Black Friday Deals Abound

Don’t stand in line after your Thanksgiving meal. Instead, take a quick nap, park your butt at your desk and fire up www.MyGGGo.com. I’ll be highlighting some kick ass deals that you will not want to miss.

First off, Amazon is starting Black Friday deals early, on November 22. THIS MONDAY!

The deals are expected to continue through November 27. Then, of course, there’s always the weekend and Cyber Monday.  Lot’s of time to spend lot’s of money.

Here’s something to start you grabbing your wallet. How about a 40″ 1080p LCD TV for $399.99 (38% off regular price). This is an Amazon Deal of the Day. Will go fast.

Rock Band 3 MIDI Adapter, November 9 Release?

A quick look over at Sears.com states, the Rock Band 3 (Mad Catz) MIDI adapter is to be released on November 9, versus Amazon’s listing of November 28. I stopped a by a local GameStop yesterday, and they didn’t know what it was, didn’t have them in stock, couldn’t find them in their inventory system.

Does anyone have insight when this will actually be released?

In the meantime, I plan to visit my closest Sears at lunch tomorrow and report back.

UPDATE (11/9): This morning the image on Sears.com and Kmart.com stated that it is now available.  I stopped by both a Kmart and Sears, though neither had it in stock. I also stopped by a GameStop to no avail. In another attempt, I tried buying from Sears.com. Once I got to the checkout screen, I received a notification that is was out of stock and no longer available for shipping. Looks like this date was incorrect.

MyGGGo Episode 1 – Rock Band 3 Unboxing

I shot this footage nearly two weeks ago, though took me a while to figure out how to edit and post this to YouTube. This high-tech stuff is tricky!

Anyway, here’s the first MyGGGo vidcast. The unboxing of Rock Band 3 with the Keys. Enjoy!

Rock Band & Guitar Hero with Real Drums – Part 4: pro setup

This is Part 4 of a multi-part series.
Part 1: the discovery
Part 2: intro and shopping
Part 3: basic setup
Part 4: pro setup

This post is long, LONG overdue.  It began in January 2009 when I discovered that an electronic drum kit could be used to play Rock Band and Guitar Hero (see Part 1). Then I set out to buy the gear needed (see Part 2), which included a Guitar Hero World Tour drum kit. Once we get the basics setup, we are able to play Rock Band and Guitar Hero with Yamaha and Roland drum kits. Now that Rock Band 3 is out, it’s time to finish up this series with the “pro” setup.  How fitting that 21 months ago, I titled this post “pro setup” and Rock Band 3 also calls this “Pro” drums. Great minds think alike, I guess.

First, lets discuss what my current drum kit consists of. A simple Visio picture should speak a thousand words.

I did not purchase a specific drum kit. Instead I leveraged the fact that I owned a very old (but fully capable) drum brain, and purchased my drum kit piecemeal. Most came used from eBay, some new from Guitar Center and J&R. in all, I probably spent about $700 over the past 2 years to get this setup.

There are four drum pads (red PD-7, yellow PD-8, blue PD-8, green PD-8) making up the typical drums on a Rock Band drum kit. I also have three cymbal pads (yellow/blue VH-11, blue CY-8, green CY-8). There is one kick drum pad (Orange KD-8), with a Gibraltar double-kick pedal. For the drum brain, I have a (circa 1994) Yamaha TMX, though any Roland, Yamaha, and some ION brains should do the trick. All of the equipment is mounted on a Roland MDS-10 stand.

This part is a repeat from Part 3, step 6 to help set the scene for the MIDI note mapping. Configure each pad on your e-drum kits brain with the following MIDI value.  NOTE:  The voice (actual sound) doesn’t matter, what matters is the MIDI value.

RockBand Settings (CREDIT: Doc_SoCal)

RED – MIDI Note 38
YELLOW – MIDI Note 46
BLUE - MIDI Note 48
GREEN - MIDI Note 45
KICK - MIDI Note 36

GHWT Settings are the same, you just add the orange pad at MIDI Note 49.

