Topic: tech / gadgets / etc.

[beo]

ok - what nice gadgets, toys, etc do you have? anything you're especially proud of? we talk about games enough, but i know for most of us our obsession with technology doesn't stop there...

[Cobra951]

It's been maybe 10 years since I've played with it.  I built an Associated RC-10 radio-controlled car 15-20 years ago.  I still have it.  It can be geared to go about 30 real mph (300 scale mph).  Worked a lot on the suspension so I could launch it over retaining walls and such, and always plant itself on all fours again.  I usually geared it much lower, so the battery would last 20 minutes instead of 5.  Fun times.

[idolminds]

Heh, interesting story. Way back when, I was getting real interested in RC cars. Had a few magazines, went to some hobby shops and watched some races. I had everything picked out to build my own. Was going to get an RC-10T3, the truck model, all I had to do was save up the money. By the time I had the money, it was turning cold and I wouldn't get to really use it anyway. So I bought a Playstation instead. And so my life went down the course of videogames instead of RC racing.

As for my own gadgets...uh...good question. Most of my gadget buying is game related. I guess my digital camera? Which I'm actually looking for a new one now.

[sirean_syan]

I'd love to have a new MP3/music player, but none are made that I like anymore, at least that I know about. What I'd like is a new portable hard drive player because I like to just throw everything on there and not think about sorting through what I actually like and don't like, but it seems like Apple is now the only company that makes these things. I want absolutely nothing to do with iTunes, custom firmware on an iPod, or having to sync up with any special program for that matter. If anyone knows of a player that has 30gb+ of storage and works like a hard drive when you plug it into a computer, let me know and I will recommend your name to the Noble Prize committee.

[scottws]

I don't really have any techy stuff I'm really into.  I mean I have two self-built PCs, but they are 3 and 7 years old, respectively.  I have an iPod Nano that I like and use frequently, but I don't love it and it's a 2nd generation model so its not new either.  I have a Dell Latitude D600 laptop (older model with a P4) that I put Kubuntu 8.04 on, but it's really starting to show its age and there is some weird problem where Kubuntu will track the mouse, but mouseovers don't work and clicking on things won't work.  I have to furiously click the left and right mouse buttons before it starts working again.

I don't have any new and exciting stuff, really.  As far as stuff I would be interested in, I'd be interested in a really nice home theater setup or a MAME cabinet.  I'd also like a beastly server that I could put VMware ESXi on and set up a mini domain and a bunch of virtual machines to mess around with, but all of those things are prohibitively expensive for me so I don't bother thinking about them lest I disappoint myself.

[idolminds]

Oh yeah, I'd LOVE to build a MAME cabinet. I just...need room for it.

[iPPi]

All of my tech is so old and obsolete, but at the time I was quite into the tech trends and had a lot of stuff.  I've got a PSP, HP iPaq 1940 Pocket PC (one of the first with Bluetooth support if I'm not mistaken), a Creative Zen Micro mp3 player (still use it when working out), and a SE k790a cell phone.

Everything is out of date and old, but they still work.  I still use all of that stuff except for my pocket PC now. 

I'm hoping to get rid of my k790a cell phone and replace it with the new SE Xperia X10.  It looks pretty cool.

[Ghandi]

Do sharks with frickin laser beams attached to their heads count?

[sirean_syan]

They count double.

[Ghandi]

Not that I have any, I'm just pointing out that WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY, PEOPLE! MAKE IT HAPPEN!

[wizall]

Aside from the usual stuff (mp3 player, game related things, etc), I have a Kindle. It was a gift from my parents for Christmas. It's the international version, which is cool. I was a little skeptical at first, but since I'm in the process of getting everything but the bare necessities--for travel purposes--it's really nice. The act of reading on it took a little getting used to, but I'm sold on it now.

Next techy purchase is most likely an external HD.

[gpw11]

I'd love to have a new MP3/music player, but none are made that I like anymore, at least that I know about. What I'd like is a new portable hard drive player because I like to just throw everything on there and not think about sorting through what I actually like and don't like, but it seems like Apple is now the only company that makes these things. I want absolutely nothing to do with iTunes, custom firmware on an iPod, or having to sync up with any special program for that matter. If anyone knows of a player that has 30gb+ of storage and works like a hard drive when you plug it into a computer, let me know and I will recommend your name to the Noble Prize committee.

I know what you're saying and it's bullshit.  I ended up caving a few years ago and bought an iPod Classic. At the time I thought it was just a fad towards smaller, flash based solutions, but apparently the market shifted and people don't want storage anymore.  Having bought a Nano as well since then (once you get used to iTunes the barriers are down yo), I can kind of see why.  My classic is now always hooked up to my stereo through my glove box, acting as a portable music hard drive in my car.  Still, I don't know why the makers are going this way.

