|
Newstips Electronic Editorial Bulletin Issue # 2010-04d
News to gas the grill by
In this issue:
Antec intros its quietest Sonata... New Fixmo 1.1 adds 4 new
functions... 4 new Franklin Learner products in a few weeks...
BACtrack: last call for here for now... Dfx now in 2 flavors...
Special Report: phones again ... Special "phone slam" reviews:
Dial Engine Pro, Zoom 3095 USB modem, VRS Recording System, Radio
Shack Recording Control, VEC LRX-37C phone tap, Rolls PI9 Phone
Patch II, CMedia CM119 USB audio dongle, Griffin iMic 2, TT-1
hybrid phone tap, Ziotek 4-line switch box, Radio Shack triplex
phone jack, Whozz Calling 2, RS phone line splitter, Vista
Caller-ID, IdentaFone Multi-Line plus notes on phone fidelity,
recording beeps & a tap trick ... plus our commentary on
leashes
Antec intros its quietest Sonata
The already very cool Antec Sonata enclosure line just got its
sweetest addition so far: the new Sonata Pro ($75) with a
stunning matte black finish. You'll need a stethoscope to hear
any drives inside (it supports 4 internal 3.5", 2
front-accessible 3.5", 3 front-accessible 5.25" & a 2.5" SSD bay)
thanks to extensive use of vibration-absorbing silicone
drive-mount grommets & sound-absorbing side panels. Its washable
air filters are easy to reach without opening the case & help
dodge the problems that crop up when dust or crud get in. For
pix, info or reviewables, ask Veronica. Contact: Veronica
Feldmeier, Antec Inc. (Fremont, CA) 510-770-2150
vfeldmeier@antec.com http://antec.com
New Fixmo 1.1 adds 4 new functions
New version 1.1 of Fixmo Tools BlackBerry Edition ($20 with a
year of updates) is out now with 4 added features. With MeetMe,
you select available times from your calendar & insert them into
an e-mail. Speedtest measures the download & upload speeds of
your connection. Call Indicator lets you set the LED to a new
color for phone calls (different from mail & message blinks). For
O/S versions before 5.0, OneLastCall squeezes out brief radio
support when the battery level is very low. If you have a
BlackBerry, ask Rick for Fixmo Tools now. Contact: Rick Segal,
Fixmo (Toronto, ON) 416-414-9726 rick@Fixmo.com
http://Fixmo.com
4 new Franklin Learner products in a few weeks
Math & language literacy meet fun in 4 mid-May additions to the
new Franklin Learner line. 5000 translations make the LRL-100
Spanish English Translator ($10) great for first-year Spanish
students. LRL-120 ($8) Fun 'n Math is a calculator with a built
in multi-level (beginner-to-advanced) quiz game mode. LRL-200
($13) Webster's Spell 'n Calc has top QWERTY keys for spell
checking & slide-out numeric keys as a calculator. The LRL-230
Spelling Master ($20) lets kids create their own word lists &
play spelling games with them (a great way to prep for quizzes).
Aline can get you your choice to review or as on-air prizes.
Contact: Aline Boutin, Franklin Electronic Publishers
(Burlington, NJ) 609-386-2500x4434 aline_boutin@franklin.com
http://franklin.com
BACtrack: last call for here for now
Make note of Keith's contact info; they'll be taking a hiatus
from these issues, but not from news-making. Check in a month or
so to learn about some very inexpensive new products & some
exciting retail announcements. Contact: Keith Nothacker, KHN
SOLUTIONS (San Francisco CA) 415-693-9756x113
mailto:keith.nothacker@bactrack.com http://bactrack.com
Dfx now in 2 flavors
Now there are 2 ways to get Tiffen Dfx sauce-up-your-photos
software. In addition to new Dfx version 2 full release ($150),
they also offer Dfx Essentials ($70) with a more limited set of
the most popular & useful select-click-apply effects. PC or Mac,
Hilary can set you up to review either or both; careful, though,
they're both fun & addictive. Contact: Hilary Araujo, Tiffen
Company (Hauppauge, NY) 631-609-3216 haraujo@tiffen.com
http:/.tiffen.com
Special Report: Phones again
We earlier addressed the lost productivity that results from
analog phones & PCs not talking to each other; we're finding
fixes for that (some of which are part of a phone-themed review
"slam" in this issue). Short of a high-price telephony card, a
modem is the only available way we could find to get dialing to
happen from the PC; with a voice modem, analog lines can deliver
a VOIP-like PC calling experience (not hinting that's a good
thing). A modem is one way to deliver Caller ID data to a PC;
there are also some surprisingly capable dedicated Caller ID
loggers. When it comes to recording the audio from a call, we're
seeing voice-activated (VOX) automatic call loggers of varying
merit, but all capable of capturing everything; the simple taps
offer lower quality as more advanced hybrid patches (much better
for recording interviews). In both cases, the watch-points are
the audio level difference between the 2 sides of the call &
whether the 2 sides come into separate tracks for recording. With
all of this gear, hum is an enemy that requires extra care when
any device needs AC power.
