Social Networking with Smule iPhone Applications

The past few weeks I have been playing with some new applications for my iPhone. There are thousands of applications available. Something to suit every-body's taste. There are apps for just about anything. Smule has four apps out now that I believe are not only fun to play with, but they are also a way of social networking. Social Networking with Smule iPhone Applications are still very new, but they have so much potential to bridge what you do in your free time with the rest of the world.

Smule's Ocarina, Sonic Lighter, and Sonic Boom all have a world mode which connects what you do with the particular application with the rest of the world. You can isolate which part of the globe you want to view or listen to. The Ocarina will record the different songs that you play and you can go online or listen to them right from your iPhone. You can watch and see who has the their Sonic Lighter burning or who is setting explosions with Sonic Boom.

No doubt in the near future we will be able to communicate directly through the application with various friends we make around the world. The Internet and the iPhone are all about connection, interaction, and Social Networking through various channels of social media. Smule's applications are on the ground floor when it comes to exciting new ways to network.

Ocarina Advancements and Screen Capture Elements

This week was about Ocarina advancements and IPhone screen capture elements which have made my life easier. I was playing my Ocarina the other day and was marveling at the changes made on the Ocarina since the last update. The buttons don't stick like they used to, this makes playing something from start to finish a lot easier. On globe mode, you can now zoom into a particular region to listen to; or listen to only the top melodies around the world, only my melodies, and only my loved melodies. There is a new finger hole layout which I find makes playing the Ocarina much easier. I can honestly say that I am excited to see what they add on to the Ocarina next.



I recently discovered another amazing IPhone feature that will come in very handy, a screen capture element. The pictures shown above were taken with the screen capture element. No matter what you are looking at on your IPhone, whether it is a web page or a text chat conversation, you can take a picture of what you see. After you capture what you are looking at, you can then email yourself or anybody a picture of what you deem important. When looking at something on your IPhone that you want to remember or use for a presentation there are only three simple steps to take. First, find something you want a picture of. Second, press the sleep/wake button at the top of the IPhone. Third, press the home button while pressing the sleep/awake button. The IPhone display will turn white for a second if you've done the steps properly, then you can go to your photo roll and take a look at what you captured.

Ocarina: Ancient Flute-like Wind Instrument

The ocarina is an ancient flute-like wind instrument believed to date back some 12,000 years. While several variations exist, an ocarina is typified by an oval-shaped enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouth tube projecting out from the body. It is often ceramic, but many other materials, such as plastic, wood, glass and metal may also be used.

Ocarina-type instruments have been of particular importance in Chinese and Mesoamerican cultures. The Ocarina played an important role in China's long history of song and dance. The ocarina has similar features to the Xun, another important Chinese instrument. Cortes' expedition to Mesoamerica resulted in the introduction of the ocarina to the courts of Europe. Both the Mayans and Aztecs had produced versions of the ocarina, but it was the Aztecs who brought the song and dance that accompanied the ocarina to Europe. The ocarina went on to become popular in European communities as a toy instrument

You can now play the Ocarina with your iPhone! You have access to several keys and modes that can be changed in order to play a full variation of songs. Rest the iPhone on your ring fingers and thumbs with the headphone jack facing away from you. Use your index and middle fingers to cover the four holes. In order to play your Ocarina, you will need to blow into the microphone (you will see a small gold arrow where to blow). The mic is sensitive, so try not to blow very hard (if you are puffing your cheeks, you are blowing too hard).

I feel like the iPhone Ocarina is the most engaging application out there. It is a lot fun and with a little bit of effort one can learn to play some great songs; you can also transpose your own songs on to the Ocarina. There is a "globe mode", where you can listen to what people all around the world are playing on the Ocarina. Download the Ocarina by Smule for your phone and start making music with your iPhone!