The world’s first “true wireless†in-ear headphones have been unveiled at the IFA technology show in Berlin, by Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer Onkyo.
Most in-ear headphones that are advertised as “wireless†actually have a cable connecting the two earpieces. They are known as wireless because they do not require a cable to connect to a media player or a smartphone.
The W800BT headphones, developed in partnership with audio group Gibson Innovations, consist of two earbuds that work independently from each other and deliver a balanced sound across a frequency range of 20Hz-20kHz. They connect to each other and to a smartphone wirelessly, using Bluetooth.
Onkyo claims that the headphones offer a clear and accurate audio experience with passive noise isolation. The right earpiece also includes a microphone to enable hands-free calls and can be used with any Bluetooth-enabled device.
World's first truly wireless headphones unveiled - Telegraph
They come with a charging case for storing the headphones with its own internal battery, providing up to 15 hours of talk time and 12 hours of music reproduction.
“The W800BT allows you to immerse yourself in audio in a free and natural way,†said Sebastiaan Gruijters, Onkyo Business Leaders at Gibson Innovations. “We’re proud to showcase this genuine breakthrough innovation here at the IFA in Berlin.â€
The W800BT in-ear headphones are priced at €299.99 (about £220) and will be available in Europe from November 2015.
Onkyo also unveiled a pair of high-resolution on-ear headphones at IFA, in partnership with Gibson, as well as a new range of portable high-resolution audio speakers.
Gibson has been an investor in Onkyo since January 2012, when it acquired a majority share of Onkyo USA.
“We strive to achieve an optimum balance between the ideal acoustic design and a deep understanding of how we, as humans, interact with technology,†said Matthew Dore, sound and acoustics engineering lead for Onkyo products at Gibson Innovations.
Saturday, 19 December 2015
Friday, 18 December 2015
I've Heard of Cats Getting Stuck up Trees...But This is Ridiculous:Panic as Dalek is Found in Tree at Historic Estate
This is Northington Grange, quiet, peaceful, serene. That is, until Burt Racoon wakes up and shoves a Dalek up a tree. Probably. Quite frankly, it’s as good an explanation as any as to how an extraterrestrial pepper pot killing machine turned up on an exquisitely crafted 18th century landscape...
Eyewitnesses were confused and amused by the presence of one of Doctor Whos most popular despots just sitting there, taking in the scenery. Perhaps he was fleeing to escape the explosive climax to series 9’s barnstorming opening arc, which began earlier in the month on BBC1?
Quick! Go to iPlayer and see if there are any of the metal menaces banging on about “emergency temporal shifts†before vanishing into thin air...
Or maybe his vision was impaired? Who knows?
...Actually, all nerd-jokes aside, I can clear up this little mystery for you right now.
In reality, the incongruous garden decoration was neither a publicity stunt, nor an attempt on the part of a disgruntled gardener to keep the naughtier gnomes in check. The Dalek was actually a prop left over from an old production that had been held at the Grange.
Mike Baring, one of Northington Grange’s principal landowners, explained everything to The Southampton Daily Echo, “The Dalek comes from earlier production at the Grange - I think it might be Bluebeard - and someone decided to put it up to amuse the [opera] festival goers which I rather liked, even if it does look a bit out of place in an 18th century landscape.â€
Nice one, Mikey! Always good to see a bit of humour in our historic venues. Besides, what could be more quintessentially British than a lone Dalek politely surveying an immaculately kept Victorian garden? I, for one, can’t think of anything.
No, wait, I can. How’s this; the Queen noisily eating a crumpet whilst watching Monty Pythons Flying Circus reruns, pausing occasionally to inquire as to who parked that yellow three-wheeled van outside the palace?
Anyway, the rest of the Daleks were last seen in Doctor Whos two-part series opener The Magicians Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar’, which saw Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor teaming up with Missi (the female incarnation of his old enemy The Master) in order to defeat Davros and his maniacal metal creations. It was a hoot!
The Grange estate is perhaps best known for hosting The Grange Park Opera Festival and has no official plans to take over the universe (as far as I know).
Eyewitnesses were confused and amused by the presence of one of Doctor Whos most popular despots just sitting there, taking in the scenery. Perhaps he was fleeing to escape the explosive climax to series 9’s barnstorming opening arc, which began earlier in the month on BBC1?
