magazine

The last CD player?

Most of the tech products you buy are disposable.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average cell phone life span is 18 months. One hundred and twenty five million phones are discarded every year, resulting in more than 65,000 tons of waste. A lot of folks get a new computer every few years.

Bought a new home theater receiver last year? Great, but its HDMI 1.3 connection is about to be superceded by HDMI 1.4. That won't reduce the receiver's usability, at least in the near term, but it's unlikely you'll want to keep it around for the long run.

Audio Research's CD8 Reference player was designed to last a long, long time. It's also one of the least "digital"-sounding CD players I've ever used. That sort of statement is usually followed by something like, "CDs now sound a lot more like LPs." That's not the case here, but the CD8 is considerably more musical than other state-of-the-art CD players. You can read my complete review on the Home Entertainment Web Site.

Audio Research's CD8 Reference player uses vacuum tubes to amplify the converted-to-analog signals. That's hardly a new idea, as designers started sticking tubes in CD players in the 1980s. But most of those players used just a pair of tubes, typically as a "buffer" output stage. The CD8's tubes are configured much as they are in Audio Research's very best stereo preamplifier, the Reference Pre ($12,000). Measuring an imposing 19 inches long by 5.25 inches high by 15.3 inches wide, the CD8 is the size of a pretty serious power amplifier.

The CD8 doesn't have a disc-loading drawer; the drive mechanism is located under a sliding door on the top panel. Disc loading involves placing a small magnetic clamp on the disc. I like the "hands-on" approach, maybe because it's more like playing an LP.… Read more

Can a music server sound better than a CD player?

I read Geoffrey Morrison's review of the Olive 4HD music server on the Home Entertainment Web site with great interest, because I recently heard the 4HD at a friend's house. The review provides a lot of information that I'm not covering here.

It's a cool-looking device, and I really like that it can be used without being hooked up to a computer. It's more like a CD player with a built-in 2TB hard drive.

There's a Gigabit Ethernet port and a Wi-Fi module if you're into the home network thing, and a free … Read more

Zinio app brings magazines to iPhones...and perhaps iSlates?

Digital-magazine publisher Zinio just released an eponymous app for the iPhone and iPod Touch (iTunes link), meaning you can now read electronic editions of Automobile, PC Magazine, Popular Science, and other pubs on the go.

Very interesting timing, no? It can't be a coincidence that the app arrives mere weeks before the iTablet, iSlate, iPad, or whatever Apple calls the product it's announcing later this month.

After all, many magazine publishers are looking to tablets as their savior, a way to keep their voice and content alive while eliminating the traditional costs of publishing. Look no further than this Sports Illustrated proof-of-concept video that made the rounds last month.

Zinio, for its part, has been around for years, but until now your only decent option for reading its e-content was a PC screen--not a comfortable or convenient experience. Indeed, I let my PC Magazine subscription lapse (the magazine went all-digital last year) simply because I didn't like reading it on my monitor.

But on my iPhone? That's where I do most of my leisure reading these days anyway. (Kindle app, I love you. You too, Regator.)

The Zinio app does exactly what a magazine reader should: reproduces each page of the print edition (which you can zoom and scroll through, much like you would a PDF), but also provides an iPhone-friendly reading mode that reflows the text to fit the confines of the screen.… Read more

Vanity Fair on Twitter fame: Twembarrassing

Vanity Fair magazine, with its crisp and alluring takes on everything from international affairs to celebrity culture, is the sort of publication known for being current, relevant, and in the know.

Yet in its February issue--yes, the one with Tiger Woods on the cover--it managed to publish one of the silliest, most superficial, and most wildly out of touch articles about Twitter that I've ever read. Called "America's Tweethearts," it discusses the phenomenon of individuals (primarily attractive women) who have amassed notable amounts of Twitter fame, or "twilebrity." (Twilebrity? Barf.)

Accompanying the article, … Read more

2010 Ferrari 458 Italia in action!

Monday's video blog gave us a quick look at the newest addition to the Ferrari sports car legacy, the 2010 458 Italia. So, today I thought we should delve a little deeper into what the 458 Italia is all about, and this Web video from U.K.-based EVO Magazine not only breaks down the nuts and bolts of this ass kicker, but we also get to bear witness as this "main event" vehicle is taken for a spin on the scenic British country roads. Let's go!

In the first phase of this Web clip, Chris … Read more

$229 vacuum tube amplifier wows audiophiles

If you think all high-end products are stupid expensive or mammoth monstrosities, the MiniWatt vacuum tube integrated amplifier should change your mind. What differentiates high-end gear from mass market technology is performance; mainstream manufacturers know sound quality isn't much of a priority for most buyers, so they build their products to sound just good enough.

By high-end standards at least, the MiniWatt is dirt cheap, just $229 (shipping is $40). And measuring just 5 by 4 inches, the little guy can fit anywhere. Powerful it's not, just 2.5 watts for each channel, but that should be plenty … Read more

Flashback 1989--Gaming 20 years ago

I found an old issue of Video Games & Computer Entertainment magazine in an ancient cardboard box filled with stuff I somehow saved from my years at summer camp. Dated July 1989, it's more than 20 years old--and it's an incredible reminder of how quickly things can change.

Besides the god-awful layout by modern standards, I found a few notable shocks when thumbing through the issue:

Game ads have addresses to write to and phone numbers to call, since there were no Web links yet. The TurboGrafx-16 preview, featured on the front cover, boasts how the $199 console … Read more

Apple relents on Mad artist's caricature app

Apple's App Store has given a nod to an application that features bobble-headed caricatures of congressional politicians and provides contact information.

"Apple came to its senses yesterday and approved the app," Mad Magazine artist Tom Richmond wrote in his blog Saturday. "You have to wonder how much of the decision was based on the press [coverage] and image hit Apple had taken, and how much of it was simply that some overworked approval person rubber stamped it as a reject."

The Bobble Rep-111th Congress Edition app caught the public's attention this week after Richmond … Read more

PressReader brings 1,300 newspapers to your iPhone

Maybe this is the way to save newspapers?

PressReader brings more than 1,300 newspapers to your iPhone and iPod Touch.

In other words, it's a dream come true for news junkies. The app itself is free; you pay only for the content.

The above video explains most of what you need to know, but I'll sum up. PressReader lets you browse each and every page of the selected newspaper, zooming in and scrolling as needed.

Of course, if you've ever tried reading a PDF on your iPhone, you know it's not exactly comfortable. That's … Read more

Even in media mecca, plenty are willing to pirate

NEW YORK--Manhattan is the center of book publishing, all four music labels have headquarters here, and it's home to the country's largest general newspaper.

But even in the Big Apple, many people appear unwilling to pay for media.

New York magazine conducted an apparently unscientific poll of 100 pedestrians in Manhattan's SoHo district and it revealed some startling and humorous results.

Few of those polled are willing to pay for The New York Times. Asked whether they subscribe to the paper, 79 said no. Asked how much they would be willing to pay to read the paper … Read more