1. I started with the basic Rock Band drum kit setup, 4 pads (RED, YELLOW, BLUE, GREEN) and 1 kick (KICK) pedal. This is all plugged into the Guitar Hero World Tour drum kit’s MIDI port.
2. Next I added a single cymbal, which for Rock Band I mapped to GREEN as a crash cymbal.
3. I created a second “drum set” in the TMX brain for Guitar Hero, and repeated the MIDI mapping in step 1. For the cymbal, I mapped it to the ORANGE cymbal specifically used in Guitar Hero games. I switch back and forth from my Rock Band “drum set” and Guitar Hero “drum set” depending on which game I use.
   1. NOTE: For Rock Band 3, I currently use just the Guitar Hero drum kit. Rock Band 3 makes use of the Guitar Hero orange pad by mapping it to a cymbal.
4. Next I added the hi-hat. This is a fully functional hi-hat (though only made up of one cymbal) which sits on a real hi-hat stand, and utilizes the stands hi-hat pedal. It has two 1/4″ inputs for open/closed/pedal voices. For my Rock Band “drum set”, I mapped the closed voice to YELLOW, the open voice to BLUE, and the pedal voice also to YELLOW. The reason for this is in Rock Band games, closed hi-hat sounds are sent to YELLOW, the open hi-hat sounds are sent to BLUE.
5. Just this week, in preparation for Rock Band 3 Pro Drums mode, I picked up another cymbal pad and mapped it to BLUE. This will give me the third cymbal pad I need for the upcoming Mad Catz MIDI adaptor (coming November 28) for Rock Band 3.

Getting into the Mobile App Dev arena

It’s been a while since I dove into a programming gig. Some of you may know that one of my alter ego’s is JavaDevelop (@JavaDevelop on Twitter) and www.JavaDevelop.com. Don’t waste your time visiting that website since it will only bring you back here. I started my programming days in the late 1990′s with LotusScript on Domino/Notes applications (well actually the 1980′s if you count me playing with Basic on an Atari 1200XL).  Then progressed into the web world with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS; and finally went into the middle-tier of Java, and SQL database work. Around the late-2000′s I got bored and took a programming break.

Now, as my interest in mobile technology is increasing, I’m getting my programming skills sharpened and focusing first on iPhone development. This is a very new space for me, since iPhone development takes place on a Mac (I’m a Windows purist), and is written in a language called Objective-C, which is heavily based on the C programming language (see my background above to identify the discrepancy). That said, my iPhone skills are getting sharper each day, and I have some projects to work on (which I will announce at a future date).

I may also work on apps for the other devices, including Android, Palm, and BlackBerry. Though, that would take me in a very different technical direction, so don’t expect it soon.

To keep up with my mobile development activities, for now you can follow me @JavaDevelop on Twitter.  Sometime in the future, I will revive the website with all that I’m working on.

If you have any app suggestions with the platform you’d like to see an app on, let me know.  Maybe I will take community suggestions for future direction.

Slacker Radio: Now with ABC News

Slacker announced months ago, that with an update coming in 2010 there would be new features and stations added to the streaming radio service. One of those, was the unique addition of ABC News audio feeds.

Months have gone by, and all the new mentioned features have come true; like new clients for BlackBerry, iPhone, and Android with wireless syncing. The ABC News feature has gone unanswered…

…until today.

I opened up my favorite streaming music application in Firefox, to see an advertisement on screen for “ABC NEWS ON SLACKER RADIO!” I clicked the link, and am currently listening away to ABC News feeds. This is definitely a nice addition to the 100+ canned music stations, plus the unlimited number of custom stations, like our own custom Rock Band station.

Later on, I will experiment with trying the new station on my BlackBerry Slacker app. Plus, I will try to make a custom station with both music and news feeds.  Should be interesting.

I’ve seen satellite radio articles bashing the new offering by Slacker. Though, I’m going to give this a solid test drive and report back before making any judgment.

