So, looks like Native Instruments are doing exactly what I predicted (hoped) they would. It’s a 4 Channel controller specifically for Traktor with jog wheeels, effects, samplers, and on-board sound card, and lots of other goodies. YES!!! I’m so buying this, I just hope it won’t be as expensive as the Xone DX.

Looks like the release may be accompanied with a new release of Traktor Pro too.

From: http://www.djtechtools.com/2010/07/21/traktor-pro_controller_new/

• There is a new software on the way with 4 loop players/samplers
• This will be a 2 deck/4 channel mixing console much like the new Xone DX
• It has a built in sound card and will be around the same price as the DX ($1200 ish)
• The decks are switchable from a-b c-d
• Lots of good LED feedback
• What looks like 4 cue pads per deck
• NI is calling it a Traktor System (Hardware and Software combo)

The questions remain – What is it going to be called? Kontrol X2? Kontrol X3? Kontrol X4, Kontrol X5?
And how much is it going to cost? Says $1,200 above other sites have said it’s going to be €799 which would be right on the money..

Screen grabs form the video

Enter “Sleep Cycle” – and app for the iphone. This amazing little gadget uses your iPhone’s accelerometer to monitor your movements during the night and determine when you’re most likely in and out of a dream state. Before you go to bed, set the app’s alarm clock, then place your iPhone on the corner of your bed. As you move around during the night, Sleep Cycle records your activity and, over the course of two or three nights, gradually learns your sleep patterns. Beginning about 30 minutes before your alarm is set to go off, the app begins watching for the lightest portions of your sleep cycle and gently prods you awake with your choice of soothing preset sounds.

I’ve been using this for the last few nights now and honestly I’m amazed! I did not really believe it would work but at 79 cent I thought it was worth the try. Every time I have used it, it has an uncanny ability to wake you up, just as you feel you were about to wake up naturally yourself! You set the latest time at which the alarm can go off, and it will wake you up some time before then. So not only do you get woken up at the time when you are going to feel the best, but it might be earlier than you expected so you have more time in the morning too – and will feel more awake than if you slept those extra 20 mins anyway!

I posted a while back a great video called The Story of Stuff – this is another video from the same woman and it’s a excellent little insight into why bottled water is so bad.

This one about trading Carbon Credits is also worth watching:

I finally caved in. After years of slagging off Mac fanboys and their undying love for Mac products – I’ve joined the team and actually got one myself. I’ve used Mac’s plenty before but I just never got what everyone thinks is so great about them. Apparatntly they are easy to use but coming from a strong windows background everything just seems weird and unnecessary. I’m still struggling but I think I’m getting there….

I decided to take the plunge as pretty much all serious DJ’s use Mac’s and not PC’s – a PC has a good chance of crashing and you really do not want that happening when you have a crowd of a few hundred people in front of you. Plus I wanted to give it an actual proper go and see what all the fuss was about. It’s only been a day so far but I’m still struggling. The whole ‘Macs are easier’ thing is bullshit, depends on perception, many things I find are less intuitive than on a pc. I find on a pc you have many different options and ways to complete various tasks, some ways are better than other depending on what you are doing. I’ve heard that once you get over the learning curve you’ll never look back, I hope that happens soon!

The one thing that is good is when it comes to external devices like audio/dj gear - apparently they ‘just work’ – I’ll have to see how that goes for me when I hook up my controller and soundcard, cause i’m having issues with sound quality on my pc, getting a lot of snap crackle and pop…

It does look good although the screen has to be at the perfect angle to see it properly which is annoying. It’s also heavier than my last laptop but it does have a CD/DVD drive which my last one did not I suppose. The Multi Touch touchpad is great, you can scroll up and down web pages by using two fingers instead of one. Although there is no “Right Click” which is annoying, you have to hold a button on the keyboard and click – easier my ass.

Hopefully I’ll get used to it soon. When I do I’ll make sure to spend my Sunday afternoons in Starbucks pretending like I’m working on something really important like a screenplay – and generally thinking I’m better than everyone else.

If you are not using Google Chrome yet – I highly advice you download it right now, and make it your primary Browser. I’m absolutely loving Chrome, especially since they brought extensions into the game. The quality of the Extensions in Chrome are simply fantastic, here are my recommendation for the Top 10 Must have’s – some are just simple little usability boots, but others will transform the way you use a browser!

LastPass: This is simply incredible. Install this on any browser, on any computer, and it stores all your passwords securely, in the cloud! It literally means that the next time you put in your password to login to a website, last pass will pick it up and you will never have to enter it again! Simply magic!

Picnick Image Editor: We all need to quickly edit an image from time to time, be it simply resizing the photo or cropping the dimensions, or maybe something a little more complex even. Picnick brilliant integrates into Chrome and with one click you can be editing any image on a web page and then save to file or upload to even save to Flickr etc – absolutely invaluable

New Tab To Tasks: I LOVE this one. If you use Google Tasks – you’ll know its a brilliantly simple way to keep a to do list which is in your gmail and you can get it on your iPhone etc. Although if like me you do not actually make the effort to look at it enough, here is the answer: This extension integrates Google Tasks into any new Tab, so this way you cannot help but see your tasks more, so you’ll get more of them done and also put more in too! I feel more productive already!