Quick! Go to iPlayer and see if there are any of the metal menaces banging on about “emergency temporal shifts†before vanishing into thin air...
Or maybe his vision was impaired? Who knows?
...Actually, all nerd-jokes aside, I can clear up this little mystery for you right now.
In reality, the incongruous garden decoration was neither a publicity stunt, nor an attempt on the part of a disgruntled gardener to keep the naughtier gnomes in check. The Dalek was actually a prop left over from an old production that had been held at the Grange.
Mike Baring, one of Northington Grange’s principal landowners, explained everything to The Southampton Daily Echo, “The Dalek comes from earlier production at the Grange - I think it might be Bluebeard - and someone decided to put it up to amuse the [opera] festival goers which I rather liked, even if it does look a bit out of place in an 18th century landscape.â€
Nice one, Mikey! Always good to see a bit of humour in our historic venues. Besides, what could be more quintessentially British than a lone Dalek politely surveying an immaculately kept Victorian garden? I, for one, can’t think of anything.
No, wait, I can. How’s this; the Queen noisily eating a crumpet whilst watching Monty Pythons Flying Circus reruns, pausing occasionally to inquire as to who parked that yellow three-wheeled van outside the palace?
Anyway, the rest of the Daleks were last seen in Doctor Whos two-part series opener The Magicians Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar’, which saw Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor teaming up with Missi (the female incarnation of his old enemy The Master) in order to defeat Davros and his maniacal metal creations. It was a hoot!
The Grange estate is perhaps best known for hosting The Grange Park Opera Festival and has no official plans to take over the universe (as far as I know).
Thursday, 10 December 2015
Alonso unfazed by rule changes
Fernando Alonso doesn't believe the changes to the start procedures that will come into effect at Spa will make much of a difference.
As of this weekend's Belgium Grand Prix, the FIA will clamp down on radio communication between drivers and the pitwall and only critical information will be relayed. Teams will also be prevented from changing the clutch bite point once the cars leave the garage ahead of the race.
However, two-time World Champion Alonso isn't expecting any disruption to his usual pre-race strategy.
"It will not be a significant change. I know that there is some talk about this but maybe for next year or the following years will be more different," the Spaniard said.
"What we will have here is just some restrictions in communications with the drivers and the team etc but I think... at least in our team we were not doing any specific communication or strategy during the formation laps etc so it will not change much."
There will be more changes next year as the FIA has issued a technical directive that states engineers will not be able to coach the drivers over the radio on things like tyre degradation and fuel saving.
Although the McLaren driver admits drivers will have to "pay a little more attention", he doesn't think it be a train smash.
"Well, I don't think it will make a huge change because... yeah, we are receiving some information now on the radio about tyres, about fuel or other things on the car but we are perfectly aware of what is happening in the car and what is the best solution for the specific issues that we are facing during the race so if that information is not coming, it will come anyway by instinct and by the reactions of the car," he said.
"So yeah, we will have to pay a little bit more attention to a few things that now we rely a little bit on the radio but it's not a big change and probably it's welcome, all those changes, to have a little bit more to do in the car and feeling a little bit more important."
It's difficult to see why F1 are strangling the communications between drivers and teams, One team does not gain anything over any other by relaying information over the radio, but as Alonso has said in this article on planetf1.com it's not an issue.
As of this weekend's Belgium Grand Prix, the FIA will clamp down on radio communication between drivers and the pitwall and only critical information will be relayed. Teams will also be prevented from changing the clutch bite point once the cars leave the garage ahead of the race.
However, two-time World Champion Alonso isn't expecting any disruption to his usual pre-race strategy.
"It will not be a significant change. I know that there is some talk about this but maybe for next year or the following years will be more different," the Spaniard said.
"What we will have here is just some restrictions in communications with the drivers and the team etc but I think... at least in our team we were not doing any specific communication or strategy during the formation laps etc so it will not change much."
There will be more changes next year as the FIA has issued a technical directive that states engineers will not be able to coach the drivers over the radio on things like tyre degradation and fuel saving.
Although the McLaren driver admits drivers will have to "pay a little more attention", he doesn't think it be a train smash.
