Kev
E-Mail: kev@altgn.com
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AIM: Kev1000000
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Web Page: http://www.djkev.com
Registered Since: 2007-09-19 02:50:09
Profile: Kev is AltGN's resident gadget whore, who spends most of his time researching, buying, and tinkering with a plethora of tech gadgets. When Kev is not whoring in the gadgets, he is probably getting in a debate about them.
Posts by Kev1000000:
Rock Band Gum Rubber Drum Mod Review
January 6th, 2008Like many Rock Band owners, I was sick and tired of the loud “clacking” sound and horrible rebound that is offered by the stock Rock Band Drum controller. After spending some time on the official Rock Band forums, and even our very own AltGN forums, I came across a mod that promises to solve both problems: The Gum Rubber Drum Mod. Gum rubber is often used on practice drum pads and even electronic drum pads, so the material should prove to be quite useful in this situation. I went ahead and PayPal’ed the $30 (which includes shipping) and received my package a few days later. The “kit” comes with 4 pre-cut 3/16″ natural gum rubber pads that include pre-applied adhesive strips that make installation as easy as it gets. Just clean off each drum head, peel off the top layer of the 3 large strips on each pad, and apply. The adhesive strips are nice because they allow the pads to be easily removed in case you need to send your drums into EA for repair. The pads are also cut slightly smaller the the drum head itself, allowing you to still see the colored ring around each drum head.
After the 2 minute installation, I fired up Rock Band in order to test out my new mod. The first thing I noticed is how quiet my drums sounded tapping through the menus. These new pads literally reduced the sound of drums by at least 60%. I did, however, notice a very slight decrease in sensitivity. Nothing that will hinder gameplay at all, but I did notice it. After fiddling around in the menus, I finally selected Nine Inch Nails - “The Hand That Feeds” on Expert. After a few seconds in, I was completely satisfied with my purchase. My sticks were rebounding back to me with ease, and the I could not hear my drum hits over the song anymore. Problem solved! I continued to play more and more songs to get acquired with the new feel of my drums. The rebound really does help with the fast drum rolls and overall playing of the drums. I even finally beat a few songs I was having trouble with in the last few tiers on Expert. One thing I did notice though, was that the rubber tends to make some “squeak” sounds if you drag your drum sticks over them. Of course, you aren’t constantly dragging your drum sticks while playing, but I did accidentally do it on occasion, and was presented with a few squeaks here and there. I’m sure as you wear them in, the squeaks will be reduced. The pads also seem to be durable, as they showed no signs of any dents or damage during my 2 hour experience with them, although I tend to hit lighter on the drums that most people.
Overall I am very satisfied with my modification to the original Rock Band Drum controller. The gum rubber allows for increased rebound with the drum sticks, making the tricky fast parts much easier to play, and significantly removes the “clack” sound and replaces it with a much more subtle “hit” sound. I highly recommend all Rock Band owners who are interested in the drums to consider purchasing this kit. Your hands and ears will thank you.
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Windows 7 feature request list leaks out
November 12th, 2007
Although the Vista transition is far from complete, that doesn’t mean Microsoft isn’t already hard at work on Windows 7, the next version of the venerable operating system — and this list of user-requested features unearthed by the folks at NeoWin might hold some clues as to the future. The “wish list” was sent out by Microsoft before Windows 7 development even began, so most of these features probably aren’t even on the radar, but what’s most interesting is that seemingly small fixes like “Window Update progress indicator” vastly outnumber big-ticket items like “integrated audio / video codec manager” and “Windows ‘Game’ Mode.”
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Apple refusing to accept cash for iPhone, limits ‘em to two per person.
October 27th, 2007
Coincidence or not, Apple has stiffened up the requirements to pick up a new iPhone shortly after announcing that 250,000 or so of the 1.4 million it sold in Q4 went to unlockers. In an admittedly intriguing move, Apple has decided that it will “no longer accept cash for iPhone purchases,” and moreover, each individual will only be allowed to buy two (on plastic, of course) in an effort to “stop people from reselling them.” More specifically, spokeswoman Natalie Kerris stated that the company is “requiring a credit or debit card for payment to discourage unauthorized resellers,” so don’t even bother bringing the greenbacks if you’re lookin’ to grab an iPhone from Apple.
I truly hate Apple.
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Gmail Gets IMAP!
October 23rd, 2007
It appears that Google is working on integrating IMAP into Gmail. However, it is only appearing in select few Gmail and Google Apps for domains accounts at the moment.
Why is IMAP integration a good thing for Gmail? POP was a stepping stone, but IMAP pushes Gmails benefits over the top. With IMAP, users can now access their email via a desktop application like Outlook or Thunderbird, read emails, make changes, delete, and have the changes made across platforms. So if you now log into your Gmail account, the message which you read in Thunderbird, will now be marked accordingly. No more wasting time trying to sift through emails that had already been answered.
