What if you were able to get live traffic updates on you GPS every two minutes?  Yes, you heard me right, every two minutes.  This means no more getting stuck in traffic unwittingly, and wondering just how to get around the gridlock.  It also means actually getting to that important meeting on schedule no matter how busy your day is or how far away you are. 

In approximately mid-2011, TomTom will introduce its new Go 2505 M Live model GPS system. Hopefully Garmin will do the same.   Whereas in the past we could get traffic updates every 15 minutes, TomTom has raised the bar and will be giving updates to its users at a more efficient and workable 2 minute intervals.  The added convenience and reduction of stress levels brought about by this change will be welcomed by all; especially those of us living in crowded metropolitan areas where gridlock is a factor and where a single fender-bender could ruin a carefully laid out itinerary. 

But wait, that’s not all.  The GO 2505 will include other live services free of charge for the first year.  These additional live services include local fuel prices, local searches and weather reports.  Using standard verbal commands, you will get directions to the nearest exotic restaurant, coffee house or gas station.  Tom Murray, Senior VP for marketing over at TomTom, is quoted as saying that “The data is twice as accurate as Navteq”.  For a GPS device, that’s all I need to hear.  Keep in mind that these new gps features are in addition to all of the standard services and conveniences to which we have become accustomed.  Therefore the device is a bit more costly than its forerunner, but is well worth it. 

All of the conveniences incorporated into the various types of GPS systems on the market today have become an invaluable part of our daily lives.  Wisely choosing and utilizing those specific options which will enhance our lives is extremely important.  Know what you need, get it and maximize its use.  Rather than focusing on all of the tricks that your new gps device can do, first target what you need it to do and get familiar with those elements.  Once you’ve mastered that, move on to what the device is fully capable of.  That’s the secret to a successful relationship with today’s consumer technology, particularly the personal navigation devices.

There are some people who consider themselves averse to the newer gps technology coming on the market, saying they already have what they need.  However, I believe that once you have a system for assessing the technology, acquiring it and using it, improving your quality of life can be a relatively simple procedure.

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We all know the term ‘Hi Fi’ is an abbreviation of ‘High-Fidelity’. Fidelity depicts faithfulness; therefore the term ‘High-Fidelity’ defines the aim of the hobby which is to achieve, in reproduction, the highest level of faithfulness (or accuracy) to the original (live) sound as it was recorded.

If this is your own goal, then for a reality-check I’d suggest that you try to get an opportunity to listen to UNAMPLIFIED musical instruments and voices, your friends’ voices will do, church-bands, military-bands, orchestras, marching-bands, street-side minstrels, whatever – even the un-amplified instruments of a popular band in rehearsal, for instance. Listen also to solo instruments; drums, guitars and especially the piano. Compare the sounds of these live instruments to those of similar instruments and voices as reproduced by your system. If your system is like most HiFi systems, then the sound won’t even be close to the real thing. It isn’t your fault, really.

I blame this unfortunate state of affairs on the manufacturers of inadequate equipment (especially speakers) which have made a mockery of the term, High-Fidelity. The reasons for this are many and varied, in my opinion, with greed, ineptitude, convenience, incompetence and large measures of disingenuousness being prominent among them. Members of the press who knowingly recommend mediocre equipment are no saints either.

The corruption of HiFi is one of the reasons why, in my opinion, audiophiles have since coined the term ‘High-End Audio’ to describe the hobby and differentiate between the pursuit of the absolute sound, and the acceptance of mediocre fidelity.

However, in my view high-end is also being corrupted, and has been for a very long time. It’s mostly corrupted by what one could call the ‘can’t see the forest for the trees’ syndrome. The prevailing trend seems to be a focus on reproducing and analyzing all the minute details (the trees) of music. Details are certainly important, but relatively very little attention is given to the more major factors (the forest). These major factors are vastly more important if REALISTIC sound reproduction is the goal as it’s supposed to be in high-end. But this is exactly where most systems fail dismally even as they excel at reproducing minute detail.

Perhaps this industry needs to get its priorities right. Whether ‘low-level detail-resolution’ has a justifiable claim to its current position at the top of the order is the question at issue, and a major concern of mine.

