Picking in-ear headphones, Walmart kills digital music collections, Use Google Earth KML Routes with your GPS, Veronica's Favorite iPhone Apps, DLP Projector Bulb Tips, The Geekiest Bike Around
"How do you decide which in ear headphones are best? It's not like you can audition them like over ear head phones!" Good question, Dave: outside of trade shows, or, say, if you have a friend that has umpteen pair, it's rare to be able to demo them. Some sites you can get honest opinions from include Head-Fi.org and HeadRoom.com. Email us any other faves you have and we'll share 'em.
This week's Freebie download pick is the best Vista tweaking tool evah: WinBubble. (Props to Lawrence Albert for writing this and making it free!) Think of the incredibly fun PowerToys tweaking tools Microsoft released for Windows 98, 2000 and XP... then turn it up a notch. Security tweaks, desktop and icon customization, performance... you can even change the startup screen (or your Windows Experience Index score). If you've got Vista, you'll want this program.
Monty is in hard drive heck... we've got the fix: replace the motherboard (aka CMOS) battery, or, hey, buy that new motherboard and quad core processor. (Which will also require new memory, a new graphics card and an upgraded power supply... and, since you want more than 4 PCI slots, a new case. Ouch!)
DRM Sucks volume 27: Wal*Mart shutting down DRM server, nuking your music collection. Bad Walmart, very bad!
Wonder if Walmart is making room for a new -DRM free- digital music sales program wrapped around Sandisk's slotMusic system.
Sean wants to know how mouse DPI effects gaming... we walk Sean through Dots Per Inch, Counts Per Inch and ... the Polling Rate!
Send us a video qustion! Just record yourself in front a video camera asking a question no longer than 15 seconds. Then up load them to YouTube and email tekzilla@revision3.com a link with "Video Question" in the subject line. (No attachments, please!)
This week's "Website We Just Can't Get Enough Of" is Fantastic Contraption. As geeks, we have a tendency to enjoy building things, and that's why Fantastic Contraption is the greatest time-waster / brain teaser Veronica's found in a long time! (Even tho you have a seemingly simple objective: get the pink ball into the goal, by constructing a vehicle of sorts.)
Tony has a photo editing question... or, more accurately, a problem with a new software package. (100% CPU loading when you try to do anything) We walk him thru some potential fixes, and remind everybody that new applications that have just hit the street can be tough, and chock full o' lots of new and exciting problems. This is a great time to start checking the forums for your product/its users! (BTW, There are some good Lightroom 2 performance tweaks here!)
PS - we love the CPU Performance Charts at Toms Hardware... a great way to figure out how long in the tooth your CPU is getting.
Bicycle GPS? We didn't expect a rash of GPS questions from cyclists after our $200 GPS roundup, but we got one. Short answer, use any GPS device, or if you're looking for something that's more cycling computer than GPS, check out Garmin's Edge series "GPS enabled cycle computers." (Think heart rate and cadence monitors, even support for ANT+ power meters.
Planning your travel routes in Google Earth is fun, but getting .KML, er, Keyhole Markup Language routes into your GPS can be a pain... in fact, transferring any data between GPS devices can be a pain. GPSbabel "converts waypoints, tracks, and routes between popular GPS receivers and mapping programs. It also has powerful manipulation tools for such data," it's free, and runs on just about any OS. Hope that helps ya, Scott!
And if you want to get a serious travel geek on, check out your basic GPS enabled picture taking YBike... it's a hoot.
Our favorite iPhone Apps? OK Chris. Veronica picked Phoneflix, ToDo, Urbanspoon and Wurdle... Patrick is big on Apple's Remote, TideGraph... and can't wait to face off BunsenTech's Dynolicious and InMotions PocketDyno+
As a follow up, Veronica teaches Patrick how to get rid of apps you don't like on the iPhone and iPod touch.
