Miscellaneous

I am looking into getting a 360 degree camera for VR tours on campus (for hiring and recruiting grad students in the spring) and also just to play with for fun. I've been looking into the Ricoh cameras. Other suggestions are the Gopro Max but I already have a GoPro Hero 9. https://theta360.com/en/ Anyone tried any of these cameras?

Hello everyone, I hope this is the right spot for this. I have recently been buying stuff at a local liquidator, because money is tight and I'm always on the lookout for good deals. I've had a relatively good experience with this liquidator, and have for instance bought three Huion USB drawing tablets for $60, which I promptly turned around and resold on eBay for $180 before shipping. So, when I saw they had listed a pair of Sennheiser HD660S headphones, I knew I had to win them. I got them for $161! I picked them up, and sure enough they were new...But the wrong model! The box, and case is all genuine Sennheiser, even the original manual for the HD660S was incl…

Title says it all. As of 3rd December SME announced that they were no longer supplying pickup arms, and now would only provide them integrated with an SME turntable. https://sme.co.uk/2019/12/03/sme-product-announcement/ They instantly removed the entire pickup arm category from their website. Thus ends pretty much to the month 60 years and >1 million arm sales since Alastair Robertson-Aikman sold the first SME pickup arm. Of course, the new owner (Ajay Shirke) and the new MD Stuart McNeilis can do what the hell they want - but it seems to be a major strategic error to withdraw from arm sales. The entry price for the lowest cost SME package will now be t…

I am planning to get Yumi a digital piano for Christmas. She has been playing since she was young (she is used to an acoustic piano). I have an old Casio PS-20 (https://www.musiciansfriend.com/keyboards-midi/casio-ps-20-88-key-digital-piano) from 2002 which does have hammer weighted action but I am sure the technology has come a long way since then. I was looking at the Yamaha Arius 163B since I have heard good things about Yamaha. I listened to both this one and the 143 and this one certainly had a better sound. Anything that might be better to look at without completely breaking the bank? Is it worth upgrading to the Yamaha Clavinova 625? https://www.…

https://www.innerfidelity.com/

Forcing Windows and Linux kernel redesign, which is expected to cause 5-30% Slowdown for all Intel chips made in last 10 years.. UNfreakingBelievable. If not fixed at OS software level, huge security risk looms. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/02/intel_cpu_design_flaw/

Now that I have a house with a bunch of room, I would like to get a wine/beer fridge. Thinking about getting the Wine Enthusiast 11 or 165 version fridge. Any suggestions? I would like something that is relatively quiet and lasts a while, even if it costs more. http://www.wineenthusiast.com/wine-enthusiast-classic-wine-cellar-(111-bottle).asp

Planning to start doing more hiking and biking. Looking for a multi-activity watch (wrist computer?). A bit of Googling seems to suggest the Garmin Forerunner 935 (cheaper, lighter and anecdotally better GPS performance than the Fenix 5 series). I known some of you here like Suunto as well. Any experiences to share?

Looking to update quite a bit lately and I am moving on from all my Mephisto dress shoes to something a bit more modern/interesting. Couldn't find a shoe-case thread here hiding amongst murses and bicycles so I figured we could have a nice discussion of something I assume most of us use. I have Allen Edmonds right across the street and an Alden one train stop away so they are first on my radar. Fashionista Colin pointed out the Peal & Co. option as well made shoes available at Brooks Brothers so I am looking at them as well. So what does the well-appointed Head-Caser wear for daily dress, casual, sport shoes around here?

Hello, Wife's birthday Friday, and I've been wanting to get her a quality point and shoot for a while. I got her a nice Nikon DSLR a while back but notice she sometimes doesn't bring it as its somewhat bulky. I'd love to get her something I know she will use more portably, take quality pics and she can do all her downloading and Facebook uploading with ease thanks for any recommendations!

My niece wants a video camera for her birthday. What should I get her? She already takes a lot of videos with her phone (has been for a couple of years) but wants something a little more professional. She originally asked for a camera but is mostly interested in videos. She's turning 15 but is pretty careful with her stuff. I assume a dedicated video camera will be much better than a DSLR? What about this? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1109405-REG/panasonic_hc_v770_full_hd_camcorder.html

I'll bet this is yet another thing a lot of us obsess about. The iPad thread has me considering several different murses. But now I also think I need a new briefcase. I have an old school leather Coach briefcase, which is nice, but heavy and somewhat impractical for my gadget-y self. I'm thinking about this: Zephyr: TOM BIHN Thoughts? Criticisms? Useless drivel?