Look into buying a used Zen Vision: M.  It's a bit thicker than an iPod but the hardware is better in my opinion and the software is as well.  Fully drag and drop to boot.  I don't believe they make them anymore, but I liked mine a lot until I decided to leave it on top of my car and drive around for a while. Also, Zune HD is aparently fucking awesome. I don't know if it's drag and drop capable.  Might be something to check out.

As for technology, don't have much.  I'm broke and trying to pay off debt.....slowly.  As the other thread has stated, smart phones are pretty much my new thing...well, for now. Just waiting for an Android phone with a good physical qwerty to come out so I can get rid of my not-all-that responsive Omnia.  After that I probably won't check phone sites for another two to three years.

Oh, and I need a TV.

[Pugnate]

My sister got an iPod touch recently, hacked it, and has managed to forgo many of the frustrations that come with an Apple product.

The only issue is that she can't let the device drain all of its battery or she will have to jailbreak it again, but it isn't a huge inconvenience.

Regarding tech., while I am a tech news junkie, I don't have anything special aside from the standard stuff you can buy from a store.

Some of it is definitely stuff not everyone would buy, unless they were into tech., but I don't have anything unique, that you'd find on James Bond or something.

edit:

Had no idea that Sharper Image went down for good. That sucks. While I never bought anything from there, it was always nice to know something like that existed.

[sirean_syan]

I had considered a Zune at one time, but they only went up to 32gb at the time (the same as my current player). Apparently, a 64gb version is coming out this summer and I'm interested. Still, I don't need/really want a giant touch screen or a bunch of fancy features. I just want to play music and easily flip between songs, so give me a monochrome screen and good battery life. Fuck album art.

Edit: I also missed that there's an 80gig version with tactile buttons for $200. Now that's tempting.

[Xessive]

If I ever considered buying a portable music player (doubtful since my phone just does that) I'd probably go for something from SanDisk's Sansa series. Mainly because they operate like portable drives; no DRM hassle, no syncing problems (like iPods), just copy whatever I want to listen to onto the device (or in some cases the MicroSD card) and it reads it.

I just prefer that way of doing things. It's raw and leaves little room for error.

[sirean_syan]

Hmmm. If this actually works, an iPod might be more tempting.

[Xessive]

Hmmm. If this actually works, an iPod might be more tempting.

Interesting. Not sure about the details since I don't have an iPod but I'm pretty sure you could just use Winamp too.

[ren]

I'm ok with hard drive mp3 players dying since flash storage is getting bigger. We're on the verge of 64 gigs which is an ok amount. 128 would be better. I'd rather have an mp3 player with enough storage to take all of my music or one that's really small. It's much easier to pick 8 gigs of music to put on an mp3 player than it is to pick the 8 gigs you want to remove from your collection.

[beo]

i know the cowan s9 is supposed to have some of the best sound available for a portable device. it only goes up to 32gb, and might have more features than you want. it really is a beauty though, with wide codec support and massive amoled screen.

personally i just use my phone for such things now. bought an 8gb microsd, and that's enough for me - especially since i can get shoutcast radio and last.fm on the thing. if sound quality is something you're bothered about and do end up using a phone, or for that matter, an ipod, i'd recommend getting a headphone amp. i recently picked up a FiiO E5, and the difference with a decent set of plugs is night and day. music sounds brighter, warmer, clearer, wider - the entire soundstage is improved dramatically.

[Cobra951]

The iPod really has become the standard.  Sandy's car made that more obvious than ever.  You just plug in your iPod, and then you use the mouse/joystick thing on the console and the monitor on the dash to choose what to play from it.  Given the purposely fucked-up filenames and folders on the iPod, you know Toyota and Apple went into bed together on this.  The official front end may be a pain, but the back end couldn't be easier.

As with anything that takes over a market, I think the best thing to do is to go along with it, but then figure out ways to have it best suit your needs.  There is an abundance of software out there to help with that.

(Just my 2 cents.)

[gpw11]

The iPod really has become the standard.  Sandy's car made that more obvious than ever.  You just plug in your iPod, and then you use the mouse/joystick thing on the console and the monitor on the dash to choose what to play from it.  Given the purposely fucked-up filenames and folders on the iPod, you know Toyota and Apple went into bed together on this.  The official front end may be a pain, but the back end couldn't be easier.

As with anything that takes over a market, I think the best thing to do is to go along with it, but then figure out ways to have it best suit your needs.  There is an abundance of software out there to help with that.

(Just my 2 cents.)

