Reflection on the ReflectionApp and the AirServerApp and Apple TV

I have been very excited because every year when I get my tax refund back I usually convince my wife to let me buy a new toy. Like my iPad’s or a new kayak. This year I’ve known for a long time that I was going to be buying an Apple TV with the converter from HDMI to VGA with audio. I’ve been using my iPad for two years now every day in class and I wanted to take things to the next level. I want the students to be able to see many of the tools that I have at my finger tips.

I’ve been using the AirServerApp, running on my classroom computer for a year now. That app was the previous version 3. I used it to AirPlay music to my classroom sound system. Of course it has worked flawlessly, with the one exception that there was no security on it. That meant that frequently some kid working out down in the weight room would discover a pretty new icon on his iPod Screen (you know, that one for AirPlay that is never there until you can actually use it!) and in the middle of rehearsal I would suddenly have some pumping jams in the middle of a Michael Sweeney festival piece! Now during a high school rehearsal we would simply enjoy the commercial break. I would dance a bit for the class and then flip the mute switch then back to work we would go. BUT I REALLY tried to leave the mute switch on during middle school class because the rest of rehearsal after an episode like that was usually useless! It was worth it though to be able to wirelessly stream music, at will from anywhere I had my phone, iPod Touch or iPad!

You are probably wondering why in the world I didn’t just buy an AirPort Express and use that. Those have pass codes on them! Well I did! The only thing was that my PC tech guys freaked out! Plus I could not for the life of me get that darned thing to work at the school, on the school network! I even talked to the “big guys”, the ones doing the install on the new wireless servers going into our school to see if they had an answer for making it work, These are tech guys not form our school but instead with a big company whose only job was to install these wireless servers. Their answer was – don’t bring in home network devices, our devices will simply block them! I was in fact afraid I would have similar trouble with an Apple TV. I was hoping though that it would work.

Turns out I might not even try though! This last week of February was a great week! Especially for those of us school teachers in situations like this!

First, the ReflectionApp came out! This is from the same company that makes AirParrot – which puts your mac screen on your AppleTV. ReflectionApp is meant to mirror your iOS device onto your Computer! Of course your iOS device has to be capable of this, the iPad2 and iPhone4s both are. Not only does the mirroring include the picture but it streams the audio as well! So in other words, instead of having to but an AppleTV ($99), a convertor ($45 or more), and get it to work with my school network, I simply bought a $15 app and installed it on a computer I already have hooked up to my classroom projector and I am in business.

Second great thing was that the same day I bought and installed the ReflectionApp an error message showed up on my computer. Getting excited about error message is not normal I know, but this error came from an app called AirServer that I have been running for a year now! The message said that I needed to purchase an upgrade from AirServer in order to mirror my iPad! This startled me! I had not heard, and still haven’t, anything about AirServerApp adding the capability to mirror from an iOS device! So I headed over to their website - http://www.airserverapp.com/ and found it plastered all over the front page of the website! I quickly bought the $3.99 update. I had some issues with the update because when I originally bought the AirServerApp I used an old email that I never use any more. I bought the update with a new email. This really ticked off the AirServerApp and for a day I was in a limbo with the update screen from the app freezing up when it tried to authorize the update. The tech support took a day but considering that it was Friday night that’s probably not bad. They updated their databases of paid people and I was in business. I like their tech support.

So now, the good stuff! I’ve been playing with both apps for all of today and it’s been great fun. Of course I am at home with my MacBookPro and no projector hooked up. My kids walk by and I’ve had one of them do a double take and say – Whoa! Your iPad is on your computer! Then one of the other boys said, Why are you doing that?

Here’s what I’ve discovered. With the ReflectionApp there are more options for you to configure. At first boot the iPad (or iPhone) pops up with a border around it. This looks cool at first but in my case I want the image as big as possible so the students can see it better. It’s easy to take the border off. Another option that helps get the image bigger is to have the app go fullscreen. Now I have not really liked using the full screen mode in Lion. But I like it in this app because it is more what I expected – when using my iPad everything is full screen all the time. Plus I want no other distractions when projecting that image to the students. A quick shortcut (command F) and the app pops out of full screen mode. There are different optimizations for what image size you want mirrored, iPad, standard iPhone, Retina iPhone, or High resolution. This has been one of three issues I have found when using ReflectionApp. When I switched to High Resolution I really messed things up. I had to quite Reflection and reboot my iPad both to get things mirroring again. The second issue I found with ReflectionApp is when switching from portrait to landscape mode. If I am in landscape mode when I start the mirroring the image on the computer is filling the full screen, top to bottom – right to left. Then I can switch to landscape and the image is still top to bottom (not right to left of course) BUT when I switch back to landscape the image is no longer filling the entire screen top to bottom. It is smaller. A quick flick of the command F shortcut pops it back but I am not going to want to do that in the middle of class. The image when it is not filling the screen still is large and acceptable though.

