ISDN experiences more death rattles?

The ISDN debate continues, with people declaring it's death every other month or so.  Where I am in Chicago, ISDN lines are very expensive, over $200 a month, and that's even if you're not using it!  I actually bought a nice used ISDN box a couple of years ago and never ended up hooking up the service - I just don't have a need for it.

So - I've kept my eye on other alternatives, primarily SourceConnect.  I've heard good things and bad things about SC, everything from "it's a perfect solution," to "NEVER use this product."  Why the disparity?  It seems sheer bandwith speed has a lot to do with it, which shouldn't be a problem for me as evidenced by the picture below :)

Enter SoundStreak - a program/solution that has been getting a lot of press lately.  They released a Windows version recently so have popped up on radars again.  Unlike ISDN and SourceConnect - your voice is not recorded in real time to their system, but rather saved on your system and uploaded when the cilent chooses.  I came across two videos showing a bit of the back end, and this EWABs episode features Beau Weaver explaining his take on it (about 33 minutes in).

If you're recording to video - I can see the value in this, but otherwise, I can do the same thing with a Skype phone patch and an FTP program.  I hope to purchase SourceConnect eventually, but it's hard to make the jump without the need! :)

DAW Minority Report Style

This could bring to life something I've always wanted to do: edit in my DAW with hand gestures!  I use Adobe Audition, and I've always thought it would be wonderful to swoop my way through a wave-form using only hand gestures, zooming, deleting, and adding effects.

Leap Motion

As long as this device can pair with Windows, and you have the ability to "teach" it gestures to correspond to programs, this could do the trick!  ::WANT::

Free Audio Book!

ChristianAudio is featuring a book I did for them in their "free book of the month" series!  Publishers Weekly reports on it here.

Grab a copy from ChristianAudio! What is the Mission of the Church, by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert.

On the air in Chicago

Recently I recorded a series of radio commercials for Navy Pier in Chicago, check one out here!

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Review: Growing Up Amish

New review just out on Growing Up Amish, recorded for Christian Audio:

"During his teen years, Ira Wagler left home for the first time, turning his back on his Amish faith and family. After working on a cattle ranch for several months, he came back home, the first of many returns and exits. Verner’s strong, midwestern tones capture this memoir so authentically that we feel as if the author is reading his meandering reminiscences. Verner brings both wistfulness and humor to his reading, especially when recounting Wagler’s youthful mischievousness, such as when he and his cousins drove a car for the first time and went to live outside the Amish community. Appropriately unnerving sadness enters Verner’s voice when he speaks of more somber incidents in Wagler’s life, including a broken marriage engagement, a casualty of his decision to leave the fold. Slight pauses mark chapter breaks in this “true story of one man’s quest to discover who he is and where he belongs.” For listeners who favor Christian nonfiction and poignant memoirs."

— Marna Rundgren