Bloomberg reports that Apple will announce tools that make publishing interactive textbooks on the iPad much easier, and also allow for the creation of other “digital education content,” according to two sources familiar with the announcement’s details. The new tools, which will be introduced by Apple’s SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue, are intended to help broaden the appeal of the iPad for educational institutions, with a special focus on grades K-12, Bloomberg claims. The idea of making it easier to create educational content aimed at kids is basically what Erica described in her article on Monday.

That the announcement will have a strong educational component is backed up by a report from the Wall Street Journal  earlier this week, which said Apple had been working with textbook publisher McGraw-Hill on material to be revealed at the event since June.

Bloomberg’s sources also claim Apple will introduce new software that will allow a wide range of authors to publish digital e-book content, along the lines of what Amazon offers with its self-publishing tools. That’s in line with what a report from Ars Technica published Tuesday claims: Its sources suggested Apple would be unveiling “GarageBand for e-books.” Such a self-publishing suite is also something I suggested might be in the offing before the actual announcement was confirmed.

Apple’s event takes place Thursday beginning at 10 a.m. EST (7 a.m. PST), and we’ll have a liveblog following all the action as it unfolds.

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The iPhone version is pretty much the same as its iPad cousin, with the same multitouch and smart instruments, eight tracks of editing layers and audio export capabilities. But Apple has taken the opportunity to refine the product with some new tools and features, too.

Smart instruments gain custom chord support, so that you can make your own to strum. This allows seasoned musical pros to get off the beaten path and produce some pleasant and more unique sounds, and amateurs like me to do terrible things that no one should be forced to listen to. You can also change time signatures to 3/4 and 6/8, change the key of your currently active song and export to iTunes as AAC or AIFF format. There’s also an Arpeggiator (tones in a chord played in rapid succession, not all at once) option for the Smart Keyboard.

All the new tools seem designed to provide more fun for the experienced set, while maintaining the low barrier for entry that makes GarageBand such a generally appealing app to begin with.

My initial unskilled hands-on reveals a product that doesn’t lose much appeal compared to the iPad version, though the smaller screen might feel a little more cramped to some. Apple does a good job of simplifying control interfaces, however, to avoid making the on-screen space feel claustrophobic.

If you’ve been left out of the iOS GarageBand party before now because you didn’t own an iPad, now’s the time to add your voice to the chorus, even if you can’t carry a tune or even keep time to save your life. Note that you’ll need a device at least capable of running iOS 5 to use the app, even though the software requirements actually only need iOS 4.3 or higher.

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Plugging In

Apple recommends the Apogee JAM ($99) for plugging your guitar into the iPad, but I use the iRig ($39, and also conveniently for sale at most Best Buys). In addition to being cheaper, I like that the iRig leaves my dock connector free so I can charge my iPad while playing. I then either use headphones or a set of nice PC speakers as my “amp.” I also use the Griffin A-frame stand on my desk to prop it up at a nice viewing angle. I then jack in my ’62 Reissue Strat in and let loose.

Once you’re plugged in, launch GarageBand on the iPad and choose Guitar Amp from the Instruments window.

Cranking It Up

By default, you’ll be using the Clean Combo amp on app launch. To change amps, just click on the button labeled Clean Combo to bring up the available preset amps. There are four tabs: Clean, Crunchy, Distorted, and Processed. Since I’m a rock/metal player I spent a lot of time in the Distorted tab and my favorite option under that tab was Woodstock Fuzz.

You can also customize the sound by either adjusting the controls on the amp head, or add effects by clicking on the Stompbox icon in the upper right hand corner. This brings up a small pedalboard, and if you click on the empty pedal spot you can add more pedals. I found a nice variety of pedals: a couple different distortion effects, a chorus, flanger, compression, echo, and a phase tripper.

Overall, I found the amps to sound pretty good on their own. The metal ones did have some feedback, but adjusting the Noise Gate fixed that problem. Click on the Guitar Cable icon to adjust noise gate and whether you can hear the amp while you play. One area I think GarageBand really shines is the variety and quality of the built-in sounds; unlike other amp apps, I didn’t really have to futz around with it too much to get a good sound. The clean sounds were crystal clear, and the distortion amps had a decent amount of sustain.

One area I think GarageBand fails at is is managing your presets; apps like AmpliTube let you have one-tap access to all your presets. Switching tabs to juggle between a clean, dirty, and metal tone can be cumbersome. However, I found a neat trick to organize your favorite and custom-created sounds. Once you have a sound you like (even if it’s just a built-in one), hit Save in the amp selection window. This will put the sound in a tab labeled Custom, making it very easy to choose between your favorites.

