This collection of video tutorials by the one and only Kenny Gioia takes you inside Kenny’s personal recording lair and shows you step by step how kenny sets up and records the foundation of any rock / pop tune, the drums. From set up to performance to editing, it’s all here, meticulously demonstrated by multi-platinum engineer and producer Kenny Gioia.

Kenny Gioia is far and away my favorite trainer when it comes to Pro Tools and music in general. He has a great way of teaching that I throughly enjoy.

Brian Hall takes on Henry Blodget, founder of Business Insider.

The beard could take them all.

Dogster:

Many people might call in sick from work to care for a sick and dying dog. But what if your job was going around to cities and singing heartfelt, cathartic songs in front of thousands of heartfelt, cathartic fans? Would you just stop all that to go home and care for your sick and dying dog?

That’s exactly what Fiona Apple did.

She writes, “I will not be the woman who puts her career ahead of love and friendship. I am the woman who stays home and bakes Tilapia for my dearest, oldest friend.”

Anyone who has loved and known the love of a great pet, especially a dog, completely understands Apple’s decision. You can always go back out on tour.

io9:

Every era in science fiction’s history has shown us a new vision of the strange and futuristic, and one image can spawn a million reflections in your mind’s eye.Here are 21 unforgettable pictures that showcase the whole history of science fiction.

They really do a very good job of capturing each SciFi era in a single image.

The Korea Times:

The chief executive of Samsung Electronics has expressed confidence about the ongoing patent battle with Apple, saying that no smartpohone can exist without patents from Korea’s technology giants.

“The truth never lies. Without Samsung-owned wireless patents, it’s impossible for the Cupertino-based Apple to produce its handsets,” said Samsung’s mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun.

This is going to be a long battle.

Peter Cohen takes a look at Sid Meier’s Railroads! game at Macworld.

The Times of Israel:

The application, which is not an official warning system, is the brainchild of 13-year-old Beersheba resident Liron Bar. Bar provides constant reports on missile attack warnings, known as Color Red alerts, and rocket strikes in the south on his Facebook page as well.

Kudos to this kid, but I do wish we lived in a world where it wasn’t necessary.

Here’s a summary of Jakob Nielsen’s study on Windows 8:

Hidden features, reduced discoverability, cognitive overhead from dual environments, and reduced power from a single-window UI and low information density. Too bad.

To say that the study is not favorable would be a huge understatement. It’s also worthwhile to read Gruber’s comments on the study, especially the last sentence.

Microsoft is building an Xbox set-top box. Multiple sources familiar with Redmond’s plans have confirmed to The Verge that the company plans to introduce a low-cost alternative to its Xbox console, designed to provide access to core entertainment services. The move will allow Microsoft to further increase its presence in the living room, providing consumers with a choice between a set-top box or a full next-generation Xbox console.

Xbox is a strong brand for Microsoft. This is an interesting plan.

Tokens makes it remarkably easy to generate, share, and track promo codes for your iOS and Mac apps.

I don’t believe there is a single Apple developer that wouldn’t find this useful.

Jim and Dan discuss the new Apple TV ads, the Microsoft Kin and Surface, the Bruins toaster, Black Friday, the Lufthansa iPad Heist, holiday bundles, AC/DC in iTunes, paying for music, and the Jackson 7-string.

Sponsored by Mailgun use code 5BY5 for 10% off, Shopify, Hover use the code DANSENTME for 10% off, and Shutterstock use code DANSENTME11 for 30% off.

You know it as an iOS guitar amp modeling app, but now AmpKit is available on the Mac. I’ve been playing around with this for a little while and it’s really nice. I’ll have a full review soon, but I’m sure you’ll like it.

Studio Devil Virtual Tube Preamp faithfully emulates the analog circuitry of a discrete, class-A biased, vacuum tube preamplifier. All of the associated analog circuitry, including the vacuum tube itself and the effects of biasing resistors and capacitors, are simulated in amazing detail. Just about any audio source or track can benefit from the natural soft limiting and dynamic warmth that this virtual tube preamplifier provides.

Studio Devil is a great company.

Some great looking stuff.

Something to keep in mind if you’re shopping for an iPad Smart Cover or Smart Case heading in to the holidays: not all of them are created equal, especially on Amazon.com. For many of us, Amazon is a natural place to order an iPad cover or case as a gift this holiday. But as dozens of complaints on the site show, many of the “Apple Smart Covers” or “Apple Smart Cases” for sale on Amazon are not actually sold by Apple and are not the genuine article.

Be careful and be sure what you are buying is the real thing.

My iPhone 5 is all I use for a camera because of the great quality photos I get. These examples are even better than what I would expect though.

These internal Microsoft videos, provided to Wired by a person who worked on the project, show focus groups testing the ill-fated Kin. According to our source, these are pre-production models that changed very little from the shipping product, although “performance improved some prior to shipping.” Watch them, and you can readily see why the project tanked: Kin phones just weren’t usable. Or, as our source described them, they were a “pile of shit.”

Why should we believe that the latest round of Microsoft products are any better?

When it comes to devices, kids’ holiday wish lists are simple this year. The most-wanted gifts are predominantly from one company—Apple. According to a recent Nielsen study, Apple’s popularity leading up to the holiday season continues a trend seen over the last couple of years, with American kids aged 6-12 generally more interested in the latest iOS offerings than other consumer electronics and gaming devices.

It’s going to be a good quarter for Apple.

Matthew Panzarino interviews Black Pixel CEO Daniel Pasco and Director Michael Jurewitz about some of the changes the company has gone through. I have a tremendous amount of respect for these two guys and everyone that works at Black Pixel.

I have eight amps in my collection, but I have to get one of these.

Nokia said they would offer their mapping solution for iOS users and here it is.

They don’t say if there will be special prices for any products, but they are planning something.