Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
So the Macsense BlueICE BTi-660 Bluetooth Earset is not all bad after all
I am using the Macsense BlueICE BTi-660 Bluetooth Earset with my office laptop now. And it's actually not too bad. Now I can listen to podcast or technical webcast playing from now computer without physically connect my headphone to my computer. I still saw the video out of sync problem when I watch webcast, but I guest that's the price I have to pay for using Bluetooth in general.
Another intersting use case: I can switch between using my bluetooth headphone with my PC and with my iPod Touch. To switch from listening to my PC to my iPod Touch, all I need is turn on my iPod Touch and use the headset profile. But switching back the listening podcast playing on my PC is a bit more tricky. I have to disable Bluetooth on iPod Touch, and then on the PC I have to reconnect to the headset. But at least during the whole process, I don;'t have to touch the headset at all.
Another intersting use case: I can switch between using my bluetooth headphone with my PC and with my iPod Touch. To switch from listening to my PC to my iPod Touch, all I need is turn on my iPod Touch and use the headset profile. But switching back the listening podcast playing on my PC is a bit more tricky. I have to disable Bluetooth on iPod Touch, and then on the PC I have to reconnect to the headset. But at least during the whole process, I don;'t have to touch the headset at all.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Old frat talk
It's interesting that in life, what you want isn't always the same as what you need, and also not the same as what you like. The older you get , the more you will tend to choose what you need instead of what you like. I am making old frat talk again.
SmallTalk ... Errr .. Nah
At first I was thinking of getting SmallTalk, which gives me a mic while allowing me to use my own headphone with my iPod Touch. Amazon has it for $15, while Buy.com has it for $16 about all the shipping and such. But then there are reviews talking about how flumsy that cord is, and said the connects are not very well made. It's something that has 50% of possibility returning back to the manufacturer. Plus, for $29 I got the mic and remote and the headphone. Paying $16 just for the mic seems a little bit much. And historical, carry multiple piece (both mic and headphone) prompt to be troublesome.
And most of all .... do I HAVE to have a mic? Hmmm... think ....
And most of all .... do I HAVE to have a mic? Hmmm... think ....
Saw DR-BT100CX and DR-BT101 Bluetooth headphones ...
I saw DR-BT100CX and DR-BT101 Bluetooth headphones at Fry's Electronic today. They are both at the same US$79.99 price tag. I saw a lot of announcement but couldn't find much review except the comment as Engadget and Amazon site. Also, the Amazon price is so much cheaper.
It turns out that there's some other cheaper solution out there on the market, including Samsung SBH-500, and Sony DRBT22. But eventually I think I should wait until there's a way to control track forward/backward before I thought about getting a bluetooth headset.
It turns out that there's some other cheaper solution out there on the market, including Samsung SBH-500, and Sony DRBT22. But eventually I think I should wait until there's a way to control track forward/backward before I thought about getting a bluetooth headset.
Macsense BlueICE BTi-660 Bluetooth Earset: Bitter Sweet experience
So I went to Fry's Electronic store today, and picked up a little gadget called "Macsense BlueICE BTi-660 Bluetooth Earset". On the surface,this little gadget should be doing exactly I am looking for: turn a regular headphone into a bluetooth stereo headset. And now that iPod Touch gen2 with iPhone OS3 supports Bluetooth headset, I thought it's about time to get rid of the wire.
I brought this US$29.99 device home, and found that most other places online, like here and here and here and here all selling the device at a more expansive price. So I was like, sweet, maybe I got a good deal.
Charging the device was pretty smooth, and so I start plug in the headphone and try out the device. My first impression was pretty good. But later I find that the pair goes kind of on and off once it got out of sync. In fact, it got so screw up that eventually I need to reboot the iPod Touch, as the Bluetooth was not able to turn on. After a reboot, everything seems to go back to normal.
At first I thought WiFi may alter the Bluetooth, but turns out there's no relationship at all. Wifi and Bluetooth can run at the same time, as I read my email while listening music through Bluetooth headset.
However, the following things still bugging me and makes me seriously think about returning it.
- The audio quality is really sub par. I can tolerant it for listening podcast, but listening to music using the headset is like listening to FM radio.
