Your complete guide to Facebook Timeline

Facebook announced last week that Timeline—its redesigned profile page—is becoming mandatory for all users. If you don’t switch to Timeline on your own, Facebook will do so for you within “the next few weeks.”

Facebook has been rolling out Timeline slowly since December, after first introducing it at its F8 developer conference in September. The project is one of Facebook’s most ambitious and significant redesigns to date, as it seeks to become your digital scrapbook with the capability to document your life from birth to present day, and revisit old posts more easily.

While not everyone is on board with Timeline, the switch is inevitable. Here’s our complete guide to Facebook Timeline, from making the switch to adjusting your privacy settings, in order to make the transition easier. [read]

Korg’s Kaossilator 2, Mini Kaoss 2: Handheld Sonic Fun That’s Not an iPhone

Photo: Marsha Vdovin for CDM.

Remember when electronic sound gear hid in hulking, rack-sized cases? Korg’s Kaossilator series had already begun shrinking the desktop KAOSS Pad gear, but even the first-generation Kaossilator wouldn’t fit in your pocket, given its square shape and corners. (Well, unless you were wearing overalls.) The Kaossilator 2 and Mini Kaoss Pad 2, on the other hand, are scaled perfectly to your hand and would tuck neatly into a pocket in your pants or bag. And while I know some readers were hoping for a new Pro addition to the KAOSS line, these little bundles of joy have added some functionality that could make them musically useful. Being dedicated hardware, they also won’t suffer from a battery sapped by phone calls or the interruption of a Facebook message – and that input jack is built in.

We saw the new models at the NAMM show this month. The highlights:

The Kaossilator 2 is a PCM-based phrase synth, inspired by the original Kaosillator, for improvising melodic lines. What’s new is some handy recording functionality:

• Scale Key and Note Range so every note is “right,” effectively, as on the original
• Drum sounds
• Gate Arpeggiator with adjustable gate time and swing settings
• Loop recording to layer phrases and add as many overdubs as you like
• “Dual Loop Recording banks allow DJ-Style mutes and cross-fades”
• Record using the built-in mic; or use the mic input for recording of external input
• microSD/SDHC, so you can cheaply add up to 32G of removable storage

That crossfader, of course, is entirely new, and Korg does mention “dance music” in the sounds and focus. It’s easy, then, to imagine this as a pocket-able instrument for jamming or something you’d use to make musical ideas on the go, and it does look like a lot of fun. [read]

How to Deal with Difficult People and Have Constructive Conflict

Life and relationships aren’t always perfect. Take a minute to think of some difficult people you have to deal with in your life? These may be people you work with, the in-laws that come to town throughout the year, or your neighbor who can’t seem to take a hint. For whatever reason, you’re just not jiving with these people.

Do you flee? Or, do you get flexible and learn to interact?

When we encounter these extreme personalities it can feel like they are trying to make our life miserable, but more often than not, it’s simply learning about these peoples’ tendencies and how to interact in a more tactful way. Some conflicts are unavoidable and shouldn’t be smoothed over or suppressed, though it’s learning to deal with our differences, and how to understand, resolve, and learn from these interactions that’s important. [read]

AT&T posts loss on breakup fee, benefit plan costs

AT&T’s loss for the quarter was $6.7 billion due to $13.4 billion in one-time charges, including $4.2 billion in charges for ending its bid to acquire rival mobile carrier T-Mobile USA.

AT&T also reported a $6.3 billion charge for its benefit plan costs and $2.9 billion for asset impairments during the quarter. The company had revenue of $32.5 billion for the quarter, up from $31.4 billion for the fourth quarter of 2010.

AT&T announced in December it would charge a $4 billion merger breakup fee during the quarter, after it withdrew its offer to purchase T-Mobile. [read]

Patents By The Numbers: Average Wait Time Is Down, But Trolls Cost Us $80 Billion A Year

Starting last fall and stretching through mid-2013, the U.S. has been overhauling the patent-approval process for the first time since 1952. The biggest change: our first-to-invent system, which favors creators, will become a first-to-file system, which favors . . . whoever files first. Uncle Sam says the reform will speed innovation. Our experts check the numbers. [read]

Basic Lighting Setups for Green Screen

There’s more to lighting your green screen than just sticking some green fabric up on a wall behind your talent and hoping for the best! Planning ahead and choosing the right setup for the shot you’re hoping to get is a key factor in determining what kind of lighting setup you’re going to require. Will it be in a studio? On-location? Indoors or outdoors? Full-length with walk-ons or just a talking head? Will your actors be making contact with the screen? These are all questions covered in this video lesson from my Green Screen Workshop series – this is a FREE video lesson, so enjoy! [read]

Brand Name Batteries Last Longer but the Savings Over Generics Is Small

he battery aisle is a confusing place and if you’ve ever found yourself wondering if brand name batteries are worth the extra cost, you’re not alone. Wired has put together a comparison between expensive batteries and dollar stores batteries that answers the question.

According to their study, name brand batteries from Duracell and Energizer last over twice as long as dollar store batteries. However, when they broke down the cost to energy ratio, all the batteries are essentially equal. The exception is that you have to replace dollar store batteries more often, but since they’re cheaper, it balances out. What does this say about choosing batteries? Wired suggests: [read]

ProSoundNetwork Best Of Show Awards: NAMM 2012

The editorial staffs of Pro Sound News and Pro Audio Review magazines are proud to present the ProSoundNetwork Best of Show Awards for the 2012 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California.

During each of the major conventions and trade shows in a given year, the editors of PAR and PSN, with assistance from the editors of sister titles Audio Media and Mix, comb the exhibit halls for new and noteworthy products. Gear and software that show particular merit are singled out for the ProSoundNetwork Best of Show Awards. All products debuting at a given event are eligible.

And the winners are: [read]

Apollo – apparent hit of NAMM 2012

Of all the new products announced at NAMM, Apollo (Universal Audio) seems to have captured the most buzz.

Huge news from Universal Audio! Today at the NAMM show they will announce a brand new 18 x 24 FireWire/Thunderbolt-ready audio interface with on-board UAD plugins for tracking and mixing.

Apollo will be available in UAD-2 Duo and Quad formats. If you plan on mixing with the UAD plugins I assume you’ll want the Quad version but if you’re integrating hardware and/or Native plugins the Duo should be able to handle the task well. Universal Audio promises sub-2ms latency. [read] [Universal Audio]

Top 10 Safari Plugins and Extensions for Better Productivity

As much fun as procrastination can be, productivity always proves more rewarding in the long run. Luckily, Safari users can access a wide range of plugins (aka shortcuts) that can not only help to increase productivity while surfing the web, but also help make your browser more unique and user-friendly.

You may be concerned about overcrowding the top of your browser, but remember that these icons are small and easily removable. [read]