Category: Tech

Categories
Music Tech

Isolating Vocals From a Mixed Audio Track Using Spleeter

Off the side of my desk, I’ve been working on a fun music project.

It came to a point where it would have been great to have just the vocals for DMX’s “Party Up (Up In Here)” without the instruments and drums underneath.

I have GarageBand, but with literally no experience in GarageBand, I wasn’t sure how (or if) to isolate the vocals from an MP3.

After some Googling, I found out Spleeter. Just give Spleeter an MP3 and it will automatically separate vocals, bass and drums from other instruments.

Exactly what I was looking for!

Here’s how to install and use Spleenter.

Download and install Anaconda

Anaconda is a toolkit used for building and running machine learning projects. You can download Anaconda here.

Clone Spleeter from Github

Open Terminal, enter git clone https://github.com/Deezer/spleeter and hit enter.

Create a new Python 3.7 environment for Spleenter

In Terminal, enter conda create -n spleenter_env python=2.7 and hit enter.

Switch to your Spleenter Anaconda environment

In Terminal, type cd spleenter and press enter.

In Terminal, type conda activate spleenter_env and press enter.

Now, install Spleenter

In Terminal, enter conda install -c conda-forge spleeter and press enter. This will take a couple of minutes.

Test Spleenter out by separating the built-in audio sample

In Terminal, type spleeter separate -i audio_example.mp3 -p spleeter:2stems -o output and press enter.

In Terminal, type open . and press enter. This will open a Finder window. Double-click on the output folder to see your separated file.

That’s it!

Spleenter has done a good job with the tracks I’ve thrown at it today and hopefully it works as well for your projects.

Categories
Tech

“Screen Time” Isn’t Always Bad

The world is a tricky place for adults, even when there’s not a pandemic. I get exhausted (physically or mentally) and just need to zone out. While I know it’s not the most productive use of my time, I give myself a pass to stare at Netflix or my Nintendo Switch at night.

So why is it that I feel bad about letting my kid “zone out” in front of the iPad occasionally? Why does it feel weird to tell other parents that he can control an iPad, or use a trackpad? These are valuable skills in a human in 2020.

Or, despite being unbelievably proud of his ability to do so, why do I always feel a little awkward telling my friends that he’s beaten Super Mario Odyssey?

I’d rather my kid watch a show on PBS than a show on Amazon, Netflix or cable. At least I know I won’t need to screen it beforehand, and it’s educational in one way or another.

I’d rather my kid watch a space shuttle launch on Youtube than a cartoon on PBS. This may let us have a conversation about space and rockets and science using real life examples and the ability to go deeper if we want to.

I’d rather my kid play Super Mario Odyssey than watch most videos on Youtube. Nobody would argue that good hand-eye coordination and logic that are valuable tools to strengthen early.

I’d almost always rather my kid play outside with his friends than look at a screen, but in a world where screens are ubiquitous and information is infinite, we shouldn’t be so definite on the idea of screen time always being “bad”.

Everyone, regardless of age, sometimes just need to chill out. Why do we think it’s easier for a kid to be able to understand and interpret everything?

ps: if you like space stuff, listen to the 13 Minutes to the Moon podcast

Categories
Tech

Using an iPad as a Laptop Replacement

I constantly think about trying to use my iPad as my full time computer. It’s a completely irrational thought, but I can’t shake it from my brain.

I’m not sure why. I think it’s because it’s cool and different, and probably also because I am particularly fortunate to even have it as an option. This feels like the future to me. Just a little device that does everything you need it to. Despite it needing to be very connected to the Internet to do anything valuable, it feels like a way to disconnect from technology.

I told you this is irrational.

I’m always looking up articles about it, and they all come to the same conclusion: I probably shouldn’t.

(Semi-related: There’s something about the changing seasons that make me want to make these kinds of changes. In about March, as the weather begins to turn and there’s more sunlight out, I seriously consider going full-time Linux.)

There’s no reason for any of this. My Macbook Pro does literally everything I would want my full-time iPad setup to do:

  • iMessage, WhatsApp, Messenger
  • Photos
  • Gmail
  • Google Docs
  • Access to docs in the cloud
  • Spotify

And in literally every aspect, my laptop does it better … and faster. But then I see a guy in the airport lounge doing everything from his iPad Pro, and I’m jealous for some reason.

When I’m at home or on vacation, I use my iPad as the only computer. This is primarily so I’m even less inclined to check in on work, but there’s also something nice about only having this little glas slab to keep up with. (Come to think of it, it’s usually vacations when I contemplate switching to an iPad full time.)

I can’t quantify what’s nice about it, because it’s irrational.

I know it’s possible to switch over to an iPad for non-work stuff: my wife replaced a MacBook Air with an iPad two years ago.

She has one complaint though: it’s harder to type on an iPad than it is on a computer. She doesn’t send long-winded emails to her friends (but who does anymore, anyways?). When she needs to send a big email, I hook a bluetooth keyboard up to her laptop – or just give her my laptop so she can log in to Gmail.

You could buy a keyboard, but then you need to carry that around. Two parts. Or you can buy one of those folio cases that includes a keyboard. But then at that point, aren’t you basically just carrying around an under-powered computer?

Not to mention, by the time you add it all up, you’re starting to knock on the door of the price of a new laptop.

In 2020, I promise to stop considering this. Until I see a guy at the airport “living the dream”.