Yeah, that was also a large part of what made me finally cave and start buying iPods instead of other (drag and drop) MP3 players.  My car deck has an auxiliary port from the back I run through to the glove box, but it also has a USB running through from the back to the glove box.  I could hook any player (or just a flash drive) through either the aux or the usb, but then I'm dealing with a weird interface.  It's "optimized" for iPods though, so if I have it hooked up to an iPod, not only does it charge, but I can fully navigate the file system, playlists, whatever.  I can search, find all songs by whatever artist is playing, blah blah blah.  It really is a lot better than mp3 cds used to be or just jacking a player in. 

The one limitation I've found is the lack of accelerated wheel scrolling....so if I want to scroll through my 60+GB of music it takes fucking forever.

But yeah, I totally agree with what you're saying about going with the market leader....which is why I may get an iphone as my next phone.  Assuming, of course, I can jailbreak that fucker.

[Xessive]

Pretty amazing how far camera AI is coming along: Zdenek Kalal's Predator

[Cools!]

I love my audio recorder: the Sound Devices 722. It's a great piece of equipment and the sound quality is amazing. I feel like such a pro anytime I use it.

Another favorite "gadget" would be my Nikon 200mm f/2.0 lens:



You just can't make a bad photo with it.

[Ghandi]

I would be scared to hold that lens. My father has a nice Nikon (D90, I think) and some nice lenses. And I don't like to touch it because I didn't pay for it and don't want to damage it. But those lenses are in the $1200 and less range. That lens looks awesome. I'm jealous.

[Xessive]

I'm not big on Steampunk but this looks awesome!

[Xessive]

I checked out the Sony Tablet S!



It's by far the smoothest Android tablet experience I've had. Not sure if it's the software or the hardware to thank for it. This is first time I've used Android on a tablet and it felt on par with an iPad: no stutters, smooth transitions, extremely responsive haptics.

Physically it's got an unorthodox "wedge-shaped" design, so it's not quite as slim as other tablets yet it looks sleek and stylish. The one downside is the plastic finish feels a little cheap, which a stark contrast with its appearance and its performance.

Comparing it with my current favourite, the Asus EEE Transformer, it's basically its polar opposite. The EEE Transformer has a very solid build that feels like you're holding a high-grade device but the performance on it is less-than-smooth; not to knock on the Transformer for it but its performance is just like all other Android tablets I've used.

On the bright side Sony has dropped the Tablet S' launch price range by $100, so the 16GB will be $400 and the 32GB going for $500 on release. It's a range that's competitive with the Tablet S' peers.

[beo]

i'd be more than a little wary of a sony android tablet. the reason being that the software on the majority of their phones is ridiculously buggy. i have to troubleshoot / flash the software / or send away for repair, an inordinately high amount of sony brand phones based on the amount sold.

[Xessive]

i'd be more than a little wary of a sony android tablet. the reason being that the software on the majority of their phones is ridiculously buggy. i have to troubleshoot / flash the software / or send away for repair, an inordinately high amount of sony brand phones based on the amount sold.

Damn. It could very well be that the demo unit is just a best-case-scenario high quality sampler i.e. like perfume/cologne samplers.

[scottws]

After playing around with Jennie's Kindle Fire, I have somewhat changed my tune on tablets.  I still think they are basically toys, but I now want one.  I want the newer Asus EEEPad Transformer Prime.  It still has Honeycomb, which I guess has been pretty much written off as a real OS at this point, but it's supposed to be the first tablet to get ICS.  The iPad, of course, isn't even in contention for me.  The occasional Android stutter doesn't bother me.  First of all, I'm used to it and secondly I could give a rat's ass what some Apple fan thinks of my tablet.

I've got my eye on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus as well.  It sure is pricey though.  I've considered a Moto Droid RAZR, but I don't like the non-removable battery or the fact that it doesn't have ICS yet.  Plus: Motoblur.

And yeah, I've heard the same thing about Sony's mobile products as what beo is saying, though I have no direct experience with those products so take that for what it is worth.

[iPPi]

The ASUS Transformer looks really good.  I'm kind of tempted to pick one up.  Can't really decide if I want an Android tablet though or not, or to wait for the iPad 3. 

[ScaryTooth]

I have an iPod touch. I mainly got it to browse the web while I'm hanging out in the bathroom at work. And watch Netflix. I don't really use itunes other than to put music or movies on it. But now that I think about it, I don't really use it all that much. I too still have one of the old creative zen nanos and I probably use it more. Mostly because it has a FM tuner.

I have a Kindle, which is probably one of my favorite things. I really want a Fire, but I think I'm going to wait for the second gen one to come out. My phone is an old LG Dare. I have a nice Asus laptop that is about a year old, which I use for just about everything now. And I also carry around a Gameboy SP and usually FFT is in it. Also one of my favorite things I own.