Michael Anderson | Gear Diary

Random Cool Video: The Imperial March Played on Floppy Disk Drives

Anyone old enough to remember how floppy disk drives had some very characteristic sounds will instant appreciate this video – the Imperial March from Star Wars played on two floppy disks. According to Silent’s official site: How does it work? It’s nothing new and it’s very simple. The sound comes from a magnetic head moved by stepper motor. To make a specific sound, head must be moved with appropriate frequency. FDD has a simple interface – the description may be found for example [ HERE ]. To move the head you need to activate the drive by pulling the DRVSB0…

Editorials, Game Diary

Android Fragmentation: Some Perspective from the Developers of ‘Magic Defenders’

The other day I wrote about my frustration about the state of fragmentation in the Android ecosystem, citing my inability to buy the game Magic Defenders for my Acer Iconia A100 7″ Honeycomb-based tablet. I have been fortunate in the two of the developers from Clueless Ideas, the company making the game, have reached out to me – and one even commented on my post! His reply was thoughtful and insightful – and I thought it warranted being highlighted. When I saw in my email that someone from the developing company was commenting, my initial concern was that they didn’t…

Music Diary, Reviews

Music Diary Review: 100 Best of Blue Note (10-CD Box) (2010/11, Jazz)

100 Best of Blue Note Last Christmas I got a really cool gift – one that I have only now begun to use and appreciate. It was the massive 10-CD box set ‘100 Best of Blue Note’. As of right now I can only find the collection in MP3 format on Amazon and iTunes, with the CD collection still listed on the German Blue Note site. This is what you call ‘truth in advertising’ – the box consists of 100 tracks from the Blue Note collection of recordings, which theoretically spans from 1939 to the present, but much of which…

Game Diary, Reviews

Gaming Headset Review: Sharkoon X-Tatic SR Surround Sound Headphones

It is hard to believe, but not everyone wants to listen as you pump sound from video games through your home theater system. That is why there are gaming headsets to begin with – they provide a microphone, but can also provide very sensitive audio … or blast your face off with mega-sound! I use basic Apple or Sony earbuds most of the time, which are adequate but don’t begin to emulate the home theater experience – which is why there are ‘portable sound-systems like the Sharkoon X-Tatic SR. Let’s take a look! The Hype: Sharkoon headsets are sophisticated in…

Editorials

Windows Phone 7.5 ‘Mango’ Arrives but Will It Be Enough?

I recently wrote about my initial experiences with the HTC 7 Pro from U.S. Cellular and commented on some early concerns about Windows Phone 7.5, aka the ‘Mango’ update that some are touting as what will save Windows Phone and enable Microsoft to lead the smartphone market. Despite early concerns and more recent issues with Windows Phone Marketplace ‘spam’, most early reports indicated that Mango is what Windows Phone 7 SHOULD have been a year ago. No one really knows exactly what the mobile market will look like five years from now – and certainly any analysts in 2006 making…

Music Diary, News & Features

Music Diary Songs of Note: VEVO Brings Full Nirvana 1991 Concert to Web!

I have already posted about the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind being celebrated by Spin Magazine’s free set of cover songs, but today VEVO is doing something really great to celebrate the anniversary as well. The concert isn’t presented as one big video, but rather as discrete songs on VEVO’s site. Here is a single song – Breed: According to Mashable: To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s landmark album, Nevermind, Vevo will air a performance starting this afternoon. The concert first aired on Sept. 23 on VH1, VH1 Classic, and Palladia. The concert was filmed in 1991 at the…

Editorials, Game Diary

Android Fragmentation: Alive and Devastating Android Gaming Efforts

I love Tower Defense games such as Plants vs. Zombies and Fieldrunners, so when I saw a link on Google+ for a great new tablet / Honeycomb based TD game I got excited! When I heard it was a magic-based variant on the genre, I was intrigued and based on a couple of comments I was pretty well sold! Here is the description of Magic Defenders HD: Ready for magic circles, spells and an endless army of orcs? Be the hero and defend your village from the evil orcs in three different invasion episodes. You will fight in the forest,…

Reviews

Pet Product Review: Booster Bath Mini Makes Washing Small Dogs a Breeze!

