Vox is a little and simple music player for Mac OS X with support for many file types, including FLAC, MP3, AAC, Musepack, Monkey’s Audio, OGG Vorbis, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, IT, MOD, XM, Games Music and many others. Includes numerous effects like Equalizer, Reverb, Time Stretch, Pitch Shift, Echo. Moreover, all supported files can be exported to AAC+, Apple Lossless, WAV and other formats with enabled effects.
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blog ergo sum {2.0}
Filed under Music …
iHome iP1
That’s two times by now! And this means I’ve got to write about that …
So … last week my wife and I were in a big tech shop here in Bari and, as we usual usually do, went to see what new items arrived for our digital home entertainment … In the shop there is a little increment in the iPod / iPhone section with many expensive, glamour amps, speakers, evoluted docks for the Cupertino’s magic duo.
As the last time we were here, the fantastic iP1 della iHome catched our attention:
This iHome product sports an excellent design (for me the only “issue ” is the fumé finiture of the plexiglass, that’s a bit dark for my house interiors) and it is usual to see people around it in amazement.
Also, it is currently one of the best and performing audio system for Apple’s iPod family … many reviewers (on-line and not) agree on this point.
In the commercial center plenty of these kind of systems are available to public’s testing, all you have to do is use your own iPod/iPhone. I have always both with me so I extracted the iPhone from my pocket, put it on the iP1 and let the show begin.
A piano jazz song, then a vocal one, then some pop music and at last some good ol’ rock and roll … iP1 made such a show out of it’s clear hights and powerful basses!
We’re in love with it and seems that – FOR THE SECOND TIME – we’re not alone in thinking this. As the first time a couple of strangers kindly asked us to use our iPhone to test the remaining audio-kit available.
JBL, Bose, Philips and such, all failed in the comparison to the magnificent sound of the iP1 with the “bonjovi effect” switched on … no matter what the price segment.
We resisted in buying the iP1 this time too … but if I find an offer for it under the 319€ shipped at home the “third” time I will be “defeated” by it’s tentation 
Here’s a video review of the item, but go in a shop and listen to it’s incredible audio live!
Switch, a free music converter for OSX
Recently I’ve been in need of a easy to use, possibly free, audio converter … after a little search on the various Mac devoted software directories I’ve found this real nice tool: Switch.
His features are:
- Universal audio converter supporting all popular formats
- Convert or compress sound files within minutes of downloading
- Includes batch audio converter to convert thousands of files
- Extract audio from any media file including video
- Batch converting to convert many audio files at once
- Import and convert a playlist (m3u and pls)
- Import video files and extract audio (avi, mov, mpeg)
- Extract and convert audio from DVDs
- Customizable right-click “Quick Convert” options
- Convert from multiple file formats at one time
- Access online database to add song information
- Listen to tracks prior to conversion
- Automatically normalize audio while converting
- MP3 encoder supports constant or variable bit rates
- WAV encoder supports a range of sample rates
- Use as a command line plugin for automation with software to convert or compress audio files
As you can see the OS X interface is quite clear and effective …
I did a couple of test with flac and mpc files and it worked smoothly and rapidly.
Also, is being developed for Microsoft and Linux and OS X … both for Intel and PPC machines (which is a good thing!).
So, if you’re searching for a unique software for your audio conversions need here’s your guy: Switch!
Negramaro, on iTunes
Just a quick note in the occasion of my first purchase of a digital item on an on-line shop.
Some months ago, for my birthaday my cousin gave me some money to spend on the iTunes Music Store. But given this I (still) found a bit strange to buy such an immaterial item, music, in an immaterial media, the bits.
I still do prefer the material feel of a 13cm plastic disc and the smell of a just printed booklet, with photos and lyrics of a song to read and watch back and forth during the listening.
But since the 8th of june the (southern) italian rock band from Salento called Negramaro released their second album I just said myself “why not?” and proceeded buying it.
Also the reviews from the store are all confirming the good result of “La Finestra”, proclaiming it to be at least at the same, immensely good level of their first one “Mentre Tutto Scorre” listed to the disc consuption on my players!
Right now I’m completing the first “run” of it and I can confirm the mantenaince of their quality.
See ya !
}a year (and 15 days) of Last.fm
15 days are passed since my subscription to the last.fm music site, which probabli is one of the “so called” web 2.0 site that I use the most with the top of satisfaction.
Since the 12th febrary 2006 I’ve listened – at the time of this post writing – 19.206 songs circa, which divided for the canonical 365 days of an year makes an average of 52,6 songs a day. Not bad, I think 
On my top listened charts are still available some groups and artists that I’ve removed from my Library that I’ve tried to listen carefully but never get my full attention and never get me prever a single song to a well known classic or certain electronic music I prefer to listen while I’m at work {Madredeus suggested to me by my friend Dubh are between those}.
Many artist have been listened only thanks to the custom tailored web radio made availabe by Last.Fm Player, while many others comes from quick cd-ripping collections of some friends done when I had no internet connection to properly tag them {hence the consistent number of unknows visible}.
The website gets better and better each month, new localization are introduced and best of all the thing works on Open Source codes and API’s, in fact _every_ modern music player on GNU/Linux sports a built-in plugin for this “social service”. What are you waiting to make a try ?
This is my Last.fm user profile page and here is a link to my personal Radio Station to listen the music I’m probably listening every day!
{sorry, the WordPress.com templates doesn’t allow me to insert ‘object’ code needed to show their fancy interface}
the song of the day
This morning has started in a bad bad bad mood. With tendency to go worst. The unpleaseant surprise of over 25 minutes of queue in the car to get to the office wasn’t welcome … it’s my personal hell to be struck in the italian traffic.
I am frustrated by how a series of events on the personal and working “level” are going …
When, totally unexpected, a ray of light comes to me. Italian anchorman Fabio Volo during his own radio show called Il Volo del mattino on the italian Radio DeeJay puts on the Clash with their Rock the Casbah.
I’ve pumped up the volume, shouting and singing at the same time in my car and I cry of joy and liberation ….
Now tell me,
what’s YOUR song of the day ?
