Chris Pirillo » speaker

What’s the Best iPod Speaker?

Chris — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:51:01 +0000

What’s the Best iPod Speaker? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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The music sounds great, doesn’t it? You’d never guess I’m listening to my iPhone, using external speakers, would you? The sound is very rich and deep. I was using Pandora to choose what to listen to, by the way. Those speakers kick, don’t they? The LiveSpeakrs were designed for the iPod or iPhone, but they’ll work with any device that has an audio out jack.

You can use the LiveSpeakrs in either portrait or landscape mode. They easily spin around to work with your audio device, no matter what way you are holding it. There’s also a nice little stand on the back, so that you can set them on your desk and listen while surfind the web or doing your work.

You won’t regret grabbing a pair of these for yourself. The sound quality is just excellent, and they’re very portable. You can throw them in your carryon when you travel, or into your laptop bag when you’re on the go during the daytime. Never suffer from bad quality sound again! Of course, I’ll be using mine frequently! You’ll see them in upcoming videos when I am demonstrating anything that has sound to it on my iPhone.

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How to Get More Sound from Your iPod (without Power)

Chris — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:30:21 +0000

How to Get More Sound from Your iPod (without Power) is a post from Chris Pirillo

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There may come a time when you need to amplify your sound. Don’t turn up your speakers now, though. I’m just illustrating the difference between loud and soft for you. There will just be times when you need more. Anyone who has an iPod wants it to put out more sound. You may not always have cords laying around for your speakers though. Now what do you do? Why not try out the Griffin AirCurve.

AirCurve is a cleverly-designed acoustic amplifier that turns your iPhone into a no-power-drain alarm clock on your nightstand, or a mini sound system that never needs batteries or adapters.

AirCurve looks like a simple, elegantly minimal stand for your iPhone. But inside is a coiled waveguide “horn’ that collects the sound from the built-in speaker of your iPhone, amplifies it (by about 10 decibels), and projects it into the room. AirCurve’s waveguide has been mathematically engineered to deliver amazing amplification — you’ll swear there are full-sized speakers in there. And AirCurve’s see-through translucent polycarbonate body lets you appreciate the graceful curves inside that do all the work.

Will the AirCurve charge your iPod or iPhone? By itself, no. For this reason, we’ve added a pass-through slot so you can feed a dock cable through AirCurve. Connect that dock cable to your computer or power adapter and you can sync or charge while you listen.

My iPhone sits in the AirCurve nice and tight, so I don’t have to worry about it falling out/over. I opened up the music, and what a difference it made! I don’t know that you can tell over this video, but I could definitely tell the difference sitting in my office. It really does amplify the sound coming out! You don’t have to carry any extra cords or cables around to make it work, either!

For less than $20.00, you have nothing to lose. Pick one of these up today for yourself, and maybe one for a friend! An AirCurve will fit right into a stocking. Right now, you can save nearly half off! Get yourself an AirCurve for $12.37!!

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Home Theater Speakers and your PC

Chris — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:14:55 +0000

Home Theater Speakers and your PC is a post from Chris Pirillo

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One of the callers from the 888-PIRILLO line is having trouble connecting his home theater system to his PC. He can hear sounds coming from it, but when he plays games and such, he’s not getting surround sound.

If all the cables are connected properly, and your sound card can handle it… you may need a different type of cable. Make sure that the speakers, sound card and cables you have are all capable of supporting Surround Sound. I asked what kind of cable he’s using. He’s using a standard mini-jack… which will not give him 5.1 Surround Sound. I let him know he’s going to have to have at least five cables. 5.1is the most common surround setup: pairs of front and rear speakers, plus a front center “dialog” speaker. Look for Dolby Digital or DTS in games and DVDs.

Perfecting your sound is a three-step process. To start you need to correctly configure your soundcard. All the big players provide some sort of Control Panel or configuration software that lets you adjust the card’s settings to suit your speaker system. At the very least it should let you pick the number of speakers you’re using or choose headphones. In many cases there are wizards to make the process easier.

Next you’ll need to set your application software, be it a DVD player or the latest game. For games the usual options are for A3D, EAX, DirectSound or alternative. Some DVD players now offer virtual Dolby or a full Dolby software decoder built-in – this provides you with a Dolby certified decoding system that will then work with any speaker system.

The final step is to check your speakers. The optimal positioning is to have the satellites at ear height and equally spread out. Any central speaker should be placed either above or below the monitor, while the subwoofer can technically be placed anywhere, though towards the front of the room is best.

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Steve Gillmor is Coming out of Retirement

Chris — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 06:50:16 +0000

Steve Gillmor is Coming out of Retirement is a post from Chris Pirillo

I’m so incredibly honored to have Steve joining us on the stage at Gnomedex this year. For a while there, it was looking as though he’d never leave his house again. Seriously, I started to get worried when he’d call and leave voicemails at three in the morning after mixing NoDoz with Attention.XML. I’m happy to report that he’s put down his NoDoz bottle and has seen the Gnomedex light once again – it’s that bright flashy thing that’s been drawing his “attention” for the past couple of years. Many of you might not remember me saying this, but Steve truly helped catalyze last year’s Gnomedex conference. Rumor has it that Dave and Steve will be having a contest over who has the fuzzier face. Ponzi is still recovering from last year’s rugburn. In all honesty, it’s great to have Steve on the dais. “On the dais, on the dais – oh oh oh, on the dais. C’mon and rock me on the dais!”

How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

Starting at just $3.99/month, web hosting from GoDaddy includes 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support and free access to GoDaddy Hosting Connection, THE place to install over 30 FREE applications sure to help you get the most from your hosting plan and Web site. Enter code CP2 at checkout, and save an additional 10% on any order.

Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code CHRIS7, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.

VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.