Geekazine

Stepping up your game in recording, podcasting, or whatever you do can be easy if you have this microphone in your bag. This large Diaphragm condenser mic has a lot of features that can help you mic up any instrument – from Tuba to Piccolo. All with a price that doesn’t bring down the house.

About the C-100 Condenser Microphone

This is an alternative to the Sony C-800G microphone. Inside the cage is a dual-capsule that can cover the spectrum. The 25mm capsule covers 20 Hz to 25 kHz, while the 17mm capsule covers 25-50 kHz ranges.

You can select it to be a cardiod, omnidirectional, or figure-8 polar pattern. A low-cut filter and -10db pad are also available options.

Other microphones in the High-Resolution series include The EMC-100N (Omni-Directional) and the EMC-100U (Cardioid).

The Sony C-100 starts at $1399 and will be available soon.

Dell has a few surprises in store at this years CES and that includes their latitude line, focusing the 5000 and 7000 series. Jeffrey sat down with Dell to find out the new Latitude products available at CES 2018.

Latitude Gets a Touchscreen

One thing Dell announced for the 7000 series is the embedded touchscreen which will help to take away that annoying glare and also help reduce waste, since only one pane of glass is needed instead of 2. It will also help from a battery power standpoint as well as making things thinner. You’ll see that on the 12, 13 and 14 inch models. These models also incorporate carbon fiber as well, which is a nice touch. Their new laptops will also have Intels 8th generation processors on board.

New WiFi Antenna in Dell Computers

There’s also a new wifi antenna to increase wifi connectivity by 155% according to Dell. The 7490 is Dell’s 14 inch laptop and in April Dell will launch a super low power panel for it, which will increase battery life without compromise. This takes 14 hours of battery life all the way up to 22 hours and of course makes it lighter and helps to keep things thin. Dell’s 7390 is a convertible with WACOM technology.

Pricing is $799 to $899. It’s pretty clear that Dell is focused laser sharp on innovation and this year they have some truly impressive offerings.

SONY has unveiled its latest wares at CES 2018, including the world’s first truly wireless Noise Cancelling headphones with a splash-proof design. Since more smartphone makers are ditching the headphone jack, it’s a good time to go wireless. The WF-SP700N are the world’s first truly wireless Noise Cancelling headphones with splash-proof and sweat-proof design. These headphones are made for an active lifestyle. Sony tested them extensively with people doing actual workouts, so rest assured that these headphones will stay in your ear while jogging or working out at the gym.

They come in a wide variety of colors and not only will they shut out background sound, but they can also withstand rain as well as a sweaty workout. They have an IPX4 rating so they will stand up to your daily grind. If that isn’t enough, Sony says that the WF-SP700N will be optimised for Google’s Assistant, just in case you want to search the web and play music by speaking to them.

You can adjust the sound settings on the fly with a little button and access more settings with an accompanying app. They come with a case that also acts as a charger. The case gives you 3 hours of charge time for your headphones, along with two additional charges, for nine hours of charge time total.

They will be available this spring for $179.

At CES 2018, Ricoh showed off its new Ri100 T-Shirt Printer which is perfect for your small businesses or anyone who is crazy about printing their own shirts. Do you want to print custom T-shirts? Say, with pictures of people’s pets on them or other custom designs? You are going to love what is coming to the US this Spring. Ricoh’s new T-Shirt printer is under $4,500.

You could start your very own T-Shirt business with a printer like this. Or add some versatility to an existing business. It works on a variety of fabrics.The printer works about the way you would expect.You load the fabric in the cartridge, stick it in and print your design. After that you remove the cartridge and put it in the heating unit for three minutes. The cost is estimated to be about 50-60 cents per print, not counting the shirt. That’s not a bad price at all.

The unit fits easily on a desktop or counter and the RICOH Ri100 has an intuitive heating system that removes wrinkles from fabric, creating a smooth surface for printing, and then cures the ink after, making the print very colorfast, so it should last the life of the shirt.

As we continue to bring guitar modeling through iOS apps, it only makes sense to merge into the guitar. That is what Fusion Guitars did – an all-in-on guitar that you can use for practice, recording, or performance.

What is Fusion Gutars

A guitar with a built-in amplifier, full range speakers, and a Lithium-ion battery so you can play without being plugged into the wall. The iOS cradle allows you to connect your device right on the guitar to use any iOS app out there. Headphones to play in privacy, and a guitar cable to play a little louder.

The guitar itself is a a full scale neck and fingerboard – in Maple or Rosewood. strings are held by an adjustable wraparound bridge. Two high output pickups with coil split switch. In all, the guitar is 8 pounds,9 ounces.

You can get the Fusion Guitar in the US at this time for $999. Slso check out their website.

Ford’s newest offering a an electric scooter called Ojo or as Ford likes to call refer it, a “Personal light electric vehicle”. You don’t need a license to drive it, or registration, or even insurance. It’s perfect for commuters. This scooter will do 20 MPH and has a 25 mile range, which can be doubled with an add-on battery pack. It offers a smooth ride thanks to a suspension system on both wheels and a rigid aluminum unibody structure.

