Thursday, March 8, 2007

31 - iMuffs Review





I recently received, and have been using, a pair of iMuffs for my video iPod. While they are expensive, the freedom of not having wires running through my shirt, especially at work where it can get caught on a wide range of things, was great.

The initial charge goes to 80%, then trickle charges the iMuffs to 100%. The iMuffs headband is rather flimsy. Whether this was a design decision or born out of necessity, who knows. But minor griping aside, the headset fit rather well to my head. The volume slider is located on the side of the right earphone, which makes more sense than having it on the face of the earphone along with the Previous/Next and the Play/Pause/Answer button.

While I was playing music, the sound quality was what I expected. It was CD quality audio, with fairly good bass. There was no static that I could detect. There was the odd sound drop out, but it was few and far between and not intrusive.

I usually keep my iPod with the dongle in my jacket pocket on my left side, or in my pants pocket. Since I've been using iMuffs, I haven't had any problems with the audio dropping depending on where I place the iPod and dongle on me.

SOUND QUALITY: 7.5/10
MATERIAL QUALITY: 6/10
PRICE VS. QUALITY: 7/10
*CONVENIENCE: 9/10
OVERALL QUALITY: 7/10


*NOT INCLUDED IN OVERALL QUALITY.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

30 - Leo Laporte on LIVE with Regis and Kelly

Leo shows off the latest and greatest TVs. Awesome 108" flatscreen. Wouldn't be surprised to see it sell at 70 grand.

Sunday, March 4, 2007

29 - iMuffs Review Coming Soon - iCombi not coming


My review of the Wi-Gear iMuffs will be posted soon. They should arrive in a couple of days, DHL Express shipping. I'll post a critical review (it needs a hard review) and some pics. In other news, I'm back from a lengthy hiatus. I just moved and settling in took longer than expected. Expect the review in a few days. In more other news, my set of iCombi will not be coming. Communication with the WiresAreMessy team has stopped. They will not reply to any of my emails. I feel much safer going with Wi-Gear. They do cost $50 more, but I think it's worth it for the feeling of security.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

28 - Conan Gets An iPhone

Conan O'Brien has a skit about the new iPhone. Enjoy!

Thursday, January 11, 2007

27 - The Browser Wars

Here's our current figures:


Perc. Browser Name Version


68.00%MSIE7.0


20.00%Firefox2.0.0


10.00%MSIE6.0


1.00%Mozilla5.0


1.00%Firefox1.5.0

26 - 1% Of the Cell Phone Market is 10 Million USD

In a statement by Apple, it was said that if they grab just 1% of the cellphone market with their iPhone, they stand to make 10 million dollars. This statement, and the fact that the phone is exclusive to Cingular, leads me to believe that Apple wants this phone purely to make some coin on the side. And the price ($499 for the 4GB/$599 for the 8GB, both come with a 2 year contract), for that price just go and buy a cell phone that you actually want, and a 4GB/8GB mp3 player. You will pay, in most cases, less than you would for the iPhone.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

25 - 2 Years In the Making - The Apple iPhone Is Here!


It was announced on Jan.9th at MacWorld. Although I was beginning to become somewhat skeptical of its release, I was mistaken. You can see what it looks like to the right. I will be getting one as soon as it is released in stores, I can tell you that much. Here are some relevant links:


http://www.apple.com/iphone/ - Official Apple iPhone Page

http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/01/09/iphone/index.php - MacWorld: Apple Unveils the iPhone.


The price will be $499 with a two year contract for a 4GB model, or an 8GB model for $599. Cingular, the North American cell service provider that has sold iTunes-equipped phones from Motorola, will be Apple's exclusive service partner. It will be released in the United States in June, probably Canada in late June, early July. Jobs said Apple anticipates bringing the iPhone to Europe in the fourth calendar quarter of 2007, and Asia in 2008. Let me add that I can't wait to get my hand on one!!

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

24 - Still No Word On My 'Phones

After repeated emails to Wires Are Messy! about my iCombi headphones, I'm beginning to wonder if anyone is actually there. I've sent a total of 5 emails, and not one has been replied to. Has anyone else had experience with the Wires Are Messy! website? Do they just take a long time to send it out?

Monday, January 1, 2007

23 - More iPhone Shenanigans


It was reported recently on Gizmodo that Leo Laporte thinks that there is no doubt in his mind that Apple will announce the iPhone at Macworld. I'm starting to wonder if Apple will or not. At this point, and just solely from all the hype it's received even though Apple hasn't confirmed anything, I think that they would be slightly crazy not to release something. Key in iPhone or iTalk in Google and see the millions of hits you get. Apple has spent exactly $0 on the iPhone marketing campaign, and everyone is going nutso over it. Is this how Apple planned it, or is it a mistake gone terribly right?