Special extended review section: phone slam
We all take a lot of extra steps to get our work done just
because our phones & our PCs don't readily work together. In this
issue, we're devoting an extended review section to products we
found that help bridge that chasm for old-style (analog POTS
PSTN) phones.
Special Report Bonus Review: Dial Engine Pro
With a modem attached, you could dial a phone from an Outlook
contact record, but how about other applications? We asked
PhoneDialerPro.com to let us review their Dial Engine Pro
application; it's wonderful. It takes zero desktop space. We
configured it for a hot key (you get to pick) so one keystroke
dials any on-screen number you highlight. It also dials Web
"callto:" links & adds right-click dialing to unlinked numbers on
Web pages. Sans modem, it can pipe DTMF tones through a speaker
or acoustic link; with a modem, it can also monitor & log both
calls it dials & incoming calls; with a voice modem, it can make
the PC a POTS speakerphone (or use a headset). It supports
multiple lines & Skype, is enormously configurable & even comes
with an API. Bottom line: Dial Engine Pro software from
PhoneDialerPro.com bridges much of the chasm between PCs & POTS
phones
Special Report Bonus Review 2: Zoom 3095 USB modem
It's been decades since we chatted with either of the Manning
brothers at Zoom Telephonics but Terry was very helpful in
finding a hardware solution to much of the PC-POTS disconnect.
Their USB Mini 3095 voice/fax/data modem isn't much bigger than a
Bic lighter, works on just about any O/S & if you have more than
one phone line, you can plug several into a system (up to 4 on
XP, more on most other platforms; we hear that one guy runs a
50-modem fax server from a Mac). For our needs, we love that it
detects call progress (dial tone, busy, ring, etc.) & passes
through Caller ID data; we also like that it's USB-powered sans
wall wart. Bottom line: We're making the Model 3095 Zoom/Modem
V.92 USB Mini our default choice for exploring bridges over the
POTS-to-PC gap.
Special Report Bonus Review 3: VRS Recording System
NCH Software has a lot of clever products for people who work
with audio, including the remarkable VRS Recording System. It
will do audio recording from phone lines (as well as other
sources, like microphones or radio links) on demand or
automatically (voice activated aka VOX) on up to 64 channels with
automatic level control. You can tailor most of what it does,
including how & where the audio logs are stored; once configured,
it does everything from its perch in the system tray. Bottom
line: phone line audio logging gets crazy simple with VRS
Recording System software handling all the heavy lifting.
Note: phone fidelity
Phone systems can use cheaper, smaller components (like
capacitors & transformers) if they don't pass low frequencies
(which also avoids picking up power line hum). In practical
terms, the frequency range of a standard phone line is 400Hz to
3.4 (never more than 4) KHz.
Special Report Bonus Review 4: Radio Shack Recording Control
Since it's been around since before dinosaurs, the Radio Shack
Recording Control is the first telephone tap device most people
think about. Its original purpose was to work with cassette
recorders, both feeding audio to the mike input & providing a
start/stop contact close when a line is in use. We ran one
through a USB audio input into audio logging software; the result
was completely intelligible though a bit like listening through a
glass on a wall. Bottom line: a Radio Shack Recording Control can
feed phone audio into your PC
Special Report Bonus Review 5: VEC LRX-37C phone tap
This is the simplest line tap we've seen: a little block with 2
cords sticking out the sides, one with a 3.5mm plug for a sound
card's mike jack & the other an RJ11 ready to plug into a modular
phone jack. Recordings we made with it exhibit intelligibility as
good as or better than what you often hear through telephone
handsets. Bottom line: VEC LRX-37C Telephone Record Adapter is a
plug & chug easy way to make that phone-to-PC audio connection.
