The Geek Church

If you are not familiar with Blue Microphones, you should really get to know them, as they are putting out three specific new things during this year.

One of them is the development of the Mikey 3. The Mikey is a terrific microphone that was originally designed to fit in the 30-pin connector for vocal recordings. This third version will have two custom-tuned condenser capsules for capturing studio-quality audio. This Mikey also features a USB pass-thru connection for charging your device while in -use for continuous recording without draining the battery life. It also has a 230-degree rotating head for optimal positioning, and works with all kinds of Apple products like the iPad and iPad 2. It should go for about $99.

Another product is the Tiki (pictured), the “world’s first USB microphone that mimics the intelligence of human hearing by focusing on desired sounds. It plugs right into the USB port and should cost about $59.

The third development from the company is the Spark Digital, a studio-grade condenser microphone that offers both USB and iPad connectivity. This is a professional recording option for the iPad, which offers USB connectivity for studio-quality audio to any computer, laptop, or tablet with USB input. This should be on sale soon for $199.

The Digitz EZMouse is one of those wireless mice that has figured out how to solve problems of most mice.

The EZMouse has a rechargeable battery with a USB connector that can be taken out and charged via USB port on the computer or some other USB recharging method. There is an LED indicator that lets you know when the mouse is running out of power.

If you run out of power, there is a smaller back-up battery inside the computer mouse. So you can work a few days longer while recharging the regular USB battery.

Not only is this the Digitz EZMouse one of the most efficient mice as far as power is concerned, but it can also be personalized. All that is required is to submit a photo and you can get a myEZcover .

You should be able to get an EZmouse with a myEZcover for about $59.90 here, with free shipping in the USA and Canada.

Personally, I think that Logitech has misnamed their product the Cube, as it really is rectangular. However, Logitech really does create some of the coolest projects, and this one looks quite good.

The Cube is a wireless mouse/presenter, and the controls are done with swipes, just like on a touchscreen phone. It can be used like a mouse, but when you are ready to use it as a presenter or air mouse, like for a PowerPoint presentation, you just pick it up. It is completely wireless, and can connect to a PC via 2.4 GHz connectivity.

This is one of two products that Logitech have unveiled before CES this year. This one will be on sale this month in two colors for a price of $69.99.

Along with making our lives easier, technology is also meant to improve personal health and preserve the safety of human lives. Thus, ongoing research is in motion to develop better equipment for rescue teams so they’ll be more effective at saving lives during a natural disaster or emergency situation. Now Yanko Design has conceived the concept of a wearable computer that assists search and rescue teams in their operations.

A designer Dieter Amick created this concept and called it the SixthSense for Search and Rescue System. It is a portable computer intended to give rescue workers quick and convenient access to maps and relevant information. The computer itself would be strapped to your torso and its features would also include the ability to locate survivors and determine who among them needs immediate help first. Furthermore, this wearable computer is equipped with storage space for important items such as water and travel food as well.

The purpose of SixthSense is to provide search and rescue team personnel with better equipment for communication and getting vital information. This concept seems to be part of the growing trend in our culture to create more portable personal computers for easy storage and use. Apparently, the next phase in this trend is to make them wearable on the human body. At this rate, we could be wearing our computers on our arms, torso or forehead by the next decade or two.

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New innovations continue to emerge in the ever-growing trend of virtual reality technology. Recently, researchers Robert Wang and Jovan Popovic from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory made a new breakthrough in this field. They developed multicolored gloves that can track hand gestures and control capacity in virtual reality.

The multicolored gloves are called Lycra gloves, which enable a computer to identify the different parts of the human hand and distinguish its movements, postures and actions in a simulated environment in real time. In this process, a regular webcam is also used for tracking the hand’s gestures and movements from place to place. Meanwhile, both of the Lycra gloves are made up of twenty patches that have ten different colors and they allow tracking of the hand to nearly match the speed of its movements.

Currently, there is no information about future availability of this technology for consumers. Furthermore, the Lycra gloves are being used in virtual reality application to move objects, assemble parts of a mechanism and disassemble it in a simulated environment thus far. Perhaps this technology will help start a new generation of three-dimensional effects in video games, television and film.

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In this modern age, technology continues to become more portable for greater accessibility and effective use on the go. This applies not just for consumer products but also professional equipment and hardware for the military as well. The U.S. Armed Forces is currently looking for a better method of communication between soldiers during their operations in active duty. So, the mighty computer company Hewlett-Packard is in the process of developing watch computers for our nation’s troops.

They’ve named their concept the Dick Tracy watch. This device will utilize a flexible, wrist-mounted display designed to run on solar energy and plastic will be a major component in its creation. The purpose of this project is to create a versatile, communication device for use on the battlefield that won’t be hindered by a limited power source or possible malfunction.

Currently, there is no information about the military’s long-term plans for using the Dick Tracy watch. Personally, I wonder how realistic it is to actually make this technology in the real world since the concept itself is named after the tech of a comic book character. It seems that scientists, inventors and research companies like to draw their inspiration for new innovations directly from the literature and films of science fiction and fantasy.

