Software keeps track of gigs
Are you an aspiring musician trying to keep track of your band and upcoming gigs? A Boulder company has developed software that helps promoters, managers and band members keep track of rehearsals, recording sessions and gigs. Trak Software is currently testing gigtrak, and plans to offer a full version of the Web-based software this spring.
“While playing in bands in Boston and Denver, I saw a high level of mishmash of information,” said trak Software founder Mark Donovan. “A lot of times things could be misinterpreted, and they were.”
Donovan started small, building a program for a friend that managed four bands. “He wanted a tool where he wasn’t making all these last-minute phone calls.”
Trak Software has also developed filmtrak, a similar Web-based software program for people in the film industry.
The first 100 musicians and managers in Colorado and Boston who sign up for the 45-60 day beta test of gigtrak will receive lifetime subscriptions to the software. Donovan said that pricing for gigtrak has yet to be finalized. (www.gigtrak.com)
Cellphone is a study in gray
Fred Flintstone, your cellphone is ready.
The Razr, Motorola’s object of techno-lust, may soon be supplanted by the Pebl, a phone that resembles in form – but not function – a sea-scoured rock.
The Pebl’s outside is almost featureless, showing only a camera lens and a small external screen, and the metal shell has a tactile quality reminiscent of stone. Inside, the keys, punched out of a single piece of metal alloy, are flush against the face of the phone. The screen displays 176 by 220 pixels in full color. The Pebl takes photos and video that can be transferred to a computer through a mini-USB port on the side. The 3.7-ounce phone is less than an inch thick and snaps open smoothly. Motorola has included some games and other goodies, including support for streaming audio and video, depending on the carrier. A Bluetooth feature allows the Pebl to work with headsets and other devices. The phone, available from T-Mobile for $299, has battery power enough for more than six hours in talk mode. A study in gray, the Pebl is Motorola’s latest attempt to create a device that is as much fashion item as cellphone.