"Well, I don't think it will make a huge change because... yeah, we are receiving some information now on the radio about tyres, about fuel or other things on the car but we are perfectly aware of what is happening in the car and what is the best solution for the specific issues that we are facing during the race so if that information is not coming, it will come anyway by instinct and by the reactions of the car," he said.
"So yeah, we will have to pay a little bit more attention to a few things that now we rely a little bit on the radio but it's not a big change and probably it's welcome, all those changes, to have a little bit more to do in the car and feeling a little bit more important."
It's difficult to see why F1 are strangling the communications between drivers and teams, One team does not gain anything over any other by relaying information over the radio, but as Alonso has said in this article on planetf1.com it's not an issue.
Wednesday, 9 December 2015
Too Much Monkey Business? US Lawsuit Attempts to Grant a Monkey the Rights to his Selfie (No, Really)
A group of idiots in America (where else??) are arguing that a monkey whose image was used in a wildlife book WITHOUT HIS PERMISSION should be receiving damages for copyright infringement.
Now, as we all know, the only thing more dangerous than an idiot with too much free time is a cluster of idiots with too much free time. In this way, the truly brainless can form a conglomeration of sorts, meaning that they can then work in shifts, creating a sort of stupidity barrage, which can be rather tough to avoid. High profile examples of this phenomenon include creationism, the people who called Kim Davis a civil rights icon and, a little closer to home, UKIP voters.
...You just don’t expect it from PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals), an organisation that has been around for 35 years.
OK, here’s the skinny; four years ago, British wildlife photographer and animal rights activist David Slater was visiting a nature reserve on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. He left his camera unattended, so a cheeky monkey named Naruto picked it up and snapped a couple of selfies. One of the pics was used in a wildlife book (for which Slater was paid) and now he’s being sued...For ripping off a monkey.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed (with a straight face, amazingly) by the U.S District Court in San Francisco, the pictures came from "a series of purposeful and voluntary actions by Naruto, unaided by Slater," as a result, says the lawsuit, "Naruto has the right to own and benefit from the copyright ... in the same manner and to the same extent as any other author,"
...Except for the fact that he ISN’T an author. He’s a f*cking monkey.
This whole thing brings to mind that old joke, lets see if I can remember how it goes: when is an author not an author? Oh yeah...WHEN HE’S A F*CKING MONKEY!
And once more, just to highlight the stupidity of the whole debacle...THE AUTHOR OF THE PHOTOS IS A F*CKING MONKEY, WHO TOOK A BREAK FROM FLINGING FECES ALL OVER THE PLACE TO PLAY AROUND WITH A CAMERA, TOOK A PRETTY DECENT PHOTO AND THEN F*CKED OFF BACK TO THE RAINFOREST TO GO ABOUT HIS MONKEY BUSINESS.
...It might be different if the monkey had actually PAID for the camera, or made the purposeful and voluntary action of ordering his own camera from eBay, or even if he’d gone online and hired Slater to photograph him. Then he might actually have a case (especially if Naruto had contributed to Slater’s travel expenses). But no, none of that happened. Why? Because he’s a f*cking monkey, that’s why.
To be fair, how was Slater supposed to have obtained permission?
PETA is demanding that the monkey be paid (in bananas, presumably) damages for the unauthorized use of his photos...Which is stupid like there isn’t a word for.
Apparently, US copyright law says nothing about monkeys asserting copyright over their works (which could pose a problem if they ever do manage to type out the complete works of Shakespeare) and, as a result, PETA feels that this is sufficient grounds to take a struggling photographer to court on behalf of a monkey who, quite frankly, doesn’t give a damn.
Damn those shortsighted copyright laws. Why didn’t the authors consider that, just 40 years after they were written, monkeys would benefit from their not being specifically named anywhere in the document? So now we live in this dystopian future where only those as super-smart as I are left alive to bitterly cry “DAMN YOU, YOU MANIACS!!!, DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!†(Thank you, Jay).
The only thing about the lawsuit which isn’t stupid is that the money (presumably after PETA recouped a lot of expenses) would go to the maintenance of Naruto’s natural habitat, which is doubtless a good thing.
Naruto is a rare crested macaque, a species that is listed as critically endangered. Their numbers have decreased by something like 90% in the last 25 years, largely due to extensive habitat loss.
