Archive for April, 2009
SnowFlake Microphone
Posted by Mark Dalton in Technology on April 22nd, 2009
Recently I have been taking part in a number of PodCasts, mainly relating to technology but more specifically the Apple range of products. I have been happily using the built in microphone on both the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air with Skype and all was okay, or so I thought.
It was during a recent RoundTable event I was advised that the audio quality was way from perfect, in fact it was pretty appalling. Now I have never really been into the whole Audio / Video thing and wasn’t at all sure where to begin.
So I did what any computer literate user does these days I hit Google. Well there were pages and pages of information and I still didn’t know where to start so I turned to Twitter and tweeted for advise. Well within minutes I had about 20 replies all pointing to different options with advise as to what people liked and didn’t like about them. Then a friend from ScreenCastsOnline and Mac 20 Questions, Wayne Priestley, came to the rescue by suggesting the Snowflake USB microphone from Blue Microphones.
The first thing I liked about the Snowflake was the price (£49.99). A lot of the other microphones that had been recommended were in the £100-£300 price range and a little rich for my pockets. The other real winner was that it was a USB microphone, which meant that I didn’t need a mixing deck, which is a scary thing apparently with lots of buttons and sliders that adds another £100+.
So there are cheaper microphones but I didn’t want one that was part of a headset as I use a rather good pair of Bose headphones plus all the advice was to avoid them because the audio quality can be adversely affected if like me you enjoying breathing. The Snowflake seemed to me to be the middle ground.
The microphone arrived yesterday afternoon and last night I set it up, a 30 second job. I followed the quick guide on configuring it, which basically involves changing the input device to the new microphone opposed to the built in one, and I was done. I had tweeted earlier in the day that the microphone had arrived and a few kind souls volunteered to test it out with me. Wayne Priestley was the first and we chatted for about an hour and the feedback on the audio quality was that it sounded very crisp and clear. Then David Allen from Mac 20 Questions setup a conference call and the three of us chatted.
The feedback was good all round and David even recorded a section for me and sent it over so I could listen to it myself. I must say I was impressed with the quality. There is another RoundTable scheduled for this Friday, and with my new microphone I feel I am ready to participate without feeling I am messing it up for everybody else. All in all I would say a “Good Buy”.
Logitech MX Revolution Mouse
Posted by Mark Dalton in Technology on April 19th, 2009
So I have for a while been using the Apple Aluminum Wireless Keyboard and the Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse with my Apple Mac Book Pro 17″, which act’s as my main workhorse for playing around with Photo’s and Video. However I have found it quite uncomfortable to use for any length of time, mainly down to its shape, but also it’s limited functionality. Another main bugbear of mine is the rate at which the Mighty Mouse eats through batteries, and it’s ability to know when I really need to do something before telling me the battery is low. Now I moved to rechargeable batteries a long time ago, but the rate at which the Mighty Mouse chews through them and the rate at which I have to recharge them, must cut the batteries useful life in half.
So today after doing quite a bit of research I laid out for the Logitech MX Revolution. This mouse is ergonomically far more comfortable to use and with the SteerMouse drivers far more configurable than the Mighty Mouse. I was pleased to find that the Logitech also comes with a rechargeable battery and docking station so when not in use, like now, it can be sat charging ready for the next use.
Well, it’s still early day’s but I am off to mess around with some video in iMovie 09 now so will be putting it through its paces. So far however the comfort factor alone sets it worlds apart.
[23/04/2009] So after enjoying the Logitech MX Revolution mice for a couple of days I went out and brought the Logitech Nano to use with the MacBook Air. A smaller version but just as fully featured, and a lot easier to transport. One thing that I really did like was that the USB dongle that plug’s into the PC / Mac is tiny and plug’s into the battery compartment of the mouse for transporting. I can’t tell you the number of mice like this where I have lost the USB dongle because I have put it in my pocket, although that probably says more about me than the mice.
Apathy Rules!
Posted by Mark Dalton in Personal on April 19th, 2009
Okay so I have been very lazy the last few weeks and haven’t bothered to update the blog! Well, I have taken a well deserved rest this weekend and recharged my batteries so to speak, so hopefully will be picking up my game a little.
So last weekend was Easter and a four day weekend to-boot. The sun didn’t show up until Monday but it was a good chance to get things done. Friday I caught up with house stuff and personal paperwork. It was nice to get that all out of the way and still feel like there was a weekend ahead. Saturday I met up with Dad for a spot of lunch and a catch up and bumped into a very pregnant Anna and Dave. Both fed up of waiting for Baby Birkett to show up. We had a good chat and caught up with all the gossip, and made some up when we had run out of people to pick on. Sunday we all ventured down to Katrina & Rob’s for a lovely Sunday roast and to wind the kids up to the point they exploded! (Pictures Here) Monday was another catchup day, but I chose to spend it playing around with the computer and scanning in more of the old family pictures (Pictures Here).
Last week was fairly mixed. It was a little manic mainly due to the fact it was a short week, but Thursday and Friday were slow, a sign that some of the projects haven’t really kicked off, and an indicator maybe that it’s going to get really busy soon! I had an all day senior managers meeting on Wednesday which further shortened the week. It wasn’t really my kind of thing, but it was a good opportunity to catch up with the other senior managers who I tend to speak to on a regular basis, but not really interact with in any other way other than work.
Yesterday was another catch up day at home, not that I really got much done. Today looks like going the same way. I did pop round to Mum & Dad’s this morning and install some power line network extenders to try and boost there wireless signal downstairs, however I think I am going to chill out for the rest of the day.
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