Encore

So, is GarageBand a worthwhile tool for the practicing guitar or bass player? Definitely. I wouldn’t want to gig with it, but it’s perfect for practicing without annoying the neighbors. What I love is just how much you get for $4.99. While apps like Amplitube and iShred have free or low cost versions to get you going, to really customize your sound you’re going to need to make in-app purchases for amps and effects. With GarageBand, every amp or pedal I would want is already included.

I think GarageBand is a good tool for serious musicians who want to hone their craft. Little things like using drum loops to play along with and an easy-to-use multitrack recording interface add a ton of value to the app. While I wouldn’t want to record an entire album on it, I think it’d be great for doing some light recording when inspiration strikes in a rehearsal studio, or wherever you happen to find yourself with your gear.

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During the iPad 2 announcement event, I was possibly most impressed by the preview of GarageBand for iPad. With its so-called “Smart Instruments,” it seemed like it might be able to bring out the latent musical talent in even the most unmusical of users. GarageBand is live in the App Store now, so I decided to see if it could make good on its claims.

I am bad at music. I can’t sing, and friends consistently regret it when they manage to convince me to get up at karaoke and take a turn at the mic. I’ve tried playing guitar at many stages throughout my life, but I can barely manage finger exercises. Because of my experience with the real world guitar, I decided to try GarageBand’s Smart Guitar first.

To my intense surprise, I made a decent sounding snippet of a “song” in about 30 seconds. It isn’t fancy, and in fact, it’s probably incredibly derivative, but it sounds pleasant, and you might actually catch yourself humming along to it. I was able to make this so quickly because GarageBand for iPad does a pretty great job of offering a range of tools that cover the user spectrum from absolute novice to serious professional.

I created my brief track (see below) by not changing any of the default settings, including the type of guitar (acoustic), the length of the track, the song tempo or equalizer settings, or the key of the overall tuning. I just dialed up the Autoplay to 4 (each number represents a different strumming pattern) and tapped the chord I wanted to play whenever the included metronome hit four beats.

It may not be anything fancy, but now that I have this, I could loop it and sing over it, for instance, if I happened to be any good at that but not particularly good at playing an instrument. And for casual users just messing around for their own benefit and the benefit of their friends, this is much better than what I’d be able to come up with on even the desktop version of GarageBand. The touch interface just makes an absolute perfect match for what GarageBand is designed for, and it’s truly amazing to note the difference in the sound you produce depending on how hard you tap the virtual instruments. It really seems quite sensitive, and is an amazing use of the iPad’s built-in sensors.

I’ve only just begun to explore the various options available, and I’ve managed to create impressive-sounding riffs using drums, piano, guitar and bass. People might disagree with me on the definition of what constitutes “impressive,” but it certainly sounds better than anything I’ve been able to put together using GarageBand for OS X, Fruity Loops or any other digital audio program. And it beats the pants out of what I can do with real-world instruments.

Am I on my way to becoming a rock star? Well, I’ll probably never sell out Madison Square Garden, but I can definitely see jamming with a small group of iPad-wielding friends in my near future. And if I can accomplish as much as I did with GarageBand, I can’t even imagine what professional musicians might come up with. Kudos, Apple, for providing some of the most fun available on the App Store for under 5 bucks.

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Apple’s new Smart Cover for the iPad 2 also features pretty prominently in the new video spots, and you can see just how versatile this one aims to be when compared to its predecessor (my own official iPad cover was only used once before being banished to the closet). They may be only a serious of tantalizingly well-shot marketing videos, but speaking as someone who can’t wait for the new tablet’s arrival, they’re plenty entertaining to watch. Check out the entire series of 14 videos at Apple’s site.

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We’ll show you how to create an 8-bit video game sound (called a “chiptune”) out of any midi track using GarageBand and the Magical 8bit Plug.

This TechUniversity screencast is completely free! Just head on over to TechUniversity to check out the full video.

Here’s a short sample for you as well…

Chiptunes are everywhere, and if you’ve been intrigued by them, this article will help you create your very own out of just about any song.

Chiptunes are traditionally created using sound chips from old computer systems and game consoles. Some of the best examples of chip music can be made using Commodore 64s, GameBoys and the original NES. Since these pieces of hardware could only generate sounds and tones over a few channels, there is difficulty in creating complex songs. Along with the fact that this kind of circuit bending is not for a novice like myself and the learning curve tends to be very high. I wanted to find a way to accomplish this without spending days learning and researching software or hardware.

I am not trying to devalue chiptunes in any way, it definitely is an art form. I just want to present an alternative for those that are curious in creating their own masterpiece. So if we’re not going to need hardware and complicated software, what are we going to use? Using GarageBand ’09, a plugin and a MIDI file, you can convert a song you already know and love into a chiptune.