Categories
Design Product Management Tech

All About the Creation of Disney’s MagicBand Program

The story of how a group of Disney engineers worked on a secret project to breathe new life into an aging Walt Disney World audience.

Disney’s MagicBand is part park ticket, part credit card and part room key. But the result, and the story behind it, is typical Disney magic.

The technology is, obviously, very cool. But what’s particularly inspiring about these articles is how it tells the story of Disney designing this wristband as the way to remove every friction point from a Walt Disney World vacation experience.

These are pretty long reads, but are totally worth the time.

Categories
Product Management Tech

Your Customers Don’t Mean What They Say

Ask any customer at any point what they want, and they will tell you exactly what they want. And while they’re always right, you shouldn’t listen to them.

Your customer has a very specific context: themselves. Sure, that customer may tell you that they work in technology or even that they’re a product manager at their company. It will be tempting to write down the story exactly as they tell it to you and put it in your backlog, but you should resist the urge.

As a good product manager, part of your job is to understand a few key contexts: the company’s goals/mission, your team’s strengths and weaknesses, the abilities of the technology available to you, and your customer’s problems.

If your interviews are anything like mine, you probably hear a lot about your customer’s solutions to their problems at first. This can be extremely valuable for your knowledge, but building your product from their work-arounds is short-sighted.

Your customer is missing the things that make you a good product manager: wider context about your entire product. They probably don’t know the five-year goal of your company. They don’t know about the conversation you just had with your team. They don’t know that you’ve got a great designer starting on Monday.

Good product managers know that interviewing your customers is a basic requirement. (And there are lots of opinions on the Internet about interviewing your customers, this piece included.) But what’s the point if you’re not supposed to listen to them in the first place?

Maybe you’re asking the wrong questions. From Product Talk:

Instead of asking, “What matters to you when buying a pair of jeans?”, start with, “Tell me about the last time you bought a pair of jeans.”

Instead of asking, “How often do you go to the gym?”, ask, “How many times did you go to the gym last week?”

You can follow up both with a question like, “Is that typical?” This can help surface if the last time was unusual. If it was, ask about other instances.

It feels counter-intuitive, but it’s actually a great way to start down the Five Whys path.

Asking these kinds of better questions gives you the piece that you’re missing from your context map and will help you better understand the people that are using your product.

Categories
Tech

The Best Thing About Apple’s iPhone SE

Apple released it’s iPhone SE this morning (to the surprise of nobody!).

It’s a small, powerful phone for $400 new. That’s awesome for you if you want a small phone or just an inexpensive iPhone.

But the best part is that it’s a cheap iPhone that supports 4K recording. The 6S and 6S Plus already supported 4K (as well as a number of Android and Windows phones), but the S-line phones are relatively new and therefore expensive iPhones starting at $549 for the small version.

Now that we have a high resolution, high frame-rate, always connected camera, we should start seeing the decline of having to make the choice between “cell phone camera” and “HD camera”.

Facebook, Instagram and Vine have already proved that photos and videos are awesome social tools. What will happen now that we have actual, professional level capture devices in everyone’s pocket? Selfies and dabbing are done. Let’s make some real art now.

 

Categories
Tech

Removing a Custom Dictionary Entry on Mac OS X

If you accidentally add a mis-spelled custom word to your Mac OS X dictionary, you can remove it by editing your LocalDictionary:

vi /Users/your_username/Library/Spelling/LocalDictionary

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 2.38.16 PM

Your LocalDictionary holds custom words you’ve added to your Mac dictionary (usually by clicking “Add to dictionary…” on a misspelled word).

Remove the offending word from this file and you’re back to normal.

Categories
Software Development Tech

There’s an Entire Programming Language for Building Messaging Apps

Where has Erlang my whole life?

Part of the trick is that the company builds its service using a programming language called Erlang. Though not all that popular across the wider coding community, Erlang is particularly well suited to juggling communications from a huge number of users, and it lets engineers deploy new code on the fly.

Why WhatsApp Only Needs 50 Engineers for it’s 900M Users on Wired

Categories
Tech

Who is the iPad Pro for?

I see the iPad Pro not so much as a laptop replacement for anyone who has invested 20+ years in being a laptop user. No, the iPad Pro is the “laptop” for people who, today, are 12-16 years old who will graduate from High School in the next few years and look for the next-level iOS device to take them to college and beyond into a career.

The iPad Pro isn’t so much about the iPad Pro today as it is about what it and iOS will become by 2020: Apple’s vision for the future of personal computing.

Totally. Does anyone under 18 even own their own laptop, anymore? But they all have mobile devices. Tack a keyboard on and that iPad works for college.

Categories
Tech

Download a Tweeted Image in Original Size

Are you trying to download a tweeted pic in it’s original size so you can set it as your desktop or phone background image? Here’s how:

  1. Go directly to the specific Twitter status. The URL will look like this: https://twitter.com/CowboyFB/status/632179824811839488
  2. On your desktop computer, right click the image and select “Copy Image Address”
    Screen Shot 2015-08-17 at 8.11.57 AM
  3. Open a new tab and paste in the URL.
    Screen Shot 2015-08-17 at 8.12.25 AM
  4. Change the text after the colon from “large” to “orig” and press enter to access the original image.
    Screen Shot 2015-08-17 at 8.15.04 AM
  5. Right click, choose “Save Image to ‘Downloads’…” and you’re done.