- iPod Touch couldn't use the microphone that comes with the headset. It's a pretty well known issue as it turns out. Maybe I really need to buy a headphone with the mic, meaning paying the USS$29 Apple tax? (People seem to be pretty upset by that) (more of the bitching)
- Watching video using Bluetooth headset has audio out-of-sync problem. Interestingly, sometimes the problem is more serious than the other times. But there's NEVER a time that the audio are in-sync. The only way to avoid the out of sync problem is using a wired headphone.
- You HAVE to use the headset to control volume, yet you also HAVE to use the device (iPod Touch) to change track and so on. That kind of defeat the purpose of having a wireless bluetooth headset. (Some technical issue about this shit)
- I also tried the headset with my Nokia 5300, and the experience was even more terrible. I could stop the track, but I couldn't start the track again. Sometime the navigation may trigger dialing a phone number. It also dropped off with no good reason. Audio quality was terrible. Forward and Backward track works but it was so sluggish. It made me decided never use a Bluetooth headset with the Nokia 5300 ever again. On the other hand, on my iPod Touch, at least the pause and start feature works.
So all in all, this is just a little cheesy toy. It's nice to see that the Bluetooth feature in iPod Touch really works, but it's time to get rid of this piece of joke.
Wii Channel "Everybody Vote" does not support USB keyboard
Wii Channel "Everybody Vote" does not support USB keyboard! Tried, and disappointed. Plus, I found that not being able to use Cut and Paste on Wii Internet Channel makes my web surfing experience slightly inferior than what I expected. Time to get back to my Windows 7.
Using USB keyboard with Wii
Some of you may have been knowing this since long time ago, but to me this is something new: you can baiscally hook up any USB keyboard to you Wii's USB port, and it will work with Wii applications like Internet Channel (the web browser), and Everybody vote. In fact I am using the Internet Channel to create this blog message right this moment.
I am using a wired USB keyboard, but based on what I read from the Net, almost all wireless USB keyboard will work. This actually makes much more sense for those of you who have your Wii set up in the living room.
To me, this feature is more of a gimick than a necessity, because my Wii is right next to my computer, and using a Windows 7 desktop running Firefox 3.0 or Chrome 2.0 is so much better a browsing experience than using my Wii. In fact, I jsut found out that in order to create a blog in Blogger, I have to use the HTML editor instead of the WYSIWYG editor because Wii Opera browser doesn't support those fancy Javascript. However, it's nice that it is doable.
BTW, I need to get some friends on Wii to justify starting to play more online games on Wii. Any friend code?
I am using a wired USB keyboard, but based on what I read from the Net, almost all wireless USB keyboard will work. This actually makes much more sense for those of you who have your Wii set up in the living room.
To me, this feature is more of a gimick than a necessity, because my Wii is right next to my computer, and using a Windows 7 desktop running Firefox 3.0 or Chrome 2.0 is so much better a browsing experience than using my Wii. In fact, I jsut found out that in order to create a blog in Blogger, I have to use the HTML editor instead of the WYSIWYG editor because Wii Opera browser doesn't support those fancy Javascript. However, it's nice that it is doable.
BTW, I need to get some friends on Wii to justify starting to play more online games on Wii. Any friend code?
Flu and Coke
Today is sort of my recovery day from flu. Do you know what I did right away? Drink a can of Coke instead of drinking water.
......
So yeah if my flu comes back then I definitely deserve it.
......
So yeah if my flu comes back then I definitely deserve it.
Campbells Chunky canned soap sold cheaper at Target
I didn't realize this until today: Campbells Chunky canned soap sold cheaper at Target. They are selling it at US$1.99 instead of US$2.39 or more like in HEB or Kroger.
Yeah this is such a See-Nine information but info is info.
Yeah this is such a See-Nine information but info is info.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Future Of Food
Someday I need to go back to Hulu.com to watching the movie "The Future Of Food". It seems like a movie to give people reason to avoid bio-genetic food.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Sick + Sleep = Crazy Dream
It's that same old routine again: I didn't drink enough water. My throat was dry. I stayed up late to doing something stupid like playing Nintendo Wii. And you know what happens next? Sore Throat.
So it's Sunday morning and I am staying at home. But that's not all. I also woke up from an odd dream, which happens all the time as you may recognize by reading my blog. But this dream, or should I say a sequence of dreams, has something unique about it.
- Commercial in dream!
