Small talk
Written by admin on March 12, 2009 – 11:28 am -Apple quietly released a new iPod Shuffle yesterday. The new Shuffle does not have any buttons on it except for a switch on the top for hold / shuffle mode / straight play mode. The volume and navigational controls are now in the located on the right headphone cord. The new Shuffle features Voice Over, with a press of a button it tells you what song is playing and who is performing. Another first is that the new Shuffle allows you to have playlists as well just like other iPod models.
Why bother with an iPod when there are a gazzillion mp3 players out there which are probably cheaper? The reason which many fail to realize is iTunes. iTunes and the iTunes Music store is the central core of the iPod, without it the iPod would just be another piece of hard to use hardware that only computer geeks would use. The iTunes software allows you to transfer your existing CD’s to your computer, organize your music, create playlists, buy music, videos and movies. And also access a whole lot of free information in form of Podcasts which incidentally are free with topics ranging from religion to various hobbies and sync them to your iPod.
My personal favorite is a Podcast by the Kimchi girls, they produce a podcast which teaches the Korean language in a fun way unlike most boring language programs. I simply subscribe to the podcast and iTunes regularly downloads new episodes as they become available and automatically syncs it to my iPod whenever I connect my iPod to my lappy. Just one of the many reasons an iPod is not only a music player.
The iPod is not perfect and one thing I don’t like with this new Shuffle is that my choices in third party earbuds are limited since the controls reside on the earbuds themselves. Being a person who likes a lot of bass, Apple’s earbuds leave a lot to be desired in that department. However it would be interesting to find out if the dozens of iPhone earbuds out there will work with this new Shuffle. Although the shuffle has never appealed to me, I’m sure it will to other consumers out there especially for those who want a no frills mp3 player no bigger than your house key.
http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/features.html
Tags: iPod Shuffle Early 2009
Posted in Music, Tech | No Comments »
Mac Mini Update
Written by admin on March 4, 2009 – 1:52 pm -Its been a while since Apple has updated its entry level Mac called the Mac Mini. The update sees a faster processor, faster graphics chip and a larger capacity hard drive.
Macs are often characterized as a computer that most people want but are put off by its cost. Consumers usually make the mistake of comparing a Mac with a generic PC which of course is cheaper even by PC standards, even worse they usually compare a low or mid range desktop or laptop with a high end Mac such as the Power Mac (desktop) or Macbook Pro (laptop).
Back to Mac Mini, it is the cheapest Mac and is often overlooked by the consumer. The cheapest model costs KWN 950,000 (USD 615) and sports a 2Ghz Intel Dual Core, 1 GB DDR RAM, 120GB HD, and a DVD drive. The Mac mini does not include a keyboard, mouse or display since its target market are PC users who are assumed to have those devices already.
Also the Mac Mini is capable of running Windows XP or Vista via Bootcamp or Parallels which basically gives you two computers for the price of one. If you’re not a power user and mainly need a computer for everyday surfing, watching videos and daily computing, I would put my money on it.
** Also updated were the iMac and Power Mac models.
Tags: Early 2009 Mac Mini
Posted in Seoul, Tech | 1 Comment »
Name that song
Written by admin on January 29, 2009 – 3:18 pm -Ever been frustrated by not knowing the title or artist of a song? Some of the songs that I like are mixed into a compilation and its very difficult to find the artist or title of the song, especially most the songs I listen to are house, dance and r&b. Theres this song that I have in one of my mixes that I’ve been trying to track down. I normally Google excerpts of the lyrics and normally have a 70 percent success rate in finding the artist or title of a song. I do have a particular song that I like that has been proven to be really elusive even for Google. Well until I found Shazam.
Shazam is an iPhone / iPod touch application that will allow you to record a 30 sec clip from a song. It then sends it over the internet via Wifi or 3G data to crosscheck its database. Within a minute or two it will suggest a possible artists and titles.
I have to be honest that I was skeptical at first but much to my amazement it was able to identify the song, together with links to the iTunes Music Store and YouTube. Bloody fantastic piece of software if you ask me… no more embarrassing moments of trying to sing a few lines of your favorite song at your local CD shop.
Before I forget, although this amazing app runs on the iPod Touch 2G, you will need to purchase a headphone / mic from your favorite Apple dealer since the iPod does not have a built-in mic like the iPhone does. Did I forget to mention that this app is free! Nothing better than that!
Other mobile phones and platforms are also supported. Check it out here.
Tags: iPod App, Shazam
Posted in Music, Tech | 1 Comment »
Weighing in
Written by admin on January 19, 2009 – 3:27 pm -With more and more airlines getting strict with the weight of check-in luggage, we’re always wondering wether our luggage is within the 20 kgs. limit of most airlines. I like most other travellers use a household bathroom scale to give me the peace of mind that we won’t be charged excess baggage fees, but what about those times that we can’t find a scale? The days of guessing are over… I found this portable luggage scale purely out of accident while surfing. They come in various shapes, prices and probably with some being more accurate than others. I like the one pictured below and its available for CDN $ 30 at this site. If you don’t fancy that just google ‘Portable Luggage Scale’ and you should be able to find one to your liking that fits your budget.
Tags: Portable travel scale
Posted in Tech, Travel | No Comments »
Goodbye WIPI
Written by admin on January 8, 2009 – 11:41 am -The Korean Communications Commission (KCC) has finally decided to abolish WIPI (Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability) which was a requirement for data enabled mobile phones sold in Korea.
WIPI has prevented mobile phone giants such as Nokia and Sony Erricson from entering the Korean market. Starting April 1, 2009, this should open the floodgates for foreign made mobile phones to compete with the local heavyweights such as Samsung and LG.
What particularly interests me is the entry of PDA and Smartphones, which Koreans have not yet embraced fully. This will also pave the way for Apple’s iPhone 3G , Nokia’s E Series business phones, and Sony Erricsons P Series. Another reason I’m excited is because these foreign smartphones will surely have english support built in to them. Currently most phones from Samsung and LG have english support but Korean smartphones don’t since they usually use Windows Mobile that is localized in Korean.
You techies better start saving up since Korean Telco’s don’t usually subsidize the price of the phones, we can expect prices to be upwards of KWN 700,0000 (USD 500).
Tags: WIPI
Posted in South Korea, Tech | No Comments »