Friday, May 20, 2016
Monday, May 9, 2016
News: Final Fantasy X/X-2 to come to Steam May 12!
Engadget article here: http://www.engadget.com/2016/05/09/final-fantasy-x-re-released-fifth-times-a-charm/
I'm just going to re-link the article from Engadget here, but I am stoked about this. I own all versions of this game that I am aware of and this is the crowning remaster, which is making my reliance on console gaming quickly becoming a thing of the past. All that needs to happen now is the remaining Final Fantasies and Kingdom Hearts series to come to Steam and then i'ts game over for my consoles (except for Nintendo).
I'm just going to re-link the article from Engadget here, but I am stoked about this. I own all versions of this game that I am aware of and this is the crowning remaster, which is making my reliance on console gaming quickly becoming a thing of the past. All that needs to happen now is the remaining Final Fantasies and Kingdom Hearts series to come to Steam and then i'ts game over for my consoles (except for Nintendo).
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Review: 1byone Wireless Bluetooth 4.0 Speaker Dimmable Multicolored LED Light Bulb
Purchase on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1rM2PHt
I've been wanting to do simple LED ambient lighting for my YouTube channel (stay tuned for this in upcoming videos). I'll still probably get some LED strip lighting down the road, but this was a simpler solution for now and gives me the desired effect for the most part.
The overall construction is much better than I anticipated and has a nice heft to it, which for a Bluetooth speaker usually translates to better sound. There really isn't much else to say about the construction and quality other than it's good and satisfying. Though, it was a little bit bigger than I was anticipating, but not a big deal.
The connectivity was super simple, just add the "1byoneBulb" and you're off to the races and ready to play music and switch up them LED lights like you're a DJ at the club. (That's how I feel with it most of the time anyways.)
Now, it will play music, but I was having trouble getting it to play through the 1byOne App and would get an error, though I'm pretty sure it was because I use the Apple music streaming service. However, if I go from the Apple Music app and play directly from there it's no problem. The sound quality isn't the greatest and there is noticeable crackling and some distortion at louder volumes. It works well as a basic bluetooth speaker but don't expect anything beyond that, it get's the job done and that's about it, which for a light bulb, is perfectly fine. :-)
Where this thing really shine (pun intended) is the lighting. Though, I will say this up front, the default lighting was a bit cool (bluish) for my taste, but it's easily adjustable. Though the downside is you have to keep re configuring to that different shade each time you turn it on as the blue-cast white is the default.
Changing the lights is easy and a lot of fun. It's incredibly flexible and since it's RGB and dimmable, there are loads of options. You are greeted with several default color options as well as a color wheel where you can pick whatever color/shade/hue you want. The only other thing that would have been nice would have been savable custom presets as that would make some of my favorite combos more accessible. I would also liked to have seen a couple of options for effects, such as breathing, dancing to music, and walking through all the colors, as well as blinking. I think that would have upped the cool factor by quite a lot. I'm sure this could be added via a software update though and look forward to having those changing.
Overall, it's a great multi-color LED lightbulb that's just plain fun. I use it for ambient lighting for my YouTube channel and just works well. It's well made (the app needs some work still and some polish) but the color changing works as expected and works well. I would definitely recommend this LED bulb.
I've been wanting to do simple LED ambient lighting for my YouTube channel (stay tuned for this in upcoming videos). I'll still probably get some LED strip lighting down the road, but this was a simpler solution for now and gives me the desired effect for the most part.
The overall construction is much better than I anticipated and has a nice heft to it, which for a Bluetooth speaker usually translates to better sound. There really isn't much else to say about the construction and quality other than it's good and satisfying. Though, it was a little bit bigger than I was anticipating, but not a big deal.
The connectivity was super simple, just add the "1byoneBulb" and you're off to the races and ready to play music and switch up them LED lights like you're a DJ at the club. (That's how I feel with it most of the time anyways.)
Now, it will play music, but I was having trouble getting it to play through the 1byOne App and would get an error, though I'm pretty sure it was because I use the Apple music streaming service. However, if I go from the Apple Music app and play directly from there it's no problem. The sound quality isn't the greatest and there is noticeable crackling and some distortion at louder volumes. It works well as a basic bluetooth speaker but don't expect anything beyond that, it get's the job done and that's about it, which for a light bulb, is perfectly fine. :-)
Where this thing really shine (pun intended) is the lighting. Though, I will say this up front, the default lighting was a bit cool (bluish) for my taste, but it's easily adjustable. Though the downside is you have to keep re configuring to that different shade each time you turn it on as the blue-cast white is the default.
Changing the lights is easy and a lot of fun. It's incredibly flexible and since it's RGB and dimmable, there are loads of options. You are greeted with several default color options as well as a color wheel where you can pick whatever color/shade/hue you want. The only other thing that would have been nice would have been savable custom presets as that would make some of my favorite combos more accessible. I would also liked to have seen a couple of options for effects, such as breathing, dancing to music, and walking through all the colors, as well as blinking. I think that would have upped the cool factor by quite a lot. I'm sure this could be added via a software update though and look forward to having those changing.
Overall, it's a great multi-color LED lightbulb that's just plain fun. I use it for ambient lighting for my YouTube channel and just works well. It's well made (the app needs some work still and some polish) but the color changing works as expected and works well. I would definitely recommend this LED bulb.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
News: Busy With Lots of New Content!
Hi all!
I haven't updated my blog in a little bit so I thought I'd let you know what I've been up to:
I haven't updated my blog in a little bit so I thought I'd let you know what I've been up to:
- YouTube Channel!
- I have content planned for the next month and sticking to my weekly video cadence! Viewership is slowly rising but have seen a large influx in the last couple of days, largely thanks to the Oculus Rift and Intel HD 530 gaming. I have a new build that I will putting together for a video in the next week or so. It's an exciting time for sure!
