I really just wanted a quick excuse to test out the new Performancing for Firefox extension…

Performancing for Firefox is a full featured blog editor that sits right within Firefox. Just hit F8 or click the little pencil icon at the bottom right to bring up the blog editor and easily post to your Wordpress, MovableType or Blogger blogs.

…but I’d also like to wish everyone a Merry Chrismukkah and a happy New Year. I told Santa I wanted a new digital camera (Panasonic DMC-FX9) for Christmas so hopefully he’ll come through for me and I’ll be able to resume taking incriminating photos of me & my friends again. I’m heading to Phoenix after Christmas and will be drinking in the New Year out there so this will more than likely be my last post of the year. Here’s wishing you and yours a great 2006!

Oh yeah, since installing the wonderful del.icio.us Firefox extension, I’ve been using my del.icio.us account much, much more, so I’ve scrapped using the WordPress Link Manager for my “Elsewhere” links and am now using the LinuxBrit WordPress plugin instead.

Ever since I bought my iPod, I’ve been a bit underwhelmed by the headphone market. It seems that the big names in audio aren’t developing new earbud/earphone products even though the popularity of mobile audio devices continues to rise.

First of all, the earphones that come with the iPod are a joke. They’re uncomfortable, fall out too easily, and sound like shit. I began looking for a replacement set the day my iPod arrived.

Because of their portability, I like canalphones, which are small headphones that fit inside the ear canal. I’m not really interested in any of the high end phones because I just can’t bring myself to spend over $150 dollars for headphones, although I understand that many people will and do every day.

So I fall into a large market segment of iPod users looking for a relatively inexpensive replacement set of earphones that meet some basic requirements.

1. White, minimalistic look that compliments the iPod.
2. Sound decent enough to make the listening experience enjoyable.
3. Comfortable. Fit well in the ear and won’t fall out when running.

My first choice was the Apple In-Ear Headphones, but they’ve receieved some pretty lousy reviews on both their sound and fit. Browsing through sites like iLounge and headphone forums, I was surprised that a lot of the recommended products where not available in the US. Most people made their purchases from AudioCubes.com, a site based in Japan.

I ended up buying a pair of Sony MDR-EX51LP Headphones, which seemed to meet all of the requirements. The only thing that sucks about them, and pretty much all the other in-ear canalphones, is that instead of the standard “Y” split of the cords, the split is uneven. The left cord is short, only a few inches, while the right cord is much longer and is meant to wrap around the back of your neck.

To me it’s stupid and I hate the cords, but I kept the headphones anyway. After using these phones for over 6 months, I’ve never gotten used to it and have been waiting to try something else. Maybe these things are popular in Japan, but it seems most of the US consumers are like me and prefer the standard “Y” split.

Enter the Griffin EarThumps

A couple of weeks ago, Griffin Technology, creator of the popular EarJams, released the EarThumps. For only $20 bucks, they looked nice and more importantly had the standard “Y” split. There weren’t any reviews, but I went ahead a purchased them anyway.

I’ve had them for a few days now and I’m quite satisfied with them. They sound good enough overall with strong bass, look great, and are very comfortable. I’ve been running with them twice and for that they work well. And while they do not sound quite as good as the Sonys, I’ll forgo a little bit of sound quality for usability.

So why haven’t any of the big companies listened? It’s not like iPods and other mobile devices came out yesterday. Sure there are companies like Shure, Etymotic, & Sennheiser that focus on the high end niche, but not everyone wants to spend $300 on earphones. With active forums like the ones at iLounge and Head-Fi, it should be easy to get a grasp of what people want. Griffin listened and created a product that satisfies a large market segment’s needs. And until the rest catch up, they’ll reap the rewards.

What is it?

Last.fm is the flagship product from the team that designed the Audioscrobbler system, a music engine based on a massive collection of Music Profiles. Each music profile belongs to one person, and describes their taste in music. Last.fm uses these music profiles to make personalized recommendations, match you up with people who like similar music, and generate custom radio stations for each person.

Basically, you create an account, download and install a plugin for your favorite music player, then Last.fm will keep track of the songs you play on your computer. But it’s really so much more than that…

The more you listen, the better the spiffy recommendations area becomes. It’ll help you find new artists and preview music using the Last.fm player, which also doubles as a radio station. The site even has the whole social thing going on so you can see if your friends are listening to crappy music.

Go check it out for yourself and add me as a friend if you want to see what awesome people listen to =)

I’d been wanting an LCD monitor for a while and I finally caved in and bought one on Sunday. I’d had my eye on the Dell UltraSharp 2005FPW 20.1-inch Wide Screen monitor for some time after reading countless great reviews about it. When I saw that Dell was offering it for 25% off and with free shipping, how could I resist?

The monitor is incredible. The difference in clarity between it and my old CRT is amazing. Yada yada yada - its damn good.

It’s also worth mentioning that my shopping experience with Dell was fantastic. I placed my order on Sunday, it shipped Monday, and was here on Tuesday! To add to my delight, Dell actually included a DVI cable (as well as a standard VGA cable) in the box.