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Check out Boston Food & Whine, a relatively new blog about the Boston dining scene. There are a number of reviews. The reviews are all scheduled according to the author’s date nights or GNOs (Girls Nights Out). The tone of the reviews is decidedly “non-foodie” – always a good thing.
I think we’ve all come to automatically dismiss claims made on infomercials. No those pancake puffs probably don’t taste as good as look, or will the Navy Seal pushup gadget get you ripped. However, I can attest that one infomercialized product—the Bose Noise Cancelling headphones indeed lives up to their claims.
I bought a pair of the QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones to help me through a number of cross-country trips I have planned. I’ve never been able to get comfortable on an airplane, and can never seem to relax. The constant engine and passenger noise gets to me after awhile and tends to accentuate my fidgetiness. I couple of frequent travelers I know swear by the noise cancelling headphones, so I decided to give it a try.
The Bose headphones are not cheap. The latest generate go for well over $300.00. While there are cheaper knock-offs available, I was warned that Bose sells the only “real deal” when it comes to noise cancelling technology. The headphones come with a nifty case and a handful of jacks and cords. The QuietComfort 3 comes with a rechargeable battery (previous models required battery replacement) which, according to the sales guy, lasts up to eight hours. My headphones made it through a six-hour flight without problem.
So in practice…they really work. They cancelled out the majority of underlying airplane engine noise. While they don’t filter out all sounds, even the loud noises are subdued and muffled. Sound quality from my iPod was great, although I did think it could be better; noise cancellation is the real value of this product – not the audio quality. I’ve also used them on the MBTA and noticed that even filter out a good portion of the subway noise. Too bad Bose doesn’t make a smell canceller.
Another more subtle element of these headphones is that they send out a strong signal that you do not want to be disturbed. This is nice if you’re not a fan of airline chit-chat. While they didn’t completely filter out the grad student behind me from describing his thesis in painful detail, I can safely say that the headphones muted him enough so that it didn’t bug me.
I highly recommend picking up a pair if you’re a frequent traveler who, like me, has difficulty relaxing on long flights. The price is on the high side but if you think about in terms of increased airline productivity, it could be a good investment. Believe the infomercial hype. Now about the Kinoki Detox foot pads…
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CNN’s election coverage is boasting some cool new technologies—specifically the new “Magic Wall”, an interactive Touch-screen provided on Jeff Han’s Perceptive Pixel multi-touch technology. According to this article from Broadcast Engineering, Perceptive Pixel developers created customized software for use during the election coverage.
CNN reporters have been using the Magic Wall to toggle between screen views and zoom-in on data sets. During the Iowa coverage, they also had a slick “delegate-sorting” interface. Last night, one reporter used the multi-touch resizing to show some campaign picture. Overall…very cool stuff and, like any design geek, I can’t wait to get my hands on one those (although I hear they go for a cool $100,000.00).
As they cool as the screens are, watching a reporter interact with them feels broken – there’s an unevenness watching them work with the device that doesn’t translate well to TV coverage. The screens also create some challenging body positioning issues. Reporters have to face away from the camera to interact with screens, creating some choppy communications. This is similar to some of the problems people have when presenting projected PowerPoint presentations.
All in all, it’s great to see nifty new technologies like multi-touch interfaces being put to practical use, but there are some clear kinks that need to be worked out…
Treonauts.com is showing some first images of the Treo 800 were seen at CES—reportedly as part of Bill Gates’ keynote address. While the image is grainy and stretched, it looks much slimmer than by 750. The touchscreen and keyboard look about the same size.
The form factor looks more like the Centro than some of the other new Treo product designs that have been showing up around the web. I liked the design of the Centro as a great entry-level smartphone.
The 800 is rumored to have a number of major advancements, including WiFi.
