Can it play?
January 27, 2010
Today, 1-27-2010 Apple unveiled the iPad.
What can the iPad do for musicians?
We all knew it was going to be a tablet. We all had a feeling that it would rely on an altered version of the iPhone operating system, I was really hoping that Apple would impress us with something new. I am a serious Apple user with an 8 core Mac Pro Desktop and an iPhone both of which I really love. I was dreaming of an interface that would support multi-touch mixing, VST’s or even a serious multi-touch tool for editing audio. What we got seems to be a big iPhone - or is it? For those musicians out there thinking that this could have been “The next big thing” in surface control, don’t lose hope! The greatest asset of the iPhone is the ability for users to create App’s. Forums are already filling up with questions about what the iPad will do for musicians. Enthusiasts are speculating hack-ability and copy-cat devices specifically for the use of Virtual Synthesis but no confirmation. There is no doubt that multi-touch screens are the future of interaction with VST’s. It isn’t clear yet what the iPad will do to enhance the music-making experience. It was presented as a “media center” for the most part. There has been no mention by Apple about what this could do for artists or musicians. However, Apple won’t be creating the iPad’s most useful tools for musicians - that is up to us.
What can the iPad do for MMO Gaming?
Gaming isn’t Apple’s priority, we know this. However, World of Warcraft has been very successful on the mac platform and the question has been raised, why not WoW on the iPad? The data plans for the iPad staring at $14.99 would certainly appeal to the money-minded WoW player but there is not evidence that WoW can run on the iPad. YouTube is probably filling up with false hopes and dreams of an MMO running on the iPad. For the time being, those videos are just teasers of what could be. Imagine though what multi-touch screen gaming could be in an MMO. I can envision a much more active experience using touch screen than a mouse and keyboard. Touch screen technology is already changed the way we work as musicians on keyboards like the Korg Triton and of course Open Labs line of workstations. It isn’t clear whether touch screen will have a similar impact on gaming.
I never thought I would be working out drum patterns on my phone but Intua Beatmaker is as useful a tool as my NI Maschine when it comes to figuring out patterns. I never thought I would spend hours playing a game on my phone but c’mon... Sally’s spa is the bomb. It’s going to be a lot of “Wait & see” with what creativity comes out of the App creation for the iPad but I have to say, I am very, very excited about the possibilities for Musicians and Gamers.
What can the iPad do for musicians?
We all knew it was going to be a tablet. We all had a feeling that it would rely on an altered version of the iPhone operating system, I was really hoping that Apple would impress us with something new. I am a serious Apple user with an 8 core Mac Pro Desktop and an iPhone both of which I really love. I was dreaming of an interface that would support multi-touch mixing, VST’s or even a serious multi-touch tool for editing audio. What we got seems to be a big iPhone - or is it? For those musicians out there thinking that this could have been “The next big thing” in surface control, don’t lose hope! The greatest asset of the iPhone is the ability for users to create App’s. Forums are already filling up with questions about what the iPad will do for musicians. Enthusiasts are speculating hack-ability and copy-cat devices specifically for the use of Virtual Synthesis but no confirmation. There is no doubt that multi-touch screens are the future of interaction with VST’s. It isn’t clear yet what the iPad will do to enhance the music-making experience. It was presented as a “media center” for the most part. There has been no mention by Apple about what this could do for artists or musicians. However, Apple won’t be creating the iPad’s most useful tools for musicians - that is up to us.
What can the iPad do for MMO Gaming?
Gaming isn’t Apple’s priority, we know this. However, World of Warcraft has been very successful on the mac platform and the question has been raised, why not WoW on the iPad? The data plans for the iPad staring at $14.99 would certainly appeal to the money-minded WoW player but there is not evidence that WoW can run on the iPad. YouTube is probably filling up with false hopes and dreams of an MMO running on the iPad. For the time being, those videos are just teasers of what could be. Imagine though what multi-touch screen gaming could be in an MMO. I can envision a much more active experience using touch screen than a mouse and keyboard. Touch screen technology is already changed the way we work as musicians on keyboards like the Korg Triton and of course Open Labs line of workstations. It isn’t clear whether touch screen will have a similar impact on gaming.
I never thought I would be working out drum patterns on my phone but Intua Beatmaker is as useful a tool as my NI Maschine when it comes to figuring out patterns. I never thought I would spend hours playing a game on my phone but c’mon... Sally’s spa is the bomb. It’s going to be a lot of “Wait & see” with what creativity comes out of the App creation for the iPad but I have to say, I am very, very excited about the possibilities for Musicians and Gamers.