Special Report Bonus Review 6: Rolls PI9 Phone Patch II
We really admire the handicraft that went into the Rolls PI9
Phone Patch II device, especially with online pricing around $40.
Like the pro hybrid taps (at 3 times as much & up), it isolates
the near & far ends of the call into separate channels; you plug
in via either a pair of RCA phone jacks or a 3.5mm stereo jack.
It has a mute button & a slide switch to disconnect it from the
phone line. It's passive & needs no power. Bottom line: the Rolls
PI9 Phone Patch II is the optimum blend of low price & high
performance in making phone line audio accessible.
Special Report Bonus Review 7: CMedia CM119 audio dongle
When we decided to audio-log our phone calls, bringing audio from
all those lines into the PC would have overwhelmed its native
sound handlers, so we looked for a low-cost way to multiplex over
USB. We found a $10 (Amazon price) solution in the Syba
SD-CM-UAUD, essentially a USB dongle with 3.5mm headphone & mike
jacks. We got one per line, which simplifies audio channel
handling for the software. Bottom line: the CMedia CM119 USB
stereo interface gave us a small, simple, low-cost way to bring
phone audio into the PC.
Special Report Bonus Review 8: Griffin iMic 2
Some of the simpler phone taps just need a monaural mike jack,
but the better ones (with hybrids) have to feed in stereo. The
simplest USB audio interface with a stereo mike input that we
could find is the Griffin iMic 2, so we requested one to review.
It's a one-piece unit with stereo in (a slide switch sets it to
line level or the more sensitive mike level) & stereo out; it's
capable of much better audio quality than our phone line
connection would ever demand. Bottom line: For primary or
secondary computer stereo audio I/O, the Griffin iMic 2 manages
to deliver great quality & versatility with wonderful
simplicity.
Note: recording notification
States may have tighter requirements for recording phone calls;
Federal ones say you have to either get consent to record before
a call or verbally notify that you're recording before doing so
during a call or generate beep tone (1260-1540Hz for 170-250msec)
every 12-15 seconds.
Special Report Bonus Review 9: TT-1 hybrid phone tap
Broadcast Tools loaned us a Tiny Tools TT-1 line-powered
telephone hybrid coupler & tap for review; at $140 list, we'll
probably buy it. Inexpensive phone taps simply straddle a line,
isolate the audio away from the DC & send that to a jack; a
hybrid transformer (special, designed to let 4 wires worth of
signaling run over just 2 wires) at the heart of
broadcast-quality gear separates the near & far sides of the line
into separate signal paths. The TT-1 provides balanced audio at
3.5mm input & output jacks (see the next item for ways to
unbalance that or just get a Radio Shack 42-2433 stereo to mono
cable) plus a null trimmer to help tweak the separation. It jacks
into the phone line through an RJ11 connector & has a second
pass-through connection for a phone. Front pushbuttons control
when it seizes or releases a line (picks up or hangs up) plus
mute/unmute & auto-answer/monitor buttons & telltales for
off-hook & ringing. The back also has terminals for directly
wiring in signal & control lines. Bottom line: For those of you
who do interviews (whether or not they ever get played for
anybody else), the difference in fidelity through a Tiny Tools
TT-1 Telephone Line-Powered Hybrid/Monitor makes it an investment
in improving both your product & your productivity.
Note: tap trick
This note is for soldering-friendly geeks: We had to adapt
balanced audio (signal +/ - centers around ground) from a good
phone tap to unbalanced audio (the "bottom" of the signal is at
ground). We grabbed some Radio Shack parts: 273-1374 600 Ohm 1:1
audio isolation transformers, 272-1055 1.0 microfarad capacitors
& 274-249 3.5mm stereo panel mount jacks. The tap-side jack tip &
sleeve wire directly to one side of the transformer; each wire
from the other side of the transformer connects through a
capacitor (+ away from ground) to the tip & sleeve of the other
jack. It's a makeshift balun with DC isolation to respect the
signal.
Special Report Bonus Review 10: Ziotek 4-line switch box
We're OK with putting inexpensive phone taps on each line for
simple audio call logging, but would rather work with just one
high-quality hybrid & making that connect to any of our lines.
