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Everyone around you will cringe in fear when you pull this microphone out of your pocket. We have all heard bad karaoke and one more lame attempt at public singing might just push us over the edge. They will be doubly appalled when they find out it is your own personal ashtray. If there is one thing more socially unacceptable than the public singing these days it is smoking.
How many times do you wish you could record a message, one that is under 10 seconds? And how many of those times did you have your keys with you? If both of those items are high probabilities then that could be a reason for you to try one of these out. I would suggest that using it for something like recording where your car is parked in that mammoth parking garage, but I would need some information on how reliable this thing is first. I don’t know how reliable it is, but at this price I am betting it wasn’t put through a battery of tests to see how it performs.
Product Page ($8.90)
This microphone makes a great little lamp for lighting up small areas with a diffuse glow. But all I can think of is how you could amuse yourself while playing Rock Band. Just tell some drunken fool that the mic hanging from the ceiling is what they have to use for Rock Band. Watch them belting the song out toward the ceiling while badly failing. That may not be amusing to the others in the band that fail the song when the vocalist keep getting booted, but it would certainly be amusing for that one song.
Product Page ($236)
Who would ever think that you up to something with a hat this absurd? And the microphone hanging off the side? Real subtle.
This ugly-ass spy hat is touted as the “he first and the only cap or hat in the world that you can lisen to music and record conversation.” It features an MP3 player with 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB of memory, an FM radio, and a 128kbps and 32 KHZ German high sensetive Mini Microphone to record sounds within a 35 foot range.
Product Page ( $18 )
You can consider this USB Camera a goofy design, or good use of design to obscure functionality. The camera is on the foot, the big toe has the microphone and the 4 other toes have white LED’s for lighting assistance. You do have to admit that the foot looks better than your average web cam.
Product Page ($22)
If you thought the Nabaztag WiFi rabbit had all the features you needed, then you were obviously wrong. The Nabaztag/tag adds even more with a microphone in it’s navel, voice recognition and an RFID tag reader. The basic idea is that he will connect to your network wirelessly. You can then go to the Nabaztag website and set up what you would like him to do. From there the possibilities are too numerous to list them all.
The Nabaztag/tag will use lights, voice, music, whistling and ear movements. It will alert you to email and SMS messages, read headlines (using RSS), check stock quotes or weather and a lot more. Marry one rabbit to another and they will copy each others movements. If that isn’t enough, he does Tai Chi every day too. Available at ThinkGeek for $179.99.
Accenture is developing a system of video cameras, microphones and displays to allow people to eat virtual meals with family members long distance. They envision sensing when someone is sitting down to eat and sending a signal to a family member in another city inviting them to join them through video and audio technology. They also see this as a boon for elderly people who live alone.
I wondered why they would be publicizing a system that can already be done with current webcams and such – and that they don’t think would be available for two years or more. Then I read the following quote: Senior Accenture manager Peter Glaser said he hopes insurance companies and government agencies help pay for the system, much as they do for home health care workers, once they see its benefits. And there it is. It is not viable as a standalone product, but if they can get the government to pay for it, it instantly becomes a winner financially. There may be a benefit to anyone who would like to keep in touch with others. But, no thanks, Accenture, I think we can do okay without your governmentally subsidized system.
It may seem a little strange, but if you want something with feedback on the PS3, the Audio Extreme AX360 Rumble Headset may be the only solution.
“The AX360 connects to the PSIII optical port to deliver optimum, Dolby certified 2.1 and 5.1 digital sound separation. For a radical and extreme gaming experience, the unit features eight strategically placed speakers, four in each ear cup. The external 5.1 audio controller amplifies each individual speaker and provides total audio control with inline adjustments for front, side, rear, and subwoofer. The integrated rumble effect also gives PSIII gamers a more realistic and immersed game play. … With the AX360’s removable microphone, PSIII users can utilize the featured VoIP and PC connections. The AX360 sound box can support two headsets to share in the chaos. Secondary headsets will be available for $59.99 MSRP.”
While the headphones themselves seem to be decent, I would think that the rumble feature would get annoying after awhile. These guys need to think a little more outside the box. How about some shorts with a rumble crotch? Just throwing it out there.
The MusicJam is a portable audio effects mixer for the iPod. Just plug in it in and record / play music simultaneously through the XLR socket (includes microphone). You can also throw in some extra digital effects to add a little flare to your music.
If playing an instrument isn’t your thing, the MusicJam includes karaoke software that will display lyrics and record your drunken attempts to belt out Sweet Home Alabama at your company’s Christmas party.
The MusicJam is priced at $229.
A new feature on YouTube called Quick Capture allows users to record directly to the site via their webcams.
Quick Capture uses an Adobe Flash Player API to establish the connection which means that the user must grant Flash permission to use the camera and microphone. Then, select between DV, FireWire, or USB to determine the connection type. After that, it is just a simple matter of entering the video information and pressing the “record” button.
Keep in mind that videos can not be edited once they have been recorded.
This should be a popular new feature with YouTube users and might lead to more “stream of consciousness” type videos. As far as I’m concerned, any method that helps eliminate annoying steps is a good move.