You can check out Slacker Radio in your web browser or smartphone by visiting www.slacker.com.

Cena confirms Rock Band 3 ION compatibility

A recent tweet from Cena (authority on most things Rock Band related) was noteworthy:

To clarify for all. The Ion Drum Rocker does work with RB3. if you have the 3 cymbals you Are set for pro mode. #cenaE3

If you’re like me and just have the standard ION with two-cymbals, then you are probably looking ahead to upgrading.  If you want to get in on PRO-mode drumming, there are three components that you should consider.

• 3rd cymbal.  This can either be the ION variety, or something else entirely as the kit is highly expandable and compatible with other e-cymbals on the market.
• 2nd bass-pedal.  The stock ION pedal is garbage, I purchased the Rock Pedal and could not be happier.
• Bass-pedal coupler.  The ION ‘brain’ does not have a second input for the bass pedal.

It’s likely that ION will announce an upgrade package that has all of the above.  There are a few bass-pedals that have the coupler built in, so that could potentially cut down on the cost and certainly the cabling.  I’ve been in touch with Jordan from Rock Pedal, and he will be offering just such a package in time for Rock Band 3.  However I will probably look to get a better quality and brand of high-hat than another ION cymbal (and I’m not complaining about the ION cymbals, they are great).

What are your plans for upgrading your e-drum kit?

iPhone OS 4.ugghh

So I need to preface this entire post with the fact that I’m really excited about some of the new features that the new iPhone OS will bring to the iPhone/iPad even though I may not use all of them.  None, I repeat, none of them are earthshattering, but I think they bode well for the directions the iPhone and iPad are going in terms of use.  The iPhone now becomes even more useful/handy.  For someone who owns an iPhone and has loved the experience, this is pretty incredible.  Extra utility out of a device I already love using is a big win.  In terms of the iPad, it’s now elevated from an intriguing little device to a purchase option.  I’d like to get a laptop for general use around the house.  Nothing major, I just want the flexibility I don’t have now with my desktop.  Well that and I need to catch up with my wife who has a laptop.  With the new functionality 4 brings to the iPad, it’s now directly in my line of sight as an option.

My frustrations:

- 4 is not fully compatible with the iPhone 3G.  Are you kidding me?  Phones have had multi-tasking and enterprise support for years now but Apple doesn’t think 2 year old 3G hardware can handle it?  How elegant and ‘best in class’ can your design be if the 3G can’t handle multi-tasking.  This is a pure money grab plain and simple.  Jobs even said as much when he referred to the new features being an incentive to upgrade as “terrific.”  Sorry, but there’s no way I can justify buying a phone simply to get Multi-tasking, advanced mail, enteprise support, iBooks, GameCenter, etc. all in one shot.  I’m sure some of those will port to the 3G but that it all won’t is absoutely crazy.  I’ve lived with my iPhone for 2 years now and loved it, so clearly I don’t ‘need’ any of these features.  I don’t see Apple getting money from me for a new model phone just on principle.  The iPhone 3G is a large portion of Apples install base that’s now been alienated.  Not the best move in my view.

- Enough with the marketing nonsense Apple.  The whole ‘we’re not first with multi-tasking, but we’re the best’ is the same garbage lines all companies use when they’re late to market with something.  Quit trying to make this out to be more than it is.  A lot of these features should have been in from the beginning, so don’t treat us like we’re dumb now w/ clever slides and marketing lingo.  Call it like it is.  These features are great and put you on par in these areas with your competition.  You clearly shine in areas like UI, usability, App Store, etc. and those put you at the top of the hill.  There’s no need to disparage to cover up the fact that you’re late to the game with this.  You have a great phone/device.  In these feature sets, you’ve now caught up and added a little more.  Implemented well, these features put you at the top.  But lets not get crazy and forget that phones have had multitasking, folders, advanced mail, enterprise support, etc. for a long time before todays preview.  You’ve copied/caught up in some areas, and lead and been frontrunners in others.  Call a spade a spade.

