Celemony Melodyne Version 1.2

Now available, this update brings 64-bit support and improved transfer handling, as well as extending MIDI export to the plug-in implementations of Melodyne editor and assistant. Melodyne essential supports additional plug-in formats and can now also be operated in stand-alone mode.

Melodyne can now be used on more tracks and process longer transfers, as well as being extremely stable in operation. Major gains have been made not only in terms of performance and reliability, but also in terms of speed: The detection of the transferred material with V. 1.2 is up to 30-percent quicker, even in 32-bit operation. [read]

AmpliTube 2 for iPhone, as the Handheld Music Workflow Gets Clearer

AmpliTube 2 arrives today with new effects, recording, bounce to audio, export/import, practice tools, and in-app purchase of extra stomp modules. I’ve been playing with a pre-release version for the last few days. Combined with an audio interface like IK Multimedia’s own iRig, AmpliTube 2 turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a handheld, pocket-able workstation.

But let’s step back for a moment and consider what that means. What would you want a device to do for your music if that device fit in the palm of your hand? [read]

How to Know When to Quit

How would you feel if someone called you a “quitter”?

My guess is – not good. You might feel hurt, guilty or upset. You almost certainly wouldn’t feel proud of yourself.

Quitting gets a bad rap. We’re often encouraged, from an early age, to stick with our projects at all costs – even when we’re totally fed up. You might have come across quotes like Napoleon Hill’s “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits.”

Frankly, that’s nonsense. Lots of successful people achieve their real goals by knowing when to quit. You could waste years of your life beating your head against a brick wall – when the real way forwards was to quit, and start something new.

I like the way W.C. Fields puts it:

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no use being a damn fool about it.

So how do you know when to try again – and when to quit? Here are four warning signs that make quitting a perfectly valid option. [read]

Top 10 Characteristics of GREAT Project Managers

Good project managers are hard enough to find, and great project managers are rarer still. Thanks to Andy Crowe, though, we now have a peek inside the top 2% of project managers, based on a study of 860 of them as rated by their peers/clients. Not surprisingly, great project management requires a lot more than the ability to move a milestone. [read]

When Are Facebook Users Most Active? [STUDY]

We know that users are spending increasing amounts of time online on social networks like Facebook, but when exactly are users the most active? Social media management company Vitrue just released a study that identifies the days and hours users are most active on the Facebook channels maintained by companies and brands.

For the study, Vitrue analyzed Facebook post data from August 10, 2007 to October 10, 2010 from more than 1,500 brand streams — more than 1.64 million posts and 7.56 million comments in all. Shares and likes were not included in the study. [read]

Stop Wasting Time in Meetings

When was the last time you looked at your calendar and realized that every working minute of your day was going to be spent in meetings? Probably not that long ago. And when you looked at that schedule what was your reaction? Excitement? Anticipation? More likely you thought “How am I ever going to get anything done if I’m in meetings all day?”

According to a Microsoft survey of 38,000 people in 200 countries, on average, people spend 5.6 hours each week in meetings and 69 percent of those surveyed feel meetings aren’t productive. That’s a lot of wasted time, no?

Here’s the thing: with the right intention and structure, meetings can be highly productive. Really, they can! They are an integral part of how you can infuse effective communication throughout your business, and how you can ensure employee cooperation, buy-in, and focus toward your business goals. [read]

Guitar Delay (technique)

Delay can add a galaxy of lush ambience and vibe to a guitar part. As a result, it’s like a drug you can’t seem to get enough of, but it’s a blessing and a curse. When used properly, it can add dimensions to your sound that you could only have imagined. When abused, it can make you sound like pails of mud. Here are a few quick ideas to keep you out of the muck. [read]

The New Faces of Social Media

From YouTube celebrities to chief social-media officers, these unexpected players exert outsize impact and power online — offering new channels of communication that businesses can’t afford to ignore.

Justine Ezarik
(aka iJustine) has more than 300 million video views and corporate clients from GE to Intel to Mattel.

Joe Penna
(aka Mystery Guitar Man) is the sixth-most-watched YouTube partner, with 1.3 million subscribers.

Jill Fletcher
of Virgin America tapped power users on Twitter to promote the airline’s first international route.

Gary Vaynerchuk
Wine Library TV has 150,000 loyal viewers. He also advises companies such as Campbell’s Soup and the New York Jets.

[read]

7 Powerful and Amazingly Motivational Quotes from Zig Ziglar

Zig Ziglar was born in 1926 in Coffee County, Alabama, United States. He is an American author, salesperson and a motivational speaker. He is over 80 years old and still travels around the world attending motivation seminars to help people get stuff done.

Sometimes, a simple quote can change the way you see something, and that is what Zig Ziglar does so well.

“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”

With all that said, enjoy the 7 quotes below and think about how you can apply them to your own life. Is there something that can be improved? What steps can you take today to improve what you already have? [read]

8 Great Mind Mapping Tools For Effective Brainstorming

A mind map is considered a great way to brainstorm and generate more ideas. It helps you create a number of small ideas from one big idea, see how different ideas could be connected together and create a plan of action.

This article talks about eight mind mapping tools to help you brainstorm effectively. Almost all of them have free versions available. Some of them also help you collaborate with other people while working on the tool. Check them out. [read]