- Reviews
- I have a few regular reviews that I am doing that got me where I am today, so stay tuned for several of those in the next couple of weeks as well.
- Blog
- The blog has been in the background quietly working for me to support the channel, but from today I plan on doing a weekly post, at a minimum, what I'm up to and what you have to look forward to as well as tech and PC related content.
Thank you all for your support for the blog and channel, I would not be where I am right now with you. If you haven't already, please subscribe to the channel here.
A way you can directly support the channel is by using my Amazon Affiliate link below. Just bookmark it and use it each time you go to Amazon. The channel will get the funding needed to continue to supply great content. Thanks for you help and keep your eye out for new content on the channel and blog!
Matthew Dykman
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Review: 1byone Outdoor / Shower Portable Bluetooth 4.0 Speaker
Product Link: 1byone Outdoor / Shower Portable Bluetooth 4.0 Speaker with Enhanced Bass, IPX6 Waterproof & Built-in Mic, Black
I have been through my fair share of portable Bluetooth speakers in my time so when I saw the size of this 1byone speaker and it's MSRP I honestly didn't have high expectations. To say I was pleasantly surprised by this Bluetooth speaker would be an understatement.
The overall construction feels solid and has a very satisfying weight to it. It is lined by rubber all the way around sealing off any entry points for water or dust, hence the IPX6 rating. This is well designed for being an on-the-go speaker, small and portable, and able to take a beating. I would not worry about dropping this at all or throwing it in a bag.
But, construction doesn't mean anything if the sound isn't any good. Well, let me just put any doubts to rest and say that the sound is amazing for it's price point. I do not claim to be an audiophile, but the clarity of the sound was excellent and was surprised by the range and fidelity of the sound. Bass was very satisfying for such a small speaker and managed to not overpower the mids and highs. The volume gets much louder than you would expect, but physics will always prevail and the sound quality will suffer if you get too loud. Don't expect it to fill a concert hall or anything, just be realistic as it is fairly small. The sound is where this little speaker shines and any feature beyond that is just gravy.
Speaking of features, it uses Bluetooth 4.0 and was extremely easy to pair with my iPhone 6s+. The battery level is shown in iOS once paired and battery life was as advertised and had no issues at all. There is also a microSD card slot, but I did not have one to test with, though I appreciate this inclusion. When you open the cover that exposes the USB port and card slot, the card slot flashes blue to let you know it's waiting for card input. There is also a USB mode where you can connect it to your PC through a micro USB cable. This worked real well and worked like a charm, much better than my built in monitor speakers.
I've always wanted a good Bluetooth speaker for my shower and it works for this purpose extremely well. The speaker does not mind getting wet at all. I guess you could technically take a call in the shower as well as there is a microphone input, but I don't recommend taking calls in the shower, it's just bad form. But you could if that's your thing.
Now, being a test engineer, I know that every design is not perfect or can be improved in some way and this speaker is no different. I had to read the manual to figure out exactly how to change the volume because I could not figure out how to change it. Turns out that you have to hold down the skip buttons for them to change the volume. This can be problematic since it doesn't step through the volumes but will just increase at some unknown rate. This makes finding a precise volume quite difficult. This could either be alleviated by adding dedicated volume buttons, or an audible "ding" for each new step volume instead of being a complete guessing game. The other minor quibble was that the flap covering the USB and card readers was a tad difficult, but nothing that affected anything major and still seemed to maintain waterproof abiility.
If you're looking for a Bluetooth speaker that is a good all-rounder and need something that can take a little bit of a beating, look no further than this guy. At around $20, it's a great bang for your buck Bluetooth speaker and definitely recommended.
I have been through my fair share of portable Bluetooth speakers in my time so when I saw the size of this 1byone speaker and it's MSRP I honestly didn't have high expectations. To say I was pleasantly surprised by this Bluetooth speaker would be an understatement.
The overall construction feels solid and has a very satisfying weight to it. It is lined by rubber all the way around sealing off any entry points for water or dust, hence the IPX6 rating. This is well designed for being an on-the-go speaker, small and portable, and able to take a beating. I would not worry about dropping this at all or throwing it in a bag.
Speaking of features, it uses Bluetooth 4.0 and was extremely easy to pair with my iPhone 6s+. The battery level is shown in iOS once paired and battery life was as advertised and had no issues at all. There is also a microSD card slot, but I did not have one to test with, though I appreciate this inclusion. When you open the cover that exposes the USB port and card slot, the card slot flashes blue to let you know it's waiting for card input. There is also a USB mode where you can connect it to your PC through a micro USB cable. This worked real well and worked like a charm, much better than my built in monitor speakers.
I've always wanted a good Bluetooth speaker for my shower and it works for this purpose extremely well. The speaker does not mind getting wet at all. I guess you could technically take a call in the shower as well as there is a microphone input, but I don't recommend taking calls in the shower, it's just bad form. But you could if that's your thing.
Now, being a test engineer, I know that every design is not perfect or can be improved in some way and this speaker is no different. I had to read the manual to figure out exactly how to change the volume because I could not figure out how to change it. Turns out that you have to hold down the skip buttons for them to change the volume. This can be problematic since it doesn't step through the volumes but will just increase at some unknown rate. This makes finding a precise volume quite difficult. This could either be alleviated by adding dedicated volume buttons, or an audible "ding" for each new step volume instead of being a complete guessing game. The other minor quibble was that the flap covering the USB and card readers was a tad difficult, but nothing that affected anything major and still seemed to maintain waterproof abiility.
If you're looking for a Bluetooth speaker that is a good all-rounder and need something that can take a little bit of a beating, look no further than this guy. At around $20, it's a great bang for your buck Bluetooth speaker and definitely recommended.
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