The Magic Toaster

Macbook Pro 15″ LED display issue

maximejoris — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:00:51 +0000

Recently bought a second hand Macbook Pro (previous model without SD card slot) and I noticed a faint reddish shape in the middle while I was playing Battlefield Bad Company 2. So I rebooted into Mac OS and filled the screen with a complete black picture and you can see what that revealed on the picture below.
This was visible both in Windows 7 and Mac os.

The machine was still under warranty so they changed the panel and poof no more red stain.

Chinese iPhone clone

maximejoris — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:52:30 +0000

A friend of mine has bought a “Thunder” phone from a Chinese shop and I had the ability to test it for a few moments.
I see you thinking ”I’ve seen this before”. That’s true, probably even on your own phone. But let’s see what’s different in this one.

3 inch, 320×240 touchscreen
a price of 85 EUR
ability to watch analog over-the-air television
Hilarious antenna for tv and radio reception
support for 2 SIM cards
2 batteries in the box

the antenna for TV and FM radio in action

TV actually working (channel: La Une)

Manufacter shot, note the 2 SIM card slots.
NOTE: The device I tested said ’8 Megapixel camera’ on the back.
The website specifies a VGA camera (640×480) so it could be either one.

Manufacturer shot, what’s in the box

Interface

I fiddled around with the interface and I was impressed with the smoothness of the touchscreen. Compared to a Samsung Star which was very sluggish.
The 320×240 resolution on a 3inch screen on the other hand is very low. You can see pixelized edges everywhere througout the interface.
In some applications you get the “flipping record” effect seen on various Apple products which is also smooth and pleasant. It does have a fake feeling to it.

The center button does not go back to the homescreen but works as a confirm key. In my opinion the interface is an iPone meets Samsung meets Chinese kitsch.

Look, feel and sound

The look and feel is cheap. Everything is plastic. Some silver parts look like the kind of silver you find on a 50 cent space figurine from the 80′s.
If your ambition is to become a style icon, keep away from this phone.

The sound coming out of the speakers is reasonable. A bit harsh, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Conclusion

If you are in search of a phone that supports 2 SIM cards, analog TV, touchscreen and is cheap, this is your phone.
My personal advice is to stay away from these Chinese clones.

ThinkGeek shopping experience

maximejoris — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:52:15 +0000

Right, last week I decided it was time to create my first shopping list for ThinkGeek. They sell freaky gadgets, t-shirts, remote controlled zombies, .. I could go on.

One item in particular that I ordered was an Atari t-shirt. I ordered size L for a friend and size S for me. American sizes can be somewhat big for us Europeans. Belgium is where I ordered from.

I noticed right away the L and S were different. Here’s how:

On top, the L version. Sewn in Atari logo and cardboard Atari circle. Below, the size S. As you can clearly see, a generic t-shirt.
I also noticed the print was of lesser quality and the blue was not 100% the same. Well not a very big deal, I can live with that as long as the t-shirt is awesome. This was the case UNTIL I washed the t-shirt according to instructions on the “Pro Weight” label.

The print after the wash

What happened next

I started an RMA procedure on the ThinkGeek website. You can choose “refund, shop credit, replacement” as options. So I opted for a replacement. In comment I added some polite notes of what exactely happened. They shipped me a replacement almost instantly. I received a new t-shirt, with higher quality fabric and sewn in logo. As it should be. You can start an RMA up to 30 days after delivery.

Note: I have not washed the t-shirt yet, so expect an update if anything goes horribly wrong.

Conclusion

Extremely fast delivery from USA to Europe (1 day). fact: In Belgium where I live, it takes 2 days to receive a letter posted to yourself in a mailbox 100 meters from your house.
If the customs check your package, prepare to pay heavily (60 euros on a 150 euros package is what I paid).
High-quality, fast after-sales service.
Double check goods for any faults when they arrive.
Expensive transport (45 euros on a 150 euro package)

So yes, it’s expensive. But if you want something few people have, it’s worth spending an extra penny.

WD TV review (ultra small 1080p USB media player)

maximejoris — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:20:19 +0000

If you want to bring all your media content to your television (High Definition or Standard Definition) or any other screen supporting DVI with HDCP or HDMI and for less then 100 EUR.

Without WD TV

I have to connect the laptop to my TV using a DVI to HDMI adapter for the IMAGE
I have to connect 3 cables to the audio jacks from my laptop to my surround receiver for SURROUND SOUND
I have to connect the power cable to the laptop because my TV isn’t anywhere near my desk
I have to configure my laptop so I get a descent image on my TV
I have to position my laptop in such a way the screen does not shine into my eyes or configure the TV as single display

With WD TV

I have to put the movie on usb disk
Connect the disk to the WD TV

How do I connect it?

Audio:

HDMI
Optical (toslink)
red-white stereo cinch

Video

Composite
HDMI

What does it do?

