Let’s face it: what most people need for computer audio is just an easy way of plugging in a mic or guitar or two. Presonus’ new Inspire 1394 is a bus-powered FireWire “handheld” computer audio interface that gives you just that, plus a real phono input for connecting a turntable. All under $200 street, with the usual bundled software (Cubase LE and Acid XMC) and some nice plugins from Audio Damage, Camel, Cycling ’74, and Voxengo). You can chain these units together, too.

Verdict: Get this if you want something small and simple. I’m partial to the PreSonus FireBox, though, for two reasons (aside from extra I/O): 1) zero-latency live mixing and 2) a separate cueing headphone jack — two things that are great for live performance.

As Music thing observes, this ultra-compact design resembles the leaked Apple Asteroid interface that caused such controversy. That should make Apple happy, since their lawyers want to prove the Asteroid leak hurt their competitive advantage. (It also means there’s even less chance of Apple stepping into the now-overcrowded audio interface biz.)

The mighty Associated Press is reporting M-Audio’s knob-filled USB interface for GarageBand, iControl, is now shipping. Or, in the words of the article, M-Audio is “expected to launch” early next week at Apple Stores in the US. Price: US$179.95 MSRP; a pretty decent, low price. Only bad news: you’ll need a separate audio interface for a high-quality input for your guitar, etc.

Which brings us to the next question: what the heck happened to Asteroid, the rumored Apple audio interface that caused a heated legal battle over rumor sites? Various bloggers are pointing out that the AP story says M-Audio developed iControl “at Apple’s request.” But Apple was supposedly planning an audio interface, not a control surface. If anything, Apple may have simply killed Asteroid to keep M-Audio and Digidesign happy — or, we could see an M-Audio iAudio interface next month at NAMM. Really, I have no idea.

The only sure thing in life, really, is that the mainstream press has a really hard time describing what an audio interface is: AP says “An audio interface, known in the industry as a “breakout box,” is needed to transfer the sound from a guitar, keyboard or vibraphone into a computer.” Of course, it’s not known as that in the “industry,” but hey, I guess it’s useful to have hardware that . . . transfers sound . . . from your vibraphone . . . Boy, that’s a weird image. Do they really think the concept of a microphone would be so hard for their readers? (On the other hand, this is a lot better than USA Today.)

According to the ruling by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge
James P. Kleinberg, Apple may subpoena email records from NFox.com,
email provider for PowerPage.org.
CNet reports the court did not answer the question of whether writers
for online 'enthusiast' sites are journalists. (The Electronic Frontier Foundation
suggested that as journalists writers for the sites should be able to
protect confidential sources). Instead, Kleinberg wrote that the
articles on PowerPage and other sites "are doing
nothing more than feeding the public's insatiable desire for
information" as opposed to doing something in the public interest, such
as blowing the whistle on a health or welfare matter.

Apple is not suing the websites; it's subpoenaing email records in an
attempt to determine (and sue) the source of the leak of documents
related to a planned Asteroid audio interface.

What this ruling means is now even more ambiguous: by basing the claim
on the lack of public interest, the ruling isn't just a warning to
'bloggers' — it means potentially a similar decision could affect any
technology journalist whose emails are suspected of containing
confidential technical information.

'Asteroid' / Q97 is the leaked Apple audio interface that has started a
firestorm over blogging, journalism, and privacy. A preliminary ruling
today declared that bloggers aren't protected as journalists, and can't
protect confidential sources (see BBC News) — potentially a major blow for online journalism and even traditional journalists using email, says the EFF.

Yes, there's a hidden image of Asteroid in GarageBand, but no, it's not what you think. As many others have already discovered (and you can try this for yourself) . . .

AppleInsider (original report),
MacMusic, and other sites reported that GarageBand 2 itself has
evidence of the infamous rumored Apple product. Right-click GarageBand
2, select 'Show Package Contents', then open Contents > Resources
> asteroid.tiff

Don't get too excited. Initially it's impossible to open the file, but
I noticed in the file header that it's a BinHex file — uunencode with OpenUp, and sure enough, you get (drum roll please –)

– an image of Asteroid, the video game. (See image — directly from GB 2.)

Looks like an Apple developer
having a laugh with a placeholder image. I like developers better than
corporate lawyers, for the record. Speaking of which — back to Apple
Logic Pro now.