The Gospel...

Greetings to any readers out there. A brief history about the origin of this blog. I've been a techie for quite some time now... actually as far back as I can remember. I used to post my reviews on product forums which have been republished in some websites.

Then most of my tech reviews and blog entries were moved to my personal Multiply site out of laziness and convenience.

I was initially gonna repost all my previous entries here...but decided against it. This is going to be a fresh new tech blog for 2010.

The name was actually inspired by my friend, Michelle, who always uses the phrase "Well, according to John..." whenever she wants to win an argument about technology.

This blog will include my views on technology from all industries, not just consumer electronics. Guest comments on their own cool tech finds are more than welcome as well!

I'm still in the process of organizing my other blogs as well, so please bear with the template layout for now. Thank you for taking the time to drop by!

Pre-blog: 3rd time is not quite the charm for the iPod Shuffle

When I first got the email about the new iPod Shuffle, I was impressed with the design, and the Voice-over function.  But when I finally got to try it extensively, I was very disappointed.

One, it's NOT small.  Well, ok, it's small, but not as small as the pictures depict.  It's slightly (and I mean, SLIGHTLY) smaller than the 2nd generation Shuffle.  But, unlike the previous Shuffle, the new one doesn't have any controls.  Instead, you have this annoyingly retarded button that you click, double click, long click, triple click... and Morse code all day long just to move from song to song.

Which brings me to number two... the crappy earbuds.  Apple has probably THE worst earbuds on the planet... which is usually the first thing to chuck when you buy an iPod... but now, since they moved the controls to the earbuds, the new Shuffle does NOT work without the crappy earbuds.

Granted that most Shuffle owners are not audiophiles (ironic since the Shuffle is the best sounding iPod) it's still annoying since they didn't save any space at all by moving the controls from the iPod to the earbud cable.

But I guess all things have to change.  Apple will probably use this as an interim model before going back to a design similar to the previous Shuffle.

Don't get me wrong, it's a sleek new music player that looks great ... but ergonomics REALLY suck... and it would sound good, if you could use other earbuds, but since you can't, it sounds kinda crappy.  At 2x the price of the previous Shuffle, it isn't really a bargain either.

I'd recommend buying the previous Shuffle instead.

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On a more positive note, I finally got to audition the B&W Zeppelin iPod Dock, and I have to say, it is THE BEST iPod dock I've heard to date.  It's like the Bose SoundDock & the Harman Kardon Go + Play combined... it has the clarity of the Harman, and the bass extension of the Bose.  BUT, it also costs as much as both those iPod docks combined... ringing in at P36k.  Plus it doesn't run off batteries so it's not really portable.

But it does sound great, and it looks just as good.

Pre-blog: Great balls of sound!

The best sounding speaker under P2000, and under 100g! A bit larger than a ping-pong ball, the X-Mini 2 is a great successor to the original X-Mini, and X-Mini Max.

Decent size, price, sound, and battery life... this is a great accessory to have for anyone who enjoys listening to music. Having tried all the other XMI products, I have to say, that you can't really go wrong with any of them, but my personal choice would be the X-Mini 2 over the original or the Max.

The Original is smaller, and cheaper, so go for that if the size is an absolute priority, or if you don't really care for the additional sound quality of the 2. The Max is stereo, but it's larger and has a lot more wires to consider a portable solution. The Max is nice for laptop users looking for an acceptable solution for presentation work.

Specs state a 100Hz cut-off but realistically, it sounds closer to 130-50Hz, but again, for the price, and size, it's great. I haven't heard anything this small, sound this good...period. It won't replace great earphones, but it sounds way better than a lot of generic desktop computer speakers. And even sounds better than a lot of the entry-level JBL On-Stage products.

To get the best audio quality from this speaker, turn the volume on the X-Mini to the max, then half a turn back. Then set your volume on your music player to about 60-70%. This keeps distortion to a minimum, while maximizing bass response... the X-Mini 2 driver is strong enough that anything louder makes this tiny speaker rattle around your desk whenever bass notes are strong.

Go to: http://x-mini.com/ for more info.

I bought mine from http://silienation.com/ Great site, lots of nice accessories, and quick delivery via Air21

Pre-blog: Bose Sounddock Portable

The best sounding iPod dock/portable speaker system in it's SIZE & PORTABILITY category.

Mind you, size was my primary criteria for choosing the new SoundDock Portable. It's louder than the original SoundDock, rechargeable, and can now accept Aux-In sources. Unfortunately, the carry-bag is optional (typical Bose)

The Bose SoundDock Portable (like most of their products) fits a very specific need for me ... for people who want to have a battery-powered, portable speaker system, that fits inside a small/medium sized messenger bag, light enough to bring everyday, and sounds decent.

The Bose is extremely small for the volume of sound it can give out, even outdoors. It's good enough for small get-togethers with friends... about 6 people or so.

The battery lasts about 3-4 hours at high volume, but I wouldn't recommend it since any sound system doesn't really sound its best at it's higher volume capabilities. At moderate levels, I've gotten a good 6 hours from one charge. Not bad at all.

The wall-adapter is worth special mention since it's SOOOOO F***IN HUGE!!! Geez... you'd think you've seen 'em all... this thing is like 2 Apple Macbook adapters stacked!!! At least it's 110/220v and has a cord winder similar to Apple's adapters.

The SoundDock Portable is worth the premium if size/weight/portability are your primary concerns for an iPod dock or portable personal sound system.

The iPod docking cradle also retracts into the speaker system for transport or when using the Aux-in port so the system looks sleeker.

The included remote works on all current iPod models except the iPod Shuffle.

The SoundDock also recharges your iPod whether it's running from AC or DC power.

Click here for more info on the Bose SoundDock Portable

**Important Note** This is NOT the best SOUNDING portable iPod dock I've heard. That title goes to Harman/Kardon's Go+Play sound system. It's a lot cheaper than Bose's offering, runs of regular D-cell batteries, has video-out, and storage for it's remote...but, it's about 4x bigger than the Bose SoundDock Portable.

If size/weight wasn't an issue, I would've chosen the Harman/Kardon Go+Play hands-down. But the Harman Go+Play doesn't fit in my bag. For something that you won't be lugging around everyday (like occasional trips to the beach, or a friend's condo), the Harman is a much better choice, better treble extension, and better accuracy. Not to mention it's about P10k cheaper than the Bose SoundDock Portable. The Harman also runs 8 D-cell batteries which makes it a lot heavier, but cheaper to run on battery mode.

Click here for more info on the Harman/Kardon Go+Play

**Update August 2012, the rechargeable battery on my Bose Sounddock Portable died. Time for a replacement. A four-year operating life for the Li-Ion battery sounds about right.**

Pre-blog: Gorillapod

Although it won't replace a full-size tripod... the Gorillapod allows you to use whatever it can grab hold of as a tripod. It's very light, and easy to carry. It comees in 3 variants, the original, SLR, and the SLR-ZOOM (holds cameras up to 3kgs)

...yes, that's my cam taking a self-portrait of itself... hahahaha...

For more info, visit Gorillapod