First thing is to find a MIDI version of a song you want to create. I just went to Google and searched for “Muse midi” and quickly found a Muse song that would work. Save the MIDI file on your computer for later. Now we need to download the Magical 8-bit Plugin from the YMCK website and put the magical8bitPlug.component file in the /Libraries/Audio/Plug-ins/Component folder.

1. Startup GarageBand and start new project by selecting the Piano. This will create a single track project that we can import our MIDI file into.
   
2. Now drag your MIDI file into GarageBand and you will see it create new tracks for each voice in the MIDI file.
   
3. Double-click a track to change the instrument from the Piano to our chiptune instrument.
4. Click the Edit tab and then click the drop-down where it says “Piano” and select “Magical8bitPlug”
   
5. Now if you want to tweak that tracks sound, click the Plugin logo and play around with the settings.
   
   
6. This needs to be setup for every track except the drums. Use your creativity and change the track sounds to match the instrument they’re representing. The drum track needs some special attention and since the plugin won’t work for this, I did the following.
7. Change the drum track sound to the Hip Hop drum Kit.
8. Add a new effect to this track. Use the Bitcrusher effect and select whatever settings sound good to you. I used Wave Deconstruction.
   

Now you may have to tweak the volume levels on each track to your liking but for the most part, you are done. Export an MP3 and amaze your friends! Well maybe not if they read this article too, but with this knowledge you could create your own music and use the chiptune sounds as your instruments. I know this is not as hardcore as true circuit bending, so don’t send me angry emails. It’s more of a fun little project to please your creative side. Share your own creations with us through the comments and check out my final results in the audio clip below.

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One of the interesting rumors that has come up after the official announcement of Apple’s event on the 27th is that a new version of iLife will also be announced there. Whether or not this rumor is accurate is less interesting than what an Apple tablet might mean for iLife.

As we all know iLife has been a key selling point for the Mac lineup ever since the first version was announced at Macworld in 2003. In many ways it epitomizes the difference between Macs and the competition, as iLife gives any Mac user easy to use and well-integrated tools to explore their creativity on a computer.

Whether iLife, or some version of it, will make it to an Apple tablet is a matter of debate, it depends on whether you think the tablet will be a complete computing platform or just a content-consumption device a la the iPhone. I tend to agree with John Gruber that what Apple is aiming for with the tablet is redefining the computing experience, that is replacing entry-level computers rather than complementing them. That leads me to believe that Apple will try to reproduce at least some of iLife on its tablet device, even if it’s just a matter of consistency in branding.

So what would that look like? Let’s look at each application in turn and consider what might be left in and what would be taken out.

iPhoto

In:
Thumbnail browsing is obvious and I imagine the event browsing view will also be a core feature. I also expect the editing features to remain intact, including non-destructive editing. Uploading to MobileMe, Facebook or Flickr will almost assuredly be included.

Out:
Faces may be the most obvious feature not to make it into iPhoto on a tablet due to its impact on the processor. Places might make it, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it left out. I also expect the ability to create books, calendars etc. wouldn’t make it to a tablet.

GarageBand

In:
This one is tough, I frankly wouldn’t be surprised to see GarageBand left off a tablet entirely. That said if Apple does decide to put the iLife suite on the tablet it’s unlikely to pick and choose apps so what would GarageBand on a tablet do? I’d expect basic functionality, like trimming and arranging audio clips. Perhaps some fun effects and instruments that can be thrown in.

Out:
Don’t expect to be able to record and produce your own music on the tablet. GarageBand has always been one of the most impressive parts of iLife, I would not expect it to keep that badge on a tablet device.

iMovie

In:
At the very least simple trimming of clips will be in (see the iPhone). I also expect the ability to combine clips, add transitions and titles and perhaps even add your own music or voice-over. Uploading to YouTube or MobileMe will also definitely be included.

Out:
Advanced color editing and the ability to pull audio out from a video clip will probably not be included. I also wouldn’t expect the ability to import AVCHD files.

iWeb

In:
Like iPhoto, iWeb’s interface lends itself to a touch capable tablet device. It’s really just a drag and drop operation. Thus I expect most features of iWeb to make the transition to a tablet.

Out:
I wouldn’t expect the ability to export your site to a local folder as I don’t expect a tablet device to have much in the way of a file system. Other than that I can’t think of any major features that might be left out.

iDVD

In:
Ah, the red-stepchild of the iLife suite. Let’s be frank, there’s no way in heck anything resembling the current iDVD makes it to a tablet. That said there have been rumors of a re-worked iDVD that might become the publishing tool for things like iTunes LP. If that happens then some version might make it onto a tablet device.

Out:
Everything.

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iLife X

Probability: Guaranteed
When the last version of iLife launched, it adopted the moniker “iLife ’09.” Recently however, Apple has modified most of its website to drop the date from the title. Now simply called “iLife,” I wonder if Apple will be quick to release a new “yearly” iteration at the outset of 2010.