Mirroring with both apps have gone very well – I will mention one exception at the end of this post about trying to mirror instrument apps though. In face with the ReflectionApp I found that I can end up mirroring both my iPad2 AND my iPhone4s! OK – I take that back I can mirror both devices with both apps! If you really want to do this though you should not have the automatic full screen mode on though because it is kind of a pain to get it to look like my screen shot. One of the amazing things I’ve found is that I can be running both the ReflecitonApp and AirServerApp at the same time. They are working very well together and they are not fighting each other at all! I even have been running audio from iPad through ReflectionApp and mirroring it too while mirroring my iPhone with AirServerApp! The audio plugged away and the video behaved as it had all day long with just one of these apps running at a time. I have been running the mirroring all day when I have been at my computer (my daughter did become a teen though so my time has been limited with her party and bowling and shopping though!). Every thing runs smooth as I would expect for all normal apps. I even tried photoBooth. There is a bit of a time delay in PhotoBooth as well as FaceTime with the video. At times I do get a stutter in the audio too. You should understand though that I am running an old AirPort Express with only 802.11b and I know that two of my boys have been running iTunes, FaceBook, Web Surfing and the like through their iPodTouches too.

My only complaint is when I have tried my musical instrument apps. For instance a piano app, MorphWiz or something like this. The lag is not going to work at this time for live performance! There is not way I could mirror this at at a concert and play a song on my iPad so the audience could see what was going on. Now I’m not sure what the problem is though because the PR on both web-sites show gaming apps running and they say that people could be using this for mirroring games! I am not a gamer but I do have a few games loaded on my iPad and I tried BugDom and it worked pretty well on both apps. Cro-Mag Rally crashed the ReflectionApp but worked in AirServer. So for gaming and musical instruments…. I wouldn’t hold my breath too much. These apps are not rock solidly performing in either mirroring app yet!

In wrapping this post up… there are two more points I need to make. The ReflectionApp tech support is really super and really super fast! I sent an email requesting and asking about a passcode (because the first version I downloaded didn’t have a passcode in it) Within minutes they had responded back to me. The next day there was an update to the program! Now don’t get me wrong – I know the update was not because of me but these guys are working hard on their app and want to interact with their users.

The AirServerApp has been rock solidly streaming music in my band room for a year now. This app is a bit more polished. For instance, there aren’t very many settings that we can adjust, the app just does it for you. When you select a song on your iPad in the Music app and push play there is a little notification (very Growl like, if you know what Growl is) on your Mac that tells you what song is playing. When you play videos, like YouTube, and take the video full screen, AirServer uses it’s own built-in movie player. AirServer has some more info about this sort of thing on their web site.

Both apps are great. ReflectionApp requires OS 10.6 or higher. AirServer will work somewhat with Tiger, Snow Leopard, Leopard and Lion as well as working some with Android devices (I think just for audio though) they are both $14.99 (the upgrade for AirServer from v3 was $3.99)

Reflection App, Apple TV for $15?

Buying an Apple TV is on my list of soon to buy items. Of course at this point I am waiting until next weeks announcements from Apple on March 7. I have ideas about what will be announced, go read the rumor blogs if you have no idea. I an assure you it is not the iPhone 5 though, like one of my 8th graders pronounced today in class. Of course I don’t have any REAL knowledge, just educated guessing.

The problem with the Apple TV is that my classroom projector does not have HDMI. This means I also need an adaptor. No problem, just need more money.

Now, today though I saw all sorts of information about the Reflection app for Mac. This app allows you to mirror what is on your iPad2 or iPhone 4s to your computer. It works too! Go check out the website and watch the videos.

