Xeeban's Musings

Cone of Silence

Ever wanted a real cone of silence? This company has something that is pretty close: http://www.sonaretechnologies.com/babble.html

It rebroadcasts snippets of your real voice, causing the effect of scrambling what you say so that others cannot understand. It sounds a lot like a room full of people. Very interesting gadget!

Das Keyboard

A keyboard for the Uber Geek. This is a totally black computer keyboard with nothing at all on the keys. The keys are all blank! The whole thing looks like some stealth ninja keyboard.

http://www.daskeyboard.com

Apparently not having the keys labeled makes one even faster and more accurate with typing after the initial training period.

New iPod

There is a sexy new iPod just hitting the streets : http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/

It comes in a 2GB and 4 GB version and looks very sweet. I think I may have to get myself a birthday present here soon...

Yamaha 01X is in the house

The alarm went off at 6am and I jumped into the shower and ran out the door to meet fellow cohorts Karl and Mark at the parking lot of our office so we could embark on our yearly homage to the great gods of consumerism. Today was the great yearly Memorial Day sale at Guitar Center.

And today was the day I brought home my Yamaha 01X!

I've had a small bundle of cash burning a hole in my pocket ever since the IRS deemed it so that I somehow overpaid them over the course of last year and they sent me a nice "check" (well, it was actually direct deposit... technology and all that).

We decided to arrive 30 minutes before the sale started to get a good spot in line and get the greatest benefit from the sale, the best opportunities to acquire that dream toy for mere pennies on the dollar. Well, that was not to be. When we arrived, some 50 or so people were already in line ahead of us, feasting on the sweet delicacies of the Crispy Creme donuts that were offered, all washed down with a cup of joe to flush out the remaining cobwebs and keep the eager shoppers alert.

We did manage to get a few copies of The List. This is a list of all the items out for sale on this day. A list of incredible deals and sweet discounts. "Do you have any must buy items?" I pondered the question for a few seconds before realizing, "Yes! A Yamaha 01X, but I doubt they have that on the list..." So I scanned the list looking for my loot. And behold! It was on The List, and at a 25% discount! Mother of all that is Good and Musical, my dream toy was here, and it was ON SALE!

They opened the gates. I made a few passes along the rows of boxes and returned, blemished and discontinued items. Great deals, but my mind was skipping ahead, scanning for the magic runes... 01X... 01X... I did not see it anywhere. I decided to head inside the store and search there. And before me stood the object of my quest, the Yamaha 01X. And seemingly knowing my need, a sales associate comes right up and asks me, "Looking for anything in particular?" I point to the 01X and say, "That." He gives me a side glance. "Are you really buying today?" Ah, I am no gawker that demands a demo and then walks out of the store empty handed. I am the real deal, the sure thing. I am a decided comsumer. "Yes!" I reply, and he smiles as he goes off to get my prize out of storage.

A quick credit card transaction, a few detours to buy other things and I am home with my new toy. Excited, I open the box, remove its contents and set it up. I go onto the Net and download and install the latest drivers. I hook everything up and fire up the 01X. I fire up Logic to play sweet sweet music through my new toy.... silence. Dead silence. No sound at all emanates from my shiny new box. I want to cry. Instead I sigh. Then I start playing with knobs, levers, switches. I try every setting in all the various preference areas of my software. Still nothing. I am rewarded by silence everytime I try to make music.

6 hours pass and I am still sitting there staring at an expensive box that decides that it will make no sound. None at all. I am devastated. Is it broken? No, I must have done something wrong. As a last resort, I start to browse the various forums. Looking for subject lines of "Silence" or "No Sound!". I find one! Reading through it, here is what I find:

Press internal Button on OX1 and then press Bank ---> and make sure all mlan channels are turned up. They go back to default on power down. Make sure Mlan 1 - Mlan 16 are all turned up.

Then save a scene to recall that data, and press SHIFT UTILITY (Backup) together to make this the default power up.

I try it. Nothing! I want to cry. Then I notice that I have pressed a button labeled "Monitor A/B" on. I turn it off. HUGE NOISE! PAIN! In a panic I turn the volume down. Ouch, that hurt, but oh, glorious sound! Adjusting the volume to a lower level, I hit play again and sweet music pours out into my headphones!

So I've figured it out. Its taken a bit of time and a wasted afternoon. Oh well, that's why I am writing this story down here so I won't forget, and maybe remember to make a FAQ for other new 01X owners to help them avoid this on their first day.

iPod Cases

Apple's iPod has reached a cult like status amongst quality-conscious consumers. Something about it just screams quality and must have. But its a delicate device that is easilly scratched. To answer that problem, a bunch of companies have come out with nice cases for this device.

Recently I've bought a case from Vaja Cases a merchant in Buenos Aires that makes some sexy iPod cases. So far I am very happy with it. Its very well designed and built. It fits the iPod very snuggly, so it won't slip out. Even without the iPod inserted, its very rigid and sturdy. And its got a great leather smell. They must be popular. The price went up 20% in the last few days...

Gucci even makes a case... Someone else will have to review this one tho.

New Sony Ericsson Phones

I am drooling over these new phones from Sony Ericsson. I just got my new T-610 phone and am very happy with it, but these new phones are so much more drool worthy.

The K700
The S700

Soccer Robots!

Okay, this is one of the coolest things I've seen in a while. Robots that can play soccer. No just the basic game, but they can do things like hand stands, get up from the ground, hang their heads in shame. Take a look at the little movies that are on the site. Sweet stuff!

Here is a sample: one of the robots doing a handstand.