Rocksmith… the real guitar game

We’ve all heard about and probably played Guitar Hero… The music video game where players match notes that scroll on-screen to colored fret buttons on the controller, strumming the controller in time to the music in order to score points, in an attempt to keep the virtual audience excited. Well now let me introduce you to “Rocksmith”, no more of that fake plastic toy with color-coded buttons. Rocksmith will really teach you how to play a real guitar.

The game is played very similarly to Guitar Hero, notes scroll down the screen until they hit a target spot. The key difference with Rocksmith is that the notes are actually on a virtual guitar fretboard with numbers that correspond to the different frets. So just like other music video games, the players must hit the notes as they hit the target spot on the fret board.

The game is designed to help you learn and perfect your skills so unlike other music video games Rocksmith doesn’t penalize you for experimenting between required notes and doesn’t cut out when you miss a note. This evolution in music video gaming could be very interesting… Stay tuned for the September release!

So What is Audio Forensics?

So what do lawyers do when they have audio evidence that is garbled and hard to understand? Sometimes it’s so bad that audio evidence can be rendered useless as evidence in court.

Sound Images has been salvaging important audio evidence for years through its audio forensic department. But, don’t expect all the drama as played out in the sexy rolls of TV detectives. Rather, think of it more like watching paint dry.

The technical sound engineer extricates the important information through a process of eliminating certain frequencies, and enhancing others - which finally reshapes vital information into a usable (and listenable) recording. This enhanced audio evidence, when presented in court has often been the key in persuading a jury, or in convincing the other side to settle.

The technical advances in sound equipment today, plus the expertise of the engineer, can produced some amazing results. When you hear the impact, it is probably the closest thing to magic that is still admissible in court.

A bit of advice - Be sure to evaluate how important the piece of audio truly is to your case. If it is, then spending a few hundred dollars to add clarity, may be the easiest way to argue - and win your case.

Mark Mallory goes undercover

The mayor of Cincinnati, Mark Mallory, becomes the first elected official to go undercover as a municipal employee, working as a mechanic repairing public transportation vehicles and a sanitation worker. What did you think of the episode showcasing the Queen city?