Google Mail Checker Plus: This one beats the pants off the standard Gmail Checker which is one of the most popular Chrome Extensions. It’s an in-line popup showing you your mails without loading up gmail in a new window, but also lets you delete, Archive, Mark as Read or Spam any mail with one click. Super Efficiency!

Google Mini Maps: This extensions lets you open up a mini map window on top of your current tab to find something on a map without loading Google Maps in a new tab. it’s Lightning quick too. Stay tuned to this one for some nice updates too.

AniWeather: A lovely little weather forecast extension that gives you a nice little popup with all the info you want, highly customisable. Also pops up a tiny reminder of the weather in the bottom corner whenever you start the browser

AdBlock: This version of AdBlock for Chrome does a great job of blocking those pesky ads we all hate on certain sites.

IE Tab: As fantastic as chrome is, sometimes certain sites just don’t work properly, usually due to developers not updating their work to the latest standards. I hate having to revert back to IE – but thankfully this extension displays any page/site using the IE Engine, so you’ve now got the best of both worlds!

Smooth Gestures: A brilliant “Mouse Gestures” extension for Chrome that left you do things like navigate back and forward between pages by just using your mouse. Absolutely essential.

SlideShow: Lastly one of the best, more impressive and also useful extensions I found. This turns any page with images or a gallery – into a beautifil fullscreen slideshow. Works great with Facebook, Flickr, Google Images and many more.

The M-Audio Evolution UC33e is a solid reliable controller with loads of Faders, Knobs and Buttons to which you can assign loads of different things to Traktor. As far as value goes for multi use Midi Controllers, this seems to be the best. Comes very highly recommended from Kid Handsome too! 

If you want a more DJ-Specific all in one controller, one of the most popular setups is the Vestax VCI-100 – I also believe this to be a good all round safe choice for a setup using Traktor.

Both the VCI-100 and the UC33 are just MIDI controller’s – they do not contain Soundcards (The Xponent and the Vestax VCI-300 Do however). So, to Monitor with Headphones you will need a soundcard. The Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ seems to be a good choice.

What i like about the Vestax VCI-100 is is DJ specific and not just a generaic controller that can be mapped for use with Traktor etc. This may not matter to some but I’m just used to all in one DJ controllers so its my preference. It has the basic’s laid out as you’d expect and it if you are used to using CDJ’s and a mixer etc, with a few extras on there too – some which are assignable for multi use. It also has platters which many say are pointless in Traktor but again, its a personal thing as some people still like to use them on occasion.

The other thing I like about it is that it has a very solid userbase and a dedicated following. From my background of working in the software industry I know how advantageous this can be. www.djtechtools.com is one of the leading websites for digital DJ’s and they have their own custom version of the VCI-100 that they have made a custom mapping for, and then applied an overlay on the actual unit itself. It can be bought from here ($600 including shipping, works out at €400).

What I plan to do, is use both the VCI-100 and the UC33 together. The Vestax will do the normal stuff and I’ll map the UC33 for some effects and other features I might want to use in Traktor. I’d live to give some of the more advanced features that Traktor has to offer – I’m looking forward to seeing how it works out and I’ll let you know more in a few weeks.

I’ve recently started Using Traktor Pro – I got together a collection of videos & links that would be of help  to many so I thought I’d share them here:

Native Instruments Tutorials:

Part 1 – User Interface: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXOZlK4veR4
Part 2 – Looping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl21UN5XuEY
Part 3 – FX Setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTd3i79-QFU
Part 4 – FX Demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQX0DoQNVpU
Part 5 – Crate Flick http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiIV4qdHTmw
Part 6 – 4 Decks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4P9KTmPC68

Richie Hawtin on his Traktor (3) Setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1H9W_iLff0

MrCuss
Midi Mapping Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQjJs…eature=related
Midi Mapping Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw9Y5gikiKc

Ean Golden – DJ Tech Tools:

VCI-100SE Walkthrough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWl79ae6fkM
Traktor Audio/Setup Guide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znUwbqczWIg

Cue Points: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLQuukGhgxI
Beatgrids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAW8X9RSt7A
Assigning Effects: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsbMJTTGDGo

Dynamic Buildups: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMP7yMvNja8
Dafer FX Theory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjjA0xPkXMs
Live Loop Recording: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgKt-2Sik48
Create Drumroll: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xuu0IKP-yE

Links:

Traktor 3 DVD Tutorials : http://www.dv247.com/computer-music-software/native-instruments-traktor-3-tutorial-dvd–48172 – its a ripoff – I don’t think its wroth buying as the tutorials above will cover most of it.

Traktor Pro Bible: http://www.traktorbible.com – proper softcover book by an expert covering all aspects of Traktor pro. Also expensive but I have ordered it – I’ll let you know what its like.

Traktor World: http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/home/?pwfilter=dj&page=djworld&content=966 – hardware guide, compatible controllers, DJ Interviews etc.

Can’t think of too much more but any links I’ve missed please post here. Please check out my house & techno mixes here: http://www.colly.tv