Sukh in NJ has worn out the bulb in his Samsung DLP, we give him info on where to buy that new bulb, why lowering the brightness won't save your bulb (or your LCD/Plasma backlight!), and why he shouldn't turn the machine off when leaving the room (for less than an hour). Props PCMag.com's most excellent HDTV reviewer Robert Heron for helping us out with this one!
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Posted by shanmac on 10/07/2008 at 07:33:42 pm in Tekzilla
You guys both got along great which was nice. Veronica, I didn't see any Diet Coke cans around. Are you still getting your fix? Regarding the GPS for the bike. I think the regular GPS with the clamp would get waterlogged pretty quick. The bike computer GPS's from Garmin might be the better bet. I tried out that WinBubble app and wasn't too impressed. You guys seemed to pump it up more than you should have. Roger, you should see if you can get a demo of the Blackberry Storm for Veronica and Patrick to demo. I would love to see that. Anyways, keep up the great work guys!
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Posted by charliekwalker on 10/07/2008 at 03:15:27 pm in Tekzilla
"
I was more into the whole Patrick sings the baseline to a Fugazi song. But then again, that's probably just a Northeast thing.
As for headphones, I'm partial to Shure in ear headphones for out and about, and Sony MDR studio monitor over ears for at home/late night at work.
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Posted by raoulrod on 10/06/2008 at 06:43:23 am in Tekzilla
I had to chime in about the In-Ear headphone suggestions...
My ears are very sensitive to the type of headphones that I use. For instance, I can't stand the standard iPod headphones for more than 10-15 minutes at a time, they irritate the inside cartilage area of my ears.
Plus, I *really* like to have good quality sound from my headphones (which rules out the standard iPod headphones anyway)... For over the ear phones, I firmly stand behind Patrick's Grado suggestions, the Grado SR-60s are EXCELLENT quality/value.
For the In-Ear I FINALLY found a set that I absolutely LOVE. They are the Westone UM-1. They are made for musicians who are performing on stage, and they come with a variety of tips (short foam, longer foam, single flange, triple flange, the works...). They are also excellent at isolating you from overly loud noises (like a musician would hear on stage)...
I recently rode my motorcycle from Texas to Alaska and back and my ears NEVER got sore or tired wearing the UM-1s (4 weeks and 9000+ miles). They do a great job protecting your hearing as well. On the bike, when I take long trips I always use hearing protection to keep my hearing safe from the constant wind noise (I don't have a windscreen on my bike so I am always riding up in the wind). And with the Westone UM1s I just had to put the volume level ONE tick above the volume I listen to it in the living room and it was perfect for the bike at speed.
They are a little on the pricey side (they will run you about $120), but without a doubt they are THE best music/sound listening devices I have EVER BOUGHT. I am not a audio "snob" but I like my music to sound good, and according to the last hearing test I had (I have to get them annually in the Army) I haven't lost a step over the last 10 years. (I can still hear the "Mosquito" sound which is supposedly unusual for someone who is 38...)
Before I purchased them, I did some research and I read some of the comment from users who stated that they heard things in live performances that they never heard before... I honestly thought it was a bunch of tripe... until I got them and listened to "The Parrot Sketch" from Monty Python. I had heard that skit DOZENS (maybe hundreds) of times, but until I used the UM-1s I had never heard what was REALLY going on in the background of that store... I was stunned by the quality and clarity the UM-1s had... stunneded like a wet salmon to the face...
Anyway, long story short, I love them. They are an excellent value. They allow me to protect my hearing and provide excellent quality sound without tiring/irritating my ears.
And like others, I use them a lot while edging and mowing the lawn... great way to protect my ears from loud noises and have good sound at the same time...
*link*
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Posted by davmoo on 10/06/2008 at 03:12:22 am in Tekzilla
I can vouch for the greatness of the Garmin Etrex series of GPS receivers that a previous post mentions. I have a Legend. Get the Vista, you'll appreciate the larger memory. It may not have a lot of bells and whistles, but the batteries last seemingly forever and can be bought anywhere when they finally die.
