Song Surgeon cPods

Song Surgeon is very pleased to introduce the concept of "Cloud Pods" or cPods to our family of users. The introduction of cPods ushers in a new era of portability for project files you create in Song Surgeon.

Song Surgeon cPods are analogous to a Power Point Pack and Go file. cPods contain all of the necessary files to run Song Surgeon on a Windows computer, without the requirement of having Song Surgeon installed. The Song Surgeon cPod runs an instance of Song Surgeon with a single audio file embedded in it, which the cPod creator selected when the cPod file was created. Moreover, it is not just the audio file selected that makes a cPods unique but it is the fact that you can set markers, loop areas, and change pitch or tempo. All of these settings are applied to create a customized cPod file.

Examples of cPod uses might include distributing a cPod among students in a class, or band members using cPods to distribute and learn new material. The potential uses are limited only by your imagination. You can download an example cPod by clicking the link below to use it on your computer. Once downloaded double click the exe file and the cPod will open an instance of Song Surgeon on your desktop and allow you to begin using Song Surgeon with its embedded audio file, on your machine instantly. It's absolutely FREE, so grab it now!

The Song Surgeon instance found in the cPod file can be modified on screen. For example if you want to add a loop area or change the tempo or do any of the things that Song Surgeon can do, you can make these modifications while the program is open on your screen, but you cannot save any of these changes, so once you close the cPod you loose these changes. However, this same cPod file can be used or opened an unlimited number or times.

cPods provide unparalleled portability by allowing users to create cPods (project files or lessons) that can be run on other machines. Secondly, this portability extends to ANY windows machine from XP forward. Anyone that has a Windows OS computer can open and use a cPod file. This means that people that don't own Song Surgeon or for that matter have never heard of or seen Song Surgeon, can download and use a cPod on their machine.

One feature of a Song Surgeon cPods is the installation – or I should say the lack thereof. A Song Surgeon cPod is opened and run by downloading an exe file and then clicking on it. However, unlike a standard software program, nothing is permanently installed on your computer. Once you X out or close the cPod you computer returns to the state it was BEFORE you ran or opened the cPod file.

The creation of a cPod is easy if you are already familiar with the operation of Song Surgeon. Once you have created a project file and saved it, you select the Export button, and then select the cPod option. This option begins a series of dialog boxes that enable you to enter some information about the cPod you are creating and ultimately publish it to the cloud (create the cPod) which sends the created file to our server, where it will be stored. You will be given a download link for this cPod so you can send this link to fellow bandmates, students, instructors, family members or anyone else.

All Song Surgeon customers, whether Standard or Pro users, will be able to create cPods. Initially the creation of cPods will be offered at no cost. However, at some point in the future, we expect to charge for the creation of cPods as we implement infrastructure to store, catalogue, virus check and digitally sign cPod files.

In the future we also envision a cPod sharing website, where creators of cPods can upload and share them. Before this can happen we have to work through the legal issues involved with sharing copyrighted music. We haven't worked out all of the details but we believe that by making royalty payments we can fully comply with all of the legal guidelines to make this a reality. We will keep you posted as cPod sharing website as we move ahead with this idea.

The other question that needs to be addressed is the creation and/or use on Mac computers. Currently cPods will not work on Macs. Once the Mac version of Song Surgeon Version 3 is completed, we will investigate the possibility of implementing the cPods concept on Macs. Until that time it is premature to discuss this issue further.

Lastly we would very much like to hear back from you about cPods. If you have suggestions, comments, likes, dislikes or ideas, please send them to us. In order to bring this concept successfully to the market we need your input to do it well. Please take a few minutes and complete the form below and send us your feedback.