Another rumor has been spreading about Apple acquiring the name iMobile for their supposedly upcoming cell phone. This is, in fact, not true. There are 8 trademarks on the name iMobile, none of which belong to Apple, as reported by Apple Gazette.

I think, if Apple is making a phone, that a name like the MacPhone or something simple would suffice, to set it apart from the "i-stuff." I don't know if Apple should roll out a cell phone though. The iPod is selling record numbers and the Mac laptops have reached record sales. Apple's desktops are lagging in sales however.

Let me ask you this, what comes to mind first when I say Apple? iPod, Fruit, laptop... in that order, correct? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but an iPod a day doesn't keep the doctor away.

22 - Browser Wars

Our Blog's browser stats:
(click to enlarge)



Firefox still needs to play catchup... GO FIREFOX!

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

21 - 1 Month Old

Tech2Speech is officially one month old. I watched Talladega Nights last night. I recommend watching it to anyone. It's definitely a Will Ferrel movie. Hilarious laughs ensue. All in all, I give it a sold 82%. Not the greatest movie, some parts left me wondering what was the point, but I think that's the kind of movie this is. Things happen for the sake of the laugh, and no other point. Still, a good watch.

20 - wiresaremessy.com

So I was curious if they shipped out my iCombi yet, with it being after christmas and boxing day, and its status is "Delivered." Well, I hope that means delivered to FedEx for shipping, because I haven't gotten anything yet. Another thing, they haven't responded to any of my emails! Have I been taken? I thought this was a reputable company. Was I mistaken? I hope they email me back soon. Better Business Bureau here I come!

Monday, December 25, 2006

19 - iCombi Headphones (and Merry Christmas!)


So today I decided to order myself a pair of iCombi Bluetooth headphones for my video iPod. They should be arriving in about 8 days, I'm guessing. I guess I'll give a full review of them as well, as soon as they arrive, along with pics and a video. I'm kind of excited to get them. Now I'll need to get a cell phone with bluetooth so I can answer my phone on my iCombi too now! I'll keep you guys and girls posted. And if you want a pair, go to www.wiresaremessy.com and order yours!

In other news, today is Christmas, so Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all the folks that don't celebrate Christmas. Hope your holiday plans all worked out, and sorry to the folks at Denver Airport in Colorado. I hope that flights have resumed in time so you can get home for the holidays.

I'm still looking forward to that Apple iPhone/iTalk. I'll post some news later in the day if I run across anything new.

Happy Holidays!

Sunday, December 24, 2006

18 - This Week In Tech

If you haven't done so already, check out the plethora of great tech podcasts from the iTunes music store. I'm currently listening/watching:

Podcasts:
- Inside the Net / net@nite
- pc gamer
- Pretty much most of TWiT.

Video Podcasts:
- CommandN
- AskaNinja
- DL.TV

An added note to the DL.TV crew, I love your new Title Sequence. Very "Televisiony."

Saturday, December 23, 2006

17 - Stat Counter

I've just added a stat counter button, and decided to make it public for everyone to check out to see how much traffic this little old blog gets. It's zero right now, but if you build it, they will come... eventually...

Friday, December 22, 2006

16 - Remote Publishing

Just testing to see if this works. I'm remote publishing from my gmail account. Just kind of found out about this on my own.

EDIT: Well, yes it does work indeed! Cool!

Thursday, December 21, 2006

15 - Cisco/Linksys's iPhone

Well, so the iPhone has been released. But wait? It isn't branded with an Apple logo. Then what happened? Well, it seems that Cisco/Linksys launched their line of VoIP hardware patented under that name, which they've held since 1990! However, there are 4 seperate patents filed with the name iPhone, and two have been initially refused, leaving the door somewhat open for Apple. So it could still very well be dubbed the iPhone. Nothing is certain until it comes from the lips of Steve Jobs. Continue to check back for updates.

14 - Kevin Rose's Info



• Priced at around $449.
• Available on all carriers as a GSM model, but if this is true a CDMA model as well.
• 8GB storage.
• Flash memory.
• New OS, possibly a mobile version of Apple's Leopard OS.
• Two batteries, one exclusive for MP3 playback.
• One charger.
• Slide out keyboard.
• Touch screen.

The 2 batteries is an excellent idea. If you get carried away listening to your mp3 collection, the phone part will still function normally off it's own battery. Check out Kevin's podcast, Diggnation, in the iTunes store, or digg.com. (The picture showed on the right is a CONCEPT, not the actual iPhone)

13 - iPhone Announcement Date?

