Month: February 2018

Apple HomePod Plays?
Apple HomePod is a Siri enabled smart speaker with Apple-engineered audio technology and advanced software to deliver the highest-fidelity sound throughout the room, anywhere it’s placed. Apple has built the high-excursion woofer with a custom amplifier to play a wide range of deep, rich bass. HomePod is wrapped in a seamless mesh fabric designed for both aesthetic and acoustic performance. Available in white and space gray for $349.

The Great
- Siri is superior to Amazons Alexa and the Google Assistant’s conversation abilities.
- Fantastic bass and tremendous sound quality through out all music genres.
- Apple music play compatible
- Compact, solid and attractive
- Automatically balances its sound position to get the best out of your music
The Not
- Apple-only audio services when using voice commands
- Multi-room audio and stereo pairing, aren’t available yet
- Siri and HomeKit are inferior to Amazons Alexa and the Google Assistant’s compatibility.
Conclusion

Sound is the best of the best, unmatched, elegant and inspiring. With the capabilities of adding multi-speakers that will listen to each other and balance the sound through out an area you’ve got a revolutionary sound system. Voice controlled by Siri gives you all the functionality you will need, if you are in the Apple eco-system this is the speaker you must have.

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Its Here!

On February 9, Apple will launch the HomePod, its first smart speaker. I’ve been looking forward to the home pod since the introduction of Siri at the iPhone 4s’s launch. I thought to myself I could just shout out a song I want to hear and have it play and sound good. This the day I have anticipated and waited for has arrived. So let’s play.

Setup

Amazingly easy to unbox and get going with no set up, you know how I hate set- ups. With its High-excursion woofer and array of seven horn-loaded tweeters, each with its own custom amplifier matched with the 6 microphones, the HomePod balances and radiates sound beautifully. Its like giving your home an amphitheater like plethora of sound. I compared the sound side by side with a single Sonos One speaker and the edge undoubtably goes to the HomePod. Yep its nice.

More than a Speaker

It’s got Siri, yeah, we all know her. She knows us. She does he job as well as any digital assistant, Amazons Alexa and Google home speaks are equally as adequate. My advice to all tech purchasers these days is to pick an assistant and build your devices around her. The boom of the AI assistant isn’t going to slow or plateau anytime soon, and you will want your devices to have the best possible relationship. The dysfunctional familes of this century will be fueled by the clashing of competing tech giants all attempting to control every aspect of your home. They all have their strength and weakness, lets take a look at the top 3 and compare.

I’ve asked each of the digital assistants a variety of 15 questions on basic and general knowledge. All 3 did an adequate-to-impressive job, generally giving viable, quick answers with pertinent information, though they all sometimes gave erroneous answers on Jordan’s’ height and the where abouts of the Hubble space craft, and it only gave Jon Hamm a 8 on a handsomeness scale of 10.

Final Thought

The reality is the HomePod is the best main street smart speaker you can buy, with adequate AI and Siri functionality, impeccably amazing sound integrates as a perfect peripheral device for all apple products… Its exactly what you would expect, I mean really what did you expect. Its Nice, so ask yourself 3 questions, Do you have $349? Do you have an IOS or multiple IOS devices? Have you subscribed to apple music? If you answered yes to all three there is a link at the bottom of the page just for you.. Stay tuned next time I’m going to test the HomePods durability or destructibility.
February 8, 2018
The New BMW X7 is Here.

When Can we See it?

Later in 2018, BMW is slated to put its once concept ,the X7, into production. This new addition to the BWM line promises to be the height of luxury and technology. According to BMW, “The Concept X7 iPerformance embraces spatial luxury. Generously dimensioned windows, combined with the panoramic glass roof extending from the windshield to the rear, generate an incomparable sense of airiness that brings new meaning to the phrase out on the road. The seats themselves, a mix of dark olive-bronze and Smoke White leather, serve as a nod to exclusivity, down to the finest details.”

From what we’ve seen so far, the interior looks absolutely incredible. Equipped with an oversized heads-up display screen, and 2 additional monitors in the back, this car is not short on tech. In addition, BWM has added a, ” Brilliant mix of light and dark to create an atmosphere of balance and tranquility. Dynamic ambient and contour lighting, with strands of laser light in the roof, plus polished aluminum elements throughout the interior provide brightness.” Bravo, BMW.

First of Its Kind

The X7 is surely to be the company’s largest vehicle ever produced. With this large stature, the X7 encompasses beauty, strength, elegance and grace. The X7 is pushing the boundaries of fashion with its 23-inch wheels and contour lines throughout. Under this large body will likely be a range of six, eight and possibly 12-cylinder engines ranging from a relatively frugal 3.0-liter turbo diesel to a 609hp 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 petrol (borrowed from the top-spec 7 Series) in rapid X60i models. Other options will include a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 and a hybrid X7 that combines a four-cylinder petrol engine with a powerful electric motor. Whichever option you choose it’s believed that the X7 will come with four-wheel drive and an automatic gearbox as standard.

