Let's file this under 'really bad ideas done poorly.' Sony would like to sell you 1,000 ringtones, sound effects, and comedy voices on a data DVD that's just oh so ready to import into iTunes. Sony doesn't seem to offer a comparable product for other cellphones, like maybe the Sony Ericsson brand, so I can only conclude this is a plot by Sony to make iPhone owners look dumb when a call comes in.

I listened to some of the samples on the Sony website, and the DVD seems to be a collection of bad and unmemorable production music, obnoxious sound effects, and jokey voices saying things like "Dude -- everybody keep your voice down, I think it's my Dad calling."

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about getting an iPhone, disposing of old Macs, wake from sleep issues, exchanging a recent Mac purchase, podcast hardware and software, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions.

Tom asks:

I'm considering an iPhone but want to know what my options are. Is the iPhone the best smartphone if I'm a Mac user?

The short answer to that question is "Yes." The iPhone is the best smartphone for you if you use a Mac. It's designed by Apple to work seamlessly with your Mac and iTunes and for the most part, it does. For Mac users the iPhone offers the best user experience possible and keeps you, at least hardware-wise, entirely in the Apple fold.

That said, the iPhone itself may or may not be the best smartphone for your needs. One drawback is that it's only available if you are an AT&T wireless customer. So, unless you are already an AT&T customer, or are willing to switch, you are out of luck.

Plus, using AT&T on a daily basis can sometimes be challenging as it's network occasionally has issues. Also, the coverage in some areas is not quite as good as other networks such as Verizon -- even in larger cities such as Los Angeles, where I live.

I love podcasting.

My first podcasts weren't really podcasts, just recordings that I made and uploaded to a website in the late 90's so that other people could listen to them. Unlike the podcasts we know and love today, there was no way to subscribe to all of the episodes that I recorded. When podcasting as we know it hit the world in 2004, I started hosting podcasts through one of my companies.

Despite creating two long-running podcasts between 2004 and 2007, I finally gave up because of the time involved. Part of the problem was due to me being a stickler for perfection in my podcasts, while the rest was due to the fact that I was stuck with podcasting when I was near my iMac and could edit and update a feed file on a regular basis.

Earlier this month, I decided that I wanted to start up a personal podcast again. Yeah, I talk about tech, but for the most part I wanted this to be a free-form podcast that could talk about photography one day, music the next, and the joys of being a cat owner the third. Since my calendar is already pretty well jammed, the only way I was going to be able to commit to doing a podcast every day was to get the podcast workflow down to as little time as possible.

Even if it's not explicitly stated with every post about an app or discussion of a peripheral, there's one basic criterion for reviews that I try to stick to as much as I can: "Would I spend my own money on this thing?" Sometimes an otherwise-excellent product gets priced out of the value equation, or there are competitors and free offerings that deliver most of the functionality for a fraction of the cost. When you can get the same chore done with the built-in capabilities of your Mac, the decision about spending additional money on a gadget to do the same thing "but better" can get even harder.

When the IPEVO TR-10i speakerphone for iChat first shipped last year, I was eager to give it a try, and it didn't disappoint. Having a USB microphone sensitive enough to pick up voice chatter from a roomful of people is a definite advantage -- the MacBook Pro's built-in mic doesn't usually work well with more than one or two. Likewise, a built-in speaker with volume, recording and call answer controls proved to be a big plus, especially for those times where I didn't remember I needed to start recording until after the start of the call.

The unit works perfectly with iChat (including support for all the on-device controls), but also delivers good results with Skype and other softphone apps like EyeBeam and Zoiper; the microphone and speaker work with any Mac app, in fact, so you could use it as a voice mic for GarageBand if you wanted to. Call quality was very good, once I got the input volume settings sorted out via the IPEVO device FAQ. Like any good speakerphone, it's got a hardware mute button to take a brief break from your call.

Still, I think the killer feature of the TR-10i (as long as you don't mind looking a little ridiculous) is that you can easily switch it from speakerphone to handset mode and use it like you would a conventional phone. For private conversations before or after a conference call, it's very handy, and to tell the truth it doesn't look any goofier than a USB or Bluetooth headset.

With all this in mind, I would have loved to write a glowing review of the TR-10i a while ago. The only problem was the price: for quite a bit less than the $79.90US cost of the TR-10i, you could get a pretty nice USB mic and just use your Mac's speakers for conference calling. I couldn't fault the product, but I couldn't stomach the price... so I stalled and stalled on reviewing it, trying to figure out if I truly would lay down the better part of a C-note for this particular gadget.

Fortunately, I think someone at IPEVO had the same sense about the TR-10i that I did: even though Mac users don't mind paying extra for quality, they still can tell when a product's features and its price don't match up. The TR-10i is now available direct from IPEVO for a more reasonable $49.99, and at that price point I can say without reservation that I would buy one myself. The company also has a free shipping deal in force through this Wednesday (9/9), so the timing is right. The difference between the original price and the new price may be only one Snow Leopard's worth, but it makes the TR-10i much more attractive.