THE MOST CRITICAL FACTORS FOR REALISM:

(a) DYNAMIC CAPABILITY

A home system consisting of  the Spendor BC1 speaker-system, Quad electronics and Thorens TD125mkII/SME 3009II/Shure V15III front-end would have been considered state-of-the-art back in the day, and even today would be respected as way above average. But even back then, though the sound was sweet, neutral and pure, it never ever sounded totally like real live music to me. It sounded too processed, too refined, too thin, and too compressed – real instruments, to me, sound raw, natural, full-bodied, and dynamic, as do voices. That’s my problem with most  ‘state-of-the-art’ systems today, they sound just like my old Spendor system – no thanks.

In my opinion, one of the main causes for the unrealistic reproduction of sound today, as it’s been for many years, is inefficient speakers incapable of realistic, lifelike dynamic response (that is, assuming all other aspects of system performance are up to par). I believe DYNAMIC CAPABILITY to be locked in a two-way tie for THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR in realistic sound reproduction.

What is dynamic capability? It’s the ability of a system to reproduce the minor and major volume-swings so prevalent in real-life, and live music – it’s one of the main elements that makes music sound LIVE. From the soft shimmer of a cymbal below the level of other instruments, to the loud thwack of a drum rising above the level of everything else – the jump factor – the element of surprise. These are some of the elements that generate the excitement of live music, and portray much of the emotion invested in a musical work. The absence of adequate dynamic capability is what causes many systems to reproduce music sounding like poor facsimiles of the original event.

TRANSIENT-RESPONSE: For the sakes of expediency and simplicity, I’ll include transient-response in this section on dynamics. This is partly because I believe that both go together, for the most part. For example, that soft (micro-dynamic) shimmer of a cymbal mentioned above would, likely, have been induced by a lightly palyed drum-stick. A good audio-system should be capable of resolving the low-level transient generated the instant that stick caressed the cymbal. (The shimmer would have been manifestation of the resonance, of the cymbal, caused by the initial impact – which is also the moment the transient was initiated). Exactly the same applies to the instance, also mentioned above, regarding the loud (macro-dynamic) thwack of a drum. I believe the necessity for both excellent  transient & dynamic response – in any good audio-system – is of extreme importance, and both are inseperable, in my view. Therefore, any subsequent reference to dynamic-response, on this site, implicitly includes transient-response, if only for the sake of simplicity.

(b) LOWER MID-RANGE BODY (Correct Tonality)

 Also tied as the most important factor is LOWER MID-RANGE BODY, or weight. It facilitates the substance and tangibility to the sound of voices and instruments which they exhibit in real-life. The lack of it in many systems is one of the reasons (studio-engineers’ antics aside) why our favorite singer sounds so different at a live concert than through many systems where they sound, refined, thin, and glamorized. Live, they sound more full-bodied, raw, more natural, less refined, less glamorous. Sound’s familiar? Lower mid-range weight in a system facilitates the reproduction of a plucked string’s resonance in the body of a guitar, for instance, and makes the instrument sound BIG, or LIFELIKE, as it should. The same (or similar) goes for almost every other instrument as aspects of their sound is conveyed through the all-important mid-range. But too many speakers (and other components) subtract the warmth and body out of the mid-range so you’ll hear the sweet sound of the string’s upper registers but the body of the guitar (or other instrument) is AWOL. The sound is therefore thin and unrealistic – no thanks, again. In my view, the mid-range is absolutely CRUCIAL, it’s the house where music lives (bass is the foundation, and treble – the trimmings). Therefore, if the mid-range isn’t right then the system is already disqualified for critical listening, there’s no house for music to live.

One can appreciate music reproduced with little or no bass or treble. In fact many live performances display very little, or none, of either – solo piano played in the middle registers, guitar, organ, small jazz or classical ensembles, a cappella singers etc. Even music that has a lot of both can be understood and appreciated without bass and treble. But imagine that same music, any music, played without the mid-range. See the point? Ninety-percent of the sounds in nature and music, in my estimation, are in the mid-range. Therefore stellar reproduction of ALL the mid-range, including the LOWER MID-RANGE is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL for the accurate reproduction of the sounds of music. So never mind the awesome bass, and sweet treble (though I love them too) the music has no home in a system flawed by a relatively thin mid section – relative to reality, that is. This view is also reflected (including my love for bass and treble) in my choices of components for my own system, but we’ll come to that.

