Audio equipment company Zoom has unveiled its new H1 Handy Recorder.  At about 2 oz, the H1 is Zoom’s smallest recorder to date.

The device features the same onboard microphones as Zoom’s H2, configured in an X/Y pattern, and makes 24-bit/96 kHz stereo recordings.  The H1 sports a newly designed user interface that places all its functions “at the touch of a button.”  Zoom included access to the track marker, auto record, low cut filter, level and volume controls with onboard buttons and no menus.

Suggested retail price for the H1 is $99 and will be available July 30.

The H1 can accommodate up to 32GB microSDHC memory cards, providing over 50 hours of recording time and is powered by a single AA size battery, which provides up to 10 hours or continuous operation between battery changes. An H1 accessory kit [$24.99] includes a windscreen, AC adapter (USB type), USB cable, adjustable tripod stand, soft carrying pouch and mic clip adapter.

Warren Ellis is probably best known as a graphic novelist.  He has worked over the past 16 years at both DC and Marvel Comics, as well as Caliber Comics, Image Comics, and Avatar [under the “imaginary” imprint Apparat], and is author of the prose novel Crooked Little Vein.

He has created stories about such comic heroes as the X-Men, Batman, and done a graphic novelization of Philip K. Dick’s story, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”.  Ellis’ stories make social and cultural commentary and many feature transhumistic technology that meld man with technological “enhancements.”

We were surprised to learn that Ellis also has a music podcast. The 4am is an occasional series compiled from music created and sent to him by his readers. The theme and style of the podcast varies from show to show; the latest episode, “Sleep Department,” is a half hour of lovely ambient spacey tunes [which caught my attention in the first place].

You can find the feed to Ellis’ 4am Podcast here. You can find a copy of my favorite Ellis story, Aetheric Mechanics, here.

YouTube has officially announced their online video editor, and they spared no expense on the introduction.

The YouTube Video Editor lets you:

• Combine multiple videos you’ve uploaded to create a new longer video;
• Trim the beginning and/or ending of your videos;
• Add soundtracks from our AudioSwap library of tens of thousands of songs, including hits from Kaboose & Braile, Kaboose & Tommy Percival, Kaboose (feat. Christin Hart) and more; and
• Create new videos without worrying about file formats and publish them to YouTube with one click.

Tokyo-based audio manufacturer Zoom has announced the upcoming release of its new R24 recorder.

The digital recorder builds on the capabilities of Zoom’s older R16 model with the addition of a sampler/drum machine, 8 additional recording tracks and 6 channels of phantom power.

The R24 combines four production tools in one:

• digital multi-track recorder with 24-track playback and 8-track simultaneous recording,
• an audio interface,
• a control surface
• and a drum pad sampler.

Mark Wilder, Director of Marketing, says “[With the R24] Zoom users have all the tools necessary to create studio-quality recordings anywhere.”

The R24 records on SD memory cards and supports cards up to 32GB for over 100 track hours of recording. The flexibility of SD recording makes the R24 lighter and more reliable. In addition, the R24’s USB audio interface allows users to record tracks to any Mac or PC and utilize the system’s control surface capabilities to manage the functions of most DAW software programs, most notably Cubase LE 5, which is included with the recorder.

The Zoom R24 will be available July 7, and is distributed in the US by Samson Technologies.

YouTube has added a new cloud-based Video Editor that brings basic video editing everyone.

The YouTube Video Editor lets you do basic clip editing and also lets you swap the audio for a selection of music tracks.

Unfortunately, it’s also painfully limited and slow – to the point that it’s hard to imagine doing much more than trimming videos with it. Especially as much more powerful editors are included with many computers and even cell phones like the Apple iPhone 4.

I haven’t seen an official announcement from YouTube on this yet – and the Video Editor’s limitations may be why.

via GoogleOperatingSystem

Google today published this YouTube video that explains “What is Google TV?”

It doesn’t offer new info, but the video does help position the Google TV solution.

With Google TV, it looks like Google is trying to fork the Web, like the Apple iPad forks the Web – creating a new platform for Interacting with the Internet vs the Web.

