CANADIAN MUSICIAN ONLINE

Push Technology - May 1997

With all of its advantages, one of the frustrations of the World Wide Web is that you have to wade through a quagmire of useless information to get what you really need and visit your favourite sites regularly to keep up to date. Wouldn’t it be great if just the info you needed came to you every day? Enter Push Technology. Push Technology was introduced by Pointcast but now the software is available from over a dozen companies. The client software runs in the background and whenever you are online it connects to the channels that you have subscribed to and downloads files to your computer in accordance to the selections you made when you subscribed. These messages can appear as news flashes, screen savers or backgrounds and contain messages that you click on to launch your browser and take you to the channel’s web site. One the frontrunners is Backweb which offers over 40 channels on a wide variety of subjects. Music channels currently include the House of Blues, J-Box Records, Net Radio Network and The Sound Box. You can download the client software for free at http://www.backweb.com. McAfee, the virus company, have a channel that updates you as to new viruses and allows you to download the updated data files. There are various other shareware channels and I think, in the future, you will see more software companies offer their updates this way. New versions of both Explorer and Netscape will be offering some type of Push software integrated with their browsers. Some net pundits are proclaiming that this is the Internet of the future. Check it out for yourself.

The Plug, carrying a complete range of recording supplies has introduced their Website on The Music & Audio Connection at http://maac.com/theplug. Check out their monthly specials and browse their complete catalogue on-line.
Gerraudio Distribution, Canadian distributors of Soundscape, Meyer, Drawmer and Ashly have opened their web site at http://gerr.com. Company news, product information and contact details are provided in English and French.
Liquid Audio has introduced their Mac client software for previewing and downloading Dolby quality digital audio files. It is free to download at http://www.liquidaudio.com.
Country Music Week is in Hamilton, Ontario this September and you can get all the information at the new CCMA web site at http://www.ccma.org. Also featured is information on the CCMA, the CCMA Awards Show and a complete list of Country music resources. You can also submit your showcase application on-line.
Yorkville Sound has added an educational Professional Audio Guide to their web site at http://www.yorkville.com. Included is information on: system setup and operation, mics, mixers, processors, power amps and speakers.
SF Marketing, Canadian distributors for Mackie, Nady, Symetrix, Furman, QSC and a long list of pro audio products, has debuted SF Marketing Online at http://www.sfm.ca. Featured are company news, product information, contact info and a daily chronology of news and happenings regarding the company and its products.
The Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology’s (OIART) web site can be found at http://www.oiart.org. Featured are General Information, Curriculum, Student Pages, a Studio Tour and Editorial features on the School.
Neumann microphones has introduced their web site at http://www.neumann.com. The site includes a discussion area on professional microphone technique, background and illustrations of historical Neumann products and product information including descriptions, technical data, diagrams, suggestions for use and ordering information.
Norris-Whitney Communications operates The Music & Audio Connection, the international on-line resource for music-enthusiasts, musicians, music and audio professionals. Included are artist listings, free classified ads, products for sale, company showcases, music and audio resources, career information, music humour, discussion forums and file libraries. Drop by and visit at http://www.musicandaudio.com.