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Wacom adds a baby Cintiq, the 12WX tablet / display
October 22nd, 2007
Wacom’s 21-inch Cintiq display tablet got a little sibling today, the 12.1-inch Cintiq 12WX. The unit is basically an Intuos3 tablet with an integrated display, so it features everything you’d expect — 1,024-level pressure-sensitivity, input device rotation support, touch strips, ExpressKeys, Tool ID, and tilt sensitivity — with the added bonus of being able to work directly on the 1280 x 800 image itself. Wacom says the Cintiq 12WX will be shipping November 1 in the UK for £829 ($1679) and will support XP, Vista, and OS X — no word on when it’ll be out in the States, but I can’t imagine it’ll be long.
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Apple planning iPhone SDK for February!
October 17th, 2007
Well, would you look at that. Apple apparently wants third party applications on the iPhone and iPod touch just like every other sane individual on the planet. The company just announced on its Hot News feed (and i’d say this certainly qualifies as such), that it is currently at work on an SDK for the iPhone, the apps from which will naturally work on the iPod touch. Apparently it’s going to take ‘em until February to do it up right — you know, secure and stable and all that nonsense — but this is certainly a beautiful breath of fresh air. Less excitingly, Apple claims that it agrees with Nokia’s approach of “digital signatures” for applications, meaning that Apple gets to say who qualifies for entrance onto its hallowed devices as was rumored last week; though who’s to say what exactly that will look like just yet.
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I want one: Miscea Touchless Faucet Magically Spews Out Water, Soap, Who Knows What Else.
October 12th, 2007 
This stainless steel Miscea faucet spares you the agony and grief of actually touching the soap dispenser when you’re washing your hands, and it can also squirt out disinfectant or your choice of other goo, too. Its motion control interface lets you control the flow by pointing at what you want, and you can even control the temperature of the water with a nonchalant wave of your hand. In the middle of its selector dial, it shows you the water temperature in a digital readout. This is one fab-looking faucet with its LED-lit edges, but it might be a bit inconvenient to plug the thing in when you’re installing it, since it requires a 12-volt DC power supply.
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Nintendo’s Wii Fit December 1st for $75 (in Japan)
October 10th, 2007
This Japanese pricing of 8,800 Yen ($75) for the WiiFit should give you a good idea of how much that Nintendo Wii balance/exercise/yoga board is going to cost in the US. It’s going to go on sale December 1 in Japan, and if Nintendo wants to cash in on any kind of Holiday sales at all, you know they’re going to try and pump it out before December 25 here as well. In comparison, the Wii is 25,000 Yen in Japan ($213) as opposed to the $249 here, so you could probably expect the WiiFit to go for a bit more than $75 when it swims over.
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Sony Ericsson 2008 Lineup Leaked, Pictured
October 9th, 2007
This pretty poster of pretty phones didn’t leak with a mess of details behind it-nothing at all on the K860, for instance. The W970 apparently uses a click wheel-like navigation deal and sports a 5MP shooter, along with a memory card slot. The K830, on the other hand, packs a 3.2MP camera. And that’s about it, spec-wise, so there’s not a lot to chew on for now, other than the eye candy.
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Guitar Hero III’s Les Paul in the wild
September 26th, 2007
This here’s the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero III’s Les Paul, complete with green-glowing Xbox 360 Guide button and wirelessness. Big ups to Red Octane for the extra fret board stylings and refined look, but I’d to look forward to playing with this one come October if they wired up a cardboard box to do the honors.
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iPhone + Google Calendar = Organization On The Go
September 24th, 2007 
Google’s finally put out an iPhone-friendly version of their Google Calendar, allowing you to add, view, but not edit or delete events from your phone. Of course, you could get this kind of functionality by syncing GCal to Calendar or Outlook and then syncing to your iPhone, allowing you to add, edit, and even delete events. But if you’re one of those who insist on using only Google Calendar along with your GMail, this seems pretty usable-not to mention fast.
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New Version of Gmail Being Tested
September 23rd, 2007
Gmail was launched on April 1, 2004, and has revolutionized the way many of us use email. The interface has remained largely untouched since it launched, but get ready, it’s soon to undergo a change in what they describe as a “New Version”. Only a select few people have access to use the new interface - mainly employees and trusted people outside the company called “Trusted Testers”.
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Verizon, AT&T To Share 4G Network Technology
September 21st, 2007
When the next phase of wide-area wireless networking rolls out, AT&T and Verizon Wireless will be using the same technology, the 100-megabit Long Term Evolution (LTE). Not surprisingly, it will be the same technology used by Verizon’s GSM-flavored corporate parent, Vodafone.
This will end a decade or more of competing network technologies in the US, and might open the door to roaming agreements between the two biggest carriers. Who knows, one day the US may have a wireless business that works more like Europe’s, where hardware makers play a greater role. What am I saying? They’ll probably still be locked up beyond belief, but at least the FCC will have an easier time.
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