A startup in Alameda, Calif. plans to release a kind of holy software grail called Lina. This software will allow you to run more or less normal Linux applications under Windows, Mac, or Unix, with a look and feel native to each. The concept recalls Java, which has long promised "write once, run anywhere" compatibility. As with Java, Lina users will first install a VM specific to their platform, after which they can run binaries compiled not for their particular OS, but for the VM, which aims to hide OS-specific characteristics from the application. Open source developers will be able to use Lina for free, while commercial developers will pay an as-yet undecided licensing fee.

Lina is expected to be released on July. For more details about Lina, including some nifty videos and screencasts, visit the link below.

Sonalksis has just released TBK3 - Über Compressor. This radical analogue-modelled compressor can be pushed to extremes: and then beyond ! Subtlety is definitely not a feature of this plug-in ;-)

Features :

- Extreme analogue-modelled compression algorithm
- Optional 'true analogue noise' colouration
- Four selectable fully adaptive attack/release modes
- Modifiable side-chain filter character
- 64bit floating point precision internal processing throughout
- Ultra efficient processing, with specific optimisations for native processors
- Zero latency throughput - absolutely no internal signal delay whatsoever

The TBK3 is available now for Mac OSX (UB) in VST, AU and RTAS formats at a retail price of 119.99€. All current customers of the creative elements TBK series plug-ins c ...

Eiosis has updated ELS Vocoder to v1.1.

New features :

- The filter bank has now two setups: 22 and 20 bands. The new 20 bands setup has no Low Pass and Low Pass filter, and different frequency settings, for a sweeter sound.
- The filter type can be 24db/oct or 12dB/oct : 12dB/oct gives a smoother sound, with less resonances.
- The ELS Vocoder now includes more than 250 presets to cover a wide range of effects and applications.

Bug Fixes :

- The inverted switch for pitch detection on voiced and unvoiced signals is now correct.

Native Instruments has released Battery v3.0.2. This version offers not only numerous improvements, but also new sample-content: the update comes with three exclusive artist drum kits from Gorillaz Producer Curtis Lynch, Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten), and Turntablerocker.

This update is free for all registered users. For more information, please visit their web site.

NUSofting has announced Broken Drum Machine (BDM), a plugin instrument designed for the musicians who love chaos... ! BDM basically offers 4 drum pads like an old, small, beat box with: Bass Drum, Snare, Hi-Hat and Stick, each of those has controls like Decay, Pitch and Filter. But the creative power of the BDM is all in the four "Broken" sliders, one for each pad. With those sliders you can set the amount of wild, weird, chaotic and unpredictable variations to the sound, just like the circuits inside go crazy producing bleeps and glitches you never thought you'd hear from this machine. Sound source is double: a "Osc.Mix.PCM" slider, per pad, allows to choose between the internal VA oscillator or an external Wav sample, or a mix of the two. On top of that the output is configured as 1 stereo + 4 mono outs.

BDM will be available at the end of this year for Mac OS X in VST and AudioUnits formats with price to be announced.