Based on previous versions, the next iteration of iLife will require Mac OS X 10.6. By requiring Snow Leopard, this does make iLife an Intel-only release. Though some users will be left behind, significant performance gains should be recognized by taking advantage of 64-bit technology included in Snow Leopard.

Within the apps themselves, I believe we’ll continue to see significant updates. Here’s the roundup.

iPhoto

Probability: Possible
The addition of Faces and Places to iPhoto ’09 was just the beginning. The next version of iPhoto will support more accurate facial recognition and integration with Twitter. Those who enjoy the photo slideshow themes that were added to the last version will enjoy a larger selection of new themes that will be added in the new version. I also predict that the next version will bring support for bulk renaming of files (similar to how Aperture can do this upon import) and better performance when dealing with larger libraries. I also predict revised or better photo editing controls with additional effects.

iMovie

Probability: Possible
I believe the next version of iMovie will boast support for posting videos directly to more Internet services, such as Facebook and Flickr. An expanded set of new themes as well as more advanced title options will be present as well. The user experience of the application will be refined, for those who are still frustrated by the intense switch from iMovie HD to the last two versions.

iDVD

Probability: Guaranteed
iDVD will likely see one of the most significant updates that it has ever seen in quite a while. 2010 will mark the beginning of new ways of enjoying media. From the possibility of the first out-of-the-box Blu-ray drives on the Mac to iTunes Extras & LPs to the elusive Apple Tablet, the presentation of digital content remains a key focus for Apple.

The next version of iDVD will help push this agenda forward, allowing users to create Blu-ray discs or optimize their video content into formats like iTunes Extras. Such a dramatic update would likely warrant changing the name of the application, but that’s also within the realm of possibility. iDVD has definitely been late to the party for the past two years, seeing only small maintenance updates. While many speculate that Apple plans to axe DVD creation altogether (foreseeing the death of the digital disc in favor of digital distribution), I believe Apple has been working on a successor application to take advantage of new forms of distribution (a la Blu-ray or iTunes Extras-styled media).

iWeb

Probability: Possible
iWeb is one of those apps that is difficult to pack full of compelling new features every year. I predict the next version of iWeb will support more themes and a few more widgets, including a widget that provides a live feed of your Twitter stream on your website.

GarageBand

Probability: Possible
GarageBand will likely see an expanded music lesson store with more artist lessons and lessons for drums and bass. I also predict Apple will make it easier to share GarageBand creations beyond iTunes and iWeb. Similar to the other apps, I believe we will see support for exporting to other web services such as Facebook or YouTube.

iWork X

Probability: Possible
I predict the biggest improvement to the iWork suite will be a tighter integration with the iPhone and iPod touch. On the short side, I see iWork.com coming to the iPhone as an app to allow quick browsing of documents. In an ideal world, Apple will eventually build lightweight mobile versions of its iWork apps to allow users to create and edit Pages, Keynote and Numbers files on the go.

I believe we’ll see an update to the “beta” of iWork.com, including a paid plan if Apple deems the project a huge success, or inclusion with MobileMe if Apple feels the product isn’t strong enough to stand on its own footing.

All three applications will see new templates and a refined Inspector palette. It seems very un-Apple like to mandate users bring up a palette for colors, a separate one for fonts, another for media and yet another master Inspector to control everything else. Additionally, I predict the Media Browser will be updated across all apps to support Faces and Places from iPhoto.

I also predict Pages will provide support for (or perhaps work directly with) third-party applications like bibliographic software such as Endnote or Refworks for academic publications.

iTunes

Probability: Guaranteed
iTunes is an interesting application as every version seems to bring about a large number of extra features that many people don’t expect, or at first glance, really need.

I predict the next major version of iTunes, iTunes 10, will bring support for syncing with the mythical iTablet, as well as better syncing support (including over the air syncing of content if on a Wi-Fi network). Furthermore, iTunes 10 should feature better support for managing larger libraries of content and the need to split those libraries across multiple hard drives in a simple but effective manner.

Conclusion

Finally, I’d like to see iWork and iLife dropping in price back to the familiar $49 from years past. In light of economic conditions and Apple’s vocal attempts of providing quality products to more and more users, a price drop seems wise as it would also help generate better market penetration.

Again, many of these predictions are pure speculation and hopes and dreams on my part. What do you think we’ll see in these areas over the coming year?

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iTunes 8.2 became available for anyone and everyone with a Mac, not just developers, late yesterday. A pre-release version of the update has been available to registered iPhone developers since the release of iPhone OS 3.0 beta 4 a few weeks ago, and is required for those hoping to run the 3.0 software on their Apple handheld devices. The release at this time strongly suggests that iPhone OS 3.0 will go live very soon, possibly immediately following the WWDC keynote speech taking place next week.

