Recently in Gear Category

It really hit home for me this year that for some reason, the end of the year has become particularly musical for me over the past three years.

In December 2005, I was struggling with learning to play a little electronic keyboard that I have here. I just wasn't getting it for some reason, and I wasn't able to find any decent resources online for learning how to play keyboards/piano. Music has always been difficult for me to understand on a technical level, so I had decided that it was time to figure it out.

In December 2006, I won the Dark Star which put me on the path of learning to play guitar. In January, I started a subscription to Guitar Masterclass, which is a fantastic guitar learning site. I spent most of 2007 practicing less than I should be practicing, but I'm a lot better than I was when I started.

In November and December 2007, I bought two more guitars...which I think officially makes me a guitar player finally.

In December 2007, I won a copy of Reason 4 from AudioMIDI.com, so suddenly, I have a software-based music production suite. Given my interest in blending guitar music and electronics (industrial and electronica), it's an interesting addition to my stable of musical gear.

For 2008, I'm going to spend a lot more time learning how to play and learning music theory and try to make something about my recent musical giftings. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens this coming December. I will be better at playing then, I'm sure..

or, How and Why I Switched to the serial cable.

Since we cut over to the Verizon FiOS video service this year, we have been having occasional issues with the Tivo. I have always used the IR sprayer for the Tivo to change channels on the cable boxes but for some reason, the box that we got for FiOS had trouble receiving the channel codes sometimes…especially on 3-digit channels. That caused the Tivo to record a different show that it meant to.

I decided to give the serial cable a try in spite of the fact that a lot of people out there in the world have been saying that Verison’s disabling the serial port on the Motorola QIP 2500-3 that I have.

I plugged in and in a couple minutes the config was changed. The serial port’s definitely working on my unit. Channel changing has been reliable so far. Will be watching it closely for a while. I’m pleased…I never really liked the idea of using the IR sprayer to change channels.

Interestingly, the Wii's Mii characters have a little bit of social netowkring built into them. You can allow them to mingle with other players' Miis on their Wii. I'm not sure how that affects setting up multi-player gaming sessions over the net yet, but it's an interesting idea.

In Wii Sports, apparently other players' Miis show up in the audience to watch. There's a Mii Parade feature that's supposed to show you what Miis are currently mingling on your Wii.

The only problem I have so far is that Nintendo added a request/authorize step that needs to be completed before your Mii can go anywhere and before anyone's Miis can visit you. The procedure seems a little complicated...I'm not going to repeat it here...it in Google.

For anyone reading this with a Wii, my Wii number is: 6517 4737 3499 4541

Technorati Tags: Wii

I have an odd fascination with the supply/demand surrounding the Wii vs the PS3. Sometime since Christmas it's become a habit of mine when I'm in a store that would carry them, I wander over to the electronics department and see how many PS3's are sitting on the shelf (usually several) vs how many Wii's are sitting on the shelf (usually none).

I was in a local Target yesterday afternoon when I made my way to electronics. As I approached, there were some people walking out of there with Wii boxes in-hand. When I got to the Wii aisle, there was a Treget staffer pulling a Wii box out of an otherwise empty box and almost automatically held it out to me. I didn't reach out to grab it right away. "Do you want the last one?" Initially, I said "No thanks" and he put it on the shelf.

I had second thoughts a couple minutes later, went back and bought it.

Setup was easy. I had a little trouble getting it on the wireless network, but it wasn't that big a deal.

It's an interesting little device. The nunchuk has a lot going on with it...a lot smarter than I thought it'd be. It's comfortable to use too. Bundling Wii Sports with it was smart...it's a fun set of games that very easily gets you up to speed on how to use the controllers.

Now I don't have to pay $500 to play Guitar Hero 3. In the mean time I need to find out what the good Wii games are.

Technorati Tags: Gadgets, Technology

In February, I made a post here asking that someone make an external laptop GPU. It was one of those things that make sense to me...allow part-time gamers like me to add high-power graphics cards to a normal laptop on gaming nights. I wanted to be able to play when I want without having to buy one of the big Alienware and Dell XPS laptops.

