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Steve Jobs, according to musical legend Jon Bon Jovi, is "personally responsible for killing the music business." This strident (and economically false) accusation comes from an interview he conducted with Britain's Sunday Times, where he candidly sets out his dismay at this century's move away from music distribution on physical media and toward ubiquitous download portals. Bon Jovi's nostalgia shines through in his detailed account of the "magical" experience of picking up records and enjoying their sweet touch and soothing analog tones -- though we're not sure how he missed out on the fact that CDs, not downloads, were the first to stab a dagger of digital convenience through the hole in his record collection. Still, Bon Jovi thinks Apple's iTunes success is to blame for the loss of our collective innocence and bright-eyed enthusiasm for music. What do you think?

Continue reading Jon Bon Jovi accuses Steve Jobs of putting a shot through the heart of music

Jon Bon Jovi accuses Steve Jobs of putting a shot through the heart of music originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 20:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading It's Pi Day. Do you know what 3.1415926535897932384626433832795 sounds like?

It's Pi Day. Do you know what 3.1415926535897932384626433832795 sounds like? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Pi Day, iTunes Preview, Pi Symphony  | Email this | Comments

Members of the Perth Artifactory hackerspace in Western Australia built a Arcophone, an instrument that uses Jacob’s Ladders to make music. However, they had a need to build a quick Version Two one and it looks great!

Owing to the Arcophone Mk I being stuck somewhere on the Nullabor owing to damage to train tracks from the recent rains. As we had a gig at Scitech we needed a new Arcophone, using the prototype batch of v1.2 coil drivers, Brett, Simon & Daniel spent the better part of the last week building the Arcophone Mk II. The case was designed and cut by Simon Kirkby and the electronics designed and assembled by Brett Downing and Daniel Harmsworth.

Note that the coolest component of the Arcophone are the Coil Driver kits that the Artifactory will be offering soon; I’ll post a link when they’re available. You can see them on the central pedestal. The two side pedestals have ordinary automotive ignition coils that do the actual sparking.

Members of the Perth Artifactory hackerspace in Western Australia built a Arcophone, an instrument that uses Jacob’s Ladders to make music. However, they had a need to build a quick Version Two one and it looks great!

Owing to the Arcophone Mk I being stuck somewhere on the Nullabor owing to damage to train tracks from the recent rains. As we had a gig at Scitech we needed a new Arcophone, using the prototype batch of v1.2 coil drivers, Brett, Simon & Daniel spent the better part of the last week building the Arcophone Mk II. The case was designed and cut by Simon Kirkby and the electronics designed and assembled by Brett Downing and Daniel Harmsworth.

Note that the coolest component of the Arcophone are the Coil Driver kits that the Artifactory will be offering soon; I’ll post a link when they’re available. You can see them on the central pedestal. The two side pedestals have ordinary automotive ignition coils that do the actual sparking.

Piezoelectric materials are about as close to magic as you can get. They turn physical pressure into electricity and can even turn electricity into physical pressure – an amazing sort of bidirectional converter for mechanical and electrical energies. Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that you can easily ‘grow’ your own piezoelectric crystals overnight using just a couple of common ingredients – awesome.

Ever since I made my first contact microphone, I’ve been amazed by piezos and their unique abilities. I was more than psyched to learn I could make my own piezoelectric crystals after finding recipes online. Now I just need to figure out how I’ll put these little guys to good use … feel free to leave any ideas/suggestions in the comments below!