Correct tonality of musical notes, and the realistic dynamism of those notes are locked in a two-way tie as THE most important factors in the quest for realistic reproduction, in my opinion, as these are the elements that inform us on the macro level (even from a great distance) that the music we’re hearing is either LIVE or a very LIFELIKE reproduction. Low-level detail resolution MUST, then, be secondary to the twin giants of tonality and dynamism, partly because it operates on the micro level (evident mainly in the near-field) and partly because it is largely dependent on the accuracy of the first two for its own authenticity. The detailed resolution of what’s left of a musical note is relatively meaningless if that note is already compromised in its tonality and/or dynamism. Low-level detail resolution is important, but it must be viewed in its proper context, contrary to the current trend

(c) LOW-LEVEL DETAIL RESOLUTION.

Another important factor for me is the ability of a system to render LOW-LEVEL DETAILS. These are the tiny details that give us the clues as to what is happening in the music, and how, and completes the picture. For instance; the resolution of the sound of individual bristles of a brush on cymbal, a singer’s intake of breath, the sound of a pick on a guitar’s string as distinct from that of a finger, the initial sound of a stick or mallet on drum-skin. Low-level details also encompass the sound of the decay of musical notes, the ability to follow the linger of a piano note as it slowly fades into oblivion even while the horn-section tries to blow the roof off, and the drummer imitates the cacophony of a machine-gun on full-automatic. For critical listening, the ability of a system to render low-level details is priceless. It engenders those moments of blissful discovery of performance-related details – like that haunting electric-guitar melody deep in the mix – which we’d never heard on lesser systems. One is left with a feeling of experiencing every detail of a performance.

PRIORITIES

Since it is virtually impossible to be equally excellent in all areas, in all instances, it is also of paramount importance for us to get our PRIORITIES right. The macro-elements of music must be, and are, far more important than the miniscule. Put another way; the overall ‘big picture’ (along with its major elements) is much more important than its minute (micro-scopic, or ‘micro-sonic’) details. Simple logic dictates the order; (1) Dynamic Capability + Correct Tonality (including the oft neglected, but critically important Lower-Midrange Tonality/Accuracy) and (2) Low-Level Detail-Resolution. 

OTHER FACTORS

OK, so I’ve only highlighted a few factors necessary for realistic music reproduction, in my opinion. That does not mean that other factors aren’t also important; of course we want excellent stereo separation, near holographic imaging, great signal to noise ratio, etc, etc. But most HiEnd systems already have all that. I’m only pointing out the areas where many systems are lacking. Me, I also want flat frequency-response – not just 20khz to 50hz or 40hz or 30hz as in most systems -  I’ll settle for only the full spectrum, and we all know bass, accurate to 20hz,  is much more difficult to achieve. However, that’s another story.

CONCLUSION

Perhaps I should close by relating just one aspect of my experiences which has contributed to my dissatisfaction with the vast majority of high-end systems:

For many years, I’ve lived next-door to an army-camp’s grassy airfield. Every few months or so, the army holds nocturnal functions on this airfield on which their (un-amplified) military-band/orchestra is set up at various points close to, or further away from, my house. And whenever I listen to this band, even from great distances, it’s always possible to unmistakably recognize the sound as that of a live band – a humbling experience which always made going back to my highly-rated system (at the time) a disappointing prospect.

By far, the most significant elements of this live sound was/is (a) its dynamism (the ebb and flow of notes floating – sometimes those transients jumping – across the distance), and (b) its middle-range ‘full-bodiedness’. Minor details are not very apparent from great distances, yet the sound was undoubtedly LIVE, and very enjoyable as such.

