Hasta La Gadget!

If you’ve ever found yourself in a room where you discover that the acoustic properties create a great echo, you’ve probably tried to see how long you can make the echo last. I’ve certainly found myself clapping my hands or yelling “Helooooooo” when I find a space like that. But I’ve never heard an echo that lasted more than a couple of seconds. Recently, a scientist managed to capture an echo which was an astounding 112 seconds long.

After finding out about a maze of abandoned WWII oil tanks under Scotland, Professor Trevor Cox decided to see just how long an echo could last in one of these massive 25.5 million liter tanks. Incredibly, after firing a gun in the chamber, he realized just how much reverberation was in the space, and captured this astounding sound clip. Keep in mind you’ll need to wear headphones and crank up the volume to hear much beyond about the 40 second mark.

The sound was captured by firing a pistol inside the solid rock chamber, and it seems to go on forever. The broadband spectrum sound lasts for 75 seconds, while the lowest frequencies lasted all the way out to 112 seconds.

But it wasn’t exactly easy for Professor Cox to make it happen. He first had to squeeze through a narrow 18-inch diameter oil pipe to get inside of the tank – not something that I’d be likely to try.

Guinness World Records has certified the 75 second record, which blew away the prior one – which stood at just 15 seconds.

[via The Independent]

Wow, this is really cool. Audio Zéro recently made a video called Wikidrummer that shows how the same song on drums can sound completely different depending on where the drums are played. Out in the field, on a road, underneath a highway, inside a garage, in the park and so on can change the overall feel of the drums and make it sound louder, heavier, punchier, lighter and so forth. The snare gets especially gnarly.

Read more…

So you are currently indulging in your daily exercise regime that has a careful balance of cardio as well as strength building sessions in order to keep up your fitness and maintain a prime physical condition regardless of your age. In the past, there weren’t too many tools that one was able to make use of in order to keep track of one’s progress, but fast forward to the 21st century, and we have a plethora of apps to accompany our smartphones as we pound the pavement or make like a hamster on a treadmill. Well, Magellan does not want to lose out on this market segment, having announced the Magellan Echo smart running watch which happens to be the company’s very first running watch that will make use of smartphone fitness apps to their full potential, where it is capable of wirelessly connecting them to your wrist.

Now that you are able to enjoy real-time fitness data that is streamed straight from your smartphone to the watch display, not to mention having the ability to remotely control connected apps, the Magellan Echo will ensure that you remain informed all the time, as well as remain in control regardless of the run.

Marking a first where a running watch is concerned, the Magellan Echo owner is able to simultaneously check out fitness data, notifications and achievements which are shown on your smartphone. Using Bluetooth Smart to hook up to your smartphone sans wires, the Magellan Echo will depict the elapsed time, distance and other fitness metrics with but a glance. Apart from that, the Magellan Echo will also ensure that users have control over a range of smartphone functions that will include start, stop or lap on your fitness app, apart from next song, play and pause on your music playlist.

Expect the Magellan Echo to be made available to the masses sometime in the fourth quarter of the year, with a recommended retail price of $149.99, or if you want it to arrive with a Bluetooth Smart Heart Rate Monitor, then do be prepared to fork out another $50.

Product Page
[ Magellan Echo Smart Running Watch copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Ceton will have something unexpected under the tree for early adopters of its $179 Echo Windows Media Center Extender — Android. Updates are on the way that will bring not only finalized Extender software, but also beta support for the Android platform and apps. Detailed in a message sent to testers this evening, there’s also an update rolling out in the next 24 hours that upgrades video output to 1080p and exposes settings for the Echo like optical audio out, bitstreaming over HDMI or optical and diagnostics. Even if you’re not in that beta test but just like running the latest software, Ceton has also pushed out beta InfiniTV drivers for Windows 8 users (note: tuner bridging is not supported if the card is installed in a Windows 8 PC.) There’s even a beta version of the Ceton Companion services that connect Media Center PCs to its mobile Companion apps — which coincidentally are on sale for $2.99 at the moment — for Windows 8 users to try out as well. Hit the source links for all of the details and expect more info on how the Echo puts Android on your HDTV soon.

Update: The Echo is also now available and shipping from Amazon, as well as the previously announced NewEgg.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Comments

Source: Ceton (1), (2)

Windows Media Center users still in shock over the indefinite hold placed on Ceton’s Q DVR / Blu-ray player finally have some good news, as the company has officially revealed the details of the Echo extender. Now ready to go on sale around Thanksgiving, the Echo Windows Media Center Extender is looking much more polished than the demo unit we saw at CES, and Ceton says the final unit is actually 72 percent smaller, or 1/4 the size of the Xbox 360’s power brick. The smaller size is not the only benefit to those looking for an alternative to the gaming console as an extender, as it claims to be 90 percent more power efficient, rated at less than 5 watts and should be much quieter to boot. In the beta period it’s lacking some features that should be ready upon release like 1080p video, web browsing, and support for MPEG-1 / WMV9 codes, with more features promised in future updates.

Like any Media Center Extender, you’ll need a properly equipped Windows 7 (or 8, once it’s released officially with the Pro Upgrade) PC to run the show and an Ethernet cable drop since there’s no WiFi, but this tiny box promises multiroom access to live and recorded TV, plus your personal media library. We’ll have to wait for some hands-on time with a beta unit to find out if it lives up to the hype, but if you’re looking to squeeze some more life out of the WMC platform this may be just the boost you’re looking for. Check out the gallery for more pics or the source links for detailed specs, while confirmed beta testers should select the third link for relevant information like a $20 price drop.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Ceton’s $179 Echo Windows Media Center Extender is ready to go on sale ‘around Thanksgiving’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 05:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Ceton (1), (2), (3)  | Email this | Comments