The Kindle Wireless Reading Device with 3G and WiFi

You Gotta Have This Kindle.

     I was in the airport last week and while waiting to board, I was sitting next to a guy named Jay who was staring intently at his Kindle. I had the latest TIME ( Which is only $20/y through Amazon, Not the newsstand price of like $5 per copy, if you click on the link and subscribe. Think about it, if you buy 4 magazines @ a bookstore or newsstand you could have purchased a subscription for an entire year) and was flipping through the short articles in the front pages when I noticed that he was reading the same articles as I was. I was dumbfounded. This guy had the same TIME magazine that I had but in digital form. Wow.

     We started to talk and I asked him a flurry of questions about his Kindle and he was so happy with this gift from his wife that he freely told me everything I wanted to know.  He had the Kindle for about 3 weeks and was in love with it. Since he travels 2 weeks out of every month this was the perfect tool for him to catch up on all his reading. He did stress ALL. I asked him what he likes to read and he gave me this list of magazines: TIME, Newsweek, Foreign Affairs, PC Magazine, Barron's Slate and Fortune. Then came his list of newspapers: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily and the Philadelphia Daily News. And if that wasn't enough he also had these books: Sh*t My Dad Says, They Call Me Baba Booey, The Last Boy, Dark Mission, Adobe Photoshop CS5 Classroom in a Book, Assorted Sudoku Puzzles for Kindle, Vol. 1, 8 Minute Meditation: Quiet Your Mind. Change Your Life and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This was quite a diverse list of literature if i do say so. I was amazed that all of that can fit on such a small device. Jay said that his Kindle wasn't even anywhere near half full. He also said that he spends about 40 hours a month traveling and he needs to combat some severe boredom and you can't spend all that time on a laptop doing work, at least not if you want to keep your sanity.

     Jay seemed like a really down too earth guy who is making the best out of his situation. He's not the power traveler in the $900 suit that thinks he owns the place. He just had some golf wear on that looked extremely comfortable. He mentioned that he saves a ton of time and money by not going to the Newsstands to satisfy his need for amusement. Since most Kindle eBooks are almost half off the cover price and magazine and newspaper subscriptions are a fraction of their regular pricing it is a no brainer for him. Jay has the 3G version and said that it made more sense for him to be able to download content from just about anywhere, rather than waiting to get home or at work. If he feels the need to read something different, he just types it in the search and within a couple of minutes he has it.

     One thing that Jay suggested was that since this is still a fragile piece of technology one might want to protect it with a cover like the Kindle Lighted Leather Cover that he has. Of course these come in many colors and styles so you can feel free to personalize your Kindle experience. Take a look at some of these covers: Skinit Protective Kindle Skin, Diane von Furstenberg Kayley Canvas Clutch, Cole Haan Hand-Stained Pebble Grain, Belkin Pleated Kindle Sleeve.

      I will have to look into the Kindle a little deeper before I take the next step. But if I was commuting anywhere, had a nice lunch hour, had a porch with a rocking chair or some free time I would buy 1 of these and say goodbye to killing trees for amusement. The Digital age is here so why don't we all take a look at the Kindle and consider what its like to be paperless. You Gotta Have A Kindle.

The Pink Floyd Box Set: Oh, by the Way

You Gotta Have this Pink Floyd Box Set.

     If you are a Pink Floyd fan then you gotta have the box set "Oh, by the Way". It contains all 14 Studio albums, most of which some people have never heard of. You get everything, yes everything that the boys from Cambridge produced in the studio. You also get 2 collectors posters and some nice coasters. All the great tunes everyone has heard before and a whole bunch of music that the radio stations wouldn't dare to play, but they should have. If you were to purchase all the albums separately they could cost you almost $400. If you are like me and started buying Floyd albums on cassette and then again on CD, because the cassettes wore out, then you might want to buy this box set and rip the albums to mp3s. And yes, you can even get all 14 albums onto 1 CD-R. This will make a great gift for anyone who has an appreciation for listening to and understanding the progression of a rock band that has left such a huge mark on music.

     Other than the obvious Albums in this set, Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall and Wish You Were Here. Here are some thoughts on a few of the not so known albums that are noteworthy and should be listened to if only to hear the progression and maturation of the band.

     Atom Heart Mother is one of my favorite albums that the average listener wouldn't think was a Floyd Album, but it was the 1st album to be specially mixed for 4-channel Quadraphonic Sound. Quadraphonic is a very early version of what we now know as that modern marvel called Surround Sound. Surround sound has revolutionized the way we watch movies in the theater, our living rooms and the way we play games on the computer and consoles. Just think what kind of a breakthrough it was back in 1970 on some progressive rock bands album. Quadraphonic Sound would be utilized at concerts to create some seriously trippy sound effects. The 1st Song is the Atom Heart Mother suite. It is about 24 minutes long and can seem bizarre at 1st. But when you give it a 2nd chance you can hear the instrumental experimentation paying off.

     A Saucer Full of Secrets was a major turning  point for Pink Floyd since founding member Syd Barrett started to become too hard to deal with, due to LSD usage, and David Gilmour was brought in to finish the album. You can start to hear Syd's influence mixing with David's melodic guitar.

