technotes

Great harmony of sound quality and price: Rocketfish Bluetooth HD stereo headphones August 19, 2010

Posted by Kristin Lynch in : hardware, technology , 1 comment so far

My old Linksys headphones were seeing much less use, mostly because they couldn’t hold a charge very long, and less so because the ear thingies kept falling off. The sound quality was OK, but nothing to tweet about.

Not having a good set of headphones wasn’t a big deal – until I realized it was causing me to work away from home less often. I always use my headphones when I’m working on my laptop in public. And I get some of my best work done when I’m working somewhere other than home – such as Panera Bread.

Don’t get me wrong. I love working from home. But sometimes I need to really concentrate on nothing but work and working at home can have its own challenges and distractions. I will often work at home with the TV off, no music, sleeping cats – all I should need for a conducive work environment. But other distractions can arise – noisy neighbors, phone calls, cats flying across the room playing and running around the house, a thousand and one other things that need to be done around here. When I work away from home, in spite of the other obvious distractions of working in public, there’s nothing else to do BUT work, and sometimes that’s exactly what I need in order to get things done.

So I needed a new pair of headphones.

I was primarily looking for something with great sound and battery life, with features like wireless and comfort also being very important. I’m not a big fan of the ear buds. I used to think I must just be an oddball because buds hurt my little ear holes¹, but then noticed a lot of similar complaints on the Internet and a larger selection of non-bud earphone products. I’m obviously not alone. I’ve had several pairs of headphones over the years from a variety of different brands (Sony, Linksys, Motorola, etc.) so I think I know what to expect in terms of quality and price.

I found a great set at Best Buy – Rocketfish Bluetooth HD stereo headphones. I like the Rocketfish brand and when presented with the opportunity to buy one of their products, I’ll willingly spend the extra cash. I have yet to be disappointed in the quality of their products – from HDMI and Ethernet cables, to media readers and other small computer-related peripherals.

Surprisingly, these headphones were only $60 – much less than you’ll find with other similar quality headphones. AND, you can answer phone calls with them too. This feature alone makes this product even more impressive at this price.

Here are the specs for the Rocketfish™ Mobile – RF-MAB2 High-Definition Stereo Bluetooth Headphones (borrowed from Best Buy’s web site):

What’s Included
•   Rocketfish™ Mobile Bluetooth High-Definition Stereo Headphones
•   USB charging cable
•   AC adapter
•   Owner’s manual

Product Features
•   Compatible with most Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, MP3 players and other audio devices – with a stereo A2DP Bluetooth profile for wide-ranging compatibility.
•   Comfortable behind-the-head design  – with foam ear pads for a comfortable fit.
•   4 high-definition audio settings  – deliver enhanced audio quality for customizable listening.
•   Up to 14 hours of use per charge – along with up to 340 hours of standby time for extended use.

What I like most so far:

1. The product feels comfortable. The molded ear thingies¹ fit well and don’t get lost since they’re not separate attachments. You wear them behind your head so they’re out of your way².

2. The sound quality is phenomenal. When I test sound quality, I generally use songs by The Beatles since I’m very familiar with every nuance of most songs. I tested the headphones first using the intro to ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ since it starts with crowd noise and then blends into the music. ‘A Day in the Life’ is another song I like to use for testing – lots of different sounds at different ranges and levels. These headphones picked up everything I expected to hear very clearly. Even better? You can choose between 4 HD settings. I tried them all and can see where I might switch from one to another based on what I’m listening to, but they all sound great. I’m sorry, but I’m not a sound expert so I can’t speak the lingo and give you anything more scientific other than ‘they sound great’.

3. The device holds a charge for days, not minutes. I don’t have enough field test time yet to be able to tell you specifically how much time a charge will run – just that I’ve been impressed so far.

4. The controls are easy to use. One set of rocker buttons handle play/pause and call answer, another set of rocker buttons handle fast forward or reverse (tap to skip, hold pressed to scan). Yet another set of rocker buttons handle volume up/down.

5. Easy setup. Sure, Bluetooth is supposed to be easy to set up. But with some products it can be a little frustrating. I paired this device with my iPhone and my MacBook Pro – total time less than 20 seconds.

What I don’t like so far:

Nothing. These are a great set, and actually less expensive than I’ve seen in inferior products.

¹Yeah, OK so I can’t remember what the actual term is for ‘ear holes’ and I’m too lazy to look it up.

²I laughed when I read the reviews for this product on Best Buy’s web site. A few customers were ticked off because the headphones ‘don’t fit over their head very well and barely touch their ears’, obviously not realizing that these are a behind-the-head design. Otherwise, the reviews are all very complimentary about the product.

A week with the iPad April 14, 2010

Posted by Kristin Lynch in : technology , 2 comments

Image representing iPad as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

I spent about a month deciding whether or not I’d be plopping down some cash to buy an Apple iPad, then another few days listening to nerdy discussions about which version to buy – the WiFi version now available, or wait until the 3G version makes its appearance in late April.

I opted to get the mid-range 32GB WiFi version. My reasoning?

