So ignore the workaround below, update GarageBand and you’ll be all set.

At the time of writing (March 2011), the Mac version of GarageBand can’t open files created with the iPad version. Instead, you’ll get an error message and the file won’t open. This is presumably because the iPad version has some features, instruments and loops not yet available in the Mac version.

Apple has promised an update, but for the time being, I’ve found this workaround.

Before you  try this, let me stress that it’s a workaround with issues: your files won’t open perfectly, but at least you’ll be able to get some of your project onto your Mac. However, please do make sure you make a copy of your project file first.

The project on my iPad

Can't be opened on a Mac

First, copy the project file onto your Mac with iTunes. Then, right-click the project file and choose “show Package contents”. Find the “projectdata” file and open it, preferably with the Plist Editor, but a plain-text editor should work as well in a pinch.

Look a the “version” key with the value “45000” under “$top“.  Change that value to “40000” and save the file.

Now, when you open it with GarageBand, you’ll receive a warning (as opposed to the earlier ‘error’ message), but you should be able to open the file, albeit with some errors and warnings.

Just ignore the warnings

Success

Note: There’s a reason Apple changed the version number and you’ll find a lot of things won’t work (e.g. certain Apple Loops and instruments will be missing – note the empty drum track in my screenshot). But if you just want to get the basic project information and the bits you played off your iPad onto your Mac, it’s worth a shot.

Presumably Apple will soon be releasing an update for GarageBand on the Mac, so hopefully this hacky workaround won’t be necessary much longer. If you’re reading this long after March 2011, make sure you have all GarageBand updates first.

Enter the Røde Podcaster: This USB microphone promises to make recording professional-sounding audio with your Mac really simple. But does it live up to the promise?

What’s in the box

The Podcaster comes in a sturdy black box: Apart from the mic itself, you’ll also find a USB A to USB B connector (the kind most printers require but never include), and an adapter ring for connecting the mic to a stand.

Build Quality

The microphone has a solid metal enclosure that gives it considerable heft and weight, but in a really good way. It has a fairly large pickup area that is also protected by the outer casing, which is good as the mic grill is something that is often damaged by knocks or drops on traditional microphone designs.

The adapter screw also doubles as the USB port enclosure and is also entirely made out of metal. This should also do wonders for this mic’s durability, as the stand adapter is often under a lot of strain on mics and can often crack if made out of plastic.

The one minor gripe I have is the headphone volume control on the front of the mic: It’s made out of plastic and feels a bit wobbly and out of place on a mic this well made.

Audio performance

Probably the most important factor when choosing a mic: How good does it actually sound? Røde promise “High quality broadcast sound” and I’m pleased to tell you that the Podcaster delivers. It has an incredible textured sound that gives recordings a “studio” feel. It sounds very accurate without too much treble and produces clean, warm audio.

A normal recording setup requires:
- A mic
- A mixer with preamps and monitoring capabilities
- An audio interface

Whilst there are some solutions out there that can act as an interface as well as a mixer, this mic is so much quicker to get set up: A single cable to your Mac, plug in your headphones and you’re set. Ever tried to record decent audio without hearing yourself? Or without hearing your overall mix? Getting monitoring set up (without a delay!) is usually more trouble than it’s worth – the Podcaster solves that issue nicely and you have zero timing issues.

I’ve created a short audio snippet to give you an idea of the audio quality: Both the voice and guitar heard in this video were recorded with the Podcaster.

Compatibility

The Podcaster works out of the box with OS X: Just connect the USB cable and you’re all set. There are some Windows drivers and applications on the CD that’s included, but you can safely ignore those. Fire up Garageband, select one of the vocal presets and you’re good to go. It also shows up as an audio output device immediately as well.

Tip: Remember to turn off Garageband’s live monitoring feature if you use the Røde as your output device (the mic will already pipe your audio to your headphones) – otherwise you’ll start hearing yourself twice!

Conclusion

The Røde Podcaster is a great microphone for any Mac user. It is well suited to creating podcasts, screencasts, movie voiceovers and even recording music. The build-quality is almost flawless and it offers an ideal feature combination of features for fast and easy recordings.
I’ve found myself quickly recording song ideas and voiceovers, simply because it’s so much less hassle to do so (previously I had been using an interface with a traditional microphone, which usually required extensive setting up and configuration to get decent results).

The Podcaster includes a 10 year guarantee and is available online for around $229 – less than a traditional microphone, audio interface with mixing capabilities would cost you. The convenience and audio quality you get for that price is currently unmatched in my opinion.
Highly recommended.

Links:

Røde Podcaster manufacturer website

Support Jetplane Journal: Buy the Rode Podcaster at Amazon.com

Songbook app

Songbook (app store link) is is a free app that will read Chord Pro files and display them on your iPhone. Getting the files into the application can be a bit tricky, but once you have figured that out it does a decent job of displaying them. However: Most not all guitarist sites on the internet offer versions in the Chord Pro format, which slightly limits Songbook’s usefulness.

Convert to PDF

You can also just convert any old webpage to a PDF and email that to yourself. It’s workable, but leaves you with fairly tiny, illegible versions of your songs… not ideal either.

Chordie.com

Chordie.com is a site that basically works as an aggreator, crawling chord and tab versions of songs on other sites. What makes Chordie special is that it automatically detects chords within files and can then also do clever things such as transposing songs for different vocal ranges or instruments. It displays chord charts for all the chords used in a song and also features an auto-scroll mode.

On your iPhone the site will be displayed in a great, touch-friendly format and a tap on a song will start and stop the auto-scroll feature. You can also create a free account on the site and strore your favorite songs in your personal Songbook, making it easy to access songs with just a few taps.

Conclusion

Personally I’ve found Chordie.com easily the best way to access chord and tab files from my iPhone. The main drawback is that it requires you to have an internet connection, so the other solutions might come in useful from time to time as well, but Chordie is highly recommended!

How does Microsoft defend this policy? Hugh Griffiths offered this gem of an interview with PC Pro. In it he offers a few words of wisdom:

Why has Microsoft gone back to DRM when the vast majority of music services have ditched it?
At the moment, to be honest with you, we don’t have the functionality in-house to provide a mechanism for transferring between mobile phones and PC. We don’t have that functionality available”.

Seriously folks, how could they possibly ever build that sort of functionality in-house? 

If I buy these songs on your service – and they’re locked to my phone – what happens when I upgrade my phone in six months’ time?

Well, I think you know the answer to that.

I think we do.

Can you really expect people to buy music that’s locked to a device they upgrade every 12 to 18 months?

I didn’t realise phones were churning that quickly in the marketplace these days.

Then you might be in the wrong job Hugh.

Still, you have to give him credit for trying…