QuikQuak has updated its "crowd simulator" plug-in Crowd Chamber to version 2.0.
New features :

• New algorithm.
• The complex feedback system has now been replaced by simple global parameters.
• Global Spread dial stretches out each voice over time, used to create large crowds, or weird individual effects.
• Overall spectral shift control, for creating large global pitch effects.
• Huge reduction in CPU usage for large crowd simulations.
• Reduced initial delay for large crowds.
• Increased basic population value.
• Extra presets demonstrating new capabilities.
• Simplified GUI and clearer labeling.
• PDF manual added.

Available now for both Mac (AU/VST) and PC (VST) at a price of £15.

Apple has announced that Mac OS X v10.6, aka Snow Leopard, will go on sale Friday, August 28 at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers, and that Apple's online store is now accepting pre-orders.

Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. Snow Leopard will be available as an upgrade for Mac OS X Leopard users for $29.

AcousticsampleS and Lance Herring are announcing the upcoming release of the Kawai-EX sample library. It's a Kawai-EX concert grand piano that used to be in the Kennedy center in Washington DC. The product is already in an advanced state.

Here are some features of the final product :

- 5 "pedal up" layers, 5 "pedal down" layers, and 15 release samples per note (5 only for the light version).
- Thumps samples.
- Automatic Pedal noises samples.
- Multiple mic position and mixing from the interface (in PRO version).
- Ability to save polyphony by enabling / disabling each position.
- Sympathetic resonance (pedal down samples).
- Multiple releases. They have been carefully picked up for each note to really reproduce the real mechanical behaviour of a note.
- As always, a custom ...

Focusrite is now shipping the new Saffire PRO 24 DSP, a 16 Input / 8 Output FireWire audio interface that features VRM, a breakthrough monitoring technology, in addition to real-time DSP-powered tracking plug-ins, all tailor-made for the modern recording environment.

The Saffire PRO 24 DSP has an MSPR of $399.

Ueberschall has released Caribbean Flavors Vol.1, a versatile and very colorful production tool with a pristine sound which is focused on 32 live-recorded Construction Kits from the Caribbean. This upscale production offers many styles of the modern and traditional Latin music culture such as:

• Bachata,
• Buleria,
• Merengue,
• Salsa,
• Porro,
• Champeta,
• Cumbia,
• Montuno,
• Guaguanco,
• Guajira,
• Merengue.

All material provides the live-emphasized essence to aid in production realism, artistry and identity. Sessions were recorded with world-class musicians from Puerto Rico, Columbia, Cuba, Venezuela and Germany. Arrangment and ideas come from the famous musician, percussionist and Grammy Award winner Nené Vásquez; ...