We released the very first version of our new soundboard app Farrago just over three months ago. Since then, we’ve been delighted to hear how its robust, rapid-fire soundboards are helping podcasters, theater techs, and live performers with their work. We’ve also received lots of great feedback, which has helped us plan future versions. Today, we’re pleased to ship the first major update to Farrago.

What’s New in Farrago 1.1?

Farrago 1.1 contains a slew of new features, improvements, optimizations, and bug fixes. Here’s a look at the biggest items.

A Dark Theme

The most noticeable change in Farrago 1.1 is the new Dark theme. Open up Farrago’s preferences, and you can easily switch between the app’s Light and Dark looks, just by toggling the new theme selector. If you’re using Farrago in a theater or other darkened space, the new Dark theme is likely to be perfect for you.

Farrago’s Dark theme in action

Full Undo Support

Farrago now includes full Undo support, so you can revert changes to settings, tile deletions and rearrangements, and even the removal of entire sets. Just select “Undo” from the Edit menu, or hit Cmd-Z on your keyboard, to undo your recent changes.

A “Now Playing” Indicator

When playing audio from a large library with multiple sets, some users ran into trouble determining where exactly their audio was coming from. The new “Now Playing” indicator should make these problems a thing of the past. Any set with an actively playing tile now shows this indicator next to its name in the sets list, on the left side of Farrago’s main window.

Additional Improvements & Bug Fixes

Farrago works better than ever, thanks to many smaller improvements. You can now hold the Shift key to make the “Stop Playing” item in the Control menu to access “Reset All”, restoring all tiles to their default state. When you create a new set, you can immediately type in a name for it. You’ll also see improved performance throughout the app, with special optimizations for users who have large sound libraries.

This update also fixes several small bugs. It works around an issue when MacOS itself does not provide a default audio output device, corrects a problem where window resizing could fail on multi-monitor setups, and eradicates a rare problem where keyboard shortcuts could fail to trigger playback.

Much More

Of course, these are only the most notable changes in Farrago 1.1. There are many additional updates, improvements, and fixes, so we encourage you to download the app and test it out.

Get It Now

If you need fast access to audio clips, Farrago is here to assist with your podcast, live performance, or anything else. Learn more about Farrago on its product page, then test it out by downloading the free trial. You still have a bit more time to take advantage of Farrago’s introductory pricing, so act fast to save over 20% off the regular price.

If you’re already a Farrago user, just open up the app and select “Check for Update” from the Farrago menu. Farrago 1.1 is a free update for existing users, so we encourage you to get it now! We’ve got plenty more planned for Farrago, so stay tuned.

Since way back in the mid-2000s, we’ve been delighted to help folks create their own podcasts. It’s been over a decade since Audio Hijack first added the ability to record both halves of a Skype conversation. In that time, podcasting has flourished, and our product lineup has grown to include audio tools to handle nearly all aspects of a podcasting workflow.

To record, Audio Hijack will get you set, whether you just need to capture from local microphones, or you want to record both halves of a Skype or other VoIP conversation.

Using Loopback, it’s possible to route audio between applications, so all parties on a VoIP call can hear the sounds you want to play.

Our newest app Farrago provides rapid-fire soundboards so you can drop in sound effects and musical accompaniment as you record.

Finally, with Fission, you can quickly and losslessly edit your audio recordings and add podcast chapters.

We’re now offering all four of these tools in one money-saving purchase. With the Ultimate Podcast Bundle, you’ll get license keys to unlock all four of these apps at a substantial savings.

If you’re interested in getting into podcasting, this new bundle is a great place to begin. You’ll save over $50 on four powerful tools to get your new show rolling. Check out the Ultimate Podcast Bundle page for more details.

Over the years, we’ve received numerous requests from other businesses looking to license our audio capturing technology. Until now, we always declined these offers, preferring to focus on improving both the technology and our own applications which use it.