Having also listened to this band (and others) up close, I can also appreciate the minute details including; the rustle of music-sheets, the scuffing of feet on the wooden platform, etc. – in addition to details similar to those previously articulated. But while these minor details do enhance the experience, the main elements of the live experience still remain; the DYNAMISM and the MID-RANGE ‘FULL-BODIEDNESS’ – even more so, up close.

So now, in assessing my system, any system, I first try to listen from a distance (from another room, or even from outside). I ask myself how close it sounds to a live singer or band in there. I listen for the macro-elements of live music. And then I go inside to continue my assessment of these elements, and also listen for the minute details, and other secondary aspects such as stereo-effects, etc.

Thankfully, my own system is now somewhat closer to the ideal I seek, much closer, in my opinion, than the typical high-end system. Hopefully, this/these article(s) will help a few in their quest for their own ideal audio-systems.

For a follow-up to the points raised, please refer to (part 2) ‘High-End Sound: Sweet & Refined OR Raw & Natural’.

Copyright 2010

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Being the leading group in the industry of mobile phones in the United Kingdom ever since 2001, 02 has indeed created a benchmark in the field of mobile phones. With its clique and stylish designs, O2 does not only attract their customers with the look of their mobile phones, but with its features as well. This is especially evident in their user-oriented XDA phones. o2 mobile is a section of the O2 group that is very much active in Europe. They provide wireless services both for business and individual use. Several plans and mobile phone packages are available for subscription and use.

In a statistical report given by O2 in 2003, mobile phone usage in the United Kingdom has indeed created a significant effect in the industry of telecommunications and mobile phone industry that contributed a lot to their economy. The contribution made by mobile phones to the country’s gross domestic product in 2003 reached over £22 billion. The year after, O2 has reached its peak when it belonged amongst the top 10 mobile phone service providers in Europe having more than 13.6 million o2 mobile phones subscribers.

O2 now provides various affordable mobile phone services as well as top-of-the-line chic handset model phones so customers have a wide range of options to choose from. Mobile phone brands such as LG Viewty, Nokia N95, and Sony Ericsson Cyber-Shot digital camera phones like the K850 are just few of what they carry. As part of being some of the best, these mobile phones also include Samsung and Walkman phones manufactured by Sony Ericsson. Whenever you need anything related to these, online mobile services of O2 mobile phones are available with just a click of the finger.

Hi-tech features such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G connectivity, and others are included in almost majority of the top-rated mobile phones manufactured by O2. Some of the top-rated mobile phones are the O2 XDA Stellar, O2 XDA Argon and the O2 XDA Orbit. Along with those features is the Windows Mobile 6.0 operating system that is installed in the newest XDA mobile phones.

Various subscription plans are available for customers. O2 offers these in flexible and affordable rates open for both business and individual use. Different price range options are also available for reference. These include free minutes of voice calls and text messages which you can enjoy. Aside from this, there is also the availability of voicemail and mobile internet services.

To keep you entertained, there are various songs, games, applications, news briefs, sports updates and many others that are downloadable from O2 direct to your mobile phone. There are even updates you may acquire online through their website. You can browse through their customer care services and even locate branches that are near you for better access of their mobile phones and subscription plans.

Think about why this is true. A good appraisal is the best reassurance that the lender won’t lose its pants on the transaction. If the borrower defaults, the lender still has a marketable property that can be sold to recoup its losses. All of which makes it understandable why lenders are so picky about appraisals. And with recent changes in the industry, the focus by lenders to obtain good appraisals is at the forefront.

Appraisals typically cost anywhere from $350 to $400. However, if the house is gigantic, multi-unit or in the boondocks, it could run more. The cost varies on property type, location and square footage.

The most common type of appraisal is the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR). It consists of interior and exterior photos and sometimes (depending on the age of the home), a complete cost breakdown of the property and comps (comparison sales of homes nearby that meet the proper criteria). These comps help determine the “market” approach. Each comp sale is adjusted in value when stacked against the home being evaluated (the one you’re buying or refinancing). Usually you will see a comp below the value of your home, in line with the value of your home, and a third above the value of your home. Kind of like the three bears. But if the valuation gets tricky, you can see fourth, fifth and sixth comps. The net value of the comps is estimated based upon the approaches used to come up with the appraised value of your property (meaning the appraiser performs some type of calculation that’s kind of like an average, but not necessarily a true average. Confused yet?)

