SMC and the tc1100

The institute just flew by with not nearly as much time as I had hoped to report here about all the wonderful stuff I was doing.  The tc1100 got a lot of attention and did a great job keeping up with the demands of the teacher training. 

Suzuki Music Columbus

My first day at the institute was great.  There are about a dozen of us in the combined book 2/3 teacher training, and another dozen taking ECC and book 1.  The students will arrive tomorrow, so it was super chill and quiet today.  Part of me is looking forward to the 400 or so students arriving and filling the campus with violin playing, and part of me really enjoys the quiet. 

I used the TC1100 to take notes and keep the music close at hand.  Taking notes in One Note is great with basically infinite pages.  I just write as much as I want and keep scrolling down, no need to turn the page.  As the resident geek, I’ve been volunteered to run the “CD player” which means logging into the PC and opening iTunes.  During a break I poked around in the back of the media setup and discovered I can steal the audio line from the PC and plug in the tablet directly should we want to use Smart Music.  I have let the instructor know of my set up and that I have all 10 books of accompaniments available should he want.  We did go back to book 1 to talk about where some techniques are first introduced.  He’s really good at connecting the big picture and looking at book 2 material in the larger context of techniques that will be required of the kids as they advance into orchestras, chamber ensembles, and solo music beyond the Suzuki repertoire. 

I may or may not have also used the Droid to entertain myself at certain points.

Speaking of being entertained, the nook did a stellar job of keeping me entertained on the flight.  Nothing like a forever battery and super easy on the eyes eInk screen to read for hours. 

This should be a great week.

Computex, PixelQi, and my ideal Music Pad

 

This year’s Computex show in Taiwan seemed to be all about the tablets.  So many manufacturers are pulling out their iPad killers. Several of the concept devices have potential to create my ideal music pad.

The most intriguing technology being shown off are the displays by PixelQi.  They were also on display at CES some months ago, and are probably still a ways off from a real product on the market, but whatever they do make should be good.  The displays look like a regular LCD when the backlight is on, but they also have a transreflective mode where the backlight is off and the display looks like epaper, but with full color and video capabilities. 

There is some great coverage at Liliputing and Engadget, complete with reviews and great videos.  One of these, with a Wacom digitizer in a 12” slate with an Intel CULV processor would be so awesome.  I wonder how long it will take the industry to actually do something about it.