Aside from adding support for the upcoming firmware revision, the iTunes 8.2 update also brings the usual stability enhancements and bug fixes, including a security patch involving “itms:” links used to open iTunes locations from the web. Parsing the URLs could lead to a stack overflow or arbitrary code execution, which would allow an attacker to completely take over the iTunes process.

QuickTime 7.6.2, which became available alongside the iTunes update, also patches security flaws…10, in fact, all of which involve crashes or arbitrary code execution resulting from viewing malicious content.

A third update, GarageBand 5.0.2, improves the artist lesson purchasing experience, and allows access to installed jam packs in the loop browser. As with most Apple updates, it also includes various security fixes and bug squashes.

The iTunes update has arrived a little early, considering Apple has yet to release or announce the official release date of iPhone OS 3.0, but it’s probably just being smart about a major software update and spacing things out so that its servers can better handle the load when the millions of iPhone users rush to download the firmware revision at the same time. Hopefully, by staging releases, it will avoid the kind of frustrating experiences that accompanied the release of iPhone firmware 2.0 last year.

Some users are already reporting issues with the new updates, including odd behavior from iPhones running the latest firmware beta and iTunes 8.2 final, and a bug wherein a considerable number of songs went missing from one person’s library.

I actually have yet to install the iTunes 8.2 update. While the other updates show up for me without issue, I can’t get Software Update to find the iTunes update. I thought maybe this was because I had the latest pre-release version already installed, but others with the beta seem to have been able to install. My MacBook, which hasn’t been updated with the latest test build, detected and installed the new version without problem. Let us know if you’re having any issues with any of these updates.

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GarageBand ’09, the updated version of Apple’s popular software used by millions to play and record music, now gives budding musicians a fun new way to learn to play piano and guitar.

Basic Lessons

Basic Lessons let you learn the fundamentals at your own pace with Apple instructors in beautiful HD video synchronized to animated instruments and notation. You’re able to practice either the piano or guitar, playing through nine different lessons which prepare you for playing an entire song. Speed and repetition can be controlled until you’ve perfected the stage.

When ready to play the entire song, GarageBand allows you to do so with the full backing band. The video shown in the Keynote presentation looked to be of excellent quality, though it was noted that the piano lessons appear somewhat easier to follow than the guitar counterparts.

Artist Lessons

Artist Lessons feature original artists showing how to play their hit songs with everything from finger positions and techniques to the story behind the song. Each artist explains in the video how the song was written and what inspired it. You’re able to choose from lessons by popular artists including:

• Sara Bareilles
• Colbie Caillat
• John Fogerty
• Ben Folds
• Norah Jones
• Sarah McLachlan
• Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump
• OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder
• Sting

I’m surprised that John Mayer wasn’t present in the list of artists taking part — he does usually seem to pop up wherever Apple has room for him. Artist Lessons will be sold separately at the new GarageBand Lesson Store for $4.99 a pop, available inside the GarageBand ’09 application.

You are able to fully control the mix and instrumentation, so it’s simple to break down a professional track into the various constituents and hear each part in isolation. As with Basic Lessons, speed can be controlled to make picking up the song easier. Previews of each artist can be found at the GarageBand site, and Apple noted that new artists will be added to the list shortly.

It will be interesting to see how this feature takes off; I think it’s a good concept, and if budding musicians don’t find the price to be a barrier I’d expect it to become very popular.

Other Features

Two other new features also grace GarageBand ’09. The first is a new guitar amp with stomp-box effects, allowing you to re-create classic guitar rigs. Sounds include Brit Pop, Honky Tonk, Lowdown Blues, Seattle Sound, Stadium Solo, and Woodstock Fuzz. Different pedals can also be added and, in classic Apple style, a 3D recreation of your custom rig can be shown on screen.

The second additional feature is “Magic GarageBand Jam,” letting you play along with a virtual band that you create. You can change the sound of each instrument in the band, arrange each part individually and then, when you’re happy with how the band sounds, jam along with your own instrument. This would appear to be an excellent way of moving away from simply recording a track through GarageBand, toward using it as a recreational and ‘jamming’ tool.

Of course, all the original functionality of GarageBand remains intact. It still provides the renowned functionality for layering tracks, recording, and providing a simple ‘plug and play’ setup process.

Pricing & Availability

iLife ’09 will be available this month for a suggested retail price of $79, and Artist Lessons will be available through the GarageBand Lesson Store for $4.99 each.

iLife ’09 will require Leopard and the GarageBand Artist Lessons will only be available in select countries.