My question to those of you who have an Apple TV already is how does it compare in real life? $99 vs $15

 

 

iPad Apps used on a daily basis in teaching Music

 

What apps do you use on a daily basis while teaching music? I teach Band every day to five different groups from 5th grade through High School. We also have one experimental group that is exploring the Pop, Rock, Electronic side of music creation and arranging.

I use a group of apps everyday in almost every class. Then I use another set of apps when not in class but still doing teaching related activities. There is of course a group of apps I use when I am creating and exploring music as well and one more group of apps that I use when I am not doing musical activities.

Here is my list of apps I use constantly while teaching;

unRealBook, ForScore, Avid Scorch, Tempo, ClearTune, Fingerings, SL-Remote, Filemaker Go, DropBox, AirSketch, PlanBook, YouTube, Music (the app) and of course YouTube and Safari. I wish our school had an instant messenger app for GroupWise. Why we are still using archaic technology like GroupWise I will never know! If we had an Instant Messenger app all teachers could use I would have WAY fewer phone interruptions!

My list of other apps I use for my job but not while I am teaching… (in addition to those listed above – because some of those listed above I still use while NOT teaching);

PlanBook, Pages, Keynote, MagicalPad, SmartMusic Inbox, AnyTune, Capo, Hokusai, Mail, Contacts, PDF Expert, Calendar, WunderList, Notability, NoteShelf, Skitch, Evernote, Hello, GMusic, AirSharing, SilverWiz, Photos, Videos, Camera, iMovie and PhotoSender. My newest find is iCam.

My list of Apps I love to use while creating, exploring, and playing music are;

MorphWiz, Mugician, GeoSynth, Seline, ThumbJam, Sunrizer, SampleWiz, CrystalSynthXT, GarageBand, Magic Fiddle and Piano, PianistPro, ProKeys, and my latest SampleTank and MelodyMaker.

The list of Apps I use when I am not making music, working on music classes or enjoying music…. in other words the rest of my free time;

ByLine (RSS News Feeds), Pulse News, Flud News, River of News (I can’t decide which I like the best but I did list these in the order I use them the most), Twitter, Flipboard, Showyou, Music, GMusic, WeatherBug or AccuWeather, Alarm Clock HD by the Alarm Clock Company, PackTheBag, AirVideo, Screens, Fandango, Flixster, What’s On?HD, Launch Points and Maps, and of course Safari, Mail, Contacts and Calendar.

What apps do you use constantly? I would love to discover new ideas and find out who else is using the same apps as I do on a constant basis. Leave a comment below.

Melody Music Maker app

I received a press release today about a very interesting app….

Melody Music Maker is an app that helps you with those melodies stuck in your head. The app gives you a quick way to play around with a melody line and chordal accompaniment. There are settings to pick what scale you want to use and what sound you want for the chords and melody. By picking a scale that you want to use you are then given visual recommendations on what notes might sound the best and what chords might be best to go to next. It is this part that I find interesting. I am constantly finding a mental block on what chord might sound good next when I am trying to write a song. When I am just simply sitting at the piano and messing around it would be nice be able have a few indicators as to what might work well next harmonically. The app developer uses colors to give these recommendations, as seen here in this video or in the screenshots below.

The same method is used when creating a melody – the notes that are from the chord are a different color than the other notes. The main notes in the melody section are only notes that are going to sound good. This is based on the scale you have picked and the chord you are currently playing. Coming up with no wrong notes is a goal of this app! Man I wish I could do that in Band Rehearsal!

The app looks like it could be useful even to myself and for sure could be a great tool to help explain scales, chords and harmonically sound choices for composition or improv. There is an good introduction video on the main page of the website. There is also a nicely done manual page with even more videos.

By the way there is also a a decent collection of built in sounds in this app for both the chord voice as well as the melody voice. The best part is that the app allows for controlling of other MIDI apps or devices. This means you could use the Sunrizer synth for some sounds or an external keyboard too. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities. The app also gives you the ability to send and share these recordings with other people.

This will become one more app in my arsenal of music related tools in my personal toolbox as well as a great tool to use in class.

 

Lesson Plan App – PlanBook

So I am trying to get more organized with working the iPad into a good workflow with my lesson planning. I have been looking for a way to write up my lesson plans that I can sync between my MacBookPro, the Band Room iMac, my iPad and that will also allow me to display each classes lessons on the projector screen for each class. It just makes sense to me that we should not be having to re-type thing. I don’t want to type lesson plans into a plan book, then have to re-type for the principal and then re-type it again into a Keynote for the class to see what’s on the agenda for the day. Duplicate Work=Wasted Time!