The cheapskate's way out is the $10 Ziotek ZT1050020 4-to-1
Telephone Switchbox with 5 RJ11 connectors on the back & a
4-position A/B/C/D rotary switch on the front, all in a sturdy
metal (well-shielded) box that requires no power. Bottom line:
the Ziotek ZT1050020 4-to-1 Telephone Switchbox is a great way to
share the love of great gear over multiple lines.
Special Report Bonus Review 11: Radio Shack triplex phone jack
Testing ways to bridge the gap between POTS lines & a PC meant
plugging a lot of items at once into each line. The simple
solution was a Radio Shack 279-435 1:3 jack adapter with a
modular male plug at one end & 3 modular female jacks at the
other. Bottom line: the Radio Shack 279-435 1:3 jack adapter gave
us the extra connections we needed with no rewiring.
Special Report Bonus Review 12: Whozz Calling 2
A phone can show Caller ID & track previous calls but that's a
tedious way to find out when you last heard from somebody & some
Caller ID info is imprecise or misleading. We found brilliant
ways around that from CallerID.com & asked to review their Whozz
Calling 2 Ethernet box. It has 4 rear jacks: 2 RJ14 for 1 or 2
phone lines (per jack & you can loop through a second jack), 1
RJ45 for IP & a power port for its 9V wall wart. Any connected PC
can run its utility to create a call log database (incoming
Caller ID & outgoing DTMF plus time, date & call duration) that's
easy to search & export; it can also display incoming call
pop-ups. The log also lets you launch Google Phonebook to look up
a number, find its address info & a map link. Third party
developers use this kind of hardware to automate POS systems; for
example, it may be how the pizza shop knows where to deliver your
order. Once set up, it just works. It stores the most recent 248
numbers so a PC that's been off can catch up with it. Now we can
look up who called us & when, who we called & when, plus whether
or not the call lasted long enough to have become a conversation.
Bottom line: Whozz Calling 2 for Ethernet is a wonderful
one-piece solution to getting phone logs onto a PC without
lifting a finger.
Special Report Bonus Review 13: IdentaFone Multi-Line
IdentaFone Multi-Line software reads Caller ID information from
the Whozz Calling 2 box (as well as others), looks up Outlook
contact information for the caller, logs it, displays it in a
bubble or window, can optionally pop up the Outlook Contacts
record & more. If you have a modem, you can dial from its log or
its speed dialer utility. The log database (which also includes
outgoing calls) has a lot of search & export finesse. The
most-recent-calls display lets you look at a number's call
history, do an online reverse lookup & more. Bottom line:
IdentaFone Multi-Line software adds even more value to the native
facilities of the Whozz Calling box & affords a wealth of
productivity-enhancing daily workflow short-cuts.
Special Report Bonus Review 14: RS phone line splitter
To review a 2-line Caller ID solution with 2-line (4-wire) RJ14
jacks meant we needed to merge our 2-wire RJ11 connections into a
single connector. We asked Radio Shack to send their 279-402
splitter with a 4-wire RJ14 2-line male plug at one end & a pair
of single-line (2-wire) RJ11 jacks at the other. Bottom line: we
got the connection we needed with no tools.
Special Report Bonus Review 15: Vista Caller-ID
If you have just one voice line & a modem on it, Vista Caller-ID
(freeware) shows Caller ID in a pop-up or slide-up bottom corner
display & logs it. You can sync it with Outlook to use the name
in a Contact record (plus a picture if it has one) for the number
rather than the Telco-reported name. If lets you use any
available text-to-speech voice to announce the name & number. You
can also install add-ins for Windows Home Server & for Windows
Media Center. Bottom line: Vista Caller-ID offers a handy
on-screen way to see & log your incoming calls.
Leashes
Would you willingly wear a leash? You already are & a lot of what
tech does is to make those leashes reach a little farther.
Important calls kept you leashed within earshot of your phone but
first answering machines then pagers then cordless phones then
mobile made that leash a little longer. Smart phones do the same
for e-mail. You missed your TV show if you weren't in front of a
set when it was on until there were VCRs then DVRs. Many other
tech products are their own kinds of leash extenders. However
free we think ourselves, we all volunteer for these leashes, even
on our vacations; can you truly leave all that behind & run free
without feeling negligent or guilty? The ultimate leash is
probably our perceptions of others' expectations of us. Contact:
Martin Winston, Newstips (Novelty, OH) 440-338-8400;
marty@Newstips.com http://Newstips.com
# # #
Newstips Bulletin [Novelty, OH] +1.440.338.8400 http://Newstips.com
|