Last year I wrote about iRingPro, a group dedicated to bringing "ringtones for adults" to the iPhone. At the time they had one set of 27 tones available simply called "Zen," and they really do sound good. In fact, I still use them today ("Tokyo Station - Hi" Is my favorite).

Most feature a series of unobtrusive tones followed by a brief pause. If you've ever been annoyed by the guy whose phone unexpectedly blasts "Enter Sandman," then the Zen tones are for you.

They've recently updated the Zen series to include longer pauses between tones. Additionally, they've introduced two new collections, "Origin" and "Tek." Each collection contains between 22 and 31 tones featuring brief silent pauses and another full set with extended silent pauses in either MP3, iPhone for Windows or iPhone for Mac format. I must admit that I'm quite tempted by the Origin pack.

It's true that you can make your own classy tones with GarageBand, but these sound great and won't embarrass you when your phone goes off at a PTA meeting. Each bundle costs $9.95. If you purchased the original Zen set and were wise enough to save your receipt, you can upgrade to Zen 2 for free.

On what seemed like a somewhat slow Monday, Apple has updated GarageBand '09 to version 5.1. This update adds a few new features, improves compatibility and stability, and also fixes a security issue.

The changes include:

• GarageBand track effects and Audio Units can now be added to a guitar track.
• Improved support for Apogee audio interfaces.
• Faster switching to full screen in Magic GarageBand.
• Improved access to audio monitoring settings.

This update weighs in 139.29MB, and is available to download in Software Update or from Apple's support download page. If this updates improves or fixes any problems you might have in GarageBand, feel free to leave a comment below.

We're back with another edition of Ask TUAW! This time around we've got questions about recording audio, troubleshooting wireless issues, the best place to go for web hosting and more.

As always, your questions and suggestions are welcome. Questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X (we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!

Petre asks:

I just bought a new guitar and I'm thinking about using it to record some of my songs with my new iMac. Any recommendations for a good method of connecting a guitar so I can record?

Fortunately, you're in luck, in that the Mac is made for people trying to do just what you want to do. There are several options to accomplish this and it really just depends on how good you want the audio to sound and what your budget is. To get the best possible quality, you're going to need a few items.

First, you're going to need some recording software. Fortunately, that's already on your iMac as you can use Apple's GarageBand for all your entry-level recording needs. Second, you'll need some sort of digital audio interface that connects your guitar's output to a USB or Firewire interface on your iMac. Some good ones to take a look at include the M-Audio MobilePre, the M-Audio Firewire Solo or the Line 6 Tone Port series. Then, all you need to do is plug your guitar into the converter and the converter into your Mac and you're good to go. Of course, you'll want to be sure and update the driver to the latest version and read the manual to get the most out of your converter.

If you're not as concerned about audio quality, you can also use a converter cable, such as the Monster iStudio Link, to connect your guitar directly to the mic input on your iMac. That will allow you to record directly into your Mac but won't give you the best possible audio quality or level of customization you could get from a digital converter.

Apple has added new "Learn to Play" lessons to the latest version of GarageBand, including two lessons by Sting and the first one by Sarah McLachlan. Gordon Sumner (a.k.a. Sting, so named by his friends when he wore a shirt with black and yellow stripes) will teach you how to play "Message in a Bottle" and "Fragile" (in my humble opinion, one of the lesser-known but more amazing Sting songs), and Sarah McLachlan, who really likes ice cream, will teach you how to play her "Angel." I miss Sarah McLachlan -- it's hard to believe we had someone that was even more bland than Norah Jones.

But excuse my musical snobbery -- all three lessons are now available in the GarageBand Lesson Store for the low low price of $4.99. And lest you think I am anti-McLachlan in any way, think again: I too owned a copy of Surfacing. If you wanted to hang out with girls in my high school, you pretty much had to have a copy around at any given time. That, and Crash. Ah, how young we were.

Good news for those of us who still have PowerPC-powered Macs lying around: while the new Garageband Learn to Play feature isn't actually designed to work with the old machines (part of Apple's switch to the new Intel chips), it apparently still does. If you've got iLife installed on your old Mac and double-click on the Learn to Play files themselves (hidden in /Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Learn To Play/), Mac.Blorge says that they'll work just fine. Unfortunately, you won't be able to buy new lessons from the store (people are still testing -- there may be a workaround here eventually), but if you want to play the ones you've got, they should work, even if playback isn't perfect.

Additionally, if you want to try to do a little hex editing, you may be able to get iMovie '09 playing on a PowerPC Mac as well. That one's just dodging the PowerPC check, though, so there's a good chance that some things won't work right on the old machine. Either that, or Apple is just trying to build in random requirements to get us to upgrade. Conspiracy hats, anyone?