PlanBook Touch for iPad seems like it just might do the trick. The iPad app works with the Mac app and those both sync to DropBox. The app also lets me track standards that I am addressing. (more about this in a moment) The Mac app also allows for integration with iCal – I have not explored this so I’m not sure how it works and to what benefit it would be.

The Standards portion of the app is interesting in the fact that I can have all the standards in one place, alongside my lesson plans and it will allow me to track which ones I’m over teaching or under teaching. The only thing is that unless someone has all the standards already in a CSV file, I’m going to have to go through and manually enter each one.

With this app it seems to be a pretty easy job to display the daily agenda onto the projector screen for the kids to see so they can be prepared for that days rehearsal.

I’m wondering what other iPad toting teachers are doing right now as a solution to lesson planning and sharing lesson plans with the students/teachers. Does anyone have a good workflow that is working for them right now? What apps are you using?

24 Track iPad Recording Studio for $49!

How about being able to record 24 tracks of audio at once? 48 tracks of playback! Being able to record on your iPad then move that session into another desktop recording software package like ProTools (LogicStudio?)!

The $49 is a bit mis-leading as you of course need an iPad as well as a USB audio interface. But the thought of what this adds up to in price and capability to what we were able to get 10 years is a staggering difference!

Auria App is from WaveMachine Labs and with the ability to play 48 mono or stereo 24bit/44.1 kHz tracks simultaneously, record up to 24 of those tracks simultaneously (through any supported USB multichannel audio interface), and edit and mix with familiar tools and full parameter automation, it’s clear Auria sets a new standard for iPad multitracking.

Here is a video of the software from YouTube

Of course there are other apps out there right now that let us record into our iPads – but the Auria App is the first to allow 24 tracks of simultaneous recording!

Now we just have to find a digital mixer – or at least a mixer that is compliant with the iPad camera connection kit! Of course if I’m recording 24 tracks of audio onto my iPad what am I going to use to read my music off from? I just might have to steal my original back from my wife iPad…. (anyone got any idea of how THAT’s going to go?) Maybe she’ll just let me by the iPad3!

If the thought of recording 24 tracks is a bit daunting to you – remember that there are several new iPad audio/midi docks/interfaces that are perfect for just recording several tracks at a time. The Alesis iO Dock is not new news but the Behringer iStudio  and the StudioConnect from Griffin are both new.

Apple’s GarageBand - which works on iPad/iPhone/Computer ,

Studio Track  from Sonoma WireWorks (8tracks of audio),

Amplitube 2 for iPad -(8 tracks of audio) (Really great for guitar players with all sorts of amp simulations and such),

MultiTrack DAW from HarmonicDog – (8 tracks simultaneous recording),

Studio.HD from SoundTrend LLC

New Mixers that integrate iPads

Are you looking for a way to incorporate your iPad into your live sound? Looking for new ways to mic up your Jazz Band or Choir? I know I want a new way to take advantage of the iPads portability and processing strength in ways I’ve not been able to. I want a great new way to use my iPad in conjunction with my sound system, both in the band room as well as when we are live. Live sound is always a hassle to some extent, trying to haul equipment and find someone to run it and then the sound board is in the back of the room and you, the director, are up front. Well,  NAMM 2012 has brought lots of exciting new gear announcements that incorporate the iPad and iPod’s. I have been looking at a new sound board for my band program these past few weeks and these announcements have caught my attention. There are several new sound boards that change the way we use sound boards. These sound boards utilize an iPad in one way or another.

I found information on two boards that did not include a release time or a price, those two boards are listed last. I did find one video review of the Mackie DL1608 Board (Find it here) that told me the price – $999, and they said the release time frame is quarter 2. For what this thing is doing that is amazing!
I could not find a price anywhere for the bottom two mixers.

The information from Mackie is the best put together of these three. A word of warning though, if you are not familiar with Mackie and the way they write their material, it’s going to be an interesting trip for you!

