Techie stuff and general rants from a grumpy old man
Sitting in the living room with Jane. She’s watching TV and I am listening to music on my headphones. No surprise really but it is all through the same bit of kit.
In the picture below you can see the setup. Her TV (Sky) played through my Onkyo receiver. Also through the Onkyo but on Zone 2 is my Logitech Squeezebox (controlled via my iPhone). Out of shot is separate amp and headphone basestation. The cabling is under the carpet.
The iPhone app let’s you take and upload a picture in just a couple of clicks. Wow.
Did you know you can download a simple app to your iPhone and just start updating your site from wherever you happen to be. In my case in the Garden with my dog Trooper.
Christmas has come and gone and I have to report that not a single new gadget found its way underneath the tree for yours truly – unless you count a new razor. Instead I had to make do with a couple of books (one of which I bought myself) and some new CD’s (most of which I also bought for myself). My “official” present was received back in October – the personalised number plate for my new Alfa Giulietta – which I suppose is a bit like a gadget.
I have to confess that on the one hand I like Christmas and on the other I hate it. I like the break from the work, the obligatory Christmas dinner and some of the stuff that appears on the TV – stuff like Morecambe & Wise or Only Fools & Horses. I dislike the fact that it costs a fortune, and that if you are a male you never seem to get a decent present after you are 25 and that it and New Year drag themselves on long after their sell buy date.
Big plus this year is the Ashes. Have stayed up until “lunch” most days to witness England truly demolish a very poor Australian team. As I write it looks like 3-1 is a formality sometime very early tomorrow morning. The only chance I can see of the Australian’s forcing a draw is if Sydney Cricket Ground is suddenly and magically relocated to Rockingham in an overnight miracle.
This is the gadget that I use in conjunction with a piece of software called “Spin it Again” to digitise my vinyl albums.
The Behringer UCA 202 is a USB soundcard with 4xRCA sockets that connect to the Tape Input & Output sockets on your hi-fi. Having connected it up anything that can be played via your hi-fi can be recorded to your PC.
It also has a S/PDIF optical output if required.
Also available is the Behringer UCA222 which is a more recent and slightly more expensive version. Both devices come with a vast range of free audio software that can be used to record your music etc.