Society and Technology

Adobe Audition

Adobe Audition is a great audio editing software.  Originally Adobe Audition was Cool Edits, but when Adobe bought Cool Edit from Syntrillium Software they changed the name.  The software currently only runs on Windows XP and Vista.  It is a must have tool if you want to be doing audio production with a professional quality.  The software is proprietary, which means you have to pay for it, but in the long run you won't regret it.  At first, it may seem difficult to edit audio files, but once you understand all its feature you will be editing audio files with ease.

The current version of Adobe Audition is 3.0.  One of my favorite features of it is the ability to mix down multiple tracks into a single track.  Say I wanted to record someone talking and have music in the background.  Well with Adobe Audition 3.0 one is able to record the person talking on a single track then in multi-track view, they can add the background music in a second line.  This feature is really helpful because you can now edit the vocals and the music seperately.  In other words, one can scale down the amplitude of the background music and scale up the vocals so that you get a crisp, clear, and professional sounding audio clip.  In conclusion Adobe Audition is a great tool for audio production.  It has a ton of features that allow for the user to make some really good audio tracks.

Posted at 05:31AM Dec 03, 2008 by Robert Earle in General  |  Comments[3]

Gears Of War 2

Gears of War 2 is the exciting sequel to Epic's Gears of War.  Gears of War 2 is a tactical third person shooter published by Microsoft Gaming Studios for the Xbox 360.  It was released on November 7, 2008.

The game is set six months after the events in Gears of War.  At the end of Gears of War, Marcus Fenix [main character] and Delta Squad detonate a Light Mass Bomb that kills off the majority of the Locust, but not all of them.  The Light Mass Bomb has also evaporated some of the emulsion found underground, causing some of the inhabitants of Sera to become infected with "Rust Lung."  The remaining Locust have slowly been entrenching themselves on the last human cit and stronghold, Jacinto.  Delta Squad and the COGs are sent out on an operation for the purpose of striking a final blow to the Locust. The operation entails the COGs going underground and striking the Locust on their home turf.  During their mission, Delta Squad learns of the existence of the Locust Queen and her reasons for waging the war and the existence of a secret scientific research facility that experimented on the Locust.  Dominic Santiago also finds his long lost wife, who was tortured by the Locust and then dies.  As the player progresses even more into the depth of Sera, they learn that Marcus Fenix's father, Adam Fenix, plan of sinking Jacinto before the Locust are able to move above ground is the only way to stop them and put an end to the war.  Delta squad is now forced to reach and tell command that Jacinto must sink so that the human race survives.  One battle after another, Delta Squad pushes through the Locust horde. Finally they sink the city of Jacinto and flood the caverns of the Locust.

What makes Gears of War 2 a great game is that all the essential elements come together nicely.  Gears of War 2 uses the Unreal Engine 3 for graphics and this time around Epic has improved in-game lighting through ambient occlusion.  The game also features a great soundtrack that allows the player to be more in tune with the sorrow, fear, and heroism that a soldier in combat may feel.  Lastly, one of the greatest features that Gears of War 2 features is an awesom multiplayer.  The multiplayer has been revamped from the first game and now features more maps, more game modes, and a smoother gaming experience.

Posted at 04:22AM Dec 03, 2008 by Robert Earle in General  |  Comments[1]