Mackie DL 1608 from Mackie  - go here for video and more pics from the Mackie website. Here is a video at the Mackie booth – the guy is showing it off and talking about it. He also mentions the price in this video – $999

Highlights - The Mackie DL1608™ redefines live mixing by combining the proven power of a full-featured digital mixer with the unmatched ease and mobility of an iPad.® With 16 boutique-quality Onyx mic preamps and the performance of 24bit Cirrus Logic® AD/DA converters, you have unparalleled sound quality. Seamless wired to wireless iPad control means you can mix from anywhere in the venue. This gives you the mobile freedom to control not only the mix, but also powerful plug-ins like EQ, dynamics, effects and more. The sleek DL1608 even supports up to 10 iPads.

What really is showing their innovation -

• Control the mix from anywhere with an iPad
• Great Preamps
• Great built-in Processing – like 4 band EQ, compression and gate plug-ins. Reverb, tap delay and 31-band graphic EQ and compressor/limiter on the main and aux outs.
• Suports up to 10 iPads – Give each band member the ability to adjust their own monitors.
• Total snapshot recall
• Chanel presets like kick drum, bass, guitar, keyboard and more.
• Record from the main mix right to your iPad
• Integrate music from any other app, like GarageBand without using up one of the mixers 16 channels while the iPad is docked.
• Channel Images – gone are the days of masking tape and handwriting who is on each channel!

I like that it appears that you do not have to leave the iPad docked for the entire show.
XENYX iX2442USB from Behringer – There are 16, 24 and 32 channel versions of this one -

XENYX iX2442USB

Premium 24-Input 4/2-Bus Mixer with iPAD Docking Station, XENYX Mic Preamps & Compressors, KLARK TEKNIK Multi-FX Processor, Wireless Option and USB/Audio Interface

• Premium ultra-low noise, high headroom mixer with iPAD integration
• iPAD docking station seamlessly integrates hundreds of iPAD music apps for recording, system tuning and monitoring etc.
• 10 state-of-the-art, phantom-powered XENYX Mic Preamps comparable to stand-alone boutique preamps
• 8 studio-grade compressors with super-easy “one-knob” functionality and control LED for professional vocal and instrumental sound
• Ultra-high quality KLARK TEKNIK FX processor with LCD display, dual-parameters, Tap function and storable user parameter settings
• “Wireless-ready” for high-quality BEHRINGER digital wireless system (not included)
• Built-in stereo USB/Audio Interface to connect directly to your computer. Free audio recording, editing and podcasting software plus 150 instrument/effect

MasterLink 24 with dock for iPad – from Alto Professional

 

24-CHANNEL MIXER WITH DOCK FOR IPAD

 

• Seamlessly integrates iPad with fitted enclosure, 30-pin dock and exclusive software
• Works with iPad and iPad 2
• Process and record your main mix with Alto Professional’s Live Drive App*
• Dedicated analyzer/talkback microphone input
• 24 input channels: 16 Mono, 4 Stereo
• 16 high-headroom low-noise microphone preamps
• Three-band EQ with sweepable mid-frequency on all mono channels
• 16 independent channel compressors for dynamic control
• Built-in Alesis digital effects processor with reverb, delay, chorus and more
• Four aux sends with aux one and two configurable as “post” or “pre” fader
• Four-bus operation, offering main and monitor mix separation
• Real-time audio analysis*
• 12-band parametric EQ*
• Compressor/limiter*
• Two-channel audio recording capability*
• Built-in programmable SPL meter*

Apple’s iBooks Authoring Announcement from today.

Today was a late day at school, not nearly as long as two of my son’s. They got went to school at 7AM and came home at 9:30 PM! I’m proud of their dedication to a quality school and quality experiences. I had a band room bustling with students working on about 4 different musical projects so I did not get home until after 5. Then I had rehearsal with my Community Band that I play in. It’s late and I haven’t had nearly as much time to watch, review the new announcement from Apple  or to play with the new software as I would like to. But I already have an opinion…

Here’s what I think….

Apple just changed everything! I think that Apple just gave any school with access to an Apple computer and iPads an amazing new tool. I don’t think that the biggest impact should be that schools will buying textbooks in new formats, with amazing new interactivity. I think that what Apple has given schools is a tool with which teachers can create their own, personalized learning material and that students can create their own eBooks with. Students should be using this software to create lessons about what they are learning, lessons will help them really learn what they are working on. I can see a student taking the material from class, creating an eBook/iBook with that material and ending up with an end product that they are very proud of. An end product that has created a chance for them to take apart and reassemble classwork that could have been boring otherwise, in such a manner that they now actually have higher levels of retention and comprehension.