     Animals is a fantastic example of Pink Floyd's ability to change their musical style. This thematic album is  based on the Orwell book Animal Farm and the social-political condition that was affecting Britain in the 70's. This entire album has a darker undertone than previous releases that could be perceived as a precursor to the bands turbulent times to come. If you listen closely you can hear every member of the band adding their own touches to the songs complementing each others strengths.

     Not included in this box set is Pulse which includes the entire Dark Side of the Moon album performed live and Astronomy Domine which hasn't been performed live since about 1972. The rest of the album is a nice mix of tracks from The Division Bell and the more popular hits like Hey You, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Learning To Fly and many more.You Gotta have the Pink Floyd Box set Oh, by the Way.

    

The Aluratek AIRMM01 Internet Radio Alarm Clock

You Gotta have the Aluratek AIRMM01 Internet Radio

     If you like to listen to Internet Radio and want a device that is super easy to setup then this is the radio for you. The Aluratek AIRMM01 is fantastically easy to setup. I think that from the time that I started to take it out of the packaging and started listening to Groove Salad, a full 3 minutes had passed. It was that easy. It scans your airwaves and you go through a simple setup for wireless (be sure to have your security credentials at hand) and before you know it you are good to go.

     I purchased this radio for my father who likes to listen to BBC world radio in the morning and he couldn't be happier. This radio sits on a shelf in the kitchen and does its job beautifully. The sound is very good for such a small device, of course this depends on its position and the size of the room it is in.There are some other radios out there but I felt that this was the best bang for the buck. 

     You can stick a USB thumb drive into the USB port on the front and play music right form that. Just make sure that you don't have a ton of folders with music in them since it will scan the folders for audio files and will take longer to start playing. You can even have it connect to a Windows Media Center computer and stream your music collection to where ever the radio is. ( I'm building a beater computer for this purpose and will let you know how it comes out )

     If you are looking for a small internet radio that is  very easy to setup and has great sound then this is the radio for you. You gotta have the Aluratek AIRMM01 Internet Radio.

The Bose® In-Ear Headphones

You Gotta Have these Headphones

     If you are like me and listen to your iPod all the time, then you need a good set of headphones. Bose is known world wide for making some of the best audio equipment for the masses, so you would think that they would make great pair of headphones. Well, they do. In fact these are the best headphones that I have ever used. They have a good even sound at all volume levels, they have a fantastic bass thump that would make you think you are standing next to a 15" woofer ( well not exactly ) and there is no screech in the highs. I can also honestly say that I don't get any annoying ringing in my ears after wearing these for a couple of hours. They fit in my ears very comfortably with no falling out and I can even hear nearby conversations if needed. 

     In my opinion these are the best headphones that normal people can buy. Yes $60 seems a little high for portable music devices compared to the $8 crap and the $17 stuff you see elsewhere, but its the sound that you want and its the sound that you get. There is no comparison. You Gotta Have Bose!!

The Scosche tapSTICK

You Gotta Have the Scosche tapSTICK

     The Scosche tapSTICK is the greatest addition to my iPod Shuffle I could have ever purchased. I got annoyed with the Apple headphones that came with my Shuffle and you can't just plug in your favorite ear buds and go the gym. You need a dongle or a Scosche tapSTICK. This is a sheath that covers your iPod shuffle and has the controls, that were built into the original headphones, on the side of the device. This gives you a sturdy control area that is easy to get to. When I'm in the gym I have the headphones under my shirt so that the wire doesn't get caught up on anything. With the controls built into the wire I would sometimes have a hard time getting to them. Not to mention the issue I was having with the ear buds falling out of my ears. The tapSTICK has solved these issues. I am able to use my favorite ear buds and have the controls in an easily accessible location.
     When I 1st purchased the iPod Shuffle I almost returned it after a couple of weeks of ear buds falling out, but then after a little Googling I found the tapSTICK. You Gotta Have this cool little device if you have an iPod Shuffle.

The iPod Shuffle

You Gotta Have this iPod. 

This is the coolest Shuffle that Apple has ever made. Its durable, sleek and very easy to use. The 4GB of memory should be plenty for most people and the transfer rate from my computer is very good. I can change out the entire library in about 1.5 minutes. The charge holds for a long time too. I can use it for 3 days in the gym on a single charge without any problems. Just clip it to your shorts or shirt and you are in business. You wont even feel the shuffle attached to you. This has replaced my 160Gb iPod for all activities that might damage the screen. My 160Gb iPod now lives in my car and also gets to ride in airplanes on occasion. This cool little iPod comes in numerous colors to suite your needs. Silver, Black, Pink, Blue and  Green. If you want to buy your loved ones something that they will actually use and genuinely appreciate, then this is it. You Gotta Have this iPod.

The only issue i have with this iPod is the headphones with the controls built in. These headphones sound great, as they should, but they fall out of my ears when i am doing anything but standing still. I run, lift weights and do all kinds of exercise, but I hate it when I constantly need to readjust my earphones. This led me to look into the tapSTICK By Scosche.