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Prerequisites

Before proceeding, make sure the following are true: 

• You have the latest version of iTunes (from iLife ’08) and it is currently patched. If you bought your Mac after about August of 2007 and keep your software up to date, then you’ll qualify. If you don’t have Garageband, check out this method for creating ringtones.
• You must use music that is not inhibited by DRM. If you have iTunes Plus music from iTunes, or MP3 files from Amazon.com or eMusic.com, or of course any files you’ve ripped from your own CDs, these all qualify. 

OK, with those out of the way let’s make a ringtone…

1. Launch Garageband

If you’ve never run Garageband before, tell it you want to make a new file and just take all the defaults for that file (you don’t really use them for the ringtone anyway).

Once opened, the screen will look like the picture below. Don’t worry about the Grand Piano there, you don’t need to do anything with it. 

2. Add a song

Click the Media button in the lower-right corner.

You’ll get a slide out window with which to navigate your entire iTunes library. Just find the song you want and drag it to the main GB window. Below you can see I chose the song Take Your Medicine.

Now that the song is in place, you can click the Media button again to hide it so you have more room to work. 

3. Select a song section

First, click the Cycle Region button to turn on the cycle feature.

You will see the yellow cycle region at the very top of the screen. (The region you create is what will become the ringtone). 

Now comes the fun part. Just drag the beginning and ending points of the cycle region to correspond to where you want the ringtone to begin and end. Hit the space bar and it will repeatedly play from the start of the region to the end. Continue adjusting the start/end points until you have the sound you want. Below you can see I’ve chosen a short section from the very end of the song.

Keep in mind there is a maximum of 40 seconds that can be used for a ringtone. Most of the time you’ll pick a section that will sound good when it repeats (i.e., rings multiple times on your phone), so the 40-second limit will not be an issue. However, if you’re picking a large section and are concerned that you may be butting up against the limit, you can determine the length using the Time display by clicking the up arrow at the bottom of GB.

By default (above) the display shows Measures. But click the arrow once and the display shows Time.

With the time displayed, physically drag the play head to the beginning of the yellow cycle region, and then to the end, noting the time in each case. You can determine the duration from that.

4. Create the ringtone

This is the easiest part. Once you like the section you’ve defined, just select Send Ringtone to iTunes from the Share menu.

GB will do all the work, and even open iTunes and play your newly created masterpiece.

In iTunes, the ringtone will be named “My Song” and the artist/album will be listed as your user name; you’ll probably want to change those as you would any other iTunes song, as I’ve done here.

5. Sync your iPhone

That’s it! Once synced, you can use your new ringtone. Meanwhile, quit GB. It’ll ask if you want to save the file, say no because the file has served its purpose. 

It’s easy. No, really.

While it may have taken a while to explain this, believe me it’s really very easy stuff. Do it once and you’ll have the hang of it, and want to create a boatload of ringtones.

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There were some critics of this idea since the total capabilities of the iPhone were not fully known. Beatmaker is a sequencer that allows you to make beats on your iPhone. Apple featured Moo Cow Music’s Band application. According to Moo Cow Music, “Drums, bass, guitars, keyboards can all be played and recorded into one song from the same application.” I am very excited at this prospect and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I usually get music ideas while I’m traveling via train and this would actually allow me to work out an idea right on my phone. This application obviously could not replace a music studio, but it is a great way to work out demos during wasted time like traveling or standing in line.

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Updates include a new iMac, new keyboard, updated iWork, updated iLife, and more. It was certainly an exciting day and arguably more exciting than the past few major WWDC or Macworld events.

Check out the full details after the jump.

New iMac

The much rumored new aluminum iMac was indeed true. The overall new look is significantly more…”professional” (or Star Trek-ish, depending on who you ask).

• New glass screen enclosure
• Pricing starting at $1199
• 17″ model was trashed. Now only 20″ and 24″ models are available
• Up to 2.8 GHz Core 2 Extreme Processor
• Up to 4GB of memory
• Up to 1TB of storage space

New Keyboard(s)

Along with the new iMacs, Apple also released a new keyboard that fits in quite while with Apple’s line of “aluminum” covered products (Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and now the iMac).

The new keyboards are significantly thinner than previous keyboards by Apple, with the smaller wireless keyboard coming in at only 0.33 inches. No, that isn’t a typo.

The new keys are almost identical to those on the MacBooks with much better finger response.

iLife ’08

It has been almost 2 years since iLife was updated with the last major version being iLife ’06. Today Apple released a major revision to the iLife suite with iLife ’08.

Every application received a pretty major overall with iMovie getting a complete rewrite.

Major points:
• iPhoto – Organizes photos by Event automatically
• iPhoto – New book and calendar printing
• iPhoto – Web gallery creation lets you creating extremely interactive photo galleries
• iMovie – Has a completely new interface that lets you create movies much more quickly and easily
• iMovie – .Mac web gallery and YouTube integration.
• iDVD – Better encoding and new themes
• GarageBand – New “Magic GarageBand” lets you create your own virtual band to jam with
• iWeb – Now you can upload to your own custom domain
• iWeb – Easier template and design creation

iWork ’08

Along with the iLife update came an update to Apple’s business suite of applications, iWork ’08.

