• Oct 14, 2009

    Review: Squeezebox Duet

    I've been a big fan of the Squeezebox music systems for a number of years since I installed a music system in our house. I had 2 of the Squeezebox Classic boxes (before the cool redesign). Last year I saw a special on a Squeezebox Duet, so I splurged and bought it.

    We didn't need the box and had controlled all our music using the web interface to the Squeezebox software, so this box was quite gimicky. One of the things that this gave us was a 3rd source to our music system so that we could easily switch between our son's music and our music. We didn't use the controller much and it sat on my desk for most of the last year.

    In the last few months, our son has wanted to listen to more music and changes what he wants to hear quickly. This has made the controller not just ideal, but almost necessary. The frequent upgrades to the software have really refined the interface and it lets us control all 3 music sources running off the Squeezebox software.

    If you don't already have a music server or aren't willing to leave a computer on all the time to run the Squeezebox software, the Squeezebox Duet is pretty useless. In addition, if you don't have a distributed music system, it may also have limited utility. The system is a bit hard to grasp for non-techies, but once I showed my mother-in-law how it worked (and how our music system works in general), she basically wanted a system like it.

    Pros

    • Easy to use.
    • Bright screen.
    • Controls other Squeezebox units.

    Cons

    • Pricey. List price of about $350 is not for the faint of heart.
    • Squeezebox software requires a computer to be on most, if not all, of the time.
    • Not all that useful without a distributed audio system which makes it even pricier.
    • Battery life is not great, so we leave it in the charger most of the time.

    Summary

    You're probably saying that I usually give high marks to things that I review. Well, you're kind of right. I usually do a lot of research before my purchases, so I'm not disappointed. The Squeezebox Duet falls into the same category (initially it didn't). If you have a music setup like mine, this device is almost a must have. It's price is a bit of a stumbling block, but if you factor it into the cost of a full house music system, it is much easier to justify.

    Note

    While not directly related to the Duet, each time I upgrade the Squeezebox software, I have to wait for some nice person to update the XMRadio Plugin. While Logitech (they bought Slim Devices) directly supports Sirius, use XMRadio subscribers rely on third parties. I wish that Logitech would work with XM to directly support the plugin. XM and Sirius are now the same company, so it seems that there is precedent for online streaming.

  • Oct 14, 2009

    Review: Big Skinny Wallet

    In a break from my normal tech reviews, he's a review for the average Joe.

    Before we left for New York, I emptied many items from my wallet and saw that cards became much looser, so I had to rearrange things a bit. While we were in New York (as seems to happen in most cities we visit), there was a street market with people selling all kinds of junk. We passed a few places selling wallets, but I couldn't justify spending $10 on a cheap wallet when I had only paid $15 for my wallet at Mervyn's (RIP).

    On our way back, we saw another vendor selling Big Skinny Wallets, so we stopped. These wallets were different from the others we saw and my wife asked if the cards would fall out when there were fewer cards in it. The vendor said no and turned a sample wallet upside down. That was only the icing on the cake. He also had a comparison with a normal, leather wallet and the thickness difference was stunning. I asked the cost and he said $20. I was sold. My wife reminded me that I balked at $10, but jumped at $20. Oh well, the salesman was pretty good.

    I've now had the wallet for about a week and a half now and I keep thinking I'm going to lose it because all my back pockets are stretched to fit my old leather wallet! While the salesman was good, I was a bit cautious in my enthusiasm when I bought it. Well, so far, I'd buy one of these wallets again without hesitation (provided it holds up).

    Pros

    • Very thin
    • Cards stay in when the wallet is turned upside down

    Cons

    • A little more expensive than the average wallet I've gotten
    • Unknown lifetime

    Summary

    I have absolutely no complaints with this wallet. Every time I pick it up, I'm amazed at how thin it is. I'm hoping that it lasts; all other reviews I've read have also given it high marks.

  • Oct 12, 2009

    Post paid gas stations still exist?

    On Saturday, we were doing errands and stopped to get gas. The gas station was busy, so we had to wait. The person in front of us pulled up and started trying to pump gas. He pulled the handle and nothing happened; he thing went over to the automated kiosk and looked quite confused. By this time, I saw a space open up, so I zipped around and got to a pump. I went inside, pre-paid for my gas (I decided against using the kiosk that took cash; many of the kiosks around don't take cash).

    When I was done pumping gas and got back into my car, the guy still hadn't started pumping gas. At first when we saw him, we couldn't understand how anyone couldn't know how to pump gas (he appeared older than me). While I was pumping gas, my wife was analyzing the situation and saw that he had a Boise State shirt on and surmised that he might have been on vacation.

    OK, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. So, the question is, where do you pay for gas after you pump it? I've lived in California for the last 18 years (with a small stint in Portland where you can't pump your own gas) and all I can remember is paying for gas first; my memory could be foggy.

    I read some forums and people complain about pre-paid gas when you're using cash as you have to go into the cashier and then afterwards to get change (if needed). I frankly never considered this a problem; maybe I'm just used to this process. Hmmm.

  • Oct 12, 2009

    Acura car service clarification

    I heard back from the W Hotel today regarding my post about it's complimentary Acura car service. Apparently someone forgot to tell the concierge how it works. It is available on a first come, first served basis, so when I asked for it the following day, the concierge was happy to arrange a limo for us for the $78 fee. I specifically said Acura and pointed at the sign on the desk. A simple, "it is available on a first come, first served basis; just goto the front door to see if it is there" would have stopped this nonsense and made complete sense to me.

    If the W wants to stop nasty email messages from ticked off guests, it would make sense to put a sign at the entrance as normally people going to just hail a cab instead of go to the concierge to arrange transportation that is needed right at that moment.

    While I guess the W is off my "bad" list, that concierge ranked a zero in my book.

    I do contend, however, that the Web site is misleading as there is no asterisk next to this feature indicating that there are conditions for its use.