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Humans Were Born to Run - Running is why we have large rear ends. Also, the comments are great.

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‘Proof: cows hate humans’ - Daisy has the best quote.

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Prior to this year, I was not aware that the Consume Electronics Show every January is the biggest of its kind in the world. But after reading about the show through detailed coverage at Engadget and Gizmodo (but mostly Engadget), I found that my personal picks amongst their personal picks still constituted a fascinating glimpse at the future of consumer level technology. In short, if you like high tech, you are in for some kind of treats in this coming year or two.

Two things stuck out in the video world to me. First, take the combination of Blu-Ray discs (high capacity discs … about 8-9 times more than DVD in their first generation) and high definition screens, and you get pretty amazing results. The possibilities … that video will look amazing soon, are very exciting. Furthermore, consider the multi-multi-format reader from Pioneer, the unwieldly-named Pioneer DV-588A-S will successfully play “DVDs, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CDs, WMA, MP3, DVD-R, DVD-RW, JPEGs, and DivX.” That final one is very exciting, it allows me to burn data discs of the DivX movies that reside on my computer, and they will play on it … no decompression to any MPEG flavors and a great archive method. Fits on CDs, too! Good things coming from video.

The MP3 player market continues to explode outward, I expect it to grow for the next 4 years. That is a completely arbitrary guess, but hey, it’s optimistic! Anyhow, Playlist Magazine’s summary of the best upcoming iPod accesories has some great picks. My favorite is probably the iTop, a controller that replaces the iPod front controls so one can use it by just tapping a string of buttons on the, well, top. Hence the iTop moniker. But, like they say, “If CES is any indication (and it’s usually a great indication of the direction the consumer electronics market is heading) the iPod accessory market is booming even louder than most of us realized.”

This is still CES, but is tangential to almost everything I can think of in this post (other than the USB flash drive reader): yes, a sewing machine that converts any image to an embroidery pattern. Holy crap. Read more about the Brother Innov-is 4000D.

As usual, the rumors around the upcoming MacWorld Expo are absolutely blowing up: flash-based iPods, new slogans (“Life is Random”), and this headless, budget Mac. While I think the current iMac G5 would be great for my family, perhaps this no-monitor solution would utilize their current LCD, and put them over the edge. Then again, nobody really knows if Apple is actually making this headless wonder, so time will tell. I think the market is asking for a cheap Apple, but that could be just me. One note on those pictures, it says “Media Centre” … I would think if Apple was releasing something in the US, they would spell that as “Center.” Regardless, there is great evidence that this could be a hoax.

Here is something nifty, secure IM chat with support for up to 50 users in a “room.” Read more here. Nice, right? Sure is. But add telephone support to this software, and you have an amazing package. Get this: you have the software, your friend across the world has it, and the two of you get free long distance. You can call normal telephone numbers (for a price), but continuing advances in software like this will all but eliminate the long-distance telephone business. Read more at Skype’s front page. Further note that voice over ip (VoIP) has avoided major problems because the FCC decided to take a step back from harsh regulation and allow the technology grow … another step on the journey to an internet-powered everything. Convergence approacheth!

Last but not least, note that phones can now have their speaker and LCD screens combined as one membrane. Talk about elegant (and about bad puns). Anyhow, if this works, as one commenter predicted “every cellphone will use it within 18 months.” That could be said for most of the CES stuff.

Update: The iHome is a fake. Figures. Oh well. Read more here.

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The idea of the expedition was to go to Audio Perfection on Lyndale Avenue, and audition the speakers with John. He is trying to decide between the KEF Q7’s and some NHT ST-4’s. I love the store even though I have only been there once before; during that visit, the sales people treated me not as a poor (as in broke) kid, but as an interested enthusiast who could someday return to make an investment in gear. Our idea did work out, but we learned more than we thought we would.

We slowly walked up the steps of the old concrete building, looking inconspicuous helps Audio Perfection avoid theft. The layout of the place is simply many connected rooms with acoustic treatments on everything. For someone interested in home theater, the place is like Aladdin’s cave. Plasma TV’s on the walls, amplifiers from companies you have never heard of, and speakers - the speakers are incredibile. Electrostats bigger than a chaise lounge, floorstandings that look like canoes or alien landers, subwoofers you mistake for coffee tables. It is audio, though; it is not the looks that matter.

The promise that some of this equipment would soon bring a smile to our face by playing the albums I brought had us both eager to find the NHT’s John was looking for. At that moment, just as we were wondering where to begin looking, a man walked into the room swinging a cane in front of him. He aimed his gaze so accurately in our direction that it took me about a minute to realize he could see nothing at all. John asked about the NHT’s.

“They are in the room off this way,” he said to us, and he began to search for the door. I guessed that someone had moved some speakers, because he searched for the doorway about three feet to the left of where it was, on the wrong side of an electrostat. John and I stood there, not wishing to hurt his pride and guessing he had been there long enough to navigate on his own. He found his way and brushed past a bookshelf McIntosh, noting the brand as his fingers slipped over the mahogany finish. We followed hesitantly, watching him step confidently past tens of thousands of dollars of equipment up to the different NHD models. John mentioned the floorstanding ones he wanted to hear. To our amazement, the man stooped down and started to rewire the speaker cables so we could hear. “Which one is red?” he asked John, holding up 24k gold interconnects. By the next speaker, he simply held up the wire, asking with a tone closer to a statement than a question, “this is black, isn’t it?”

Equipment buttons everywhere, he punched one and listened for the relay inside, quickly realizing it had just been turned off, turning it on again. Becoming more sure of the model, he lightly tapped a button, and I dropped a CD into the tray that slid out. He shut the door on his way out, and we listened, almost as amazed with the sound as with his knowledge.

We asked him more questions later, and watched as his hands drifted over piano gloss finishes, removed grills, and assessed speakers; “These are pretty typical drivers, but listen to the cabinet, it’s rock solid.” Later, I thought to myself, here is someone who picked the perfect field. Losing a sense makes the other senses pick up the slack: here is someone who really truly hears and feels sound. I do not not know if I could keep on without something like sight.

I’m not sure what I learned from the experience, but I know it was something deeper than I can articulate right now. Seeing someone like him was really a cool experience, it had the best parts of meeting someone new.

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Zach Braff Blog - Garden State’s writer/director/co-star writes funny stuff. New Year’s Resolution: “Be less kind to bunnies” and so forth.

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Blu-Ray Has Already Won - Gizmodo’s excellent article argues why the future of optical media is not a contest but a countdown: Blu-Ray holds upwards of 50GB and is already available in Japan.

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Do You Speak American? - Great PBS special about regional American dialects.

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