We hate to see “so called fast computer systems” with an expensive CPU; namely, an Intel, because most people don’t even know about AMD and that those who know AMD CPUs are usually not the ones to be easily fooled. The rest of the ”outrageous system” which you can fly to the moon with, has the cheapest mainboard, a no-name RAM, a darn slow hard-disk and a graphics card without a cooler fan?! -It’s 2006 boys, graphics power isn’t only about gaming anymore. Oh and, Stop fooling people!

OK, we feel better now!

The moral of this story: Always do your homework and research every single part of your computer system before you buy. A system can be as fast as the slowest part of it. If you want performance, the second most important element is your hard-disk which is usually ignored and thought to be for storage only.

More about the Raptor X: Because of the reason that WD Raptor is a performance drive and built for speed instead of mass storage, the size is currently 150GB. If that’s not close to what you need, simply get another drive for mass file storage and backup. Doing so will also decrease the risk of data loss caused by a hardware failure, and will let you save precious space from WD Raptor which you can use for games and hungry sound and video editing applications.

WD Raptor® X:

• 10,000 RPM
• 1.5 Gb/s
• 16 MB Cache
• 1.2 million hours MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure)
• The first ever drive with a view. Crystal-clear lens on the drive lets you see the drive in action
• World’s fastest SATA drive, period.

We love it and recommend it without hesitation to anyone who wants the best hard drive out there.

This is an all-in-one, “I want it badly” type of gadget. Samsung Q1 is an extremely compact companion PC running on Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. The 7-inch touch-screen allows all the usual features of a notebook computer. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth allows you to connect to the Internet and chat with VoIP. Play all media file formats, run all your business software, play online multiplayer games… It’s a full featured mini PC.

The Q1 also has the “AV Now” mode that lets you play media files without even having to boot Windows.

The new model of Samsung Q1 offers a 1Ghz Intel Pentium M CPU, 1GB of RAM, 60GB HDD and a 128MB graphics chipset.

External keyboard and the classy organizer case look essential.

B&W’s CM1 The speaker box is finished in natural veneers (Maple, Rosenut and Wenge) and polished aluminum rings to complement its drive units.

• Despite the size, unbelievable bass output
• Nice sound tone color and detail
• Excellent build quality and finish

• Kevlar has properties that benefit the cones of wide bandwidth drivers.
• Flowport uses golf ball aerodynamics theory to achieve lower turbulence distortion in reflex ports.
• Tapered tubes filled with fibrous material effectively absorb the unwanted sound from the back of the drive unit.

With a price tag of about $900 a pair, CM1 is actually a good value for money in its audiophile class of mini-monitor loudspeakers. Suitable to complement your HiFi amplifier.

Muse Research Receptor is a hardware that is capable of running VST Plug-ins and VST instruments without the need of a computer. It can be connected to a computer via ethernet or can be used through its own interface with a standard monitor. MIDI instruments can be directly connected to Receptor. You aren’t limited with the pre-installed plugins. New VST plugins can be installed by a simple drag & drop action into the plugins folder of the unit.

With its own harddrive, CPU, RAM and soundcard, Receptor provides a more stabil environment for music production compared to a computer. However, besides the stability, the selling point of this equipment is actually its ease of use so that you don’t have to go through many menus and setup screens and start playing right after you switch the power button.

Is it essential? Well, no. But it’s about comfort and charisma! In a concert for example, a computer would look quite weird on the stage. You got the idea.

When it comes to performance, VST is based on sound recordings called samples and the performance is mainly dependent on how quickly you reach the data. It’s possible to get similar results from a high-end PC with a superb fast harddisk like Western Digital Raptor and a CPU such as a dual core AMD X2. But again, comfort and charisma must be there with you on the stage!

A hilarious parody commercial well worth watching. Excellent use of corporate identity elements of Apple. The packaging and presentation looks like the real stuff.

Kudos to the producers at National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP).

Microsoft’s portable media player Zune will be released tomorrow. November 14th 2006 to be exact.

The Zune is Microsoft’s attempt to compete with Apple in the portable player market. It’s an anti-iPod.

The player supports various media formats and comes with at least 30GB of storage space.

• Windows Media® Audio Standard (.wma): Up to 320 Kbps, CBR and VBR, up to 48-kHz sample rate
• MP3 (.mp3): Up to 320 Kbps, CBR and VBR, up to 48-kHz sample rate
• AAC (.mp4, .m4a, .m4b, .mov): Up to 320 Kbps, Low Complexity (LC), up to 48-kHz sample rate
• JPEG (.jpg): All resolutions (desktop software will automatically convert to 640×480 at sync time)
• Windows Media Video (.wmv): Main Profile, CBR or VBR, up to 1.5 Mbps peak video bitrate, 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames per sec. - With Windows Media Audio up to 192 Kbps, 44.1 kHz, stereo audio; Simple Profile, CBR, up to 736 Kbps video bitrate, 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames per sec.

