The App Store mindset has taken over. From the Apple iDevices, to the Android Marketplace, and to Windows Phone 7, it has become increasingly easy to get your App fix from a mobile point of view. But what about the rest of your digital world? Apple recently released the Mac App store that brings the mentality of easy to install and use software to your Mac as long as you are running Snow Leopard or later. But the living room has still yet to see an app store of its own…or has it? More after the break.

In comes the Xbox Indie Game store

Xbox Live Indie Games initially began working its way onto the Microsoft gaming console back in 2006. After a few bumpy years, the indie game store managed to release over 1,600 games as of February 2011. If you try to compare it to the iTunes App store, 1,600 indie games for a console is only a fraction of the 400,000+ Apps iTunes has now for handheld/portable devices. I understand that these two stores launched with completely different purposes. But what if Microsoft took a hint from Apple now, and changed the indie game store to a full on app store for your living room?

Changing Indie to App Store

With the huge success of the iTunes app store, its only a matter of time before it makes its way to the Apple TV. But Microsoft could have a chance to beat them to the punch. By converting the Xbox Indie Game Store into an all out App store, Microsoft could capture the next generation of a fully integrated “Media Center” on this current generation gaming device.

If you look in the Indie Game Store today, there is already a number of releases that have nothing to do with gaming, such as guitar tuners, music synthesizers, and so on. By giving more recourses to the indie developer, such as access to the kinect or opening up to the web (highly unlikely, I know), Microsoft can increase the functionality, increase profits by number of sales while keeping prices low, extend the life of the current generation console, and even get into more of the homes of people who may not consider themselves gamers.

I believe that by blurring the line between gaming console and all encompassing multimedia device, Microsoft can gain even further control before competition steps in.

But what defines an app store? More importantly what would an app store mean to you in your living room?

As an audio geek I wanted to talk about some of the apps and programs I have been using that help speed up my workflow. One of those apps is SoundSource by Rogue Amoeba. For a detailed breakdown of what SoundSource does and how it could help you, continue reading after the break.

So what is SoundScource?

SoundSource is a mac application that takes all of your sound settings that are neatly packaged up in your system preferences and lets you skip a few steps to access them by rolling them all out into an easy access drop down menu.

Why use it?

If you don’t use an apple keyboard or a keyboard with volume control, this can come in very handy. Mac OSX 10.5 only has the ability to show the volume in the menu bar. With SoundSource, its easy to quickly switch between different inputs and outputs, change where your system sounds will be coming out, as well as get into your sound and MIDI preferences.

If you are like me and have an external audio interface and go back and fourth between different pieces of recording hardware and software, then this application is a life saver.

How much?

You can thank the guys at Rogue Amoeba for this one because its a freebie!

Where do I get it?

RogueAmoeba.com. These guys are the professionals when it comes to controlling the sound going into or coming out of your computer. From hijacking the audio of a particular application to streaming your music across your network, Rogue Amoeba can help you make it happen.

So why do I care?

I am a dedicated fanboy of Rogue Amoeba, and more in particular SoundSource. Since switching to Mac from Windows XP when it was on its last leg before Vista invaded, SoundSource helped me keep the confusion to a minimum while keeping the functionality to the maximum.

Click here to view the embedded video.

But Apple isn’t the only one focused on bringing video chat into the mainstream. Microsoft recently announced Kinect (formerly known as Project Natal). Aside from the gaming features of Kinect, Microsoft takes control of your gaming media center and turns into a point of contact with the ability to video chat with not only your friends on xbox live, but those with live messenger on their pc as well.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Webcams have been readily available at your local electronic shop for almost a decade, although the recent adaptation of bringing the experience away from the computer and to the living room or even on the go greatly changes the way that friends and family can communicate.

Thanks to skype and setting a macbook up on the coffee table, last year my wife and I were able to enjoy the holidays with our families living several states away. This year can be even simpler with video calls straight from the TV or anywhere I go (where there is a wifi connection anyway).

I am not looking at video chat technology as a complete replacement for voice calls. Not entirely. But the practicality of video calls has so much potential to grow into a mainstream way of life. At least keep this in mind, next time you call in sick to work you can show your boss how sick you really are. Or maybe with a bit of camera work, fake it good enough to get a weekend off for that beach trip you have been planning for.

Now I’m not saying your going to get signed to a major recording label by having your mom post videos of you sitting on your couch playing guitar and singing cover songs. Although by posting your music online, people, other than your mom, can listen and critique your music. They will either join your mighty throng of fans or say your music sounds like crap. Either way it should fuel the fire in you to make good music no matter the genre!

As I write this I am uploading the Synapse/Dirty Work album to Jamendo. This is an album I worked on in collaboration with a friend of mine, Steve Ripley. Although it is fully posted and available for download on the music page of this website, this post is about using one of the many social media distribution sites to your benefit and is being uploaded to Jamendo as an example of using their services.

I first noticed Jamendo when they began using Bit Torrent to distribute independent artists music free and legally through creative commons licensing. Although for the most part they have pulled away from using torrents, Jamendo still holds strong to distributing music free of charge. For fans and music lovers this is a great thing! But why would an artist want to give away his or her music for free?

Lets face it, CD sales are down and have been dropping more and more each year. Although this doesn’t mean the general populous interest in music has gone down. Thanks to the growing hard drive space and use of the iPod and other mp3 players, listeners can now carry their entire music libraries with them wherever they go.

My point is if you have a great album and a large collection of fans, you would be crazy not to get your album on iTunes and CD Baby just to name a few. But if you are starting out and just working on getting heard, Jamendo is a great site to check out. And don’t think it all has to be for free. After a bit of paperwork you can begin licensing your sweet tunes and get a donation box placed on your page for loving fans to throw their money at you.

Think about it this way, if you only sold your CD, friends will be friends and let each other rip your album to their computers and acquire it for free. But if they love what they hear, you just got another fan who will probably buy your future albums as well as pay to see you play shows.

So enjoy the great ways that digital distribution can help you as an indie artist, and if nothing else take a listen to a few albums already posted on Jamendo. You might find yourself a big fan of someone else.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’d like to thanks CosmicD for posting this video on YouTube.

Get the album on iTunes here

Episode 1

Click here to view the embedded video.

Episode 2

Click here to view the embedded video.

The year was 1947 and the sport as defined by Tudor Games was electric football. Excitement over vibrating playing fields and random runs hasn’t filled the air like that until now! 62 years later in 2009 Steamroller Studios in combination with Chillingo Ltd has released the latest electric football game in iTunes App format titled Super Shock Football.

Super Shock Football definitely brings the classic electronic football style game right into the palm of your hands. With a slew of entertaining fictional teams the game is at your fingertips to set your plays, make a pass, and by all means hope your player makes a run in the right direction!

This game features the most dynamic camera I have seen on the iPhone or iPod Touch. Just tilt your device from upright to landscape and it smoothly transitions right into a side view of the 3D playing field. While the graphics are more simplistic, it stays close to home with the original feel of electric football. As far as the sound goes, it is jam packed full of tackling, kicking, catching, scoring action all while the crowd goes wild and the band keeps the fight songs going!

For those not as familiar with electric football the rules are a bit different and the controls are a lot more simplistic. Set the play, make a pass if available, and sit back and watch the players move randomly across the table.

Super Shock Football is definitely for the electric football gamer looking to reminisce on the glory days of your vibrating, er um, vibrant career keeping you entertained for hours at a time. For those who have a short attention span, this game is probably not for you. As a reminder this is a graphics intensive game and does take some time to load. Although launching 50% off at $1.99 isn’t a bad way to enjoy this years football season that much more!