Dave Brubeck Dies – The legendary jazz composer and pianist has died at age 91. Born in Concord, CA, Brubeck had planned to become a rancher like his father but was drawn to music, played in a band when he served in the army, and later studied with composer Darius Milhaud. His Dave Brubeck Quartet became such a hit that he was the first modern jazz musician to be on the cover of Time magazine in 1954. The Quartet’s album Time Out in 1959 was the first ever million-selling jazz LP and is still among the best-selling jazz albums of all time. In later years Brubeck composed music for operas, ballet, even a contemporary Mass. He sometimes performed with three of his sons, all also musicians, and in 2000 his four sons played a birthday tribute to Brubeck with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Olive Media Trio of Hard-Drive Music Systems – They will be the company’s first models with built-in amps, smartphone connectivity, and a new operating system. With two of the three models, users will need only to add a pair of passive speakers to play back music. All systems have touchscreen displays ranging from 7 to 10 inches and 2TB capacity to store up to 6000 albums in their original CD quality. The systems can be controlled with a free iOS or Android app for smartphones and tablets. The highest quality streamed music will be using Wi-Fi Direct, but there is also an option to stream via Bluetooth. The two amplified systems use 32-bit/384K Tl Burr-Brown DACs with 8X oversampling. The systems can also be used as multiroom audio systems with the addition of networked clients in multiple rooms.
Iogear 3D Complete + – Iogear reports that although 3DTVs accounted for 11% of all flat panel TV sales in Q1 of 2012, and unit volumes have increased more than 74%, lack of 3D content has been a major deterrent. Their solution is a box which converts already-owned 2D video sources to 3D and also de-interlace and upscale standard content to hi-def. Their unit connects up to four HDMI sources, such as cable boxes, DVD or Blu-ray players, game consoles and home computers. It supports both active shutter and passive 3D TVs and glasses, is said to improve HDTV quality, and can deliver a more vibrant, crisp and clear video image. You can also control the amount of depth in the 3D conversion.
Web Photos to Samsung TVs via Woven Apps – A new version of the TV app Woven is now available for free download for users of any 2011 or 2012 Samsung Smart TVs. It offers a new way to share photos with family and friends without having to huddle around a small handheld screen. Owners first download the free Woven mobile app for either iOS or Android phones or tablets, and they download the companion Woven for Samsung Smart TV app thru a web-connected Samsung TV or Blu-ray player. Viewers can clock thru photos from such online sources as Facebook, Picasa, Shutterfly, Flickr and Instagram.
Wayne Shorter – In Memoriam
Rememberance of the artist