Edirol has given its R-09 digital audio recorder a bit of a shot in the arm to help it compete with the slew of other low-cost recorders on the market today. A few years ago when Edirol launched the R-09, it was one of just 2 or 3 prosumer level recorders available for under $500, […]
Which ThinkGeek fake products do you wish were real?
Online store for geeks ThinkGeek has a history of advertising fake, but kind of cool products on April Fool’s Day, and this year is no different. The store is filled with listings for products that don’t exist. And for the most part, they really shouldn’t exist. But last year, ThinkGeek included one item in its […]
The Value of Trash (NPR radio story)
I have a story on NPR’s Day to Day today about Justin Gignac and Christine Santora, two New York artists that enjoy playing with the idea of value. Gignac has been selling cubes of New York trash for a few years. At first, he sold them for $10 per cube, but he keeps raising the […]
CNET drools over the PCM-D50
The folks at CNet have published a nice, detailed review of the Sony PCM-D50 digital audio recorder, complete with a video, a few decent photos (including the one to the right which shows just how ridiculous the D50 looks with a windscreen and a funny looking tripod), and a video review. They rave over the […]
Awesome new journalism blog: The Changing Newsroom
When I started this blog about a year ago, I had the ambitious goal of writing about the impact of technology on journalism and vice versa. The internet, globalization, satellite and cable news channels are dramatically changing the way people receive their news. They’re also changing the way we as news producers need to think […]
Transom reviews the Sony PCM-D50
Transom’s equipment Jeff Towne has posted an excellent review of the Sony PCM-D50 digital audio recorder, complete with a ton of audio clips that should give you a pretty good idea of what the recorder sounds like using internal mics and a variety of external mics. I think I’ve already talked up the D50’s strong […]
Goodbye Uncle Howard
When I was a kid, the cold war was still in full swing. I saw a commercial on TV one day that scared the crap out of me. It showed a nuclear weapon blowing up. So my mom wrote to her uncle and asked him to send as much information as he could about nuclear […]
Anti-deportation video game story on The World
The World is running my story on a video game called ICED today. ICED stands for I Can End Deportation. The game was released a few weeks go by Breakthrough, a non-profit immigration and human rights advocacy group. Players choose one of five characters, listen to their stories, and then wander through a 3D version […]
Want to know what the Olympus LS-10 sounds like?
Philip Graitcer got an Olympus LS-10 digital audio recorder this morning and put it through the paces with fellow radio producer Henry Howard. You can find an MP3 file on Henry Howard’s web site that should give you a pretty good idea of how the recorder sounds with a variety of mics including EV RE-50 […]
The trouble with comic books: The waiting is the hardest part
When we were kids, my brother and I were addicted to Elfquest comics. We didn’t really know much about comics in general, but at a time when the WaldenBooks and B. Dalton stores in our local mall didn’t have comic book sections, they had a handful of graphic novels including the first few Elfquest books. […]
Olympus LS-10 audio samples
Online retailer StartStop has posted some audio samples recorded with an Olympus LS-10. These are the first samples I’ve heard from the recorders, and StartStop was kind enough to post stereo WAV files instead of MP3 files. So the recordings reflect real world conditions. Overall, the recordings show that the internal mics are pretty sensitive […]
More Marantz PMD620 audio samples
The folks at Wingfield Audio have posted a few more audio samples recorded with the Marantz PMD620 digital audio recorder. It’s not clear whether they were using the internal stereo microphones or a plug-in mic, but what is clear is that this tiny recorder is capable of making some excellent recordings. These aren’t the first […]
Farewell downtown Brooklyn
And just like that, the trial ends. The case was dismissed this morning, due to lack of evidence and a bunch of other technical, legal reasons that I can’t go into because… well, because I don’t know. The interesting thing about hanging out in a courtroom as a juror and not a journalist is that […]
Getting to know Downtown Brooklyn
If you haven’t noticed, posting’s been a bit light around here lately. I got called for jury duty this week. And while I can’t discuss any details of the trial, here are a few things I’ve learned this week: Jury duty in New York begins with a 30 minute video which begins with a scene […]
What I learned from my month of watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer
About a month ago I decided to weather the writer’s strike by pulling out my collection of Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs. I have the full set, with all 7 seasons on DVD. I bought them one at a time although I’ve now discovered that you can buy a 40 disc box set with all […]
Olympus LS-10 begins shipping
Olympus has begun shipping its LS-10 digital audio recorder. While Olympus is best known for consumer level digital voice recorders, the LS-10 appears to be aimed at the same prosumer market as the Zoom H2 or Sony PCM-D50. It has high quality internal mics, records WAV or MP3 audio, and can handle 24-bit/96KHz resolutions. So […]