The hardware is built form a solid plastic, and initially will come in three colors—black, brown and white. The case is compact, measuring 11.2 × 6.1 × 1.4 cm, with a 3-inch QVGA LCD screen.

Mio H610 is a compact gadget that combines a satellite navigation system with MP3 and video player, games and photo viewer. Mio tells that the device is designed especially for women but with the exception of the “flower-cover” shown above, we can’t see a special reason for this statement. “H610 takes GPS out of the car and into the handbag.” !? OK, guys we won’t buy it then. This is your stuff ladies.

Over 1.8 million points of interest provided by Tele Atlas. Detailed maps of the following 24 European countries are pre-installed on Mio H610:

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Great Britain, Italy, Ireland, Lichtenstein, Luxemburg, Monaco, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Vatican City.

Available in Europe from October.

Time Magazine is accepting votes to choose “Gadget of the Year 2006¨. The list includes only 8 gadgets and that’s not fair enough to many other super-gadgets there.

Here are the contestants:

1. Logitech VX Revolution Mouse
2. Sanyo HD1 Digital Media Camera
3. Apple MacBook Pro
4. Nintendo DS Lite
5. Logitech Wireless DJ Music System
6. Nike + iPod Sport Kit
7. Garmin StreetPilot c550
8. Palm Treo 700w

Vote page

As we get more processing power, the digital music industry is getting more capable of providing incredibly feature rich tools. They’re really so great that we would like to see Ludwig van Beethoven trying these. Imagine what he could do…

…with more than 160 instruments played by virtuosos at his command at all times!

We searched for the best instrument soundbank. There are some powerful competitors but the one which appears to be the most complete package is EastWest Quantum Leap COLOSSUS. The VST (Virtual Studio Technology) sound archive has 32GB of 24-bit recordings of real instruments. Every note and practically all possible actions are recorded.

The sound archive is used with the KONTAKT 2 sampler. Colossus’ instruments are organised into 19 basic types containing sounds that cover all musical genres. So many intruments to choose from including Guitars, Pianos, Strings, Drums, Plucked & Strummed, Organs, Keyboards & Mallets, Orchestra & Choir, Pop Brass, Ethnic & New Age Ensembles, Synth Basses, Leads & Pads and more.

This is crazy!

When it comes to controlling all that instrumental insanity, you will need a nice MIDI controller. USB MIDI keyboards have built-in MIDI interface so you don’t need additional equipment for connection. Just plug & play-for real! A sound card with 24-bit support and low latency is clearly required. That’s no problem these days, just don’t get the cheapest one.

This is M-Audio Keystation 88es. M-Audio is a very well known brand in the digital music equipment market, recently acquired by Avid.

Anyway, Keystation 88es is an 88 key, semi-weighted USB MIDI controller and it’s about 135 cm long! Almost as wide as a Grand Piano. There are even 25 key controllers but hey, we’re talking about commanding a symphonic orchestra! As the name tells, 88es is a controller, so don’t expect any direct sound from it. It does one thing and does it good; sending velocity-sensitive MIDI signals to your PC. Then, the signals are processed by a VST host program such as Kompakt which comes with Colossus or Steinberg Cubase SX which is the ultimate composer’s tool around.

The keystation 88es is about $200 and one of the best value-for-money MIDI keyboards. The EastWest Colossus pack is about $500 after discount.  The total cost of this set up is only equal to a cheap guitar.

VST instruments are amazing and great fun to play with. A must for the serious composer and capable of turning anyone with some talent into a composer as well. If you’re into making music, try it!

USBcell rechargeable batteries can be used in normal battery applications and recharged simply by plugging into a USB port of a computer. It sounds great and seems to be very useful.

…But look at this photo to see what we actually lose: Battery life! Because of the space the USB connectors take, the battery cells are actually smaller than the standard size. This results in a capacity of only 1200mAh. There are AA sized rechargeable batteries with capacities of up to 2700 mAh or even 3000 mAh which you can recharge with an inexpensive, stand-alone USB battery charger.

We would definitely prefer carrying a small USB charger and high capacity batteries to using a cool-looking but inefficient USBcell. These can still be generously offered as gift to your “non-poweruser” colleagues.