URARs also, typically but not always, reflect a cost approach, which determines what the value would be based upon what is estimated it would cost to rebuild the home, less depreciation. The final estimated value of the home is then determined by using a melding of the market approach described above and cost approach (if applicable).

Lori Babb, Staff Appraiser for Mortgage Investors Group of Knoxville, TN, further explains comparables. “The best comparables are those similar in size, style (ranch, basement rancher, 2 story, etc.), age, and are close in proximity to the dwelling being appraised,” she explains. “Unique properties will typically require more adjustments than the average properties.”

So, say you’re Bill Gates and want to secure a mortgage on a $200,000 home (I know, it’s ridiculous, but I’m trying to make a point). He’s got the best credit profile a lender could imagine, yet the house appraises for $175,000. Deal or no deal? You better believe it’s no deal. The sales price will have to be lowered, or Mr. Gates will just have to pay cash for his new home (you think he can afford it?). The point is, your average Joe won’t go ahead with the deal without a price adjustment, and he will be obligated to pay for the appraisal regardless of the outcome of value.

Dan Tyrell, principal of Knoxville area’s Tyrell Appraisal Service, Inc., has this comment about value, “When determining value of a single family house, beauty is more than ‘skin deep’. Fresh paint, new carpet, new appliances, and nice landscaping all enhance the marketability of a house. Not so obvious items also impact the appraised value of a house. For instance older houses that have replaced plumbing/electrical systems, updated HVAC systems, newer roofs, replacement windows, etc. lower the effective age of the property which in turn increases the appraised value.”

There are other types of appraisals that are not as common, like an Automated Valuation Model (or AVM). In this case, different factors combine to ensure the value of the home (it’s worth $200K, but your loan amount is only $100K) and your unbelievable credit worthiness (800 credit score!), allowing you to skip purchasing a typical appraisal. You may also only be required to get a “drive by” appraisal, where the appraiser just inspects the exterior of the subject for size, looks at the lot and makes you wonder who that person standing by your mailbox is.

Most lenders control what appraiser is used to determine the value of your home. After all, it’s their money on the line. The appraisal is such an important factor to the mortgage transaction – make sure you’re satisfied with the results. Your lender will make sure it is satisfied!

Prior to 1797, the washing machine was little more than a rock against which laundry was beaten. In that year, the washing board was invented, making the process of cleaning one’s laundry astronomically easier.

Now, as we’re fresh into the 21st century, we cannot imagine scrubbing our laundry against a washing board, let alone stumbling down to the river’s edge and beating our clothes against a rock.

From piping audio and video through the home to automatically watering the lawn, there are scores of places where Smart Homes can make your life easier, or make it downright cool. If you’ve got the time and inclination, there isn’t anything that cannot be automated in your home.

It is not necessary to spend thousands of dollars on your home automation system. There are a number of very useful, utilitarian, and downright cool projects that you can implement without spending stacks of cash.

The thought of making your home a Smart Home might seem daunting. Indeed, when you start cutting into walls and pulling cabling through the void, it might seem like you’ve lost your senses. However, given an understanding of your needs and wants, adequate planning, and some research into the best solution, Smart Home renovation shouldn’t be too frightening. It’s even less disturbing if you employ some of the easier (and readily available) options. If you’ve ever thought about increasing the functionality, security, or wow-factor of your home,I’m here to walk you through the process of meeting your home into a Smart Home.

Smart Homes can be as simple or as complex as you want. Maybe you’re only in terested in dimming the lights in your kitchen. Or, maybe you want to do something more comprehensive, more complex, like setting up the whole house to be on a certain schedule and to work with your family’s daily routine. Whatever your needs, there’s a Smart Home gadget or system to handle it for you.

For example,there may be some potential disaster threatingthe house while everyone is away at work. No, if thugs try to break into the home, the security system would scare them off, notifie the police, sent an e-mail to the host at work, and sent a message to his cellular phone.

