levels of your participants again.

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Tags: audio, podcasting, PreviewCast, recording, review, Software, volume

Shout-out: Happy birthday today to my Mom!

There are a number of applications and processes that help make PreviewCast and phpBB Weekly happen. One of those apps is Audio Hijack Pro. Audio Hijack Pro is one of a small handful of apps that serve a unique purpose: to record audio coming out of your Mac into an audio file.

The core essence of Audio Hijack Pro is this. You can select any application on your computer that outputs audio, “hijack” the audio, and then record it. AHP comes with presets for a couple of applications such as DVD Player, iChat, iTunes, QuickTime Player, Safari, and Skype, however you can set it for any application on your computer. When you click Hijack, then any audio that the application outputs to the computer will instead be routed to Audio Hijack Pro, and AHP will become responsible for outputting the audio. (There’s a Mute button available that can Mute the audio from outputting through your speakers, if necessary.) To actually record the audio, hit Record.

Audio Hijack Pro also offers many many options for how you want your audio to come out, including support for AIFF, AAC, MP3, and Apple Lossless. You can also very cleanly refine the bitrate, quality, and many other settings as well, including a more advanced area where you can add filters and effects. (Not that I use them.) And of course, Audio Hijack Pro offers a “Default System Input” option if you just want to record something through your microphone.

The one place that Audio Hijack Pro falls short is that it is not one of those drop-dead simple apps that most people want to have at their disposal, however the application will hopefully get easier to use in the future. However, it is a very effective app for helping me make usable recordings of things from Skype chats to YouTube videos, and be able to do things with them, and it many users may find it a very useful tool in this fashion.

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Tags: audio, hijacking, Mac, podcasting, recording, review, Software, utility