ASUS beat me to it by a month. The ASUS XG Station is exactly what I was looking for. An enclosure that houses a GPU and connects to the laptop via the Express Card slot.

Sweet. It's an interesting solution, since it doesn't require a custom connector to be built into the laptop. I wouldn't be able to use it with any new Mac laptop that I might have in the future. I might be able to pull off pairing it with a relatively cheap laptop.

It's a lot easier than lugging around a desktop and a 20" CRT. Blah.

via Engadget - Asustek's XG Station ripped apart

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Technology

I have a free idea for Dell or Gateway or Alienware or Falcon or whoever wants to run with it. It would be nice to see my name engraved on the chipset if it gets to market but I understand if it doesn't. I'd still like to see it happen.

I want to see an external PCI-X (or similar) connector on a laptop. Then I want nVidia, ATI and Ageia to make versions of their products to connect to that connector.

While modern CPUs can be throttled down to conserve power, modern GPUs and Physics cards don't so you end up with a compromise on laptops for gaming power. Either you get something something light and portable with no gaming capability or you get a gaming beast that weighs a ton and has no battery life.

External GPU and physics hardware would allow people like me game on our terms. 90% of the time, I want a laptop that is small, lightweight and portable (currently, I'm running a 12" PowerBook). But for that other 10% of the time, it would be nice to plug in some extra power and be able to play the games I want. It would also be nice to be able to upgrade without having to replace the whole laptop.

This came up from attending my first LAN party in about 8 years or so. All of the laptops I had access to had decent CPUs but way underpowered video hardware. It made for a very frustrating experience.

Technorati Tags: Technology

Cox lost a customer today.

Last weekend a few Verizon guys stopped by to sign people up in my neighborhood I'd been thinking about it for a while anyway. It's easy when I already have the FiOS internet hookup. All I had on cable was the extended basic service. I was paying $70 a month. The same level on FiOS TV has a few more channels (BBC America! Yay!) and it's going to come in at around $45. Sweet.

Margo was home for the install. It went pretty smoothly. I wasn't expecting that that they were going to replace the DLink router that they provided when the internet hookup was done. In its place is a Actiontec MI424WR router....the ethernet line from the FiOS goes into one jack, then the video comes out a coax port that hooks up to the cable that's in the house. I had a chance to talk to the Verizon tech about the new router and he said that it increases available bandwidth to accommodate the internet connection and video when things like Video on Demand are coming down on the video side. Interesting.

The set-top box is a Motorola QIP2500-3. The TiVo controls it perfectly with the IR sprayer. I haven't tried the serial connection since I can't find the cable and I've read that Verizon has them disabled anyway. The video looks good. I'm already TiVo'ing stuff that I couldn't get on Cox. It's a good day.

Technorati Tags: FiOS, Technology, Television, Tivo

"Gizmodo iPhone Hands On Part Deux: Why Isn't it White and Other Questions" via TUAW

Gizmodo's reporting that, among other things, that the iPhone isn't really running OSX and that they're not going to allow third-party developer support. I guess that answers a couple of questions that I had about it.

That's kind of disappointing. I understand Apple's need to keep the platform pristine and seamless and that they tend to do that by strictly controlling what goes on it (like the way the iPod is controlled). I'm guessing that any applications that come out for the iPhone will be handled through the iTunes store like the iPod games are.

That's a little disappointing to me. Restricting third-party development support like this makes the iPhone a prettier but less flexible Windows mobile phone. The Cingular 8525 isn't as slick, but it's a lot more flexible and ultimately usable because I can go out and find (or potentially write) the software I need to do what I want with it.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Gadgets, iPod, iTunes, Marketing, Technology

I mentioned this earlier and here's the pics.

It started with a realization that the iPod earbuds kinda suck. I started doing a bit of research into what I could do about it. The goal was to go as far into Hi-Fi territory as I could without spending a lot of money. I was originally going to just get a nice pair of headphones.

