Digital Technology for Digital Living.
March 30, 2006
Volume control for iPod
Ever sit next to someone on the bus or subway who was listening to their iPod so loud you couldn’t think? Maybe you’ve been in the elevator with someone whose iPod is louder than the John Tesh Muzak oozing out of the speaker overhead.
Some people just listen to music in their headphones so loud that it’s annoying. If you’ve ever felt this way, Apple’s new iPod update with a maximum volume limit setting, may be music to your ears.
Apple has sold over 40 million iPods since October 2001, so why are they just adding this volume limit feature now? Apparently this is in response to Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) who asked the National Institute of Health to investigate hearing problems associated with the iPod.
Many MP3 players, like the iPod, can produce volume levels as high as 120 decibels. FYI- That’s as loud as a police siren. Prolonged exposure to 90 decibels or more may cause some hearing loss, according to the Mayo Clinic‘s Web site.
Parents worried about their children’s hearing can even assign a combination to prevent the max volume setting from being changed. If they attempt to turn the volume all the way up after you’ve set a volume limit, then they will see a lock icon in the Now Playing screens volume bar.
The iPod update with the volume limit software is available as a free download on Apple’s website.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music, Portablegadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
March 28, 2006
Install Mac OS 7 on a PSP
Through a combination of PSPbochs (x86 emulator for PSP) and vMac (680×0 emulator for x86), this girl has got Mac OS 7 running on a Sony PSP!
Since it’s an emulator running on an emulator running on a slow processor, the whole thing takes about 4 hours to boot. But who cares?! Turn it on, go to work and then use it when you get home. Just cross your fingers it doesn’t crash.
methodshop | Comments (4) | General, Portable, Toysgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
March 27, 2006
Will Leopard Run Windows Software?
According to an article on MacRumors.com, Leopard, the next version of OS X may include virtualization software, code named Chameleon, that will allow Mac’s to run more than one operating system at the SAME TIME!
While Booting Windows XP on Intel Macs is now possible thanks to two hackers named “narf2006″ and “blanka”, many users look forward to using a virtual Windows XP environment alongside Mac OS X. This sort of side-by-side existence would prevent the need for rebooting to use a particular application like in the System 6 and System 7 days. When you need to open that Windows app just instantaneously switch over to Windows. When you are done, go back to OS X.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Softwaregadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
March 24, 2006
Illegal Howard Stern Downloads Rampant
Didn’t get a Sirius satellite radio yet? Miss hearing Howard Stern in the mornings? You’re not alone. FM ratings have plummeted since Stern left terrestrial radio and people who didn’t make the move to satellite are looking for other places to get their daily Stern fix.
According to TheRawFeed.com, illegal downloading of Howard Stern’s Sirius satellite radio show is “rampant.” At first, the amount of avid Stern downloaders was relatively small. That all changed after the Los Angeles Times reported that bootlegged versions of the Stern show are easily available on file-sharing networks like BitTorrent. This Los Angeles Times article didn’t go unnoticed. As a result, illegal Howard Stern downloading has increased radically.
BitTorrent isn’t the only place to find illegal versions of the Howard Stern show. Grab a FM radio and scan through the channels slowly. You might just hear Howard. Pirate radio stations in New York and New Jersey are broadcasting Stern’s morning show over unused portions of the FM spectrum.
But the easiest and most reliable way to hear Howard Stern each and every morning is to just cough up the $0.40 a day and get a Sirius satellite radio.
methodshop | Comments (0) | Digital Radio, General, Wirelessgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
March 23, 2006
Jack Black’s iTunes Confessionals
Jack Black, the star of Paramount Pictures’ Nacho Libre, will take audiences behind the scenes with exclusive “confessionals” about what it was like to make the upcoming comedy film in a series of video podcasts debuting on the iTunes Music Store and QuickTime.com.
Beginning March 15 and continuing for 10 weeks, leading up to the release of the film, new podcasts will appear every Tuesday and Thursday, downloadable free of charge for the video iPod and at QuickTime.com.
