In 17 days, 17 hours (as of this post), those crazy Swede’s at Propellerheads Software will be releasing version 4.0 of their software synth on steroids, Reason. And it comes with new toys!

Here is the list of new stuff to play with:

1. Thor - This is a big ol’ modular synth. It has lots of options for oscillators, filters and other stuff. It looks complicated but fun to play with.
2. RPG8 Arpeggiator - They have finally included a really feature-rich arpeggiator for lazy bastards like me.
3. ReGroove Mixer - This seems to be a way to take programmed drums and mix them so they sound more natural. I’m not 100% sure how this works, but I’m intrigued.
4. Sequencer - Reason’s sequencer has always been somewhat sparse. It looks like they are fattening up the sequencer to make it easier to make edits. Hell. yeah.
5. Plus lots of updates to what is already out there.

Reason 4 releases Sept. 26 and will cost $499 for new users and $129 for the upgrade.

Here is a video example of Thor from the NAMM show:

While I’m at work, I like to listen to/watch podcasts. The majority of the ones I watch are tech news podcasts, such as T.W.I.T. and GeekBrief.TV. I enjoy getting the different perspectives on what’s going on in technology.

The latest one I’ve found is TeXtra, hosted by Natali Del Conte. Like GeekBrief.TV, TeXtra is on the PodShow Network. TeXtra is a technology news podcast with some culture and humor thrown into the mix. It is recorded on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The show mixes a professional look and feel of a quality television program with the accessability of a podcast. Natali, being an established tech journalist, does a great job in presenting tech news. She is knowledgable, funny and cute. She sometimes seems a little nervous on camera still, however. I’m sure that will improve as she does more shows.

I would recommend this podcast to anyone interested in finding out what’s going on in the world of technology. I enjoy it and will continue watching.

I’m sure if you’re at all aware of technology news, and especially if you’re an Apple person, you know all about the new iPod Touch.

If not, here is some information about it:

1. It is basically an iPhone without the phone.
2. The look and feel of the device is essentially the same as the iPhone.
3. There are two versions, an 8 gB version for $299 and a 16 gB version for $399.
4. It has built in WI-FI support and includes Apple’s Safari browser and the ability to watch YouTube videos.
5. It will also feature iTunes support to download music directly to the iPod.
6. They have a deal with Starbucks to allow music downloads of songs featured in the store.

I am very excited for this device and I am planning to buy one. Since the release of the iPhone, I have said many times that I’m not interested in that as a phone, but I would definitely buy an iPod with that interface.

In other words: I WANT I WANT I WANT!!!!!