At any rate, this isn't unexpected -- we're two years past the official switch, and of course at some point Apple had to move on with their new software. For the moment, you might get things working with a few tweaks, but eventually you'll have to look at replacing that old G4 if you want to run the shiny stuff.

As Apple continues a march toward all Intel-based computers, those hanging on to perfectly good G5 and G4 computers are left to watch features slowly bleed off.

In the recently released iLife '09 package, iPhoto has left some owners of older Macs wondering where their slide show transitions have gone.

Apple has now released a support document detailing what is missing:

The number of slideshow themes available in iPhoto '09 depends on your Mac's processor and, in some cases, available vRAM:

• Intel-based Mac computers, PowerPC G5 with more than 64MB of vRAM: All iPhoto '09 slideshow themes are available.
• PowerPC G5 with less than 64MB of vRAM: Only Classic, Ken Burns, Scrapbook, Sliding Panels are available.
• PowerPC G4: Classic and Ken Burns are available.

Apple has also changed the minimum specs on Garageband '09, noting that one of the apps most desired features is Intel only: GarageBand Learn to Play requires an Intel-based Mac with a dual-core processor or better.

It is also rumored that the next version of OS X, Snow Leopard will completely drop support for PowerPC processors. Last year, iMovie dropped PowerPC support, so it looks like the handwriting is on the wall. Apple's push to get consumers and businesses to change to the newer Intel platform will get less and less subtle as time goes on.

Apple issued a press release first thing this morning, noting that iLife '09, announced at Macworld, is shipping tomorrow for $79.

We covered iLife '09's major features, including face detection and geotagging for iPhoto, guitar and piano lessons for GarageBand, and another re-imagining of iMovie.

If you purchased a new Mac on or after January 6, you can upgrade to iLife '09 for $10. iLife is also available in a family pack: five licenses for $99. A box set that includes iLife, iWork, and Mac OS X is $169, and individual music lessons are available separately for $5 each.

iLife '09 requires Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later. It's available for purchase (among many locations) in the Apple Store online, at Apple retail stores, and Amazon.com.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

A few months ago, I started recording a podcast with some friends. At that time, our process was to gather everyone into one Skype call and record the session with WireTap Studio. That worked reasonably well, but there were a few problems.

The quality of the end result was dependent on everyone's Skype connection. Throw in a bad rainstorm, a large download or an iffy wi-fi connection and quality suffered. The other issue was people talking over each other. Even the most disciplined podcasters do it occasionally. Since the raw audio was a single track, editing the overtalking out of the final show was difficult, if not impossible.

A few episodes into it, we read Dan Benjamin's tips on recording a podcast with participants in multiple locations. He and John Gruber use a time-tested method called a "double-ender" when recording The Talk Show. As they talk via Skype, John and Dan record their own audio locally, and those two files are edited together as separate tracks. We've adopted a similar method using GarageBand, and it's been working wonderfully. Read on for details on our setup.

I don't know that I've heard of the National Day of Listening before, but I like the idea a lot -- right around the holidays, StoryCorps and NPR sponsor a day when you're meant to sit down with loved ones and pick up some of that oral history that has served the human race so well so far. And the folks at Toasty Code are doing their part to get these recordings done by offering their TapeDeck audio recording software for 20% off all this week -- just follow the instructions on their website, and you too can pick up any oral history your folks can dish out along with the turkey and cranberries.

Of course you can do that with any software, from GarageBand (came free with your Mac) to Audacity (free to anyone). And it doesn't need to be only audio -- I'm taking a new Flip MinoHD home for the holidays with me to get some shots of my folks in my childhood home (they're currently trying to sell it off). But the Day of Listening is a great idea no matter what you use -- in these days of high definition, 1080p television, multichannel speaker setups, ubiquitous computing, and the 24/7 flow of text across blogs, Tumblrs and Twitter, it's easy to forget the value of actually sitting down and talking to someone. This week, as you're home with family, try it out.

Here's a fun tip from Mac | Life that describes how to use the Rock Band drum controller with GarageBand.

In fact, they describe two set-ups; one cheap and one less so. The cheap setup requires GarageBand, the Rock Band USB drum kit and either the GamePad Companion, JunXion (trial) or the Xbox 360 Controller Driver if you've got the Xbox kit.

The pricier rig requires a paid version of JunXion ($95). After some simple configuration, you'll have a fully functional electronic drum kit with virtually no lag. Very cool indeed.

If you set this up, let us know how it goes.

While most VoIP devices are made for Skype, IPEVO has made a version of its TR-10 conference phone with the Mac in mind: It can be used with both iChat and GarageBand.

For iChat conversations, the device can be used either as a speakerphone or traditional handset with full-duplex audio and echo cancellation. The buttons on the front of the device can be programmed to start iChat or record calls.

For GarageBand, the TR-10 can be used as an audio input device to record podcasts. The device only works with a Mac.

IPEVO sells the TR-10 for $79.90 in its online store.

[Via Engadget.]