The rest of the show was good too, although I flatly despise any kind of in-ear devices.
As for Veronica's restocking charges issue, I feel your pain but I also understand why stores do that. A friend owns a camera store in a big city...you'd be amazed by his many stories of people calling asking if they could have the tape back that they accidentally left in the camcorder that they bought and returned as soon as they recorded their wedding. He no longer accepts returns on camcorders, only exchanges or in-warranty repair.
I know that sucks, and I'm not sure I see a big need for a restocking fee on something as mundane as a KVM...that's not something someone is going to buy, use it for a big event, and then return it. But at the same time, once its taken out of the wrapping it can no longer be legally sold as "new". At best, it will be sold as "open box" and the seller will have to take a hit on the sale price. So they have to make it up somewhere.
And good luck finding a new trainer :)
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Posted by veronicazilla on 10/05/2008 at 06:45:17 pm in Tekzilla
"
Yes, the Todo from appigo is the one I use!
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Posted by bme98 on 10/05/2008 at 06:02:06 pm in Tekzilla
"I noticed when suggesting the in-ear headphones, all the models were $100+. I wanted to throw a $30 pair into the fray. I have been using these for a while now and they are the most comfortable headphones I've ever had. They also fit so snug that I get a nice pseudo noise cancellation effect. I've even used them in an airplane and not even the loud screaming children where a bother. You can usually find these at Best Buy, FYE or Amazon.com. Additionally they have a variety of colors available for all you fashion forward people.
Skullcandy Ink'd:
*link*
I love Skullcandy, I have had 2 pairs of smokin buds and a pair of ink'd now i got a pair of the heavy bass ones but they run $50 but is well worth it. I break headphones because of my job so thats why i got through em.
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Posted by mike1anime on 10/05/2008 at 12:47:14 pm in Tekzilla
I was also wondering about options for a bicycle gps and I thought why not use your iphone!? As for me personally I don't have one but it is another reason convincing me to get one.
some of these iphone apps for running but seems like it would work for bicycling too: The Running GyPSy, Path Tracker, Distance Meter, iWalk, iTrail, PaceCalc all cost some money BUT... TrackThing Lite is free.
if your wondering about how to mount it, here's an option
there seems to be a lot of generic bike mounts like this on ebay or other online stores and there's a hand full of youtube videos to get an idea
*link*
but of course.. i was just researching all of this to convince myself to spend the money on an iphone instead of getting those other cyclo computers ^_^
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Posted by rdclein on 10/05/2008 at 09:59:05 am in Tekzilla
Veronica mentioned she used Todo to synchronize with Remember The Milk but the video was showing the wrong app. Probably a simple mistake, after all there are about 5 or 6 apps on itunes that have some form of of the name to do. The only one I know of that sync with RTM is by Appigo (www.appigo.com). I use it as well except I sync it with a free account on Toodledo.
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Posted by Serafina on 10/04/2008 at 10:12:42 pm in Tekzilla
"Skullcandy Ink'd:
*link*
I've had really good luck with the Skullcandy Smokin' Earbuds. I recently wore them on my week-long 2,000mi road trip on my motorcycle, and they worked wonderfully, plus I got em for $30. I know V loves the Ultimate ears, but I had a pair of those and they just didnt seal and never fit right for me.
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Posted by zewm on 10/04/2008 at 07:31:08 pm in Tekzilla
I noticed when suggesting the in-ear headphones, all the models were $100+. I wanted to throw a $30 pair into the fray. I have been using these for a while now and they are the most comfortable headphones I've ever had. They also fit so snug that I get a nice pseudo noise cancellation effect. I've even used them in an airplane and not even the loud screaming children where a bother. You can usually find these at Best Buy, FYE or Amazon.com. Additionally they have a variety of colors available for all you fashion forward people.
Skullcandy Ink'd:
*link*
Read More »