The biggest thing to note with iWork ’08 is the addition of Numbers, the much sought after spreadsheet application.

Numbers is described as “spreadsheets the Mac way,” which simply means this isn’t your normal “spreadsheet” app.

With Numbers you can create intelligent tables with multiple spreadsheets in a single document, easily create charts and graphs in the same document, and you can even import your Excel files.

Ultimately Numbers is a solid mix of boring tabular data and a desktop publishing application.

A few other iWork high points:
• Pages – Switch between “writing” and “layout” mode depending on task
• Pages – Change tracking to keep up with document revisions
• Pages – Many new design templates
• Keynote – Tons of new text and transition effects
• Keynote – Voice-over recording
• Keynote – Simple animation tools

.Mac Updated

For some time now, .Mac has been Apple’s evil little stepchild that everyone has been on the verge of kicking to the curb.

Updates here include:
• Increased storage and bandwidth going from 1GB to 10GB of storage and up to 100GB of bandwidth
• You can now associate an actual domain with your .Mac account

Mac mini Updates

It’s been over a year since Apple last updated the Mac mini. Many people were convinced it would be removed from Apple’s line up, but today Apple quietly upgraded the Mac mini.

The update isn’t much to get excited about, though. The main updates to it are really just a bit more speed and memory. Nothing to write home about.

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Whether you’re on your lunch break at work (or not) or if you are just bored one night and can’t sleep…this list should help you cure your boredom.

I’ve compiled 12 apps that do a fantastic job of killing time in just about every way you’d want to. This list includes everything from games to design modifications to monotonous tasks to widgets and more. So get reading and have fun!

CandyBar

URL: http://www.panic.com/candybar/
Amuse yourself for hours on end searching down cool icons to replace your boring default system icons.

CandyBar is the app that lets you easily switch out icons with practically no hassle. This method of time-killing will set you back $12.95.

Garage Band

URL: http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/
Apple’s very own GarageBand comes on most new Macs…so there’s a pretty good chance you have it already.

Whether you’re musical or not, it’s a lot of fun to put together loops and then share them folks.)

Photo Booth

URL: http://www.apple.com/imac/isight.html
On man…the fun that can be had with this little gem.

In the past two years or so since Apple began including built-in iSights with their iMac and Macbook(Pro) lines, they quietly began including a little application called Photo Booth that lets you take pictures from your built-in camera or iSight.

The key to good times here are the different effects tabs that let you take absurdly stupid pictures of yourself (like the one of me above). :)

Frenzic

URL: http://frenzic.com
Frenzic is a high-paced puzzle game that “takes minutes to learn and months to master,” according to The Iconfactory, the makers of the game.

The best way to describe it might be Tetris on steroids that just drank a bottle of Incredible Hulk juice.

What’s really great about this game is that it ties in to their high score system so you can see how you rank compared to all Frenzic players.

Price for this starts at $14.95. There is a free trial that is definitely worth your time…especially if you’re trying to kill it.

Moody

URL: http://www.crayonroom.com/moody.php
Covered before, Moody is a way to tag your tunes based on mood.

How does this help you waste your time? Well, you have to tag a large number of your tunes before it really creates a good mix of music. But trust me, it’s worth it…especially when it is completely free!

Last.fm

URL: http://www.last.fm
Sure it’s cool to see lots of stats like who you listened to the most in the past week, but what I really love about Last.fm is how you can find lots of really cool new tunes.

Last.fm creates personalized radio stations based on your listening habits and I’ve found it to be a great way to find new artists I haven’t heard of.

Finding new music is one of my favorite ways to kill time.

Twitterific

URL: http://iconfactory.com/software/twitterrific
I’m not really a Twitter fan, but it is certainly a fantastic way to waste time. In fact, with Twitter you would actually be twittering about how your twittering to waste time.

Twitterific allows you to conveniently twitter from the comfort of your operating system.

Sudoku Fun Widget

URL: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/games/sudokufunwidget.html
From the widget page, Sudoku Fun Widget is a “widget that lets you play this addictive, Japanese number-place logic puzzle on the Dashboard.”

There are plenty of people who can’t function without their daily dose of Sudoku, so if that’s your bag…you should check out this handy little widget.

Second Life

URL: http://secondlife.com
Second Life is the popular virtual reality world. Create your own character and walk around doing…pretty much anything you can imagine.

Reactive

URL: http://www.revaro.net/index.html?Reactive/index.html
What else could you possibly want to do with your time than be a 2-legged chameleon armed with 9 weapons and having a bad day?