1. My experience with my MacBook Pro has been that I’ve almost always been able to connect via WiFi wherever I am.

2. I already have an unlimited access iPhone that’s always with me so I’m never disconnected via 3G, and I really don’t need to shell out any additional service fees to AT&T anyway. This model saved me about $250 over the 3G model I had previously considered.

3. It’s probably just a matter of time before MiFi becomes more accessible and more reasonably priced.

4. The only time I’d likely suffer from a lack of WiFi coverage is on the road, and since I travel alone 99% of the time, I can’t really use the device while I’m driving. Well, I COULD but that would be really stupid.

So what do I think of it so far? I love it. Reading books is great, typing takes a little to get used to, but the learning curve is no different than that of an iPhone or BlackBerry. The screen is beautiful, movies and games are more enjoyable. Some of my favorite cool iPhone apps have already been rebuilt beautifully for the iPad – making use of the large screen and space. Battery life is very impressive, and the device turns on instantly – there’s no such thing as booting up.

I use a lot of book documentation for my work and now have about 16 of them in PDF version on my iPad. That alone is worth it to me. I don’t have to carry my laptop around when I just want to read my PDFs, and they’re very handily available docked next to my laptop while I code.

I have several PowerPoint presentations I need to access regularly for an ongoing training project. Additionally, I have several software manuals saved there in PDF format for reference purposes.

The entertainment tools – photos, music, movies, games – are splendid. You have to try them yourself to get the full effect. I can’t do it justice.

New applications are being released for the device every day and many are very impressive. Some favorites: GoodReader is a very nice document manager. The NetFlix application plays your streaming library. AirStudio accesses your home movie library over your WiFi network connection. Evernote – already a favorite Windows, Mac and iPhone application – is very impressive on the iPad. The iBook application is getting so much use when I go to bed that I’m losing sleep.

Elements is a gorgeous way to present the periodic table. This application alone gives us an idea about the future of books and how we’ll use information.

So far my friends’ reactions have ranged from ‘yeah hi where is it?’, ‘ooh slick….now I want one’ to ‘I still have no idea why I would need one but I kind of want one anyway’.

I was asked to talk with a class of Mercyhurst College students recently about my career. I brought my iPad to show the instructor – a longtime friend and fellow geek, who immediately took a photo of it and sent it to his wife. The class was understandably more interested in seeing the device than hearing me blather on about myself, and they had some great questions.

I’ve been asked about the inability to connect peripherals, and the likelihood of the iPad becoming a laptop replacement. My answer depends on who’s asking. If you mainly use your computer for web surfing, e-mail, watching videos, listening to music and viewing photos, then this could become a great portable device for you. For heavy computer users like me, no – but it can be a great device for managing those tasks without needing to access your desktop or laptop.

As much as I enjoy the iPad, I have to believe that the real ‘killer app’ for the device hasn’t even been released yet. An app is going to be released and consumers will say ‘wow, OK now I know why I need an iPad.’ I think we will see that day very soon.

Incidentally, I wrote this entire post on my iPad using the WordPress application.

technorati tags: Apple, IPad, iPad device apple usability, iPhone, iPhone 3G, Netflix

FreshBooks makes managing your own business easy! February 1, 2010

Posted by Kristin Lynch in : technology , 2 comments

I’ve been using FreshBooks for a few months now after switching from MacFreelance. I love it. It allow me to easily and quickly set up the client/time/invoicing/expense management portion of my freelance business so I can spend more time focusing on my clients and their needs.

Set up your free account to get started. Check out the very reasonable pricing chart. You won’t pay at all until you enter your fourth client into the system. At that point, you’ll be charged $19/month, with rates increasing at a fair rate dependent on client numbers. The most you’ll pay for the service is $149/month – and that’s with 5,000 customers!

Go here to set up an account now!

What can you do with FreshBooks?

Maintain your client information
Track your time
Allow team members to add their time and other details
Allow clients to view their own invoices
Create custom invoices with your own branding
Customize e-mails, late notices, etc.
View and print reports
Manage expenses, including one-time and recurring charges
Manage your time, view your invoices and add expenses using the iPhone app
Send your invoices via e-mail or snail mail (snail mail includes a statement, payment stub, and window return envelope)

Those are just a few of the features of FreshBooks. Go here to set up an account now and get more details.

I’m still discovering very handy features!

I also like how FreshBooks maintains its customer relationships. As soon as I signed up, I received an e-mail from a customer representative thanking me for signing up and providing me with their full contact details in case I have questions or need help. I also received a sample invoice in the mail showing me how my invoices will look if I choose to send them that way – including a payment stub and return envelope. If you decide to go that route, you just pay for an allotment of ‘stamps’ and they handle the rest. FreshBooks also provides a toll free number, online support form, a blog and customer forums – all designed to help you find the information you need quickly and easily.

Their system even provides a report card so you can see how you’re doing. You’ll need to be on the system for a full fiscal quarter before you can view any data, however.

I’m very impressed with the system. It allows me to easily and professionally maintain the financial data of my new business, providing me with more time to manage my customer relationships and the work I do for them. I even ENJOY using my business management system. When have you ever heard such a thing? Go here to set up an account now!