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-James

Computer Tech Support manufacturer review roundup

Posted by james on Aug. 7, 2009

Laptop Mag test-called a bunch of different computer manufacturers to test how they answer simple questions. Just a couple questions each, but a good peek into how the different companies handle tech support.

The takeaway? Nothing new here...
1. Apple is #1
2. Lenovo is up there
3. Do not Dell

Did you read #3? Go and view their webpage with those tiny price and wonderfully colored laptops. Then read #3 again. Then go buy yourself a boring-colored square laptop for a bit more money, and enjoy not having to carve your eyes out with pointy objects in frustration (or at the very least, avoid a broken LCD monitor in our brand new laptop).

Audio mixers with true multi-channel usb/firewire interfaces

Posted by james on Aug. 4, 2009

I loved recording audio for bands, and it was always strange to me that the gear is so expensive. The key piece of equipment is the audio interface; basically a way to get more than 2 channels of audio into your computer at once. I've only ever seen USB mixers with 2-channels out to the computer (which defeats the purpose), or large firewire interfaces with 8 channels out but very expensive. However, I've finally found some that are in between.

The Alesis Multimix 8 USB, Multimix 8 Firewire, and Multimix 16 USB all offer full multi-channel outputs to the computer. They appear as 8, 8, and 16 separate inputs respectively (actually it's more like 10, 10, and 18... minor details). And they're not too bad, the Multimix 8 USB (not the USB 2.0 version) can be had used for around $150 or so. That's not bad for 4 mic preamps. And you could probably buy one, play around, then buy a second to get 8 mic preamps & 16 inputs total. I'm not sure if they place nice together, but it'd be interesting to try.

Finally, a real multi-channel usb/firewire mixer on the cheap. Now I wish I actually had a band or some other need for such cool equipment.

Twilight

Posted by james on June 25, 2009

(post.rating: 4)
Rating:

IMDB   Apple Trailers

Man, what a weird movie this was. Such a huge buildup, but a pretty played-out topic with a huge splash of romance novel thrown in. I read the first two chapters of the book (out loud, no less) before watching the movie, so I had some idea of what to expect; not just with the plot, but also for the tone & style. The pacing was really off on this movie, with tons of time dedicated to awkward pauses and (supposedly) meaningful glances... and then a quick montage to skip past the "build the relationship" part. Absolutely no development there.

But the worst thing for this movie was the character direction, which pulled straight out of the book; tons of overacting, awkwardness, exageration, etc. I'm sure it hit home with the teenage girls that lived through this completely self-focused and overly dramatic time of their lives. A bit much for me.

So altogether, a throw-away film, which makes it completely surprising that it grossed so much. Even with all the fans of the book behind it, you would think even they would be turned off by the quality of the film. Despite my misgivings about the first film, I'm still curious about the second movie. I wouldn't go see it in the theater, but I might rent it for fun. I'm hoping it might be a bit better, due to a) less focus on the awkward get-to-know you stage of their relationship, and b) DIFFERENT director.