Comments for KatieFloyd.me

Comment on How OBi and Google Voice Replaced My Home Phone by Todd Peperkorn

Todd Peperkorn — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:22:43 +0000

Bought it. I’m setting it up tomorrow.

Comment on Contemplating Cutting The Phone Cable Too by How OBi and Google Voice Replaced My Home Phone « KatieFloyd.me

How OBi and Google Voice Replaced My Home Phone « KatieFloyd.me — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:52:45 +0000

[...] and canceled my cable TV service. A couple of months ago I decided to trim costs even more and cut the phone cable too. Keeping some kind of home phone service was important to me for convenience and as a backup for my [...]

Comment on Going Paperless by What I Liked At Macworld|iWorld: Doxie Go + Wi-Fi « KatieFloyd.me

What I Liked At Macworld|iWorld: Doxie Go + Wi-Fi « KatieFloyd.me — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:59:01 +0000

[...] you’ve followed me for some time, you know I’m a big proponent of Going Paperless and I’m also not a big fan of wires. Doxie Go + Wi-Fi seems to solve an interesting problem of [...]

Comment on What I Liked at Macworld|iWorld: Seagate GoFlex Drives by Bob Correa

Bob Correa — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:06:03 +0000

I love my Goflex 1TB with the fw800 connector. Despite some Amazon review claims of heat, tight fit connector and some performance issues, I’ve had none of these problems. All my future portable hard drives will be Goflex.

Comment on Katie’s Tech Travel Bag by Weekly List Bookmarks (weekly) | Eccentric Eclectica @ ToddSuomela.com

Weekly List Bookmarks (weekly) | Eccentric Eclectica @ ToddSuomela.com — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:47:44 +0000

[...] Katie’s Tech Travel Bag « KatieFloyd.me [...]

Comment on Review: AT&T 3G MicroCell by R Dietz

R Dietz — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:17:44 +0000

This is the only review or site that explained WHY the broadband connection is needed. Most descriptions of the Microcell as a booster or mini cell site implied a two way communication which I thought was all wireless. The use of broadband to transmit TO a cell site escaped me before reading it here. The booster is incoming wireless only to the phone fr the cell site.
I now see why my Microcell auction purchase does not work out of the box without connection to broadband- which I was hoping to avoid by purchasing it!

Comment on Macworld|iWorld Highlight Video by Pierce

Pierce — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:12:11 +0000

Think they might post the video of that session? Really love to see it.

Comment on What I Liked At Macworld|iWorld: Blue Microphones by Kevin Allder

Kevin Allder — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:25:07 +0000

Kyle, Thanks I will keep that in mind as I move forward. I want my audio to sound as good as possible without picking up background noise from my family when podcasting or as they say when Dad is geeking out. I may consider an arm that won’t limit me in the future if I do go that route.

Comment on What I Liked At Macworld|iWorld: Blue Microphones by Kyle Cronin

Kyle Cronin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:44:10 +0000

Kevin, you could try switching to a dynamic mic, most dynamic mics are directional and tend to be pretty good at reducing sounds that aren’t head-on. The Rode Podcaster kit Katie linked to in her post is probably the best bet for most semi-serious podcasters.

Comment on What I Liked At Macworld|iWorld: Blue Microphones by Kevin Allder

Kevin Allder — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:49:33 +0000

If the Yeti is any gauge as to the build quality of these new mic’s they will be very good. My Yeti has performed very well for me over the last year. The only draw back I have found is that even with the wait of the stand it does occasionally pickup vibrations from my desk. To combat that I am going to get a mic boom arm and shock mount just as you mentioned. The Yeti’s direction switch is very handy in eliminating background noise as well. There are several members of my family and while they try to be quiet during recordings there always seems to be a thump or something in the background. So far non of this noise has made it into any of the shows I have done.

That being said the mobility of the setup you are considering intrigues me for possible use when in the office so I will be waiting to see what your results are if you do purchase the above mentioned combo and how it performs in a mobile setting.

Comment on What I Liked At Macworld|iWorld: Blue Microphones by Kyle Cronin

Kyle Cronin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:41:08 +0000

I’m extremely skeptical of the Tiki’s ability to produce good audio with low noise. Back when my cohosts and I first started our podcast, we all used the Blue Snowball. As you mentioned, Blue mics (like all condenser mics) like to pick up background noise, so in order to get the highest signal to noise ratio, we all talked less than an inch away from the mics. Even then, noise was still a problem for one of my cohosts that lives near an airport, it was overblowing the audio for my other cohost and turning down the input volume on the Mac would only reduce the height of the peaks of the clipped audio (i.e. no on-device gain control), and in general we all didn’t like the lack of zero-latency monitoring. All these issues would no doubt affect the Tiki to a greater degree, as the microphone cannot be repositioned, and it’s nearer to the fan on a MacBook than it would be to the mouth of the user. Smart or not, I can’t see how the microphone would be capable of producing good audio.

In regard to your microphone selection, one of my cohosts uses a Shure X2U with an SM58 and we get pretty good results. Instead of being a separate box to plug in (like your M-Audio box), the X2U snaps right into the back of an XLR microphone and connects to your computer via USB. It’s designed to work with the SM57 or SM58, and would probably work well with your PR 20, as its pretty similar. It provides an analog gain control knob and zero-latency monitoring, but it’s also compact and could easily be packed for use on the road.

Comment on Still Need Tickets To Macworld|iWorld 2012? by art

art — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:42:51 +0000

Thank You! Thank You!!

