Riding off the currents of last week’s release of Modern Warfare 2, gamers can barely come up for air as some more anticipated games release on Tuesday 11/17. It’s pre-Thanksgiving into the Christmas season. Looks like game machines will shift into high gear.

The most eagerly awaited game for mature gamers is the sparkling sequel, Assassin’s Creed 2, for X360 and PS3. Discover an intriguing & fascinating new epic story of power, revenge and conspiracy set in a pivotal moment of History: the Italian Renaissance. An action filled adventure, meet myriads of macabre characters ready to kill at a wrongly pointed breath of air. Suspicious backgrounds reveal lascivious acts beyond imagination. Due to violence, blood, and sex, this game has an ESRB rating of M (Mature) for age 17 and over.
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An invasion is occurring. Androids are slowly taking over as they penetrate our mobile electronics industry. Android is no alien sci-fi creature. It’s an open-source set of software developed as an operating system for mobile devices created by many software developers around the world. T-Mobile has MyTouch, an Android cellular phone with quick access to Google. General Mobile has the DSTL1 unlocked cell phone that is also Android based. Coming around the corner is the Archos 5, an MP3 audio/video player that also doubles as an Internet tablet. Using Android, the Internet aspect of the Archos 5 is far more powerful and expansive than ever. It is the most affordable and portable way to enjoy web capabilities for a pocket device with a relatively large screen.

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The Digital SLR camera has been plagued in its evolutionary awareness. Nikon’s earlier digital SLR cameras (DSLR) used a DX format. The advantage of changing lenses (while attempting some compatibility with earlier lens formats) confounded the best positioning of the digital sensor behind the lens. Imaging was based on a 24 x 16mm frame. A full frame is considered to be 36 x 24mm, nearly double the surface area. That translated to lower resolution, reduced light sensitivity, and some parallax differentiation. While those DX cameras were still benchmarks of its time. Critical professional photographers were sensitive about these drawbacks. So Nikon revised and corrected these (and other complaints) and produced the FX-series DSLR.
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For all its glory, HDTV at high resolution still presents a 2 dimensional image that through our eyes and mind may appear to have 3 dimensions. At CEATEC 2009, in Chiba Japan, Sony and Panasonic have released prototypes of the first HDTV models that can present 3D images through Blu-ray. Both will require special eyeglasses to isolate the images and blend into 3D.

The emergence of 3 dimensional viewing was in the 1950’s when movie studios felt threatened by television. Movies were released with rudimentary 3D technology that required special glasses to decode the image. Without those glasses, the image seemed a blur.
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Transduction is a scientific term for the process where matter or energy is converted to produce another form of energy. It is the core of how life, from plants to animals, survives. For the past century, sound engineers have grappled with concepts of how to make recorded sound reproduce as real as the original source material. As such, technologies developed using various elements and chemical structures to convert sound in speakers and headphones. Panasonic’s new RP-HJE900 takes a bold new step into that arena using a diamond-like substance called Zirconium as an audio transducer in a tiny earphone. Will digital music rise to yet higher levels?

The world’s first high fidelity in-ear headphones made of Zirconia, model RP-HJE900 is expected to get people talking Continue Reading »

Zeppelins were once fairly common and were considered the first reasonable air-based transportation. One day in 1937, the Hindenburg zeppelin suffered a major accident while trying to dock in New Jersey. While jets have replaced zeppelins as a mode for flying, the B&W Zeppelin and their new Zeppelin Mini are speaker systems for the iPod that offer unmatched acoustic transparency to deliver uncompromising sound output from your docked iPod. These speakers fill the air of any room with the best possible audio than any other iPod speaker can match.
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Before Plasma and LCD screens dominated the HDTV market, video projectors were perceived as the most likely to deliver a home theater environment. It made sense. A projector could deliver image sizes to 300 inches, nearly duplicating the effect of a movie theater.

The projector, however, had several drawbacks. You needed to set up a screen. Also, it was difficult to place in a living room setting. The projector needed to be set in the center of the room or in front of your sofa. Then, of course, you needed to connect your cable box and disc player to the unit. The projector wasn’t able to survive those disadvantages. Instead it gained more popularity in business and school settings. When making a presentation, you can connect your computer. Continue Reading »

The popular audiophile-quality speaker manufacturer, Klipsch, whose speakers are used in many movie theaters, is introducing a line of earphones.

It’s common knowledge that better earphones deliver better sound from iPods and other digital media players. MP3 and WMA compress music for more efficient space and data storage. As a result, audio fans find that these pocket players only deliver a facsimile of the original song and recording. Purchasing superior earphones help deliver a leveling of highs and lows that simply can’t be heard from the basic earphones that are included with most players. Continue Reading »

The PSP has been the most popular handheld game system by serious gamers. Now, slated for release in early October, is PSPgo. It’s a new and improved version of the PSP that plans to extend your handheld enjoyment even further.

Sony is relying on the success of the PSPgo, which relies on downloading games from the Playstation Network. Cell phones have been taking a slice of the handheld game market as the iPhone and other touchscreen models offer download capabilities and better control.

The PSPgo has a large, bright 3.8-inch screen. It has a 16GB hard drive to store a wide variety of games and movies you choose to download from the Playstation Network. Bluetooth support allows use of wireless headsets.
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Mark your calendar to be at J&R’s 25 Park Row store on Thursday 9/24, 6:00 P.M. for a performance and autograph signing appearance by Manhattan Transfer.

The Grammy winning acappella group uses 4-part vocal harmonies. The New York group stated to form in 1972 and by 1974 began to perform at all the big city nightspots of the day including Reno Sweeney and Max’s Kansas City.

Manhattan Transfer’s unique sound uses no music instruments other than vocal harmony. Although early religious music relied on vocal harmony (i.e. Gregorian Chants, it was jazz that brought back the vocal sans instruments style. It’s called Vocalese and resembles doowop acappella music styles that were popular in neighborhoods during the 1940’s through the 1960’s. Prior to Manhattan Transfer’s popularity, the popular 1950’s three-part harmony group Continue Reading »