...Except that, hang on, aren’t donations to PETA supposed to be going to that kind of thing, as opposed to dumbass lawsuits aimed at wildlife photographers who are just trying to capture the beauty of nature for us all to enjoy? I’m confused.
Oh wait, no I’m not. In fact, I could be in a lot of trouble, because my family’s cat once climbed up onto my desk and typed out a Facebook status, which I then posted. Ah jeez, I hope he doesn’t read this article, because that’s the last thing I need (he’s still mad at me about the whole castration thing).
Now, as we all know, the only thing more dangerous than an idiot with too much free time is a cluster of idiots with too much free time. In this way, the truly brainless can form a conglomeration of sorts, meaning that they can then work in shifts, creating a sort of stupidity barrage, which can be rather tough to avoid. High profile examples of this phenomenon include creationism, the people who called Kim Davis a civil rights icon and, a little closer to home, UKIP voters.
...You just don’t expect it from PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals), an organisation that has been around for 35 years.
OK, here’s the skinny; four years ago, British wildlife photographer and animal rights activist David Slater was visiting a nature reserve on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. He left his camera unattended, so a cheeky monkey named Naruto picked it up and snapped a couple of selfies. One of the pics was used in a wildlife book (for which Slater was paid) and now he’s being sued...For ripping off a monkey.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed (with a straight face, amazingly) by the U.S District Court in San Francisco, the pictures came from "a series of purposeful and voluntary actions by Naruto, unaided by Slater," as a result, says the lawsuit, "Naruto has the right to own and benefit from the copyright ... in the same manner and to the same extent as any other author,"
...Except for the fact that he ISN’T an author. He’s a f*cking monkey.
This whole thing brings to mind that old joke, lets see if I can remember how it goes: when is an author not an author? Oh yeah...WHEN HE’S A F*CKING MONKEY!
And once more, just to highlight the stupidity of the whole debacle...THE AUTHOR OF THE PHOTOS IS A F*CKING MONKEY, WHO TOOK A BREAK FROM FLINGING FECES ALL OVER THE PLACE TO PLAY AROUND WITH A CAMERA, TOOK A PRETTY DECENT PHOTO AND THEN F*CKED OFF BACK TO THE RAINFOREST TO GO ABOUT HIS MONKEY BUSINESS.
...It might be different if the monkey had actually PAID for the camera, or made the purposeful and voluntary action of ordering his own camera from eBay, or even if he’d gone online and hired Slater to photograph him. Then he might actually have a case (especially if Naruto had contributed to Slater’s travel expenses). But no, none of that happened. Why? Because he’s a f*cking monkey, that’s why.
To be fair, how was Slater supposed to have obtained permission?
PETA is demanding that the monkey be paid (in bananas, presumably) damages for the unauthorized use of his photos...Which is stupid like there isn’t a word for.
Apparently, US copyright law says nothing about monkeys asserting copyright over their works (which could pose a problem if they ever do manage to type out the complete works of Shakespeare) and, as a result, PETA feels that this is sufficient grounds to take a struggling photographer to court on behalf of a monkey who, quite frankly, doesn’t give a damn.
Damn those shortsighted copyright laws. Why didn’t the authors consider that, just 40 years after they were written, monkeys would benefit from their not being specifically named anywhere in the document? So now we live in this dystopian future where only those as super-smart as I are left alive to bitterly cry “DAMN YOU, YOU MANIACS!!!, DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!†(Thank you, Jay).
The only thing about the lawsuit which isn’t stupid is that the money (presumably after PETA recouped a lot of expenses) would go to the maintenance of Naruto’s natural habitat, which is doubtless a good thing.
Naruto is a rare crested macaque, a species that is listed as critically endangered. Their numbers have decreased by something like 90% in the last 25 years, largely due to extensive habitat loss.
...Except that, hang on, aren’t donations to PETA supposed to be going to that kind of thing, as opposed to dumbass lawsuits aimed at wildlife photographers who are just trying to capture the beauty of nature for us all to enjoy? I’m confused.
Oh wait, no I’m not. In fact, I could be in a lot of trouble, because my family’s cat once climbed up onto my desk and typed out a Facebook status, which I then posted. Ah jeez, I hope he doesn’t read this article, because that’s the last thing I need (he’s still mad at me about the whole castration thing).
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