Comment on Katie’s Tech Travel Bag by katie

katie — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:27:25 +0000

This works if that’s the sole purpose. But for a room that has a wired connection I find the Express to have additional benefits like an always on connection, better range and stronger security

Comment on Katie’s Tech Travel Bag by Katie’s Travel Tech | Bowl of Leche

Katie’s Travel Tech | Bowl of Leche — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:25:08 +0000

[...] Katie Floyd has got. it. together. Be Sociable, Share! TweetShare this:PrintEmailFacebookDiggRelated [...]

Comment on Katie’s Tech Travel Bag by Khalid

Khalid — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:09:32 +0000

Cool post Katie. I have a question though. Why don’t you just create an ethernet to wifi network on your computer for the other devices to use instead of carrying an airport express with you? You can use the USB to ethernet adaptor for this.

Comment on Katie’s Tech Travel Bag by Christi

Christi — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:55:49 +0000

Very, very cool. Thanks for that tip! I’ve been without internet due to a freak snow storm in the Pacific NW so this would have helped me out a ton this past weekend without internet access. I could have at least been swapping files with ease. See you at Macworld!

Comment on Katie’s Tech Travel Bag by Wayne Schwartz

Wayne Schwartz — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:30:47 +0000

Katie, also to go along with your #1, USB to Ethernet adapter, you might want to add an Ethernet cable of some length

Comment on Katie’s Tech Travel Bag by katie

katie — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:12:48 +0000

You can use the Airport Express to create an network between your devices. If the airport does not have connectivity to the Internet the devices will not, but it will allow the devices to communicate with each other for file sharing and streaming.

Comment on Katie’s Tech Travel Bag by Christi

Christi — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:06:27 +0000

Katie,

Thanks for the article and tips! Great stuff.

Question: Can an Airport Express really make a WiFi network without any wired (or WiFi) network in a hotel so that your AppleTV will work with your iOS devices? I never knew it could do that so please let me know if it does. That would be so sweet! That combination could potentially be used anywhere without internet access, is that correct?

Thanks!
Christi

Comment on Katie’s Tech Travel Bag by Wayne Schwartz

Wayne Schwartz — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:57:20 +0000

Katie, you also don’t mention which size Gird-It you use to fit all your stuff on.

Comment on Katie’s Tech Travel Bag by Wayne Schwartz

Wayne Schwartz — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:05:42 +0000

Thanks Katie for all this great info. I have most of this same stuff but will get a couple more after reading your post. Jared, do you have the model number of the case you got that included both the laptop case and the Grit-Its?
Thanks,
Wayne

Comment on Katie’s Tech Travel Bag by Paul Meyers

Paul Meyers — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:51:31 +0000

Hi Katie,
Love this post. Love the detail you put into it. Just awesome. Always nice to see exactly what you pro’s are using.
Appreciate the work that went into this. I will have to buy a few of those toys now…..

Comment on Katie’s Tech Travel Bag by Jared Apperson

Jared Apperson — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:40:53 +0000

Hey Katie,

Love the Grid-Its! Have you seen the one that is also a case for your MacBook Air? Just got one for my 11″. Liking it a lot so far!

Cheers,
Jared

Comment on Contemplating Cutting The Phone Cable Too by Cindy Compton

Cindy Compton — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:12:42 +0000

Great post! I cut the landline a long time ago as well. AT&T U-verse moved in almost a year ago, giving me an option to “Comcrap”. I jumped on it, as did many others around here, since cable had been the only game in town for years, except for the few people who tried to use satellite and couldn’t because of all the trees. For the first several months, it was wonderful. The internet speeds were far superior to what I was getting with cable. The tv was similar. Didn’t hook up a landline phone. I’ve been using my iPhone exclusively for years, although I do have and use a Google voice number as well as my iPhone number (personal vs business).

Then college football season rolled around. OMG, I couldn’t watch half my games with the Tennessee Vols because one of the main channels they use for broadcasts is a Comcast exclusive. I wanted to cancel the contract right then, but I couldn’t. I was locked in. So, I suffered thru watching it at my parents’ but still…

However, the past few months, the service has really slipped. I have to reset the whole system at least 3x per week, which is a major headache and always happens at the most inopportune moments. They’ve replaced the box and said it’s just because they’re busier and there is a greater demand on the system. I have a month to go, and I’m seriously considering trying to go without the tv service. Other folks I know with u-verse have had similar issues. Very frustrating to have had such a promising start.

With the advent of Hulu+ and others, I’ve found we can see many of the shows that we like to watch on tv. Granted, I would have to have either cable or u-verse for internet, but that alone isn’t expensive. It would be really nice to save about $100 per month. My alarm system is via cell, so no worries there. We’ll see if I can be brave and try it for a month or so. I think if I can make it that long, I”ll be ok. Especially knowing I have others out there doing the same thing. Thanks again for the great post.

Comment on Contemplating Cutting The Phone Cable Too by Josh Smith

Josh Smith — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:52:34 +0000

I cut the cord (phone) a long time ago. I don’t regret it one bit either. I did have poor cell reception in a couple of places where I lived but it was not bad enough to justify new landline service. I live in San Diego, CA so stepping outside every once in a while to take an important call is not a problem. I also hardly ever talk on my phone any way. Texts and emails for me and almost everyone who knows me uses that medium.
Good luck and we can’t wait to hear what you decided.

P.S. I also find it gratifying to NOT pay a big company for their lousy service.