“So, you’re thinking about podcasting and have no idea where to start. Or maybe you tried recording using your computer’s built-in microphone, or the USB headset you bought to use with Skype, and realized just how bad that sounds.

My hope is that this article detailing different setups I’ve used over the last few years will assist you in putting together a recording rig that suits both your needs and budget.”

“A lot of people ask me how I do the MetaFilter Podcast (warning: the podcast makes no sense to anyone outside of MetaFilter uberfans). I know they don’t mean ‘how do you do it man, you’re making magic over there every week!’ but rather “what software and hardware does it take to make a decent sounding podcast?” After almost a year of regular podcasts and trying out different software and equipment, I’ve gotten the workflow down cold and I wanted to share the my way of making a good sounding podcast on the cheap. This works perfectly well for me being in Oregon and talking to my friend Jessamyn in Vermont over Skype, recording at both ends, then tossing it all into Garageband to complete the podcast.”

“Nothing sounds quite like an ice cream van, and this post on EM411 left me wondering how they work. This is what I found: ‘Early models consisted of a hand tuned Swiss musical movement (like a music box) fitted with a magnetic pick up and the amplifiers used radio-type valves. In 1958 reliable transistors came on to the market and efficient amplifiers were built to work directly of the vehicle’s battery…’”

“Unless you’re involved in production or the music industry, it’s often very easy to let the importance of a good piece of accompanying music slip by …for the past couple of months, whenever we’d have a second or two, we’ve been working on this simple animated commercial for Jewelboxing to be used in the product samples we send out, for web promotion, and whatever else we see fit. Now that we’re nearing the end of the visual process, we’re at the point when we’re starting to think about scoring and sound effects.”

“Spurred on by a recent weekend full of hot-tub induced dehydration, beer, and lack of sleep, some friends of mine discovered an interesting (I think, I at least) capability of the command line computer interface. Prepare to be really geeked-out. As I wrote briefly about last year, on the Linux command line, you can pass the output of one program into another by joining them together with | (the ‘pipe’ character). For example, if you entered whois actsofvolition.com | gedit, it would take the output of the whois lookup for that domain name and open it in gedit, a text editor. It occurred to one of us, in our sleep-deprived state, that you might be able to pipe the output of the random number generator into an audio player, and hear random noise.” (Thanks kottke.org!)

“Animals make much the same sounds around the world, but each language expresses them differently. English and French cows sound the same, but not in English and French! Explore the sounds of the world’s languages through the sounds of the world’s animals.”

“This field recording repository is an extension of the eGroup disscussion list Phonography. Although this is primarily for the Phonography readers, others are welcome and encouraged to upload their recordings.”

“Unfortunately, but understandably, audio is often under-utilized. When dealing with Web based media, audio can be a data hog and is traditionally known as a usability killer. On top of that, you can’t rely on every end user to have their speakers turned on. These are legitimate concerns and they shouldn’t be ignored. At the same time I think we need to keep looking forward and that involves thinking of sound design as an integral part of interactive media. If we begin to make media experiences enriching enough, eventually users will want to have their speakers on.”

“For Jane Mackay, sneezes are turquoise and Friday is chequered. She has synaesthesia, a neurological condition which mixes up her senses. Here, the former GP-turned-artist, of south London, explains her colourful world.”

“This is a pre-study for a larger audiovisual speech synthesis project that is planned to be carried out during 1998-2000 at Helsinki University of Technology. The main objective of this report is to map the situation of today’s speech synthesis technology and to focus on potential methods for the future of this project … The objective of the whole project is to develop high quality audiovisual speech synthesis with a well synchronized talking head, primarily in Finnish. Other aspects, such as naturalness, personality, platform independence, and quality assessment are also under investigation.” Be sure to check out the Speech Synthesis Demonstrations page.

“Visa International unveiled on Wednesday an animated logo, with audio, that was designed by New York-based i-shop Agency.com to signal when a Visa product is being used for payment on a PC, mobile phone or handheld device.” Here it is. Yuck. And I don’t even want to know how much that cost.

“ICAD is a forum for presenting research on the use of sound to display data, monitor systems, and provide enhanced user interfaces for computers and virtual reality systems. It is unique in its singular focus on auditory displays and the array of perception, technology, and application areas that this encompasses.”

“MANMADE offers a single source for a comprehensive range of audio products and services. We provide sound-specific consultation, music and audio creation, and integration of content with existing systems. We help clients develop and project a coherent sonic identity by developing synchronized audio campaigns for broadcast and new-media.”

“You Ain’t Heard Nothing Yet.” Watch out, this link is straight to a .PDF. Why? I have no idea.

Why? I have no idea.