I see teachers creating exciting new materials that will grab students attention. Teachers will be creating lessons in ways never before possible.

iBooks, iTunesU and the iBooks Authoring App are significant, very significant!

Now, what about the schools without access to a mac for teachers and students to create with? Ummm… well current technology is going to be replaced at some point in time right? This announcement today may change all those Dells to Apples! (Do I dare to dream?)

iTunes Match Issues

I just ran into an issue with using iTunes Match and having tunes that are ineligible. I have a list of songs that for one reason or another are not being uploaded to iTunes Match Cloud. I’m sure Apple has a list of reasons why songs may not be eligible, I’ve seen it. That list explains a few of the songs on my list but not all. So at first I wasn’t concerned. No big deal, who cares if they are in the Cloud or not right? Well, the issue came in when I wanted one of those songs on my iPad to use in class. iTunes will not let you put an ineligible song on your iTunes Match enabled iOS device.

This could be a huge issue. For instance, I have songs that I have recorded accompaniment tracks for the choir for, using my keyboard and laptop at home in my studio. Those are songs that I would obviously like to be able to have on my iPad so that when I am at school I can use them. For some reason some of these accompaniments that I have created are in that list of ineligible songs.

The solution I found was easy enough. I simply put those songs into a playlist, burned a CD of them, deleted them from my library, and then imported that CD of songs back into my library. Issue gone. You could get into a pickle though if you need a certain song FAST and it is on your ineligible list though so it would be a good idea to make a SmartPlaylist of all songs that are ineligible for iTunesMatch and check through so you know what all is on that list.

Good luck with your conversion to the Cloud… it will be a journey full of twists!

Bring your own Devices in Education and Interactive Student Engagement

If you have not been paying attention to the discussions flying around the internet and school about BYOD then you should be. BYOD – Bring Your On Device – is where the school stops providing the device that students use to enhance their learning. Instead the students must provide their own. Their a many students who have great devices in their pockets already in the form of iPods and phones. Of course now the discussion is exactly how many students do own such a device and what could we use them for? How can such devices be used to enhance learning. That is the most important question we need to ask. What we plan to do with these devices must make what we are doing better, faster more engaging or even better, provide a new opportunity not otherwise available. It is not good enough just to use these devices for the sake of using them or the novelty of it.

Tonight I ran across a web service/app that I have been on the lookout for since the iPad came out. I have wanted a better way to incorporate student response systems in my classroom. I have one set of 32 clickers that the students and I both enjoy using. I have been looking for apps that would take the current experience to the next level. I have also anxiously been waiting for a system that would allow my students to use their own devices that they own. 

http://www.socrative.com/ is the service I ran across. This is a way to engage the entire class using any device. There are a slew of options in Socrative! Quick exercise, Exit Tickets, Quizzes and Games to name a few. These are all ways the student interacts with Socrative. Then the teacher has the capability to run reports on how the students responded.  The compatibility includes any device that is web enabled and any internet browser. This means a student could use Android, iOS, Palm or anything else that lets you access the web! These are the devices that are sitting on kids music stands or are in their pockets anyways! Why not actually use them to your benefit and more to the point allow the students to give you feedback that will help you teach better? Why not give a quiz that is automatically graded for you? How great would that be? Give a test and you walk out of class with the grades already done!

There is a teacher app as well as a student app for iPod Touches and iPads. The sign up was quick and fast. Their website says it takes a teacher 3 minutes to setup and the students apps take 20 seconds to load! Now that should keep them going!

One of the great parts of this service is that this is free (for now!) You need to go check this service out – do yourself a favor and your students as well! Leave me a comment down below if you use this service or if you use student response systems in your music room/classroom.

As a side-note, the only reason I came across this app is because I subscribe to many different web-sites using RSS feeds. If you don’t use RSS News Feeds you should. RSS is a quick way to follow your favorite web-sites without having to actually go visit each and every web-site on a daily basis. I simply use Google Reader as the main component, the place I subscribe to my web-sites from. Then I have several iPad apps that I use to go and see what’s new. This is a 2012 version of my Grandpa’s/Mom’s newspaper. I get to see only news that I want to see. I get to QUICKLY go through and look at only new information.