Washing a dog can can be an ‘adventure’ for everyone involved. If you have a small dog it generally means washing them in the sink – and getting water all over the counters and pretty much anything in the kitchen! If you have a larger dog you might use the bathtub – with similar results. Now there is a new product – the Booster Bath! We have two small dogs, so when the opportunity came up to review the ‘mini’ version of the Booster Bath we gave it a try! Read on to find out how things went and to…

Reviews

Notebook PC Review: Toshiba Satellite L755-S5258 Laptop

In my review of the Toshiba Satellite S4250, I highlighted the almost maniacal devotion to delivering serious audio performance. With the Satellite L755-S5258 (hereafter called the S5258), Toshiba is offering a larger (15.6″!) screen, full-featured numeric keypad, same processor, and a stylish design – for $100 less! So let’s take a look and see how the S5258 performs! The Hype: Generous High-Def Viewing Don’t compromise when it comes to watching movies, juggling tasks or building complex spreadsheets. The Satellite® L750 laptop comes with a broad and truly brilliant 15.6” diagonal TruBrite® HD display that brings out color and clarity you…

Music Diary, News & Features

Music Diary Notes: The Post f8 Spotify-Facebook Hangover

Last week I reported on the Facebook Music announcements, and I showed how the new Free mode of Spotify would auto-fill the registration with your Facebook profile. Well, this weekend a couple of less-exciting things came to light. First, I actually USED the Facebook-Spotify ‘connection’, and second I discovered that the sign-up process I highlighted was more than ‘convenient’. First, over at DMN there is word that the Facebook connection for Spotify isn’t a convenience – it is a requirement! Here’s what the registration prompt now says: “You need a Facebook account to register for Spotify. If you have an account,…

Music Diary, News & Features

Music Diary Notes: Quiescence Music Brings Piano Skills To Older Adults

I have written several times (such as here, here and here) about Quiescence Music, the site headed up by piano instructor Edward Weiss that takes a casual, hands-on and emergent approach to learning to play and compose based on the New Age style. During that time, I have shared some of the materials from Quiescence with my family, and had my pianist son play around with some of the approaches. While he is already an advanced pianist and has solid techniques, the approach Weiss teaches in terms of exploration is similar to how I have always encouraged my kids to…

Reviews

Notebook PC Review: Toshiba Satellite P745-S4250 Laptop

Normally in laptop reviews I try to apply some generic context about where the laptop falls in the market in terms of segmentation and price, then invite the reader into the main body of the review to find out how it fits in that segment and the value offered. For the Toshiba Satellite P745-S4250 (S4250 from now on), I will just come out and call the segment the HOLY-CRAP-DID-YOU-HEAR-THE-SOUND-ON-THIS-THING-IT-IS-UNBELIEVABLE-FOR-A-LAPTOP … and the price is just under $800 nicely equipped. With my hand fully tipped, come on along for a look at this wonderful 14″ laptop! The Hype: No-Nonsense Multimedia Performance…

Game Diary, Reviews

iPad Game Review: Fix It Up: Kate’s Adventure

The latest time-management casual game from G5 Entertainment is called Fix It Up: Kate’s Adventure. Centering around young Kate, who has just returned from college and needs to help bring her father’s auto-repair shop back up to standards after several employees have left, Kate’s Adventure continues as she moves on and seeks her own fortunes by expanding and branching out. How does it play? Let’s take a look! The Hype: Get ready for a time management adventure that will keep you on your toes! Kate comes home from college to find her dad’s auto repair shop grappling with financial difficulties….

Music Diary, News & Features

Music Diary Songs of Note: Sly Stone Now Living Out of a Van in L.A.