For now we wait

We will likely see the X7 in the later months of 2018 or early 2019. If it’s pricing mirrors anything close to the X7’s sedan brother the 7 series, we can expect pricing to start around the $100,000 mark. It’s certainly a beautiful machine and my hat’s off to the guys and girls over a BMW.

February 6, 2018
Sonos Spreaker. Listen Up…
The Good
- Unparalleled sound quality. Simply the best in home audio
- Sonos App is user friendly and easy to navigate
- Sharp design, fits in any decor
- Portable and works off Wifi.
The Not so Good
- Portable but has to be plugged into an outlet
- limited capability, can only essentially play music
- Music has to be played through Sonos App. Cannot use Youtube or other mediums.
- Somewhat high price tag
The Conclusion

The sound quality is amazing and the Sonos connects to the home WiFi hassle free. Using the Sonos App, your music selection platforms are plentiful. But they’re not total. I still find myself wanting to use Youtube sometimes through the app, and where just not There yet. But the ability to fill my entire home with beautiful, synchronized music, where I can walk from room to room without music interruption makes it all worth it. I could pay a professional $5,000-$10,000 for an audio system and I’m still not sure it would provide better sound quality than the Sonos.

Oh Sweet Sonos

Lauched in 2013, Sonos hit the audio ground running. Not long after I found myself wanting to add more sound in our home and was looking for a portable unit, such a Bose mini Soundlink. I was then informed of the Sonos by a cousin and the rest is history. Right from the get go, sound of this little unit is incredible.The impressive is the clarity of the mids and highs in unparalleled. I find I’m hearing things in songs that I haven’t noticed in years. The hardware setup was very easy as well.

The Sonos App included clear illustrations showing which buttons to press on which devices to complete the pairing, and what the illuminated light sequences on those devices meant. Within a few minutes, everything was connected and working. I added my Spotify and Pandora accounts quickly, and within a few minutes I was streaming music to the Play 1. Sonos is also easily paired to Alexa, and the two work great together. For $199.00, I have got every penny out of the Sonos. Granted I wish it were as portable as my Bose Mini, but in this case, the sounds quality is a cost of portability.

Final Thoughts

Sonos has some buggy software issues along with a lack of mobility, but the pure sound that emits from the little speaker is simply the best. If you want your home to be filled with bright tones and audio warmth that there is no need to shop any further. The Sonos is the speaker for you. Start with one for your kitchen and you’ll quickly have a Sonos in every room. Sonos has competition such as the Apple Home Pod hot on it’s heels, but as long as they keep making that sweet sound, I’m in for life!
February 3, 2018
My $7000 Mac Pro

The Great

Design like a timeless piece of breathtaking art
Lots of expansion ports
Twin GPUs
Incredible, unstoppable mind blowing performance
Removable SSD

The Not

Few internal expansion possibilities
No bundled keyboard mouse or monitor
No optical drive

The Conclusion

This is just an amazing machine. Incredibly fast. And a great price too..The graphics on this computer are amazing. It’s so beautiful, This is not just Apple’s best professional machines but any professional computer and its worth every penny

So I’m fully invested in the Apple Eco-system. From my phone X to the iPad Pro, 3 Apple TVs, iWatch, AirPods, Apple Music subscription and all my movies in iTunes, I’ve got it all. However, I’m not using any Mac computers, I’ve got a 2008 IMac hooked up but I never touch it. I’m looking at a new computers for my home office, why not a new Mac Pro? It’s pricy but I can use it for at least 7 years, my IMac is still up,and functional after 10. I don’t even keep cars that long. Ok I’m sold, now to configure.

Option One

6-Core or 8-core, this is an easy choice. It’s $1000 dollars more but the 8-core gives me an extra 2 cores processing power and the AMD FirePro D700 with 6GB instead of the 550 with only 3GB of VRAM. The RAM stays the same at 16gb but I got a feeling I can add more before the order is complete. I decided for my lifeblood main computer, go big or go home. $3999.

Next, More Processing Power.. Yep

So in the first phase of the configuration tool at Apple.com, I can upgrade from the 8 core to a 2.7 GHz 12-core with 30mb of L3 cache. For another $1200.. gulp, but it’s like I need it. I run alot of apps that are not highly multithreaded. I know Highly multithreaded applications will perform best on processors with a higher core count, even with a slightly lower clock speed. And the games, who knows what games I’ll be playing and what the power requirements will be in 2022. $5199

Memory in Corner of My Mind

Next up memory configuration, multitasking abilities of the next decade made in a decision today. The only thing I ever wished my iMac of 2008 had was more memory. I even attempted to upgrade it back in 2011 only to find it had only 2 RAM slots, wit a max capacity of 2gb each. Essential I could replace the 2 1GB DIMM for At total of only 4GB. Not again Apple! Not today, I’m going big. Give me the juice, add another $1200 to take me from 16 to 64. I’m getting a little excited about the future now. I know I’m getting up there in price, but the big stuff is over and accounted for. $6399

The Rest

I’m gonna add a 1TB PCle based SSD and a Magic Mouse 2. I think I have a Magic Mouse around the house somewhere but it’s just $79 for a nice new one. Total $7078… Add to Bag. And here come the add ons. Nope, just check me out.

