GarageBand 3, the latest version of Apple’s simple yet sophisticated music workstation for the masses,, is out now. It’s still looks to be an excellent product, though the new features in version 3 won’t set the laptop studio world on fire. The focus is on podcasting, and there are many features to make sure the web will be completely overrun by podcasts from enthusiastic Mac users before the year is out.

There are lots of features to optimise voice-based podcasts, such as a voice enhancer and quite a neat feature that allows you to record interviews over the Internet and include them, annotated with captions and pictures, into your podcast. You can also add images to any podcast. If you subscribe to Apple’s iWeb service, you can upload your podcast to the iTunes Music Store and make your fortune as the next big shock jock, agony aunt wry social commentator.

Apart from all the Podcasting goodness, GarageBand 3 includes a video track; you can now use GarageBand to score your own film or even music video. The fun part is the new sound effects library: “You can even use GarageBand to add cinematic “foley” sound effects such as footsteps and creaking doors.” That opens the (creaky) door to much creative fun, but as far as actually making music goes, GarageBand 3 doesn’t add much to the previous version.

Toast Titamium 7 has been reviewed by CNet. Toast has been one of the best, if not the best, disc-burning package for the Mac, and they say that this version just makes a good product even better. The ease of use is still very good, despite a raft of new features.

Toast 7 includes a whole lot of new features relating to video. The reviewers draw attention to the DivX video support, especially as this was missing from Apple’s iMovie. Toast 7 also has better handling of files that span multiple discs (such as large backups). Very useful when backup up an entire hard disk onto DVD.

There are also a number of separate applications that extend the functionality of Toast. “For slide shows that won’t bore your guests, try Motion Pictures HD, whose features go far beyond those of iMovie or iPhoto. For example, you can create screen layouts with up to four photos, and each photo can have its own pan-and-zoom effects — the result is quite beautiful.”

On the downside, the documentation is said to be lacking, though recent downloadable updates have improved the documentation available.

The conclusion is that this is an excellent package, scoring 8 out of 10. “If your needs go beyond the basics, Toast 7 Titanium is the package for you. That’s easy to say, since Toast has no serious competition. Luckily, it’s still an excellent, full-featured product.”

Electroplankton, the uncategorizable game/sequencer/oddity for the Nintendo DS, is out now in the US. I wrote about it in a previous article about music on handheld game consoles, but now it’s been released outside Japan there’s a bit more English-language information about. Though some of it does sound as if it’s been translated from the Japanese: “It’s tough to slap a label on Electroplankton. It’s not a game, but you play it on a game device. There’s no set purpose to it, but the end result can sweep you up in its charm. Most of all, its innovation sings out loud and true. ”

The press release has a pretty good summary: Whether you’re musically inclined or musically impaired, Nintendo’s new Electroplankton will make you a mixing maestro. The musical experience, launching today exclusively for Nintendo DS, lets users score music by using the touch screen or speaking into the microphone. Sounds can be sampled, manipulated, changed and rearranged to help even novices create engrossing beats and harmonies.

Electroplankton exemplifies Nintendo’s commitment to expand the frontier of innovation in the video game universe. Electroplankton, for instance, could not be possible on any other system. Only the special features of Nintendo DS make it possible for users to compose music ranging from techno beats to ethereal rhythms. And because Nintendo DS is portable, users can make music whenever and wherever inspiration strikes.

Getting started with Electroplankton could not be easier. Users simply choose one of 10 music-making modes and dive right in. One mode lets users manipulate the leaves of a plant using the touch screen. As colorful plankton launch into the air, they bounce off the leaves in melodic combinations. Another mode acts as a sampler. Users record up to four different sounds with the microphone and then layer them over drum loops to create a personalized beat.

The game was designed by renowned Japanese electronic artist Toshio Iwai. His artistry adds both beauty and whimsy to Electroplankton and makes it as much a delight for the eyes as it is for the ears.

Peak Pro 5 XT is a software bundle including the Peak Pro 5 audio editor and a suite of mastering effects and noise-reduction and audio-restoration application. MacWorld give it a very good review, praising both the Peak Pro application itself as well as the extras.

They say that Peak Pro 5 is still unmatched for detailed editing of individual files. New features like the Region Split functions and Snap To options give more control when slicing and dicing sounds, and they really like the new high-resolution, tape-style scrubbing. This is great for playing with and making silly noises, just like you used to do with your brother’s tape deck when you were 8. (It’s also useful for finding edit points.)

Another feature that raises this above the competition is that it’s the only Mac waveform editor that supports both VST and Audio Unit plug-ins. To go with this, Peak Pro 5 XT includes a whole lot of plugins, notably SoundSoap 2 and SoundSoap Pro, for audio restoration, EQ, compression, noise reduction and so on. The reviewer likes the thoughtful touches on these, especially the compare buttons which make it easy to compare different setting of the plugins to find the best one. The tools even look beautiful as well as sound good.

Pek Pro 5’s CD mastering and authoring function also rate highly. the playlist editor lets you set up crossfades between tracks, and the “excellent” sample rate conversion makes sue that your tracks still sound great when burned to CD (assuming they sounded great in the first place, of course). And for working with a lot of audio, Peak Pro 5’s batch-processing feature rates as “a terrific tool for managing lots of audio files.”

The final score is a very good 4.5 mice (out of five). They call this package “an irreplaceable timesaver” and conclude that “when it comes to day-to-day work with stereo files, you’ll have a hard time finding a better tool than Peak Pro XT 5.”

Native Instruments’ Reaktor has been updated to version 5.1. The usual slew of bug fixes abound, along with several new synths and updates to some old ones. “The total number of synthesizers, samplers and effects included has risen to a staggering total of 63!”I hope you’re sitting down. The new synths are:

• Equinoxe Deluxe, a ’70s-style string synth
• FM4, an FM synth with lots of presets
• 2Osc, a two-oscillator subtractive synth
• Gaugear, a “ground-breaking yet intuitive,” “innovative and radically minimalist” monophonic synthesizer

Reaktor 5.1 also includes Snapper, “a song and snapshot sequencer for intricate arrangements that can be recalled with a simple mouse click.” There’s also a drum sequencer called SQx.

Back to the sound functions, there’s a package of Live Sampling Core Cells that can be used for for real-time transformation of live signals and samples. “Four new demo instruments, based on these Core Cells, illustrate the radical potential within them and are perfectly suited for loop creation and tempo synchronized live effects.” Finally, there are optimised versions of the Massive, Oki Computer, FlatBlaster and Splitter ensembles. I like how the new Oki Computer includes improved anti-aliasing — even though it’s meant to be a tool for generating lo-fi sounds.