The Yamaha HP-1 headphones are othodynamic semi-enclosed studio headphones from the 70's. They have a reputation for sounding great and being relatively inexpensive to buy. I got these for just shy of $20 on eBay including shipping. Being vintage headphones, they're pretty inefficient though...125 Ohm, actually. I don't expect that my Nano is going to have the juice to drive these things.

Time to find a headphone amplifier. Again, I found something with a reputation for sounding good and not being horribly expensive....the Little Dot II+. I also picked up an iPod line-out to stereo RCA cable to hook the Nano up to try to get the cleanest signal into the amp that I could.

Results? Yummy. Lots of detail. Way better than the stock iPod earbuds for sure. The bass isn't huge, but I'm not after that...I want a good, balanced sound which is what I'm getting with this setup. The amp's a bit too microphonic and I'm having a hard time finding a good way to isolate it from the vibrations in our furniture but other than that I'm really, really happy with this setup. I'd put it up against any other sub-$200 iPod headphone solution.

Technorati Tags: Gadgets, iPod, Music

Maybe I missed something but, did Apple just release a new Airport Extreme base station that does 802.11n but not release an Airport Extreme Card to match it at 802.11n?

I read somewhere that the newer Macbooks are shipping with an 802.11n capable network card, but those of us with older Macs are stuck, it seems.

I get a lot of interference with my 802.11g network from nearby cordless phones so I'd bump up to 802.11n just to fix that issue. On top of that, the new N access points seem to have some more features than what was more available with the G routers....like built-in print servers and USB file servers.

Technorati Tags: Technology, Gadgets, Apple

I try not to just pass along links that can be found in the usual places but I can't help myself this time.

The DIY Guide to Roasting Your Own Coffee! [via Lifehacker]

Lots of links and some good information to help with the decision to home roast your coffee.

I started roasting coffee at home a few years now. I didn't do the ultra-low-budget approach mentioned first in the article. I picked up a Zach & Dani roaster because it has a catalytic converter (no smoke!) and I can just set it and go without messing with it. I don't have the tolerance or patience to smoke up the house with a skillet or popcorn popper and neither does Margo. I do enough of that when I do steaks indoors.

Roasting your own coffee is a lot cheaper if you can find a local roaster that is willing to sell you green beans. I used to go up to Mayorga til it really started to be a pain in the butt to get up there. Jamie's General Bean is a lot closer but I haven't actually been able to buy green beans from them. When I don't have any green I get my roasted coffee from there because I know their coffee is fresh. It's not quite as cheap to home roast if you have to get your coffee shipped from somewhere. When I order online, I go to Sweet Maria's and the shipping adds up when you're ordering 5-10lbs at a time. At least I'm able to count on sampler packs from family as an easy Christmas/bitrhday gift.

I think that the best part of home roasting my own coffee is the taste. Truly fresh coffee (1-7 days from roasting) is a lot different than what we're used to. The flavors are brighter and more complex. It's hard for me to describe. If you can find a good local roaster/cafe give them a try and you'll see. If you have a good espresso machine (I don't) you can even see the difference fresh coffee makes in your crema.

I'm not a fan of Starbucks' roasting style either...almost every variety of coffee is burnt so you taste the 'Starbucks roast' as much as the flavor of the coffee. In the DC area, it seems that a lot of the non-Starbucks cafes are using over-roasted coffee these days too. When I roast my own, I roast to city or full city which to my taste brings out more of the flavor character of the bean. I do enjoy their Breakfast Blend occasionally though.

There's also the creativity in home roasting of creating your own blends...putting together multiple varieties to make a more balanced and flavorful cup of coffee.

One thing that is a pain about home roasting is that you have to keep track of your coffee consumption if you have to have your beans shipped. Even if you have a local source, you don't want to roast a batch and brew it right away...you want to let it sit 12-24 hours. So, if you run out, you're kinda stuck. I have a go-to of Starbuck's Breakfast Blend at the local Shopper's Food Warehouse if I mis-read my bean supply and I don't think of it til after Jamie's is closed.

