SRS iWow vs Hear Mini-Review on Macbook Air

First a little story.

I got the SRS iWow 1.1 plugin for iTunes a loooong time ago in one of those Macupdate Promo bundles where you get $400 'worth' of software for like $80 or something.

Lots of times there are one or two good pieces in there at a nice discount and a lot of shovelware.

Well, I was reading a bit about it a few days ago, and decided to install it. The 1.1 era software doesn't work on 2012 iTunes versions. And SRS iWow is up to version 3something.

I emailed the company, and got a key THAT DAY for the new version. Not a 'Sorry, to old' or 'Upgrade for less money'. Just an emailed new key.

How's that for service?

Anyway, here's the gist of it: it will make your Macbook / Mac sound WAY better than it did before.

The Macbook 11" Air (Late 2010) has good speakers for it's size. This makes it better.

I'm not going to talk about it too much, but trust me. You can try it for free here so why listen to me drone on about it?

The only thing I'd like to see is a plugin for ALL Mac audio like the Hear package. However, iWow is much simpler and less daunting. If you like to tweak, Hear may be for you. Hear offers more control, and you probably will have to play with it a little to get it to sound like you like. For me, out of the box it required tweaking on my Mac Pro with Yamaha 2+sub setup to get rid of a strange audio effect.

If you are looking to improve your game audio, hear is probably the better solution. If you just want iTunes to sound better and you don't want to configure much, the iWow may be the way to go.

Hear is $20, iWow is $25.

Clover Free $5 Invites Available

Click this link

https://www.clover.com/a?inv&t=zt57o1j70l7r

Or scan this with your Android phone. As of this writing, I have 16. I will update when they are gone.

 

 This is a mew payment system that makes it easy to pay in person with your phone. You just scan someone's QR code with the app and the money is transferred. All you need is an Android or iPhone. For the basic account, you don't even need to link a credit card or bank account.


Plus, you get $5 for signing up. If you link a debit or credit card, you can get the $5 quicker and get more referrals for inviting others.

Placeholder for Sending me Money

This is a perm-link post for if you are, say, ordering something from me and you just want to tell me what it is so you don't have to message me, I don't have to make a payment request, etc.

It's a Donate button so I don't get charged fees. If you're here, you probably know me anyway.


Examples: friends and fellow pilots ordering protein bars, individual shake packets, etc.

Easiest way I can think of at the moment.

Perfect for Shakeology and Fitness Drink Powders

I have two of these, one with PB2 and one with Shakeology. The compartment is almost filled with a serving of the chocolate Shakeology. Holds 4 servings.

After that I just shake out a couple of tablespoons of PB2.

This and a shaker cup (free if you do certain types of Shakeology orders, ask me how) are what I use on the road for a snack or breakfast.

Microwave Potato Chip Maker

Still want 'junk food' but want to eat healthy? Check this out.

(WOW! This is ranked #1 on Amazon in Kitchen and Housewares as of this posting!)

It's the "Mastrad A64601 Top Chips Maker and Slicer Set".


Couple of notes: you can marinate in salt, garlic, or whatever your imagination conjures before cooking them. Vinegar, salt and dill anyone?

Also, I did not pat them dry, I just took them out of the marinade and slapped them on the cooking plate. 3 minutes in my over the stove microwave works fine. The center ones tend to cook first. My oven rotates, so that may be a factor. Just don't put any in the very center. You can also buy extra trays to make a bunch at once but I've just got the single.

Tip on removing the chips after cooking: push under them and the rubber will flex, and the chip edges will become unstuck.

Sweet potato chips and salsa is a great way to get your veggies!

 

I'd recommend the extra trays if you want to make a fair amount of them. A single tray for cooking is a bit laborious. 

If you figure $2 for a bag of chips, this repays itself fairly quickly. Plus, it's a ton healthier. We tried carrots, sweet potato, white potato, and red potato so far. The carrots worked so-so.

How to Tell What's on Your iPod vs. What's in iTunes

To sync just what I want on my iPod, I have two playlists. I sync the Playlist I want vs. just individual songs or random music.

One's called 'Music for iPod Classic Sync' and the other is a Smart Playlist called 'Songs not on iPod Video'.

To make this, you might have to create a new Smartlist. In Itunes go to the menu and select File, New Smart Playlist.

Make it look like this:

Then of course I just sync the 'Music for iPod Classic Sync' to my Playlist.

"Since 2010 a group of self-confessed pirates have tried to get their beliefs recognized as an official religion in Sweden. After their request was denied several times, the Church of Kopimism – which holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V as sacred symbols – is now approved by the authorities as an official religion. The Church hopes that its official status will remove the legal stigma that surrounds file-sharing."

Ah, taking it a bit far the other way. Though I do think the entertainment industry is way over-litigatingthan innovating, but what else is new.