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Armed with a brush and a load of assorted paint, a skilled painter can take a blank canvass or flat surface and transform it into a beautiful work of art. Of course, painting ranges from being a personal hobby to a professional career for novices, students and veterans alike. Artists and art lovers often see beauty in the skill of a painter’s hand, signs of a signature style, displays of imaginative vision and deep expressions of personal emotions and memories. But does that same beauty exist in a creative work when a machine is the painter instead of a person? Decide the answer for yourselves today, dear readers, as we take a look at a self-operating machine designed to create murals.

This machine is called the Facadeprinter. The automated creation is controlled by software and basically functions like an automatic paintball cannon. It was designed to shoot a wall with dots of paint at a rate of two hundred kilometers per hour and its range is about twelve meters. This machine also has the capability to upload SVG images from a USB flash drive and it has a touchscreen that allows the user to overlay work on a photo of the printing area for proper scale size and alignment. Although the user must measure distance of the printing area and enter it into the machine manually, the printing software itself will make the necessary adjustments for correct perspective and ballistic distortion.

Furthermore, the Facadeprinter is able to fire five paintballs per second and the colored pixels left behind are five to ten centimeters in diameter. The machine also allows a person to use a laser display of a full-scale bounding box of the artwork on the printing surface to make sure that it’s aligned in the right position. So, mural paintings are now easily made with this automated device. Personally, I doubt that this Facadeprinter is capable of creating the same imaginative beauty that exists in a hand-made work of art, though.

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When using portable devices like an iPod or a smartphone to listen to music or watch videos, the headphone is the common tool of choice for ensuring sound quality. Headphones can also be used with large, electronic appliances such as television sets, stereo systems and computers. However, a headphone’s effectiveness in providing great sound quality to the user is limited since most headsets come with only two speakers (one for each ear). Thus, your sound experience with listening to music and watching videos is only as good as the quality of the headset you’re using and some brands do give poorer performance than others. So, a Canadian company called Psyko Audio has developed their own unique headset to resolve the problems people tend to have with regular headphones.

Instead of creating a headset for regular performance in sound quality, Psyko Audio sought to take the sound experience with headphones up to another level entirely. The concept behind their specially designed headset is to provide the user with real surround sound quality from the headphones themselves. In their unique design, this company deliberately ignored the conventional practice of only making two speakers for the ears alone. Instead, they developed a headset called the 5.1 PC Gaming Headset System, which actually uses five speakers that are located on top and along the headband. Then the sound is carried through tubes leading into the ear-cups, which spread the sound out over the front and back of your ears. Furthermore, this process of surround sound is also strongly supported by subwoofers built into the ear-cups.

Psyko Audio presented the 5.1 PC Gaming Headset System at the Gaming Expo during CES this past January. I was actually there at the time and had the opportunity to try out their special headphones for myself. It truly is a surround sound experience wearing the headset. The sound itself fills your ears in the headset, cutting off noise from the outside world around you and giving you unhindered performance quality with whatever you’re listening to. This headset is amazing and quite ingenious in its design and execution. The 5.1 PC Gaming Headset also comes with a detachable mic for gaming online and the whole set is available for $300 at websites such as Newegg and Tiger Direct. With the development of such effective headphones, I wonder what other products Psyko Audio plans to release in the near future.

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In this age of mobile, wireless technology, we find ourselves regularly dependent on batteries to keep our personal, electronic devices working. The problem with batteries is that most brands mainly offer disposable batteries, which have to be replaced eventually and rechargeable batteries tend to be more expensive than regular ones. So, if what a special battery charger was developed that could even restore the charge for regular, non-rechargeable batteries. Well, an Australian company named Digital Works has come forward to turn this “what if” scenario into a reality.

They call this special battery charger the ReZap Battery Engineer. This device is designed to restore the charge for both rechargeable and regular batteries and the regular kind can be recharged up to ten times. It can also recharge four cells of varying sizes at the same time. The ReZap Battery Engineer works by utilizing intelligent microprocessors and software to regulate the charging process for batteries and it is also designed to be environmentally safe for use. The device has a battery tester, which indicates the current charge level of any battery as well. Battery types such as AA, AAA, AAAA, C, D and 9 Volt are all compatible with the ReZap. This charger is quite unique since it is designed to to use the correct charging algorithm to handle the custom recharge of each individual battery type. Furthermore, the ReZap doesn’t require any settings to be made for buttons or switches, thus solving the problem of charging errors.

PC Treasures, a leading provider of award-winning OEM software bundles for computers has partnered with Digital Works to distribute the ReZap Battery Engineer on the North American market. PC Treasures has been active since 1998 and is based in Oxford, Michigan, working with computer system builders and resellers throughout North America. This provider is now focused on offering digital entertainment products, PC and netbook accessory items to general consumers as well. They have collaborated with Digital Works for a May 2010 release of the ReZap to North American stores and the suggested retail price is currently $59.95.

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The Beamz Interactive Music System is a musical instrument for the future. The user plays the instrument by crossing their hands through laser beams.

It works by attaching it to the computer, and then the user can select what sounds it will make when crossing the lasers. It will also do rhythms, and the Beamz Interactive becomes a tool for DJs of all ages.

It’s quite an interesting tool/toy, really. Read here for my full review.