Technorati Tags: Food, Gadgets

IGN: Star Wars Stuff: Also Ran Action Figures via Fark

I shouldn't admit this but I'm going to anyway. I was a bit of a Star Wars freak as a kid. I had a lot of the action figures. In a case. Including several of the ones that the IGN article lists as "also-ran's": 2-1B, FX-7, IG-88 and R5-D4.

Once a geek, always a geek, I guess. As we get older, the objects of our geeking may change, but the geekiness is still there. At least "geek" has become more of a just a descriptor of people like is and isn't really an insult anymore.

Technorati Tags: Geek, Star Wars, Action Figures

...or why I shop at Amazon....

I had a series of dental visits recently (and two more to come next month) that has convinced me to pick up an electric toothbrush. The dentist recommended a Sonicare brush, which they sold and dispensed in-house (some variant of the “Elite” that's only distributed through dental offices). I didn't get it there because I like to shop around a bit before I buy. When I got home, I did some comparing of the different Sonicare models and found the top of the line Elite 9500 Custom for a couple bucks less than what the dentist was charging. Sweet. Click, click, ordered.

We seem to get really quick delivery here in Centreville, so I pretty much always pick Super Saver shipping from Amazon. They estimate 5-9 days, but I tend to average 2-3 days for most items so there's no reason normally to pay for faster shipping. I made the order on Thursday night though, and I had a change of heart thinking that Super Saver might push the delivery to the next week, so I modified my order to ship 2nd Day instead so I'd (probably) get it on Saturday.

Not long after, I get the ship notification. I check the tracking and it looks like it went out UPS Ground, and that the estimated delivery date was Tuesday (6/6/06 by the way). That's not 2nd Day. I checked my invoice and I was charged for it. I must have changed it in time for Amazon's billing system but not in time for the shipping system.

I emailed the Customer service system this morning explaining what the expected result was, what happened instead and what I wanted (my $10 extra that I paid for faster shipping).

I got an email back a couple hours later apologizing for the mixup, informing me that a credit for the $10 is being processed (and I should see it in 2-3 days) and:

Because your business is important to us, I'd like to give you a
$5.00 promotional certificate for use toward your next
Amazon.com order.

This amount has been automatically redeemed onto your account.
You will not receive a claim code.

I expected not having any trouble getting getting my $10 in unused shipping back but was completely surprised by the $5-off on top. It was a minor problem and I really didn't consider it a big deal. To Amazon, $5 is nothing but the offer says that they're interested in doing something extra to make their customers feel appreciated.

I appreciate it. Especially in an age where most companies have dropped “customer service” in favor of “customer management”. Thank you, Amazon. Keep it up.

Technorati Tags: Amazon.com, Blogging, Customer service, Shopping

When I first heard about the 3-23-2006 update for iPods that adds a volume limiter setting, my first thought was that the lawyers won again. Personal media devices in general and iPods in particular have been in the news on and off over the last few months with studies about their contribution to hearing loss.

Then I actually started playing with it and it's actually kinda useful for how I use my iPod. I mostly listen to it in the car through the headphone jack into a tape adapter (yeah, I know). I found a balance between the volume setting on the iPod and the volume from the car's stereo that minimizes distortion and when I go back and forth between listening in the car and listening with the headphones that I have to hunt for that "best" volume level in the car.

With the volume limiter, I set the upper limit to the level that I listen to the car....so now I can just max it instead of hunting and pecking for the sweet spot.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPod, Technology

Didn't really have time to put much on the posting...it takes time to type it all out. I don't type well with my thumbs.

I got the Nokia 9300 from my boss as a tester. He went to Gartner this year and Nokia gave it to him to test with a free Cingular account. Busy CIO's don't usually have time to mess with gadget testing, so it came to me. I still don't have the Blackberry Connect working right, but hopefully, before December.

At some point, I'll will be required to send up a review of the unit and I will post a review here once that is done.

I've been playing with it on and off for a few weeks now and it is pretty sweet. Could really use the Blackberry connectivity though.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Theme From Doctor Detroit [Dance Mix] from the album "Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology" by Devo

Technorati Tags: Gadgets

I am testing posting from a test Nokia 9300

Technorati Tags: Technology