I mainly use it to play 1080p and 720p video’s. I’ve had it for a couple months now and the only format I encountered that did not play was WMVHD (which is not supported). These images below show all the supported formats. You can also play .ISO files and Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES are also supported (if your receiver supports it). I have some HD movies with DTS ES and get 6.1 channel sound. There is no mention of this in the manual.

If a video should have multiple audio tracks (for example Spanish and English) or Built-in subtitle you can enable/disable these during playback. It is also possible to add your own subtitles (SRT, SSA, ASS and SAMI) by naming the file exactely the same as your movie.

VIDEO FORMATS AUDIO FORMATS IMAGE FORMATS

— —

How does it look?

As you can see, if you put a .jpeg in the same folder with the same name as the movie, you get kinky thumbnails. I’ve only done this for a few movies. You have to do it for all movies or put the view on ‘list view’ otherwise it’s just ugly. (As you can see)

I thought it would be convenient to show the supported output resolutions/refresh rates. Put in on auto if you are not sure what framerate your video is.

An this is how the main menu looks. You can play music and do other things simultaneously as shown in the picture below.

Sound and image quality

Sound and image for HD video’s is superb.

A lot of HD files only have DTS or Dolby Digital audio. YOU NEED A DTS and/or DOLBY DIGITAL CAPABLE RECEIVER to playback the audio on these files. Don’t be fooled by the analog stereo output.

Sennheiser PCX 450 review (noise cancelling headphones)

maximejoris — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:24:20 +0000

Working in a noisy environment can be stressful. At my working space there’s a lot of chatter on the phone, cars passing by and furniture being moved around. So for me, ideal timing to start the search for Noise Cancelling (NC) headphones.

Noise cancelling headphones are by definition designed for use on airplanes. They filter out the low-end part of the frequency spectrum that the engines on a plan produce. But do these headphones also work in a noisy work environment? Read on.

The main competitors for the PCX 450 are the Bose QuietComfort 3 and the Beats by Dr. Dre. All three are in the high price range, so keep an eye on your wallet while shopping.

Sound quality

You can choose to listen with or without noise cancelling activated. I find listening to music with the function disabled a dull experience. High tones sound somewhat muffled and bass sounds flat. A bit like listening to a low-bitrate mp3 track.
But if you activate the noise cancelling the high notes sound precise and the bass is descent. So I personally always listen with NC activated.

In my workplace it works very well. It really makes working more relaxing. The environmental sounds are much less direct.
More like all the noise comes from 2 rooms away.

I’ve also tested the headset on a plane, where it should perform at its best. The experience was less shocking than expected. But the trip (Brussels – Rome) was made to look like 30 minutes with the headset. A lot of the engine noise was gone, but it was still clearly present.

One word of warning: NC gives you warmer, more precise sound but also a slight ‘hiss’ in the headphones. This is an effect from which all noise cancelling headphones suffer (the Bose, and the Beats inclusive). In my experience you will hear this ‘hiss’ mostly while listening to classical music or during silences in general.

Build quality and comfort

As you can see in the second picture, the build quality is very decent. The ear cups neatly fold around your ears and are covered in very soft leather-like fabric. Hinges are made from steel, not plastic and the headphones rest relaxing on your head.
If you should have glasses like me, the headphones could get uncomfortable after some hours of listening.

Some reviews say the headphones are extremely heavy. I disagree. Yes it has more weight to it. But in this case weight = quality.
I go running with this headset and it stays on very nicely.

Another feature is ‘Talk Through’. This mutes all music and enhances the voice frequencies so you can hear colleagues, airplane personnel, .. This way you don’t need to remove the headphones from its comfortable position.
Very practical indeed. A button on the right ear cup allows you to activate/deactivate this feature. It is not necessary to hold down the button, a simple tap will do the trick.

Practical things

The headphones use 1 AAA battery for the noise cancelling. This gives you about 15-20 hours of music. It also has the ability to function without battery and thus without noise cancelling.

Accesoires:

transport case (you can fold your headphones)
2 audio adaptors (in-flight entertainment and 6.3 mm)
2 AAA batteries
Detachable cable (if you want NC without music)

Buttons:

Volume +/- buttons to increase and decrease the music volume
‘Talk Through’ button.
On/Off button to activate or deactivate the noise cancelling function.
Switch to listen to music without noise cancelling and thus without a battery (not visible on picture)

Conclusion

Pro’s:

Very comfortable
Better than average sound quality
Durable design
Easy to transport (foldable design)
Listen to music without battery (most noise cancelling headphones do not have this feature)
Convenient ‘Talk Through’ function (tap to activate, tap again to bring back your music)

Cons:

‘Hiss’ when noise cancelling is activated
Price
Average sound quality when listening without noise cancelling