Geek Out

Visit the Ninja Jamm website: ninjajamm.com Download from the app store: itunes.com/apps/ninjajamm “We believe there’s a need for a fun and super playable jamming app” said seeper Founder Evan Grant. Collaborating with Ninja Tune, home to Amon Tobin, Bonobo, Mr. Scruff and many others seeper have created an innovative app where songs are released in “Tunepacks”, a brand new format, which could change music distribution. When played within the app, each Tunepack gives the user access to over forty different elements of an original tune: beats, vocals, melodies, effects and more. The jammer can hit play, sit back and listen to the tune, or start using the intuitive interface to re-imagine the song as they desire by mixing, glitching, looping and re-timing, whilst applying effects and firing samples over the top. Unlike many other music apps, the Ninja Jamm experience is very hands-on and immediate, the human feel is key to the enjoyment. You can touch, tilt, shake and use multiple fingers and thumbs to Jamm and record, create a killer version of a favourite Ninja Tune and instantly share it with the world through Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. seeper built Ninja Jamm using open source libraries: The backend audio engine is built in ‘PureData’ and runs on mobile courtesy of ‘libpd’. The front end user interface is built in C++ using openFrameworks with the store developed in device native Objective-C. The main programming challenge was performance, getting PD and Ofws to run with the hardware available on a mobile. Working with loss- less audio meant bigger file sizes, however seeper balanced this against the quality and performance saved by not needing heavy decoding. “I’m into anything that invites people in.... I really like the app: it just says ‘Go have fun and if you’re enjoying it... dig deeper’” - Amon Tobin “I should take it to my show tonight and just play this... I’ve not seen anything like it.” – Bonobo

Ben shows you how to design and print 3D objects with AutoDesk 123D Design.

Sony is offering new features on the PS4 that aren't available on any current consoles. Are these going to make it worth upgrading from a PS3? And find out why some features just may not be practical for all users!

This week we talk about some updates to the Copyright Alert System that went into effect this week. Can it shut off your internet? Yes. Is it easy to avoid? Also yes. PLUS: an app that HATES slackers, the best way possible to get your coworkers to stop perstering you, and why am I covered in bruises?

Jon runs through the leaked specs of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S IV, looks at the latest iPad 5 case leaks from China, talks about Google's possible subscription-based music streaming service, and shares Windows Blue news!

If you watched X Factor, you probably saw a lot of the contestants rocking red and silver Sony Headphones. Today, we introduce to you the next generation - the on-ear X05. They're light weight, compact headphones that still feature the same great sound with 40mm drivers.

Can Iran Be a Potential U.S. Ally in the Middle East?Commonwealth Club - SF Club OfficeFormer U.S. ambassadors Luers and Dobbins, along with Lieutenant General Kearney, all members of The Iran Project, will provide unique insight into the prospects of reaching a diplomatic solution with Iran regarding its nuclear program, especially in this time of renewed negotiations and a belief on the part of the Obama administration that there is still time for a political solution. Drawing from decades of experience working with both Iranian and U.S. officials, The Iran Project recently released the second of three reports, “Weighing Benefits and Costs of International Sanctions Against Iran.” The first report, “Weighing Benefits and Costs of Military Action Against Iran,” was released earlier this fall; the third is anticipated early in 2013. These reports present objective, nonpartisan, fact-based analyses designed to serve as a basis for an informed public discussion and have received prominent coverage. The Iran Project is composed of seven core members and an impressive and unprecedented list of 50 "validators," including military leaders, national security and foreign-policy experts, and former officials, who are working together to bring a nonpartisan perspective to this critical issue.

Samsung sweeps awards at Mobile World Congress, Pandora caps free mobile service, the Android-powered satellite goes into orbit, and the geekiest marriage proposal ever!

Six strikes and you're out? Just what does the new Copyright Alert System mean to you? Don needs a USB battery pack to keep his phone going on long hikes. Where can I buy legal copies of Windows to use with OS X Boot Camp?The SpaceTop 3-D Desktop let's you "reach inside" your PC... and the Leap Motion has a ship date. No S-video on your new HDTV? We've got analog to HDMI converter reccos! Schindler's List is one gorgeous Blu-ray.

Need one go-to place for all of your social media notifications? Then take a look at today's nifty Chrome extension!

Piero della Francesca: Incorporating the Home into ArtThe Frick Collection - The Frick CollectionDuring the early Renaissance, Piero della Francesca's artistic talents were highly sought after by patrons across the Italian peninsula but nowhere more so than in his hometown of Borgo San Sepolcro. This lecture will explore how Piero gradually transformed the art of painting by applying his pioneering pictorial imagination to the challenge of three gothic polyptychs and by introducing Renaissance format paintings into the domestic interior with his Virgin and Child Enthroned with Four Angels (featured in the exhibition) and Nativity of Christ (The National Gallery, London). The latter work will be discussed in the context of architectural and pictorial decoration designed by Piero for his family's private palazzo.

Photoshop comes to your phone, Leap Motion gesture controllers ship in May, a huge solar storm is captured on NASA video, Pluto's moon has been named Vulcan, and researchers are building a robotic bat.

Healthcare Reform: the Good, the Bad and the In-BetweenCommonwealth Club - Julia Morgan BallroomAs we come off an election year and face a series of new and ongoing challenges, don’t miss this lively discussion with two former top presidential economic advisors on where the U.S. and global economies are headed in 2013 and what should be done to put them – and keep them – on track.

How Obamacare Will Impact Healthcare at Whole FoodsCommonwealth Club - SF Club OfficeJohn Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, discusses the incredible success of his grocery store and the healthy food movement in the United States.Iconic CEO and co-founder Mackey is known for his all-natural approach to a mega chain of grocery stores, Whole Foods. The success of his stores is, in part, credited with a boom in the healthy food movement whereby terms like organic, local, wild and hormone freeare  becoming rote for more than just the Birkenstock crowd. He's also taken the formula for conscious capitalism and corporate social responsibility to a whole new level, and other businesses are following suit. In his new book, Conscious Capitalism, co-authored with Professor Raj Sisodia, Mackey discusses the transformative business movement wherein value rests on something more than just finances. For Mackey, it's about the emotional, ecological and even spiritual purposes of business. The market for competitive advantage is changing, and the world's best companies are catching on to the holistic equation. Find out more about the Whole Foods story from the man himself.

Need to finish an important background task without worrying that your computer will fall asleep before finishing? See today's TZD for a great app to solve this issue.