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.

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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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.

Adesso has made some quality PC products in the past, and they have recently released a Browser Cat.

Think of the Browser Cat as a step up from the mouse as it has a full touchpad with left and right mouse buttons. It also has some designated areas on the touchpad for scrolling and other applications.

For more information on the Adesso Browser Cat 2 Button USB Touchpad, read my full review here.

Wacom tablets are very good for when you want to pen your thoughts onto your computer, and their most recent offering is the Bamboo Pen and Touch, which accepts multitouch.

I get the feeling that Wacom looked at the iPhone and iPod Touch and said: “hey, let’s give our customers some of that”. The Pen and Touch is about the end result, and it has some very lovely pen and touch features.

You can read my review here to find out more about it.

I’m not certain why anyone would want to make a keyboard where every letter looks like it has been clipped out of a magazine or newspaper, but I suppose we should be grateful that someone did.

I realize that this is a little dark, bleak, and downright creepy, but hey, if you want to see this Retro Keyboard Blackmail Text again, then send the amount of $45.00 to the Conran Shop Online.

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Okay, let’s take a poll. How many USB to mini-USB cables do you have?

I think I have one for my camera, and a few for other devices. Not all of them are compatible, but usually the mini-USB is standard.

So why not have Disney versions of these cables? Perhaps the better question is “why”, and the best answer is “because we’re Disney, and we want to sell some stuff”.

Well, if you want to donate $7 to the House of Mouse, you can get versions of them that include Toy Story, Cars, Stitch, Mickey Mouse, and those inevitable Disney Princesses.

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I had a chance to try out two of Belkin’s products this weekend, the CushDesk and the Universal Media Reader. The Cushdesk is essentially a laptop rest for your lap, and it is about as technical as a crowbar. It says on the package Ease, Comfort, and Cool, and as Stan Lee would say: “‘Nuff Said”.

As for the Universal Media Reader, I had a little bit of a harder time getting it to work. It also had some things with it that I wouldn’t call design flaws, but I probably wouldn’t have designed it that way.

Anyway, you can read my full review on the products here.