Overall, I’m excited about the features that will be coming to the iPhone/iPad.  GameCenter (think Xbox Live on smartphones) appears to be the one ‘new’ thing, but the other features that are now coming to the table look good.  The iPhone just got better, and the iPad just became even more of an option for many users.  I am, however, slightly worried about the direction this is all going.  Apple has always done their ‘walled garden’ thing but it seems to be going even more in that direction if possible.  With iAds, App Store inconsistencies, lack of true file storage access, etc., we’re increasingly only able to do the things Apple wants (or gets a cut from) on our devices.  If this path continues, there’s only so many restrictions I’ll stomach for access to great UI and hardware.  So far, I’m good and intrigued by Apple products, but I worry/wonder what my feelings will be in the future.

YouTube, Hulu on your Xbox 360 with TVersity

Did you know you can stream YouTube, Hulu, and Flash videos on your Xbox 360?  Well you can, with a nifty piece of Windows software called TVersity.  It’s pretty simple too.  You just install the TVersity client on your Windows PC, make sure your Xbox 360 and PC can communicate via Windows Media sharing (or similar), and then you are ready to go.

The TVersity client allows you to configure what you stream from adding YouTube channels, syncing your entire Hulu feed, or specifically adding RSS feeds.  The Flash feature is brand new with a recent update to TVersity, so I have not checked it out yet. TVersity came in very handy on New Years Eve for me, as I wanted to stream some YouTube videos on my TV, but could not figure out how to do it.  After a friend introduced me to TVersity, and we spent about 10 minutes downloading/setting it up, I’m a TVersity fan now.  I suggest paying for the Pro edition which (1) gives you full capabilities, (2) helps fund additional development of this excellent application.

Here are the updates to the recent TVersity release.  If you have any specific questions regarding setup, let me know in comments.

We are pleased to announce the release of TVersity Pro edition 1.8 featuring:

• New implementation of the off-screen web browser based on Google Chromium for increased stability and speed. In fact we think this is approaching rock solid levels and can soon come out of beta (please be sure to let us know what you think).
• We are opening the list of supported premium content sites so that advanced users can add new ones (only web pages with Flash video for now). If you are an advanced user and you are not intimidated by xml files then check osb.xml, it is pretty much self explanatory.
• List of supported websites can now be updated without requiring a new release. From now on, new sites will be added and pushed to all users. (Advanced users should send us their additions since from time to time we overwrite osb.xml).

Last year we made the first release of our Pro edition, with the intention to enable access to premium web content (including movies and full TV episodes). The big promise of this approach was the use of a full blown web browser running on your PC but displaying web content on your TV. Ultimately we want to let you access any website on TV with this technology, today we are taking another step in that direction by letting you access any video site with Flash video (and not just the ones we decided to support).

Full release note are here.

Download latest version here.

Have questions related to adding premium content sites? Need support for the Pro version? Try our new questions and answers tool available at: answers.tversity.com.

NOTE: There are a couple similar products out there, including PlayOn. I haven’t used anything other than TVersity, but you may have varying milage with competitors too.

Google Buzz, A Real Threat to Twitter & Facebook

I’m just learning what Google Buzz is all about today.  I like to keep things short and simple here. Think of Gmail mixed with all the social aspects of Facebook and Twitter.  Photo sharing, status updates, posts/blogging, geolocation, etc.  All this in the simplistic Google interface.

Who doesn’t have a Gmail account? Just about no one.  Who doesn’t use Twitter and/or Facebook?  Just about no one.

Google Buzz is rolling out today to Gmail users.  The coolest part, is it’s not only rolling out for desktop users, but also smartphone users.  At first rollout, a bunch of dekstop (Windows, Mac, etc) users already have the Buzz features enabled, plus iPhone and Android users have access just by navigating to http://buzz.google.com from the browser. No word yet on BlackBerry or WebOS support.

Knowing that Gmail already has a huge install base, would you give Buzz a try? I know I will.