Rumored to be January 15th, 2007, Apple will release it's rumored iPhone. Likely to be announced at MacWorld, Jan. 9-12. Apple has been searching for naming patents to it's iPhone in other countries, signalling that it might have a cell phone in the works, but the name is still unclear. Also, Apple seems to have grabbed ahold of iPhone.org, which redirects traffic to their main site.

12 - News About Our TalkCast

I've decided to hold off on the TalkCast for a while, just keep it a blog for right now. I might get into making a video NetCast at a later point. Should be interesting. I'll definitely keep on top of the news in tech. Please check back often.

11 - The Rumored iPhone/iTalk


A concept of what the rumored Apple iPhone/iTalk might look like. Created by Christopher and Greg Desantis. It looks very sexy. Check out Kevin Rose's podcast, Diggnation, as he might drop some inside info about it.

Monday, December 18, 2006

10 - The Return

Sorry about my unscheduled absence. Work has been eating up my life recently. I am moving to Ontario, Canada early in 2007. I hope to get my TalkCast on a scheduled episode hierarchy, sometime soon. Finding a place to live in Ontario is taking up a lot of time, plus setting everything up for the move. Hope to see you on the TalkCast soon.

Monday, December 4, 2006

9 - A Cheap Thumb Drive

If you happen to live in Canada, you can zip down to your local Canadian Tire and pick up a 1GB thunb drive by Lexar for $29.99, reg. $69.99.

Saturday, December 2, 2006

8 - Reminder

EPISODE1 will air Dec.4th at 11:00AM EST, 10:00AM CST. please come have a listen. Sorry about the last episode, I didn't realize it was set to EST on TalkShoe.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

7 - The Screenavers Leo and Patrick Lightsaber Battle

The funniest Vid on Youtube. I loved the Screensavers back in the day, they had so much fun, both off the air (as you can probably tell), and on the air, as you could tell from watching the show!

Monday, November 27, 2006

6 - Work Done To Blog

I've added some music, which took a while, and then played around with some different HTML effects, including really neat falling blue rain. I decided to scrap the rain though. It did look cool, but it got hard to read things. The music can be turned off though, which I planned because I don't want it to wear out it's welcome. I'll switch it frequently, so don't worry. I kind of taught myself HTML like, today. I've got the basics down and I've been missing A LOT! I feel embarrassed I'm just learning it, but better late than never. It's not as hard as it's made out to be. Actually then, that's it! It feels like I did a lot more, but I guess I didn't. Well, enjoy that music, it seems to be fairly high quality! Cheers.

*Edit: I can't get the music to work with FireFox. It doesn't recognize the file. When it tries to find a plug-in, it doesn't find a suitable one. Anyone know why?
**Edit: Fixed the link to our Netcast.

5 - Moving for sure...

I will be moving from Winnipeg, MB to Morrisburg, ON., which is out by Ottawa. An offer came up that I couldn't refuse. I won't be moving until late January most likely. It should be fun.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

4 - The TalkShoe Support Team

If you ever have a TalkShoe problem, Peter is a shoe-in (sorry, had to do that) for the best help ever. Thanks to the Support Team and Peter I got my problems resolved. It was, in fact, my network that was to blame. If you're not broadcasting on TalkShoe yet, what are you waiting for? Throw out those radios and turn on www.talkshoe.com. Watch for my show and many others like it.

3 - Updated Blogsite

I just added some text fields to the right hand side. I might change the color scheme a little bit later. Planning to add different pages (blogs). Any free program or downloadable shareware/freeware I will mention on http://tech2speechfiles.blogspot.com. That blog isn't set up yet, but will be very shortly. I plan on using FileCrunch, which is a free FTP server. Free means it's ad supported and there's a 10 second wait period to get the file, but it does, however, serve the purpose as of now. If traffic increases I plan to get my own server. Feel free to comment.

2 - Netcast

I've become somewhat familiar with the TalkShoe GUI via listening to other netcasts. I hope it is a fun experience for all involved and I'll see where the show will go after the test(s). I'm not sure whether to take the show in a "traditional" tech broadcast or one with a little bit of an edgy quality to it. It's like I've got the TechTV and G4 dispute going on inside of my head. Not pretty. But I think I'll warp the show to my own psyche, whether that be a good thing or not, well, you guys will be the ones to decide.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

1 - The Inro

Welcome to Tech2Speech, a place for just generally all things tech, be it news, new gadgets, computers and whatnot. There's also going to be a Netcast very shortly on TalkShoe, so I suggest visiting www.talkshoe.com to look for it, it's called Tech2Speech, obviously. Hope to have that up, check back for updates and to drop me ideas for upcoming episodes. I hope to have enough time to make it a bi-weekly or a tri-weekly show, as time will allow. I'll post more updates as soon as I am sure. Thanks and stay tuned.