About that iPinger
It’s very rare that a new technology appears at exactly the time that you need it to, with exactly the right functionality for a perfectly acceptable price. But that is what happened to us recently when we discovered the iTouchMidi.
Almost.
Not long after taking to the air with our first live edition of the Debrief (before it was actually even called that), a cool piece of software appeared on the iTunes App Store that allowed a user to trigger samples via a WiFi connection by means of an iPod Touch. This was ideal as it meant Christine could be left in charge of the various samples we use in the show, instead of them being controlled off camera.
Sadly, if you watch about three minutes into this instalment of the live show, you’ll see the iTouchMidi make a rather brief début on the grounds that five seconds after it’s introduction, it crashed.
The product was duly put to the back of our minds until the panel show idea came to fruition (an idea borne from the twisted mind of Mr. Roy, by the way), and the need for Christine to trigger samples came to the fore again. Luckily, by this time the software had moved on a couple of iterations and appeared to be more stable, thus we went live with the iPinger for the first time. I think it was stable for about an hour before everything died and Rich commented:
Really worried about what Me has been drinking to crash his Mac!
Yup, the pinger crashed the Mac.
In fact, since it’s introduction the software has managed to crash not only the laptop but also the iPod itself maybe a dozen times in four shows. Despite a plethora of software updates and three separate purchases from the App Store, iTouchMidi have managed to create the most unstable piece of software I’ve ever encountered.
Okay, I shouldn’t be mean to them, they clearly have an innovative product and it’s not like anyone else is having a go. I’m also confident they didn’t have a two hour F1 panel show in mind when they conceptualised it, but in future we’ll be using a tethered keyboard and sticking to a more tried and tested solution.
November 18th, 2008 at 16:46Christine said:
Quick! Trademark iPinger. And get iPinger.com.
November 18th, 2008 at 16:51me said:
if fancy a call from steve’s boys, you go right ahead
November 18th, 2008 at 17:28R.G (As insane as Bernie, as cute as Montagny, as dangerous as Sato) said:
The machine behind the panel.
.
.
.
You have a water button? Does it fetch water for you or do you use it to annoy me when he needs the toilet?
November 18th, 2008 at 17:34Christine said:
I believe the water button issues forth the famous quote: “He’s fallen in the water.”
November 18th, 2008 at 17:42Scott in Italy (eating chips) said:
November 18th, 2008 at 18:18me said:
i so much prefer r.g’s idea though.
November 18th, 2008 at 20:33Andy Taylor said:
Can I be the first to say that it’s an iPod Touch, not an iTouch.
November 18th, 2008 at 20:35me said:
the software works on the iPhone too, but i’ll be stunned if they don’t receive a letter from cupertino soon.
November 18th, 2008 at 20:37Christine said:
At Sidepodcast Towers we spend half the time calling it an iPhone, despite the clear lack of monthly phone bills.
November 18th, 2008 at 20:37me said:
incidentally, in the app store it’s labelled:
iTM Matrix
which i’m assuming was required in order to get it accepted.
November 18th, 2008 at 20:38me said:
it is an iphone to me
November 18th, 2008 at 21:31Bassano Clapper said:
Yeah, that winds me up too
November 18th, 2008 at 22:23Bassano Clapper said:
There’s an iPinger blog! Sadly, it’s Japanese (I think)
ipinger.blog.163.com
November 18th, 2008 at 23:57Flibster said:
Other half of the time it’s called things that can’t be broadcast?
November 19th, 2008 at 00:05me said:
ha! recently yes.