Rooting the Amazon Fire: adb under OS X Doesn't Recognize

ADB won't recognize an attached Kindle Fire over USB unless you add the Fire's device ID to adb_usb.ini

Step 1:
From the Finder in OS X, select Go, then Go to Folder, then paste this in:

~/.android

You can see the file there.

Step 2:
Now open a terminal and type these commands in order:

cd /Users/yourusername/.android/

echo "0x1949" >> adb_usb.ini

Now you can go back to the folder in the Finder and verify the entry has been made by opening adb_usb.ini

Now adb will see the Fire. You may have to eject the Fire disk that's mounted, and reconnect it, or kill and restart the adb server etc. That procedure is all over the web, but getting adb to recognize the Fire on the Mac was driving me nuts.

Drop a buck in my Paypal account or buy something on Amazon and support my feeble hacking attempts.

 Also, some say cable and port matter, so my Fire is attached with a nook USB cable (ironically) to a powered hub attached to a 2006 1,1 Mac Pro.

New from Beachbody

Macbook Air: Your next netbook

Yes, it's finally happened. That expensive piece of shiny has gotten 'cheap', and fast enough.

I am selling my Galaxy Tab 8.9 and my Mini 311 and going to a Macbook Air.

I have the base model late 2010 refurb with 2 gigs of RAM and 64 gig SSD.

Right now it's $699 from Apple with $100 off a printer. You can also get 5% extra cashback through Shop Discover and your normal about 1% cash back. In this sense, you get paid to take the printer if you pick the $99 model. :) I picked the $129 model which ends up being about $33 with tax. Or you can sell it and get $40 or $50 more than you paid I'd guess.

Much has been written but this is the short story: unless you need a lot of CPU on the road, this feels faster than my Mac Pro (non-SSD of course) for basic tasks. If you need more storage buy a cheap 2.5" drive and put it in a USB powered case. Or you might just need a little, in which case you might get some form of external flash storage: thumb drive, CF card in a case, etc. 32 gigs extra is pretty cheap.
 
You could move apps and data to the thumb drive that you probably aren't going to use in a portable like iPhoto, iTunes library, iDVD, etc. Those are for your desktop anyway right?

Down with tablets and netbooks, up with Air. Or something like that.

Cool Coca Cola In Store Display

Its the Coke polar bear. This took a bit, Kroger. Gratz.

Golf and Flying Go Together

A good landing is like a good golf shot; it's the one that keeps you coming back. Today, it was early, smooth, and a day that makes it 'easy'.

If hustling 15 or 20 tons of metal, fuel, and people onto a concrete slab at something around 140 miles an hour is really ever 'easy'.

All the pain, cursing, expenses, and other mess just goes out the window at that moment.

Non-golfers and non-pilots will not understand this perhaps. Fair enough.

Today it was so good the captain turned and said: "Man, that landing really sucked."

This means: we both know the captain is kidding.

A light bump on one wheel, a light bump on the other, and the nose lowered as gently as the designers at Embraer allowed. Which isn't terribly light, unless you carried some extra speed because sorry, the elevator just won't hold you up any more no matter how hard you pull.

That's why the other guy stays out of the way of the yoke.

See you out there tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

HP Touchpad Keyboard Usability Report: Android, Mac OS X, PS3, and more?

I'm sure we will see more of these in one channel or another so you are wondering whether it will work with your device.

OS X: Pairs fine and runs a little wizard which asks you to press a few keys.

Works: The right 7 special function keys across the top. Starting with the media keys. Brightness keys would probably work on a laptop Mac but I tested on a Mac Pro desktop. Lower left key with the squares on it functions as the Mac Command key. Power button asks if you want to sleep.

Doesn't work: First 3 special function keys. You could probably remap these if you desired.

Android 3.1: Paired fine with my Galaxy Tab 8.9. Most keys worked. Upper left works like the Back on screen control on Android. Search button opens search, held opens voice search.

Doesn't work: brightness keys, power, keyboard dedicated button, dedicated 'Squares' command button.

Again, probably some remappable stuff here.

I have a PS3 I can test with and report back.

Great construction quality. Like Apple's version, but black, and with different keys of course.

Looks like it's cheap on Amazon:

Galaxy Tab 8.9 Editorial

If there is an iPad 'killer' it is the Galaxy Tab 8.9 I am typing this on. If you don't spend some time with this machine and you are buying soon, you're wrong. Of course, the 4 core stuff is coming but buying later is an age old conundrum that will not be solved. 8.9 is a GREAT form factor. Notice that Apple was only concerned enough to sue the makers of this and the Galaxy Tab 10.1? This is why: it was too good and too close. If it had MicroSD and maybe HDMI it would be perfect.

Oh, and USB recharge. EDIT: It looks like it charges at least when it is 100% powered off, and I believe when the screen is off, so there's that. At least when completely off, the battery indicator shows charging.

I was lucky enough to get it for $444 with a Best Buy 10% off open box and a $5 Reward.
Protip: if you return a tablet to Best Buy, zero out your email and settings. Its just a few clicks on a tablet and a reboot.