dsandler.org

Chris has written up an excellent summary of our TapeDeck development experience, from the first sparks of an idea in September through our April betas and finally to the release in May.

At some point I’ll scan my early sketches and add them to the historical record. For now, I’ll leave you with an early about box for TapeDeck (and since I love about-box easter eggs, you can find this in the shipping app, along with some others).

Chris Liscio and I just unveiled our top-secret Mac application project of the last few months: TapeDeck. While Chris is on the ball with his own blog post commemorating the release, here I am with a lot to say and no time to say it. I’ll write up something more “official” over at the toastycode blog over the weekend.

For now, I’ll just collect press and links over the course of the next few days here at dsandler.org.

Update 5/10: TapeDeck is the top featured Staff Pick on Apple’s Mac OS X Downloads site:

When this happened to Cuckoo a couple of years ago, it meant a huge jump in users and lots of great feedback. Very exciting.

New $25 audio recording app, a joint production of SuperMegaUltraGroovy and Toastycode. The gimmick is that it’s modeled after an ’80s era cassette deck. It uses a library for recording management — no interaction with the file system necessary — but you can easily send clips to iTunes or email. Worth a download just to watch the tape spin while you record.

—John Gruber, Daring Fireball: TapeDeck 1.0

Every once in a while, an application comes out that just works. It’s so intuitive that anyone can pick it up and use it. A new app from SuperMegaUltraGroovy Software (FuzzMeasure) and Toasty Code [sic] (LCD Scrub, Cuckoo, and Pyrotheque) is just that kind of app. Tape Deck isn’t bloated with features or totally unnecessary eye-candy, and best of all, anyone who has ever used a tape recorder will be able to use it right away.

—Jeff Smykil, Ars Technica: Quick Look: Tape Deck, simple audio recording on the Mac.

The real question is: does the UI help or hinder TapeDeck? I’ll have to spend more time using TapeDeck to fairly answer that, but at first blush this app is great fun to use (especially if you remember using tape recorders like these).

—Scott McNulty, The Unofficial Apple Weblog: TapeDeck 1.0

All the familiar stuff is there — the clicks, whirrs and pops of a real cassette deck recorder. They even threw in that sped-up sound that plays when you fast-forward or rewind a real tape recorder while holding down the play button.

—Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired Listening Post: Even Luddites Will Enjoy Recording with TapeDeck

The release note that the software takes extensive advantage of Leopard technologies with rich animation in TapeDeck’s user interface: “Live level meters, rotating cassette spindles, live search, and UI sound effects make TapeDeck truly fun to use,” the company added.

—MacNN: TapeDeck 1.0 quickly, simply records audio

TapeDeck carries with it some retro charm — it’s designed to look like a cassette tape deck, and even operates like one, complete with a tape deck-style interface. It’s designed to quickly capture recordings, stored as “tapes,” recorded directly to MP4-AAC audio. TapeDeck is aimed at users who want to make band recordings, practice speeches or capture lectures, according to the developers.

—Peter Cohen, Macworld.com: TapeDeck audio recorder debuts

Mit TapeDeck steht ein neues Programm zum einfachen Erstellen und Verwalten von Audio-Mitschnitten bereit:Im Stil eines Kassettenrecorders aus den 80er Jahren kann TapeDeck in verschiedenen Qualitätsstufen aufnehmen. Anschließend lassen sich die “Kassetten” beschriften und in einer Art Schublade verwalten. Man kann das Programm als typischen Vertreter der sogenannten “Delicious Generation” brandmarken, denn es bietet eine ansprechende Oberfläche, aber einen recht begrenzten Funktionsumfang. Ob das den Preis von 25 Dollar rechtfertigt, muss jeder für sich entscheiden.

—Hendrik Auf’mkolk, MACNOTES.DE: TapeDeck: Schnelle Audio-Aufnahmen

TapeDeck [1.0 - 1.5 Mo - Mac OS 10.5 - US - 25$] n’est pas le plus sophistiqué des enregistreurs audios et on doit même trouver moins cher. Mais il a le look et il fait le bruit d’un vieux lecteur de cassettes. Le fonctionnement est hyper simple, comme l’est un lecteur de K7… Le choix des formats audios est lui aussi très simple, c’est m4a ou rien. Mais on peut varier la qualité. On peut également envoyer ses fichiers directement vers iTunes ou en pièce jointe de Mail. La démo enregistre des sessions de 15 mn puis ce délai se réduit.

—Florian Innocente, MacGeneration: TapeDeck 1.0 : le bon bruit du lecteur de K7

[Note: Apparently K7 is French shorthand for “cassette.” I get it now, but I had to look it up.]

Mac software bloggers sharing the love: Daniel “Punkass” Jalkut; Brent Simmons; Gus Mueller.

Searches: Twitter posts containing “tapedeck”; Technorati search for “tapedeck”

Update 6/3/08:

You need another program to edit and “finish” a recording, so why do I like it so much? TapeDeck’s interface wisely capitalizes on the familiar, in sharp contrast to the over-powered applications I’m used to seeing in the audio world. Creative types can distribute a tune or audio blog moments after pressing STOP. I can capture and organize business notes with a minimum of fuss before and after. That’s “excellent” to me.

—Matthew Glidden, Inside This Particular Macintosh: TapeDeck 1.0

Hi. Just bumped Cuckoo up to 1.1.1 to fix a bug that seems only to affect some 10.5 users. See the blog for details, or just go straight to the download page.

Update 7/26: I’ve also posted the command-line tool for manipulating login items that I wrote while developing the latest release. You might find it handy.

I put a new version of Pyrothèque out yesterday, just in time for the 4th. Lots of fun new features (including snazzy new splash screens—see above). Read all about it over on the toastyblog.

Hey, not too shabby! Cuckoo is featured today over at Apple’s Mac OS X downloads site. (If you scroll down the page you’ll see that Pyrothèque is a Hot Pick, too. Oh, and, what up, FuzzMeasure!)

[Permanent links to toastycode products on Apple’s download site: Cuckoo, Pyrothèque.]

There’s a new toastycode product out today: Cuckoo brings customizable hourly chimes to your Mac. Mac OS X supports speaking the time on the hour using text-to-speech, but there’s no way to just play a simple sound on the hour. Cuckoo will play your choice of sound on the hour, or at any five-minute mark (:05, :10, etc.). You can decrease the volume of the chime relative to your other system sounds, allowing a little subtlety (should you want it).

Basic usage (an hourly chime from the built-in sound set) is free; advanced features cost a measly $6. As usual, please send in your suggestions and bug reports.

(Barely) in time for the fourth of July, I’d like to announce the first release of Pyrothèque, my new fireworks screen saver for Mac OS X. Four years (off and on) in the making, it’s my favorite OS X project yet; it combines elements of the old and the new in a simple, clean presentation. In short, it’s toasty. Read on for the story.