Daily Observation - Technology, Culture, Tips and Tricks

The Wikitude browser has to be one of the coolest things around for a smart-phone.  Originally only available for Android enabled phones, Wikitude World Browser overlays relevant information on the live picture of a phone’s camera.  Doing some sightseeing on vacation?  Just point your camera and learn about landmarks and other points of interest as information is displayed onscreen in real time.  Basically, it’s like Wikipedia meets the Terminator…sort of.  Now also available for the iPhone.

Need to securely access files over the internet wherever you go?  CloudEngines’ Pogoplug offers a quick and easy way to share a USB connected drive online (you don’t even need a computer). Just plug into the drive (even a USB thumb drive) and you’re ready to go. You can even transfer and access files via your iPhone.

I recently received my free Netflix PS3 disk allowing me to stream online videos directly to my Playstation console.  It works extremely well - and will replace the Roku as my primary player of choice for now.  Don’t get me wrong, the Roku is a fantastic device - but you need a sufficiently fast internet connection to prevent sound “dropouts” during playback.

Unfortunately, I don’t have access to a faster connection so this wasn’t an option for me (I love the HD picture and surround sound capabilities of the Roku though - and will use it as my primary device as soon as I can get faster download speeds!).  Until then, I’ll be using the PS3, as I haven’t experienced a sound problem yet!

You’ve probably seen Lady Gaga’s latest video, Bad Romance, which has spurred controversy around the world due to its graphic nature.  However, apparently the conservative media is not the only one peeved by Gaga’s latest endeavor.  Star Trek fans around the world are up in arms about the irreverent depiction of photon torpedo caskets in the first 34 seconds of the video.

Luckily, Lars Aagard, spokesperson for the Star trek Usergroup’s Comprehensive Knowledgebase (SUCK) was able to quell fan unrest by doing some research.  “Obviously, this cannot be an attempt to denigrate a time honored tradition of loading corpses into photon torpedoes and blasting them into space.  Starfleet regulations clearly stipulate that all starship munitions must be coated with a black finish, not white.”  He then proceeded to promote an equally distasteful line of Star Trek caskets which are regulation compliant.

Similarly, Japanese fans were enraged after standing in line for hours at various retailers waiting for what they thought was a new Silent Hill video game.  Apparently, they misunderstood the video to be an advertisement for the latest release in the franchise.  In the US, nobody cared, since the weird cultural references and literal translation of dialogue in the game immediately alienated consumers.

Recently I’ve been looking into building a desktop computer from the ground up (to save a little money and as a learning experience).  While there are a number of resources online, I found an article on building a computer from scratch on Lifehacker.com particularly helpful.

Audio do-it-yourselfers rejoice! A good friend recently told me about an excellent site for information on building your own speakers: Zaph Audio. The site features detailed DIY documentation for building great speaker projects. Each of the speaker designs (which range from basic bookshelf speakers to floorstanding) has been tested by the owner. Enjoy!

For those looking for fantastic sound I highly recommend a pair of Grado SR60 headphones.  The sound they produce is fantastic and, more importantly, doesn’t “fatigue” your ears.  Most headphones I can stand for about 30 minutes before having to take them off.  However, after receiving these as a gift recently I found myself listening to Jazz for hours without a hitch!  A must buy for any audio enthusiast.

Related Links:

Grado Labs

One of the little known places on the web to find true bargains when it comes to home audio is the Cambridge Soundworks Clearance outlet. I check the site periodically and was ecstatic to see that they are once again offering the Soundworks Radio 705 (brand new) for a reduced price of $39.99! That is almost 70% off the retail price of $119.99.

I have purchased 2 of these radios and have been blown away by the quality of sound they produce. While the radio is fantastic, the sound is so spectacular that it is well worth the $40 to use as a speaker for an iPod!  Grab one before they are gone!

Many of us are familiar with Gina Trapani’s popular Lifehacker blog, which features a wealth of information on software and productivity.  However, if you get a chance I would encourage you to pick up the second edition of her book Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better.  It has some excellent tips on subjects ranging from getting organized to searching the web via text messages.

While the book borrows several organizational tips from another excellent text by David Allen, the additional tips are well worth the $20 bucks.

Playing downloaded video files can be a pretty frustrating experience.  Instead of simply hitting “play” and watching a video, I am often stuck having to download some format specific codec or update to the media player I am using.  That all ended, however, when a friend suggested I give VLC Media Player a try.

VLC (apparently short for VideoLAN Client), is a flexible player that supports playback of a number of audio and video formats including OGG, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, MP3, DivX, etc.  I like the fact that it is available for free at CNET’s download.com (much better than downloading software from a random website) and carries a 4 out of 5 star editor rating.  I recommend giving it a try - you won’t be dissapointed.