What do you think about Google TV and its potential?

Beta News’ Joe Wilcox is eating his words today, saying “I was wrong about Apple iPad”.

He was a vocal critic of the iPad when it was announced, like most tech analysts, arguing that the world doesn’t need the iPad or any other tablet.

After using it though, he’s come to a different conclusion:

The iPad is a remedy for distraction while letting users reap the Internet’s benefits. Apple marketing material makes audacious claims: “iPad is the best way to experience the Web” .

I initially dismissed these claims as marketing fluff, but on reconsideration actually see meaning to them. There is something immersive about consuming content on iPad that does change the Web experience — and that of other media.

Wilcox is brave to announce his change of opinion on the iPad. But, like a lot of people, Wilcox is still missing the bigger picture.

With the iPad, Apple is forking the Web. It’s not just creating a new “way to experience the Web”, but a platform that competes with the Web itself.

Apple today announced an updated Mac mini that offers:

• up to twice the graphics performance of previous models
• HDMI port
• SD card slot
• User-upgradeable memory
• Better connectivity
• A new compact aluminum enclosure.

User-upgradeable memory is especially welcome – but it’s hard to call this a “feature”.  And the updated line starts at a $699 – so Apple isn’t trying to compete on price with the new Mac mini.

This is the most connectable mini ever, offering four USB ports, an SD card slot, FireWire 800, digital audio in/out, an HDMI port and a Mini DisplayPort.

Given the specs, the new mini will be a better option for media editing, especially upgraded to 8 GB ram, but the HDMI output makes it ideal for media center chores, too.

Here are the details:

When Steve Jobs introduced the new iPhone 4, one of the most interesting announcements was that iMovie was coming to the iPhone.

As popular as the iPhone platform is, adding HD video capture and iMovie to it could create a new vlogging & video podcasting explosion.

Now new details are starting to come out on iMovie for iPhone:

• iMovie for iPhone will be iPhone 4 compatible only. According to Apple, handling video and creating real-time transitions needs the power of the iPhone 4’s A4 processor.
• iMovie for iPhone projects are not compatible with iMovie for Mac. Projects edited on the phone cannot currently be transferred to iMovie on the Mac for further editing. Edited Movies can be synced back to the Mac, though. This is something that’s likely to be addressed in an iMovie update.
• Video clips can be recorded directly within iMovie for iPhone or come from the Camera Roll.
• iMovie for iPhone will June 24th, with the launch of iPhone 4, and will retail for $4.99. The $4.99 price tag will irk some, but may increase the likelihood of competitive iPhone video apps with different features sets.
• iPad users are out of luck. It seems like an obvious next step to make iMovie for iPad. But, while the iPad might be a great platform for editing video, getting content to it would be slow and cumbersome for typical users. Apple will need to address this if it make an iMovie for iPad.

We’re excited to get our hands on the iPhone 4 and test out its video capabilities.

What do you think? Could the iPhone 4 + iMovie for iPhone combination kick off a new Internet video explosion?

via tidbits

As if Adobe needed another nail in the Flash is dead tombstone – a zero-day Flash vulnerability has been identified and announced by Adobe:

A critical vulnerability exists in Adobe Flash Player 10.0.45.2 and earlier versions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Solaris operating systems, and the authplay.dll component that ships with Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x for Windows, Macintosh and UNIX operating systems. This vulnerability (CVE-2010-1297) could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

There are reports that this vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild against both Adobe Flash Player, and Adobe Reader and Acrobat.

In other words – if you have a computer, Adobe gave hackers the key and invited them to take over driving.

Apple’s decision to keep Flash of the iPhone & iPad, though controversial, means that their mobile platforms are one of the few mainstream computing platforms free of this issue.

In Steve Jobs’ words:

Flash is the number one reason Macs crash. We have been working with Adobe to fix these problems, but they have persisted for several years now.

We don’t want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash.

The trend to Web standards and the example of devices like the iPhone and iPad are eroding away at the relevance and ubiquity of Flash. This is going to mean huge changes for everyone involved in Internet media – but at least we can see the changes coming.

Can Adobe clean up its Flash mess while it still matters?