Modern technology helps homeowners monitor both home security and home appliances at the same time.

This one-touch home automation makes it possible to control each room in your house. By setting one central control panel, you can tell your coffee pot when to start brewing, your turn your lights on and off, open or close the garage door, or turn on the garage light to help you get to your car.

You can arrive home after work to a gleaming porch light gleaming and your favorite music welcoming you. You can go to sleep to the sounds of your favorite DVD or your favorite late-night TV show. With this customizable home automation, you can program your house to keep you with your family’s routines.

Central to the home security appliance system is the remote control linked to the system center. Through the control system center, you use the remote control to operate the alarm system, the television, your DVD player and stereo, the home entertainment center, and – yes – even your coffee pot. Some systems even have accessory remote controls that you can attach to your key chain and operate from your car.

A few examples things a top-quality home security appliance control system will do include:

- turn appliances, wall switches, and lighting off and on

- adjusting the thermostat for hourly temperature fluctuations

- program events for specific times

- set lighting and heating systems to automatically adjust for changing sunrise and sunset hours

- control holiday lighting

- open and close drapes

Easy to learn to operate, the best systems are user-friendly so that you don’t have to worry about a steep learning-curve. You don’t have to re-wire your home for the wireless systems, and you can program timed routines to continue daily (great for when you’re traveling). These convenient features create the illusion that someone’s home when the house is most vulnerable – when no one’s there.

Once equipped with an automated home security appliance system, your smart home will be the envy of the neighborhood. As happens with any new technology, the systems prices are beginning to come down. However, at this time, the cost may be imposing to budget-conscious homeowners.

While the novelty of automatic normal household appliances is attractive, the security and peace of mind that these systems provide is their greatest value. Home security appliance control systems gives you the comfort of knowing you can control conditions in your home any time, from any place. You can monitor your home and, in emergencies, the alarm will sound. You’ll be notified, and calls will go out to the police or fire departments.

With a home security appliance system, you can rest knowing that the system will shut off ventilation and gas and then light escape exits while it notifies the fire department about fire or gas leaks.

The system also helps you save money and energy by controlling home heating and cooling systems while you’re away from the house. You can make those energy-efficient lights, water heaters, kitchen appliances, and other appliances even more energy-efficient by programming start-up and shut-down times. You can even control the thermostat throughout the day.

Home security appliance control systems offer a comprehensive integrated solution to home management. They let you control almost every element in your house and save time and money in the process. The extra bonus is the peace of mind they bring.

Isn’t it time that you looked into a home security appliance control system for your house?

The development of technology pushed forward the era.Prior to 1797, the laundry was beaten by washing machine. In that year, people invented the washing board,which made the process of cleaning one’s laundry astronomically easier.

Now, as we’re fresh into the 21st century, we cannot imagine scrubbing our laundry against a washing board, not to mention stumbling down to the river’s edge and beating our clothes against a rock.

From piping audio and video through the home to automatically watering the grass, there are lots of places where intelligent homes can make your life easier, or make it completely cool. If you’ve got the time and desire, there isn’t anything that cannot be automated in your home.

It is not necessary to spend thousands of dollars on your home automation system. There are a number of very useful, utilitarian, and downright cool projects that you can implement without spending stacks of cash.

The thought of making your home an intelligent home might seem unrealistic. Indeed, when you begin to cut into walls and pull cables across the void, it might seem like you are craze. However, given an consideration of your needs and desires, adequate planning, and some research into the optimal solution, intelligent home decoration shouldn’t be too frightening.

It’s even less disturbing if you employ some of the easier options. I’m here to walk you through the process of meeting your home into an intelligent home.

Maybe you’re only interested in dimming the lights in your dining-room. Or, maybe you want to do something more comprehensive, more complex. Anyhow ,intelligent homes can be as simple or as complex as you want. Whatever your needs, there’s an Intelligent Home gadget or system to handle it for you.

For example,there may be some potential danger threating the house while everyone is away for work. If thugs try to break into the home, the security system would scare them off, alarm the police, sent an e-mail to the host at work, and sent a message to his mobile phone.