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Sketchcase literally turns your MacBook into a whiteboard

Do you remember the Wipebook reusable journal that featured whiteboard style pages that could be wiped clean and used over and over again? If you thought that sounded useful, consider the Sketchcase Whiteboard Skin that turns your MacBook into a real whiteboard that you can write on with markers – even permanent markers. 

The Whiteboard Skin is a scratch and chemical resistant vinyl wrap that is compatible with dry erase, wet erase, and permanent markers, allowing you to write and draw on your laptop. Then you can wipe it clean and write something new.

The Sketchcase Whiteboard Skin has been designed for the 12″ MacBook up to the 15″ MacBook Pro and is priced from $17.99 – $19.99. Find out more at sketchcase.com.

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Sketchcase literally turns your MacBook into a whiteboard originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 6, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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McIntosh Audio goes small with the MHA50 Portable Decoding Amplifier

Anyone who knows audio is aware of McIntosh—no, not Apple’s Macintosh! McIntosh is one of the most respected brands of audiophile gear with a history of great sound, long life and understated design with their signature blue lighting. Many years ago, I bought a Marantz receiver solely because it looked like a McIntosh (couldn’t afford the real thing). Only later did I realize that those copy-cat Marantz products were incredible in their own right. Lucky me! But I digress. McIntosh has continued to refine their core products (amplifiers, preamps, receivers, speakers) while also innovating in a digital world. Now they are venturing into the portable market with the McIntosh MHA50 Portable Decoding Amplifier.

Nearly everyone walks around with most if not all of their music library in their pocket or bag where it’s readily accessible via a pair of headphones. While convenient, it likely doesn’t sound as good as it could. The handheld MHA50 Portable Decoding Amplifier can make your music sound its best—and likely better than you’ve ever heard it before—through your headphones.

The MHA50 includes wired inputs for Apple iOS and Android devices plus Mac and Windows computers. It can also wirelessly connect to these devices via Bluetooth 4.1 with aptX technology ensuring high wireless sound quality. It has a high-performance 32-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and outputs audio that is superior to what your device alone can produce. It supports 32-bit/192kHz hi-res audio, DSD, and USB audio. Its 3,000 mAh rechargeable battery provides up to 6 hours of playback on a single charge when wireless and last even longer when wired.

About the size of a smartphone, the MHA50 is lightweight for portability with a beveled case that fits inside a pocket. Its features a glass front panel with a touch-sensitive volume control knob inspired by the classic knobs found on McIntosh products.

The MHA50 to work with all types of small earphones to large over-ear headphones. It comes complete with a luxurious leather carrying case, a Lightning to USB-A cable for Apple devices, a USB micro-B to USB micro-B cable for Android devices and a USB micro-B to USB-A cable for Mac and Windows PCs. A wall mount charger is also included.

The MHA50 sells for $700 US and is available from McIntosh dealers. Visit www.mcintoshlabs.com for more info.

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McIntosh Audio goes small with the MHA50 Portable Decoding Amplifier originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 5, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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Sonos One is their first smart speaker with Alexa (Hands-on)

“Play mom’s playlist.” We suspected it was coming, and today Sonos confirmed that they are bringing Alexa into their eco-system. A software update is now available that allows Sonos owners to use Alexa to control their Sonos. The update is a beta that will be available for users in select countries, including the U.S. 

The company also unveiled their new Sonos One speaker which comes with Alexa support out of the box. But don’t let its familiar looks fool you, the Sonos One might look similar to their Play One speaker on the outside – but on the inside, it has been completely re-engineered. To that effect, it comes with a six-mic array and an adaptive noise suppression algorithm that has been optimized for Alexa. Worried that Alexa won’t hear you over the music? That’s where the echo cancellation technology inside of the mics come into play. Overall, the Sonos One is really positioned as a building block, since it allows you to use Alexa to control the rest of the Sonos family.

We briefly got to listen to the Sonos One, and it sounded fantastic for its size – even when playing all on its lonesome. Of course, like with other Sonos speakers, you will be able to pair the Sonos One with other Sonos Ones in stereo mode. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to pair the Sonos One with an older Play One speaker that you may have laying around. That’s a bummer, but Sonos did tell us that they may possibly add that feature later on in an update. And considering how great Sonos is with software updates, our hopes are high.  The Sonos One will retail for $199. Pre-orders for the Sonos One start on October 4th at www.sonos.com and it will be available globally on the 24th.

And not to make Google feel left out – especially on “Google Day”, Sonos announced that support for Google Assistant will arrive in 2018. In addition, Sonos unveiled plans to bring Apple Airplay 2 to their speakers in 2018, as well as the ability to directly control Sonos from within the Pandora and Tidal apps via an update within the next few months. Direct control from within Audible, iHeartRadio, and Kuke Music are also set to land in 2018. Last but not least, Sonos showed off a revamped Sonos app, which is more user friendly and modern, offering quicker access to your music.

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Sonos One is their first smart speaker with Alexa (Hands-on) originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 4, 2017 at 8:15 pm.

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Wear your music around your neck with the Bose SoundWear Companion Speaker

Bose wants you to ditch your uncomfortable earbuds and over-ear headphones that cut you off from your surroundings for their SoundWear Companion Speaker. The SoundWear wearable speaker features a unique hands-free and ears-free design that allows it to fit comfortably on your shoulders for all day music enjoyment.

The speaker is water and sweat resistant and provides up to 12 hours of playback time on a full charge. A quick 15-minute charging session will add 3 hours of playback time so you’ll always be able to enjoy your tunes.

You can also use the SoundWear Companion Speaker for calls, or to talk to Siri and Google.

What do you think of this design? Would you use a wearable speaker? I’d love to try this.

The Bose SoundWear Companion Speaker is available now for $299. You can read all the details at bose.com and order from Amazon.

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Wear your music around your neck with the Bose SoundWear Companion Speaker originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 4, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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Who cares about the SNES Classic mini, there’s going to be a C64 mini!

My second real computer (the first was a TI 99/4A) was a Commodore 64 and it was what started my obsession with BBSes and computers in general. I spent many hours typing in programs from magazines like Run and playing games like Pharaoh’s Curse, B.C.’s Quest for Tires, and others. I’m pretty excited to hear that there’s going to be a C64 Mini game console out next year for $79 that will include some classic C64 games. THEC64 Mini will feature an HDMI output and a joystick. But I’m bummed to hear that keyboard is just for looks… If you’re interested, head over to thec64.com for details and to preorder.

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Who cares about the SNES Classic mini, there’s going to be a C64 mini! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 3, 2017 at 12:45 pm.

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