Sigh... It's not like Time Warner was a beacon of excellence. But when Spectrum took over, many things have gotten even worse. In no particular order: Monthly bill went up through various reasons including higher prices for newly "developed" bundles/packages. Spectrum got rid of the best mbps per dollar plan and offer either slow or "fast" plans, not the middle one Timer Warner had. My Spectrum cable box keeps stop working randomly, displaying messages like "To receive this channel, call customer care." When called, customer care has no clue, does not speak English, and I have to go through the algorithm hell multiple times until I waste my time to sc…

Was saddened by this news; http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/companies/2017/04/11/Toshiba-unaudited-earnings-westinghouse-pittsburgh/stories/201704110113

Love that I'm just noticing this today lol. Seriously need to consider cutting the cord, what are some of the more popular options out there? The kids for sure can survive purely on Netflix, and the wife and I just need enough TV for a few shows and major sports.

So I'm in need of a component rack of some kind. As it stands I have my turntable on a random wood end table, and the rest of my gear splayed across my computer desk. The desk is way too cluttered, and whenever I do decide on a dac there won't be any room for it. So I need to once again buy some sort of equipment rack. The current most obvious choice is a Salamander Archetype: http://www.amazon.com/Salamander-A5-Archetype-5-0-Black/dp/B0006VPUMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391319380&sr=8-1&keywords=salamander+archetype I'd opt for the upgraded cherry model because it looks nicer. However, I dread putting the damn thing together and leveling all the sh…

For those vinyl users, what online vendors do you use and trust? This would be for mostly new releases, I've got a few places around here that have bargain used bins but mostly the older stuff.

Hi! A few weekends ago, we visited my wife's grandma's house for a final time, as she was recently admitted into a home, and they are going to have an estate sale. This was a chance for the grandkids to sort of go through and pick any momentos they wanted. I thought it would be nice to take home her grandma's old vinyl and possibly play it a bit. I am not a vinyl guy at all, nor do i see myself really getting into it. So all I am looking for is a very cheap, small space, functional vinyl rig that my wife can listen to her grandma's old records.

Anyone willing to assist in picking up and shipping a set of speakers located in Lafayette (just outside Walnut Creek)? They are average two-piece tower speakers that should fit easily in most SUV/Truck/Van. I will pay for your time and shipping/packing at a local UPS store. Shot me a PM and I can forward more details.

I saw this on a license plate: "3958 HZ", and since it's within the audible spectrum, I thought I'd ask here. Anyone know the significance?

You know you want to talk about it ... e.g. http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/7/12694772/apple-event-live-stream-new-iphone-7-announcement-schedule https://live.theverge.com/apple-iphone-7-launch-event-live-blog/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/miguelhelft/2016/09/07/liveblog-all-the-news-from-the-iphone-7-event-as-they-happen/#2b41f8b72472

I thought about upgrading my iphone 5s to the 6s and then I thought that maybe I should consider switching cell phone carriers. I've been with Sprint since around 2000 and for the last 10 years I've been on a family plan with Tim, Tim's daughter, Tim's dad and now I am off contract (and Tim's dad just passed away so I should be able to cancel his phone without penalty). I was thinking about switching to Verizon for better/faster LTE coverage. My phone plan at Sprint is an unlimited plan and I'm a little worried about getting rid of an unlimited plan... this is my one fear about switching. I would probably get the 12GB option at Verizon which would be around $100+ tax …

I realized that I have a ton of portable equipment that has a lithium battery in it and that has been sitting unused for years (long before Tim passed away): Pico, Pico Slim, cell phones, cameras. How dangerous is it to charge up a battery that has been sitting around discharged for a long time (evidently you are not supposed to do this ever)? I know that lithium batteries are not as likely to leak as alkaline batteries but can be really bad if they go. What should I do with this stuff? The cell phones I can recycle but I am not sure what to do with the Pico and Pico Slim. I was going to sell them or give them away since I never use them but now I am worried a…

Another possibly limited interested topic, but I know a few here spend time hiking/camping and I am trying to get into it and looking for a repository of the best products, etc. and tips on overnight, multi-day, etc. backpacking trips. So far I only have the backpack Gregory Baltoro 75, a spork, a fire kit, various Busse knives and Vapur collapsible water bottles. What are you guys packing and using on your hiking trips?

You know we'll all be talking about it, might as well have a thread devoted to it. The Register was on (sarcastic) point as ever with it's live tweet stream https://twitter.com/TheRegister/timelines/641647543785381889 Or taking the piss out of the hype http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/09/09/apple_iphone_ipad_event_live/ Other reports are available. Key Points iPad Pro Apple Pencil (new) Apple TV iPhone 6S(plus) Discuss