I'm a big fan of Shure, Inc.  They make the best audio equipment, which started with products for the DJ and performer market.  Over the past few years they've brought the professional level equipment to the masses.  Well, not the masses who buy $9.95 Sony headphones at Target, but anyone willing to spend $99 or more. This year they introduced the E500PTH headphones, and added what they call "push-to-hear" functionality.  By including a simple microphone, the E500's are able to intentionally amplify the outside world to the listener.  Why would you want to do this?  Two words: flight attendants.  Read the full review here.

Today, every electronic component you add to your home theater system, whether it be a TV, DVD player, DVR, cable box, or even game systems, all seem to come with their own remote control. Sooner or later, you may end up juggling eight or more remotes in order to operate your system. Tune in to PodCapsule #6 to get a better understanding of what a "universal" remote really is, how to set up a macro, how to finally conceal all your A/V components without limiting your ability to control them, and more! -hosted by Matt Whitlock Listen to The PodCapsuleTo save to your computer: Right click the download link and select "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..." Download WMA format optimized for Windows Media Player 9.3 MB Download AAC format for QuickTime, iTunes, and iPods 9.5 MB Download Universal MP3 format for all portable devices and PCs 9.2 MB SubscribeClick a badge below to subscribe to the TechLore PodCapsule. Don't forget to vote for the PodCapsule at your favorite podcast site! Show Summary, Segments, & Resources TechLore Time Machine - Do you know what the first wireless TV remote was? (3:00) Five Decades of Channel Surfing: History of the TV Remote Control 1955 Zenith Flashmatic Tuning, the ...

The XBOX 360 PRO system includes a wireless controller for cord free gaming sessions, and odds are you've picked up a second wireless controller to allow more than one person to play at the same time. A common accessory for these wonderful wireless controllers is the Play & Charge Kit, which includes a rechargeable battery and charging cable. Odds are you don't need more than one charging cable no matter how many controllers you have, so you can save yourself a few bucks by buying just the battery for your second, third, or fourth controller, which is nearly half the price.

One of the problems with owning a lot of electronic toys is finding a place for everything in the entertainment center.  However, a bigger problem for me is keeping all of the wires out of the way and connected to the right places.  If I ever have to unplug something or add in a new component, it's almost impossible.  I've created a monster made out of spaghetti behind my TV and I'm not sure what to do.   The picture shown is what it actually looks like behind my home entertainment center.  I just took the picture today and I'm guessing that this has got to be a fire hazard.  The problem is - what can I do to fix it?!?  There are SO many wires connecting to so many components (some of them longer runs to other cabinets), I can't think of any nice way to clean this up. I tried to wrap my cables, but found out that you have to be careful with optical cables.  I also had the problem that many of the cables didn't have much more than a foot of extra cable after being connected, which wasn't enough to wrap.  I can't really think ...

Today was an exciting day. We received a DVD copy of a play that my son was in earlier this year and couldn't wait to watch it. I had a meeting to go to, so my wife started the showing with my kids while I was at the meeting. Just after I left, I received a call from her that the DVD wouldn't play in our DVD player. I immediately told her to try it in the other DVD player and see if that worked. It did and they were happy. I then received a call from a friend who was having the same problem. Unfortunately, they didn't have another DVD player to try. I suggested that he make a copy onto a DVD media that he knows works in his DVD player to see if that worked. Many times the brand and type of media that you use can have an impact on whether or not it will play. Matt Whitlock wrote this great article about the different types of media: Understanding Blank Write-Once CD & DVD Media Another possible problem is the lack of support for different recordable DVD formats by the DVD player. The most common include ...

Speaking of computer batteries, Dell just announced on its website a battery recall as a result of a computer overheating and catching fire in Vernon Hills, IL last month.  I was watching the news and it was the top story tonight on ABC.  If you bought a Dell laptop in the past two years, check out https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/De... to see if your battery has been recalled.  Over 4 million batteries are being recalled, or almost 20% of the total batteries sold from April 2004 - July 2006.

So I spend a LOT of time on airplanes. A LOT.  I picked up a new Vaio a few months ago, in many ways because of its battery life claims, supposedly 4-5 hours.  After using it, I found I couldn't really push it past 3 very often, and more like 2:40 was the typical peak.  I went on a little quest to maximize the juice, and have chronicled the results on my blog.  You can go and read the whole article, entitled 10 Tips on Maximizing Laptop Battery Performance or if you just want 'the list' here are the highlights (although they don't necessarily make sense on their own, but that's what you get for trying to skip the read). Brightness: how low can you go? Don’t use any external devices. Single-task, not multi-task.  Keep it cool. Shut down unused services. Do Hibernate, Do Not Suspend. Tweak advanced settings. Choose Wisely. Watch That Hard Drive. Like a Boy Scout, Be Prepared. By following my own advice, I typically get around 3:30 on my laptop these days.  Hope it helps you too!

Lately, it seems as if I'm spending half of my income on batteries to power my new robots, kids toys, remote controls, and other portable electronics devices.  I go out to the local drug store or Walmart to get a big 24 pack of these batteries, but seem to run through them so quickly.  So, I've started to investigate what I can do to save a buck. First, I read Matt's article on the new Panasonic Oxyride batteries.  It's a great read and shows that there's been quite a bit of progress made to improve the life of alkaline batteries that have been the standard for so long.  However, I can't seem to find them anywhere.  I looked at Walmart and Walgreens which is where I was told I could find them and neither place even heard of them. I also listened to the TechLore podcapsule, Empowering your Portables, which had quite a few of other good tips such as limiting the use of the backlight and keeping your batteries out of the heat.  All good tips to help expand the life of your batteries. One last item I want to mention.  Be sure to recycle your batteries when they ...