The film Nacho Libre opens in theaters nationwide on June 2. You can access the Podcasts via iTunes here.
[Source: PR Newswire]
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music, Softwaregadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
March 15, 2006
Apple now offering iPods in Bulk
Apple has initiated a new program for companies wishing to buy large quantities of iPods.
Options available include a custom logo and/or text engraving, iTunes Music Cards, and any desired combinations of shuffles, nanos, and iPods.
Screw the lame office Christmas party. Now good workers have a little more incentive to put in all those extra hours.
Can’t think of any catchy company slogans to go under your corporate logo? Here are a few suggestions: Rejected iPod Engravings
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music, Portablegadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
March 12, 2006
Battlestar Galactica Killed Broadcast TV
According to Mindjack.com, Broadcast TV died on October 18th, 2004. So what’s so special about that date?
That evening, the Sci-Fi Channel’s remake of Battlestar Galactica premiered on the SkyOne channel in the UK. It wasn’t slated to air in the US until January 2005. NBC Universal, the company that produces the show, wanted to wait until January in the US because that’s normally a slow time of year for American television.
However, it only took a few hours for the UK premiere of Battlestar Galactica to become a global premiere thanks to peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent. In general, Sci-Fi fans are pretty geeky. Recording and distributing Battlestar Galactica became a global past time for many Sci-Fi fans. Torrent tracking websites like TorrentSpy have an entire Battlestar Galactica listing with 94 different files.
If you want to learn more about using BitTorrent, please check out this in-depth BitTorrent tutorial.
methodshop | Comments (1) | Digital TV, General, PVRgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
March 09, 2006
The Cult of iPod
The Cult of iPod, the follow-up to Leander Kahney’s book, The Cult of Mac, offers a look into how the iPod changed the world of music and integrated itself into our society.
The covers for both books are very similar. Just like the cover for The Cult of Mac, which had a guy (actually the photographer’s roommate) with an Apple logo shaved into the back of his head, the The Cult of iPod features someone with an iPod clickwheel shaved into his head.
The Cult of iPod will be released on November 1st, and is available from Amazon.com.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Portablegadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
March 06, 2006
Canucks: Nation of Music Crooks
When they’re not growing weed, playing hockey, or attending gay weddings, apparently Canadians are busy stealing music more than anyone else in the world, aye. And almost a decade of theft is hurting the music selling biz in Canada. Oh noes!
According to an article in Variety, music sales in Canada dropped 4% last year. This dip is just part of a 10-year decline that the Canadian Recording Industry Assn. blames on illegal music downloading.
So why are the Canucks all crooks? Probably because Canada hasn’t updated their copyright legislation yet to cover digital music. As a result, it has the highest online piracy rate per capita in the world, according to the Intl. Federation of the Phonographic Industry; the CRIA says 1.6 billion music files are swapped annually in Canada.
Worldwide legal digital revenues have jumped from zero to 6% of record company revenues globally in the last two years. In sharp contrast, digital revenues make-up less than 1% of record company sales in Canada.
As long as it isn’t illegal, Canucks are happy just downloading music for free. Aye?
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Musicgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
March 01, 2006
Apple Event Lacks Wow
The speculation is over. Those of us expecting touch-screen iPods, PDAs, Apple phones or even an Apple TiVo were left a little disappointed.
Taking the stage at today’s announcement, CEO Steve Jobs said, “We’ve got some fun things to introduce today. Sort of medium-scale things.”
As soon as Jobs said “medium-scale things” I knew everyone with high hopes for today’s announcement probably felt a pit in their stomach.
After all the hype around Apple’s invitation to see some “fun new products,” Apple only announced an Intel-based Mac ($799) and a high-end speaker, the iPod Hi-Fi ($349). Apple also announced some expensive leather iPod cases ($99).
Did today’s “fun new products” announcement really require a special event? Usually Apple just adds minor new products to their website and issues a few press releases.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music, Peripheralsgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