You’ll find a touchscreen on the dashboard and two embedded speakers so you can play music thanks to the Bluetooth connectivity. A built-in power cord plugs into a standard wall outlet for power. You won’t have to carry a heavy battery to and fro. Charging takes about five hours from empty. It has a 500w Hyper-gear motor which provides a lot of torque.

What makes the Ojo so unique is that it is its own category of scooter. It’s not super powerful, but its power is in the fact that you will be breezing in bike lanes and going wherever bikes can go while others are sitting in traffic. Plus, you can drive the Ojo without a license. You would be hard pressed to find its features in more portable stand-up electric scooters.

Astoundingly, you get all of this for just over $2,000. Get a Ojo now.

Beatbuddy by Singularsound is adding a new pedal to the arsenal in the MIDI Maestro. I sat down and talked about these items at NAMM 2018. We also got a great demonstration on how they work.

What is Beatbuddy

This is a personal drummer pedal. It adds drums when you are practicing, doing a solo gig, playing in a band, and more. With the 2-button adapter, you can add stops, and accent sounds such as cymbal crashes or hand claps to the pedal. With the MIDI software, you can setup your pedal for your shows, or even create beats for original songs.

What is MIDI Maestro

This is a MIDI pedalboard that can do more than just control your Beatbuddy. Set up guitar effects, lighting, or anything else that can be MIDI controlled. The mushroom buttons also help those musicians who play barefoot stomp down on buttons.

MIDI Masestro will be available in May for $249. Beatbuddy starts at $289, with the BeatBuddy mini at $99. Get Beatbuddy here or through the SingularSound website.

I sat down with the folks at Roadie to check out their new guitar tuners at NAMM 2018. Roadie 2, which is available now, is the update to their popular guitar / mandolin / ukulele tuner. They were also showing off a prototype for the new Roadie Bass, which will give low string musicians a tuner for quick fixes.

How the Roadie Tuner Works

Simply choose the string, what you want it to tune to (such as an Open E guitar), then go through the strings by placing the device on the tuning nut. When you hit the string, the tuner will determine the note, and make adjustments.

Once you’ve tuned up all strings, you can put it back in it’s carrying pouch to play.

Roadie 2 and Roadie Bass are $129 each, with the Roadie Bass available later this year. Get Roadie Guitar Tuner Here. You can also check out the Roadie Website.

 

Netgear has been working overtime lately to insure that you have internet everywhere. Netgear’s Orbi promised to eliminate Wifi dead zones and give you a super fast internet connection. The new router is called the Orbi Outdoor Satellite and this one extends coverage to the outside of your house by up to 2,500 square feet. It has the same capabilities as Orbi’s Whole Home Wi-Fi System, including a single network name, a dedicated channel for data exchange between the satellite and main router, and a totally separate guest Wi-Fi network. Never be without wifi again, no matter where you are inside or outside of your home.

About the Netgear Orbi WiFi System

The outdoor unit is weather resistant and is either free standing on its own or it can be mounted on your wall. The device features a night light that you can schedule to switch on or off at your whim, which comes in handy when enjoying your yard at night and surfing the internet or playing games. The Orbi Outdoor Satellite requires an existing Orbi Home Wi-Fi system, or the Orbi Pro Tri-Band Wi-Fi System. If you have a large yard, you’ll need multiple devices to expand coverage of course, but one should be enough for most of us.

Orbi for Business

If you run a SMB, Orbi is perfect for that. A coffee shop, for example, usually runs their registers, customer WIFI, and work computers on one network. Orbi allows for multiple WiFi logins, bandwidth adjust, and an easy to change Wifi password. Customers will be able to work separate from the POS systems or other vital machines.

The Orbi Outdoor Satellite is available for $329.99, with many configurations available for home and business. Purchase Orbi here.

Stomp pedals are nice, but they can be a pain to get a specific sound. Bending over to turn dials, then trying to get that same sound through 3-4 devices. Poly Expressive is working on a way to use the MIDI interface so you can get the sound you want every time by simply moving or tapping your foot.

What is Poly Expressive MIDI Foot Controller

This is a board that can sit in front of you. When you want a specific sound, tap on the area you designated for it. The board also allows you to create expressive foot areas, so when you slide your foot, the pedal will change it’s sound. Great for Wah, adding/removing feedback, and even adding MIDI tonal sounds.

The Poly Expressive is made with a polycarbonate and aluminium composite, so no matter how hard you stomp, it won’t break. The pedal areas are created by you. Changing the areas are easy to do. Each pedal’s visual aspect is created via your printer – simply create a pedal board configuration, then print it out. If you are on the road, simply pull out a piece of A3 or ledger paper and a sharpie to create a new combination.

This board also allows your pedals to be off the front of stage. If someone spills a beer on your board, just wipe it off with a towel, then keep on playing.

Poly Expressive runs on iOS, Android, Mac, Linux, and Windows. It’s still in crowdfunding mode, so support via Kickstarter. Head to PolyExpressive.com for more information!