The Dynamically Augmenting Wheel System (DAWS) is a segmented wheel which shifts shape to battle cornering forces. It seems like a great idea on paper. Too bad everything about it's a bad idea in reality. Just because an idea can be modeled in 3D does it mean it will work in the real world. DAWS is ...

The page proofs they be done! Only 11 corrections and 7 of them were errors made by the copy editor. I had it right in my MS. First time I've wished to see the CE before the page proofs. I've learned to trust DAW. Until now. Still only 11 corrections is acceptable. Time was when I submitted hard cop...

Another huge week of arrivals, so another extremely long Sunday post… The Women of Nell Gwynne’s by Kage Baker (Subterranean Press Hardcover June 2009) – This sounds like an interesting little novelette (or novella?) from Baker. I’ve still got two novels from her staring at me. Lady Beatrice...

Psst, parents: are you sick and tired of your whiny baby? Want to raise a tough kid that will take on real life and beat it so bad that it screams uncle? Here's the Neatorama guide on how to toughen up your child: First of all, you've got to start right. Remember, whatever doesn't kill your offsprin...

The Penguin imprints are sending out their March releases and a couple of late February releases from Del Rey and Orbit. I’ve not read a single author in this bunch, but since I’ve been keeping track of the arrivals on my blog, this batch has the highest ratio of books I really would like to rea...

While Novation was refreshing their Automap software for NAMM, M-Audio was unveiling their own dynamic controller technology, called HyperControl. M-Audio has one (big) edge on Novation: their controller technology can access ASCII keystrokes – something I’d love to have in all keyboard control ...

Dynamic control is fantastic. The idea is this: when you switch to a new app or instrument or effect, the hardware controller automatically assigns parameters to controls. That means no messing around with templates, assignment editors, and configuration, and the ability to quickly gain control of y...

The new Live: perhaps no one needs it, but I’ll bet a lot of people will want it. Ableton’s site is now live with all the Live 8 information. But let’s cut straight to which bits are likely to be really significant in the new version of Live (aside from the new Akai controller and Max for Live...

It’s Sunday, so you know what that mean’s here at the Blog o’ Stuff. I tell you, my millions…and millions, of readers the books I received for review the prior week. I of course can’t read all of them, but I don’t want to ignore them either. For shits and giggles, I’ll run a poll for t...

Things seem to be back on pace this week. In addition to the normal stuff from publishers, . I received the full Throne of Amenkor trilogy byJoshua Palmatier for review. Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, Hardcover December 2008) – Atwater-Rhodes is ...