There was some sad news in the New York Post overnight, that soul and funk legend Sly Stone is broke and living out of a van in Los Angeles. Here is a snip: But those days are gone. Today, Sly Stone — one of the greatest figures in soul-music history — is homeless, his fortune stolen by a lethal combination of excess, substance abuse and financial mismanagement. He lays his head inside a white camper van ironically stamped with the words “Pleasure Way” on the side. The van is parked on a residential street in Crenshaw, the rough Los Angeles…

Editorials

No, Facebook is NOT Going to Be Charging for Service!

Last night my son came to me with a message some of his Facebook friends had been circulating. He knew that there was a big Facebook announcement last week, but didn’t know if it involved instituting paid service levels. I told him ‘no’ and thought no more. Until this morning, when a post at the Consumerist told me that this message was much more widespread than a bunch of eighth graders. The image above is from the IT security blog at Sophos, and you can see it refers to ‘this summer’, as this message already got passed around earlier this…

Music Diary, News & Features

Music Diary Notes: The You Rock Guitar With iPad Support Looks and Sounds Great!

Back in December of 2009 I wrote about the initial unveiling of the YouRock Guitar. It was released in 2010, but if you look around for reviews you will find them starting in mid-2010 but mostly from spring 2011 right up until now. Why is that? A few reasons I can see. First, because You Rock Guitar can be used as a Guitar Hero controller, it has dealt with the drop-off in interest in THAT market segment. It has also faced criticism from those who look at the plasticky design, low-grade on-board sounds, and the gimmicky ‘you rock’ mode that…

Editorials

Are We Suffering Through An Anti-Intellectualism Backlash?

A few months ago I had started writing up an article called “Study: ‘Being Green’ Isn’t About Saving the Planet, But Pushing an Elitist Agenda” which I will get to shortly … but today there was an article about the “10 Things That Are Killing Indie Music in 2011”. And #1? “Suspicion of intellectualism”. The basis of the argument is that we are at a point where something that seems ‘smart’ shouldn’t be trusted, and should be rejected for being elitist: any semblance of intellectualism — or any divergence from popular opinion, for that matter — tends to get you…

News & Features

TV Goes Back to the Future With Digital Ad Placement

The other night we were watching Castle, and in the show he was signing books – the book was then advertised in a commercial right at the end of the episode! That same night I was playing ‘Stand O’Food 3’ and there was a poster in the office for ‘Supermarket Mania 2’. Neither was obvious or over the top – certainly nothing like the previous evening when we saw a bit of General Hospital with a woman making chocolate milk for a young boy, but saying things like ‘wouldn’t you like some HERSHEY’s chocolate milk? I know when I’m sad…

Editorials, Game Diary

Video Games and Marriage: Game Related Divorce Rampant in Real and Virtual Worlds!

I have no intent to make light of divorce or marriage or anything else related to human relationships – they are tough enough as it is. But recently there have been a couple of reports related to video games and divorce that I found interesting. So let’s dive right in! While just about any hobby involving a significant singular time commitment can cause strain in a marriage – my father and a couple of his friends called themselves ‘quilting widows’, and there are people I work with who go on fishing/hunting/camping weekends, and on and on – it seems that…

Editorials

It STILL Really Is Just An ‘iPad Market’

We have talked about the so-called ‘Tablet Market’ as really being the ‘iPad Market’, with some marginal players scraping for scraps. Some of us have bought or spent considerable time with one or more of the various tablets that have come out over the last year – the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Motorola Xoom, BlackBerry Playbook, HP TouchPad, HTC Flyer, Acer Iconia, and on and on. Yet in all of these cases there have been some serious flaws that have derailed the tablets and ultimately resulted in the failure of the tablets to gain market penetration. Last week the IDC released…

Music Diary

Music Diary Songs of Note: I Was Doin’ Alright

What a way to go out … one of the classic bebop players, and the first tenor player of note in the genre, Dexter Gordon was also nominated for an Academy Award as an actor for the 1986 movie ‘Round Midnight’ that told a semi-fictitious tale of a jazz musician based on the lives of Lester Young and Bud Powell (and to an extent Gordon himself!). He died a few years later, riding out his deteriorating health on a wave of fan support and a feeling of being beloved by the entire jazz community. Yet for much of his career,…

Articles by Michael Anderson