Reactive is a 20+ level game that includes features such as network play, multi-player gaming, and fluid simulation.

It’s free to download and play but you’ll need to fork over $12 if you want access to all 20+ levels.

FunBooth

URL: http://thefunbooth.com
FunBooth is the close cousin of Photo Booth. Instead of altering the actual photos, FunBooth lets you attach all sorts of props from wigs to glasses to mustaches and more.

After disguising yourself in FunBooth, send your photos to friends and family to show them that you don’t do anything productive!

Flappie

URL: http://www.tastyapps.com
Flappie is basically a virtual pet for your Dashboard. Flappie needs food, play, and sleep. If you give him everything he needs, he’ll continue to grow and become something magnificent. If you don’t…he dies.

One thing that makes Flappie unique over your average virtual pet game is that it is affected by your local weather. So hopefully you life in a Flappie-friendly environment.

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Step 1: Musical Typing

Open up GarageBand. Go to the Window menu option and click “Musical Typing.” You will now have the ability to play a keyboard using your regular computer keyboard (no special keyboards necessary). Mess around on the keyboard until you figure something out. I highly suggest recording this brainstorming session as you could accidentally come up with something you really like.

There’s no need to know how to play the keyboard. I’m a big fan of spelling words out and hearing what they sound like. You’ll be surprised that you can put together sentences and make some pretty decent music. For my new show, I messed around and came up with a simple progression:
a k j k
a l l k
a k j k
a ; l k j k j k l ;

I have included an MP3 of the track I created; try playing along so you can get used to musical typing.

Step 2: Timing

Now that you have a basic tune, it’s time to clean it up. Select your audio track and then click the Track Editor button (it looks like a pair of scissors with a wave form behind it). Now you can see your music one of two ways. One looks like standard sheet music, the other looks like rectangular blocks on a grid. You can use either one to edit your music. I use the rectangular blocks on a grid view because it was the default. Unless your timing is excellent, you may have made a few mistakes.

GarageBand can easily fix your timing woes. Click on the grid, then select all, then click the “Align to” button. You can align to different tempos (check that word) by using the slider to the left of that “Align to” button. Take a listen to your changed music project. If you like it, you’re one step closer to finished. If not, you can tweak your music project further.

Click on one of the black rectangles. It will turn green. You can slide it up and down the octaves or you could also lengthen or shorten the duration of the note (or both). You may discover a new tune by messing with these notes.

Step 3: Layering

Surely, you are not just going to have a single piano for your song. You are the ambitious type who wants a whole orchestra to sing your praises. Well, there’s plenty more you can do with GarageBand. To thicken out or lighten up your sound, you can easily “Select All” while in the Track Editor and then paste. You will have a new set of the music you just recorded. From there, you can drag the entire copy up and down octaves depending on what sound you are going for.

If you have a nice doubled up sound (or maybe even tripled up sound), you may want more. Perhaps you want a string accompaniment. You could try to craft a new part by trying the above methods again. However, if you just want to make your sound fuller, you could just copy your entire track and paste it into a new track. I suggest creating a new track and copying your work from your original instrument to this new one. Try adding strings to your piano sound. You’ll hear that your work sounds fuller and richer. Additionally, the interplay between the echos of the strings and the piano sometimes creates welcome surprises.

Step 4: Percussion

You may want to add percussion. You could easily do this as the first step, but I prefer the metronome so I don’t get distracted by a cool beat. I suggest just using the loops provided by Apple. Just click the “Loop Browser” (the icon with the eye on it next to the Track Editor). There you will be welcomed by hundreds of options. Pick drums and then listen to the loops.

It is easy to pick just one loop, but you could layer these loops easily by dragging and dropping them into your project area. Because the timing of these loops are excellent, it is very simple to layer several loops to create your own unique loop.

Step 5: Other Music

You can do much more with GarageBand if you can play an instrument. I can play guitar (not well, but well enough to put together something if necessary) so I usually will play guitar on top of music that needs guitar.

Also, you may find that you now have an abundance of tracks. You have three types of horns, two types of synths, two of something else — do not be afraid to pare down your symphony. Selectively mute some instruments and listen to your project. Does it sound better or worse if that Zanzibar Chords track is on or off? Once again, I mention that the combination of several instruments can change the overall sound.

Step 6: Balancing

GarageBand places every track you create in the middle. You may want to shift your track pan position using knob next to your track. Shifting your tracks to the left or right can make some instruments stand out or make them fade out if you want. Remember how your audience will listen to your music. If you’re doing a mono podcast, perhaps you should have some mono music to go with it. If you are doing a full blown music track, a stereo mix may fit better.

Conclusion

There is probably a million other things you could do using GarageBand or any other recording software. However, I hope this gives you an idea of how to start to create music even with little to no musical knowledge. Good luck.

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