Recently, however, we revisited the possibility of licensing. Our audio capture code has been continuously improved for over a decade, and it’s now incredibly reliable. This technology is used by tens of thousands of our users every day, in Airfoil, Audio Hijack, Loopback, and Piezo. We’re tremendously confident in what we’ve built.

Because of this, we’re now pleased to announce licensing opportunities for our audio capture technology, ACE.¹ ACE makes it possible for Mac apps to capture audio from one or more individual processes, as well as all audio from the entire system at once. The same power which drives some of our biggest apps is now available to outside developers as well.

If you develop an application which could benefit from audio capture², please see our new licensing page, then get in touch!

Footnotes:

1. ACE has had multiple names over the years, starting with “Instant Hijack” and then “Instant On”. This newest name is intended to better convey the many uses of our licensable framework. ↩︎

2. Examples include apps dedicated to screen sharing, VNC/remote access, game streaming, and more. ↩︎

Recently, a familiar face returned to Rogue Amoeba, and not for the first time. We’re glad to announce that our old friend Lee Falin is back on the team once again.

Lee has followed a rather roundabout career path over the past decade. He first joined us in late 2008 to work as a support technician, and a couple years later transitioned into the role of part-time Windows dev. He eventually took on full-time development of Airfoil for Windows for several years. However, he also spent some doing academic research and teaching as a university professor, but soon discovered that academia was not an ideal place for teaching about software development. During that time, Lee often worked part-time here, but even when he left fully, he still wound up doing contract work for us on iOS and Android.

Now, Lee’s returning to us in a full-time role. He’ll be focusing on Mac development, while likely also assisting on work on other platforms, and we’re delighted to have him back. His varied talents are a great asset, and we can’t wait to unveil the new updates he’ll help us create.

Today, we’re pleased to be shipping a public preview of Airfoil for Windows version 5.5. This long-awaited update makes it possible to stream any audio from Windows to the Google Chromecast as well as other Google Cast devices, like the Google Home third party Cast-enabled players! After many, many months of work¹, we’re very glad to be able to provide Chromecast support in this free update for all Airfoil 5 users.

Apple HomePod Support Too

This update also includes full compatibility with Apple’s new HomePod hardware. With the newest releases of Airfoil for Windows and Airfoil for Mac, it’s easy to stream any audio from your computer to the HomePod, via AirPlay. Just open up the Airfoil for Windows 5.5 Public Preview or Airfoil for Mac 5.7, and start rocking with your new HomePod!

Why A Public Preview?

This update is working well, but we still have some kinks to work out before we’ll be fully satisfied. Folks have been waiting for this for quite some time, so rather than wait until everything is perfect, we want to offer the functionality immediately. This update has been reviewed both internally and by a large number of outside testers, and we’re confident it will work as expected for the vast majority of our users.

If you’re eager to stream audio to Chromecasts or other Google Cast devices, we encourage you to download this preview right from the Airfoil for Windows page.

Known Issues

There are several issues we’re still working on, which will impact a subset of users. The following items need not be reported:

• Lack of sync between Chromecasts – When streaming to multiple Chromecasts, audio is not kept in sync between the devices.

• Lack of sync between a Chromecast and other devices – When streaming to a Chromecast and an AirPlay or Bluetooth device, audio is not kept in sync between the devices.

• Sub-optimal metadata updating – When transmitting audio from supported sources, Airfoil passes along album artwork and track metadata to devices like the Apple TV, as well as our own Airfoil Satellite. At present, this data does not always update as expected.

We’re working on these issues, so there’s no need to report them. Do let us know of other issues you come across though.

More to Come

We plan to follow this Public Preview release with additional updates to improve compatibility and functionality. For now, we encourage you to give the Airfoil for Windows 5.5 Public Preview a try, then let us know how it works for you.

Footnotes:

1. We originally hoped to ship this in early 2017, an estimate which proved overly optimistic. Previous posts have detailed some of the delays we hit, which included an urgent and time-consuming fix for Apple TV support, as well as staffing changes. We’re definitely not happy with how long it’s taken us to get here, but we are glad to finally be providing this functionality. ↩︎