So is it Worth the Price? I Believe So

2 weeks later and a pick up trip to the Apple Store and another 6 hours setup and data transfer time. I’m ready to experience this monstrosity of designer computing power. I spent the money, and have the beast I need. It’s beautiful and elegant. A 21rst century nouveau art price rather then a computer. Design wise there is no conversation the cylinder beats anything conceived in the computer cosmos. After laying eyes on this, I couldn’t bare looking at a giant suitcase of unnecessary glowing green and blue LEDs. It’s quiet, silenty humming. I don’t feel much heat being expelled. I’ve passed on a monitor for this, no no no this needs better. I went with dual, yes dual 46 in, Samsung 4K OLED. Because, it’s not a just a new device, it’s a computing revolution. I’m loading battlefront 2, while watching Wonder Woman in 4K on the other screen, grunting I am man!!! Total with TVs and battle front $8708. Worth it.

February 2, 2018
Robot makes coffee at new cafe in Japan’s capital

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan has a new cafe where customers can enjoy coffee brewed and served by a robot barista.
The robot named Sawyer debuted this week at Henna Cafe in Tokyo’s downtown business and shopping district of Shibuya. The shop’s name in Japanese means “strange cafe.”

Robot barista named “Sawyer” makes a coffee at Henn-na Cafe, meaning “Strange Cafe” in Japanese, in Tokyo.

The single-armed robot scans a ticket purchased from a vending machine and greets the customer.
“Would you care for a delicious coffee?” the barista, with a screen showing a pair of cartoon eyes, asks in a flat tone. “I can make one better than human beings around here.”

It grinds the coffee beans, fills a filter and pours hot water over a paper cup for up to five people at once. A cup of brewed coffee costs 320 yen ($3) and takes a few minutes.

Sawyer can also operate an automated machine for six other hot drinks including cappuccino, hot chocolate and green tea latte.
Customers, many of them young men, took photos with their smartphones while they waited in line.

The cafe operator, travel agency H.I.S. Co., says robots can increase productivity while also entertaining customers.
“An essential point is to increase productivity,” said Masataka Tamaki, general manager of corporate planning at H.I.S. He said only one person needs to oversee the robot cafe, compared to several people needed at a regular coffee shop, so it can serve better quality coffee at a reasonable price.

Tamaki says it’s not just about efficiency. “We want the robot to entertain customers so it’s not like buying coffee at a vending machine,” he said.

Takeshi Yamamoto, a 68-year-old restaurant employee who works in the neighborhood, said his first experience with the robot cafe was very enjoyable, and his robot-made coffee was delicious.
“It’s quite rich, and tastes very good,” Yamamoto said, as he took a sip. “You can get machine-made coffee at convenience stores, too, and it’s actually good. But here, I had great fun.”

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Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at twitter.com/mariyamaguchi
Find her work at https://www.apnews.com/search/mari%20yamaguchi

February 2, 2018
What a Powerful Little TV Projector!
The Good
- Set up could not be any simpler. Unboxing to watching TV done in under 5 minutes.
- The 1080HD Picture quality is amazing
- Small size, mobile, and reasonable price
The Bad
- Works best in a dark area or room
- Watching off the projector in daylight or bright areas in moot
- Volume is muffled at max setting and the menu screen is lacking
The Conclusion

This is a small, but powerful projector that provides great picture quality. Being very portable, you can throw in a bag and take to a meeting or a friend’s house to watch a movie. Comes equipped with all the needed connections such as HDMI or an output for a computer monitor. With a price tag of $128.99, the GAOAG Mini LED projector is a great buy for any night time outdoor or indoor needs.

Small but Powerful

With 1,800 Lumens and 1080P picture, this little projector packs a powerful punch! Along with great picture quality, this sleek and mobile projector, weighing just about 2 pounds, can be quickly packed up and brought anywhere hassle free. The GAOAG projector also comes with the capability to pair up to you iPhone or smart device for easier watching convenience. GAOAG has some competition such as the RAGU Z720 projector that offers 3,000 Lumens, weighs 7 pounds, and costs and extra $80.00. The GAOAG is a great source to watch movies or TV in dark spaces, it is not meant for PowerPoint or Office presentations. Another issue that has arose with the GAOAG Mini LED is projector is lack of basic image processing. When using VGA input, you can scale and shift the screen around, but not when using HDMI. With HDMI, the only option you have is scaling the image.

Final Thoughts

Projectors were all the rage a few years ago, but tapered off due to it’s technical limitation and mortal enemy, The Sun. With new ideas and advancements from companies such as GAOAG, maybe the projector can find it’s way back into our homes and hearts? GAOAG is certainly on the right path and has made a very affordable, portable, and high quality LED Projector. I’m anxious to see what the next stage of advancements hold.
February 1, 2018