I forgot what commercial is was, but in my dream there was a commercial played once. It's probably something I watched either from the Net (Hulu.com) or from TV (which is rare since I don't watch network TV, so it's probably something I caught a gimps from someplace while waiting in line). Now that I think about it, it really feels odd. In fact it almost feel like I got violated. Maybe someday there will be product placement in my dream.
- Skipping examination without even knowing it?
So in a segment of my dream I was supposed to take a Biology examination. I went to the test center before the test, feeling very unprepared (did I mentioned that I sucked at Biology and always was and always will), and then some dude crowded to my seat at the end of a long bench. I suggested him to put his backpack on the floor. He did and .... the next thing I knew I was waking at some empty classroom. And then I thought, wait, did I just SKIP MY BIOLOGY EXAM?
It's like crossing between brainwashing, teleporting and amnesia. So I started running around and sure enough I missed that test. And in fact, the grades seem already posted already! In my mind I was kind of blaming like: how come no one tells me that I skipped examination? And worst of all, it seemed like I skipped more than one test. So probably from my defense mechanism, I was like, "screw that, this degree sucks and I don't need it as I have a job anyway." And I don't even know if it's a bachelor degree and a master degree.
- My friend Kamsiuman is in the dream
While I was hunting down what the heck was happening to my missing of exam, I came across my friend Kamsiuman. He seemed to be checking the grade and such. Nothing much.
- Hanging out at comic book store
So next I was showing up in a comic book store with some unknown friends. We just chat about video games and music and such. However, it seemed like I was actually WORKING there. Very odd.
- Walking in a tiny .. Circuit City?
Suddenly I showed up in a scene in which I was in a dark small store, almost like one of those you found at the dark corner of Chinatown. I found nothing intersting, walked out, and saw the store name "Circuit City". Say what?
- Making comment on songs
So finally I was back into the store with comic strore friends. I made some comments about the drumming in a song playing a mixtape. I forgot the detail of the conversation though.
And that's it. Mess up dream from a sick (physically ... maybe psychologically too) person.
So it's Sunday morning and I am staying at home. But that's not all. I also woke up from an odd dream, which happens all the time as you may recognize by reading my blog. But this dream, or should I say a sequence of dreams, has something unique about it.
- Commercial in dream!
I forgot what commercial is was, but in my dream there was a commercial played once. It's probably something I watched either from the Net (Hulu.com) or from TV (which is rare since I don't watch network TV, so it's probably something I caught a gimps from someplace while waiting in line). Now that I think about it, it really feels odd. In fact it almost feel like I got violated. Maybe someday there will be product placement in my dream.
- Skipping examination without even knowing it?
So in a segment of my dream I was supposed to take a Biology examination. I went to the test center before the test, feeling very unprepared (did I mentioned that I sucked at Biology and always was and always will), and then some dude crowded to my seat at the end of a long bench. I suggested him to put his backpack on the floor. He did and .... the next thing I knew I was waking at some empty classroom. And then I thought, wait, did I just SKIP MY BIOLOGY EXAM?
It's like crossing between brainwashing, teleporting and amnesia. So I started running around and sure enough I missed that test. And in fact, the grades seem already posted already! In my mind I was kind of blaming like: how come no one tells me that I skipped examination? And worst of all, it seemed like I skipped more than one test. So probably from my defense mechanism, I was like, "screw that, this degree sucks and I don't need it as I have a job anyway." And I don't even know if it's a bachelor degree and a master degree.
- My friend Kamsiuman is in the dream
While I was hunting down what the heck was happening to my missing of exam, I came across my friend Kamsiuman. He seemed to be checking the grade and such. Nothing much.
- Hanging out at comic book store
So next I was showing up in a comic book store with some unknown friends. We just chat about video games and music and such. However, it seemed like I was actually WORKING there. Very odd.
- Walking in a tiny .. Circuit City?
Suddenly I showed up in a scene in which I was in a dark small store, almost like one of those you found at the dark corner of Chinatown. I found nothing intersting, walked out, and saw the store name "Circuit City". Say what?
- Making comment on songs
So finally I was back into the store with comic strore friends. I made some comments about the drumming in a song playing a mixtape. I forgot the detail of the conversation though.
And that's it. Mess up dream from a sick (physically ... maybe psychologically too) person.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Inking I did
Actually I did another version of this inking, but think that most people will like this version better.
