Perfect audio: Stick it in your ear!

The day before I left for Corel World in Kansas City, I received a question -- Would I like to try a pair of Etymotic Isolator Earphones? The answer: You bet I would. Can you get them here yesterday? That didn't happen, of course, so I wasn't able to test them on any of the 159 airplanes required to get me from Columbus to Kansas City and back by way of Prague, Toronto, Manila, and Cancun. But they were waiting for me when I returned. I wish I could have tried them on the airplanes, but I've done enough on-the-ground listening to know they'll be a good choice for travelers.

You already know that I have an Apple Ipod. I've talked previously about noise canceling headphones from Bose (huge) and from Sennheiser (large). These headphones require batteries and they monitor the ambient noise so that they can create an anti-noise that makes you think you're hearing silence. Etymotic takes another approach. The company's headphones are more like ear plugs and they reduce noise by keeping it out, not by creating anti-noise.

Use the Bose or Sennheiser headphones without an audio device and you'll experience quiet. Use the much smaller Etymotic ER6 isolator earphones and you'll experience nearly identical quiet. The company claims a sound reduction of 34 to 36 dB. I have no way to test that, but I think it's overstated. Radio stations operate on a 20dB range -- from the loudest possible signal to silence. Inserting the earphones reduced ambient noise, but didn't create silence. I'd put the reduction around 15 dB -- good, but quite a bit less than you'll get from the "active" headphones. But size matters to someone who's traveling. The smaller the better. And the audio from the ER6 headphones -- let's just say that it's a lot like being there.

Because the headphones are inserted into the ear, the sound is the most up-close and personal that I've heard in a long time. Another advantage is that these units are small and, therefore, require only minimal power to drive. I listened all afternoon at the office and my Ipod still had power left. That wouldn't have happened with larger headphones.

These aren't inexpensive devices, though. Bose charges $300. Sennheiser's active noise canceling headphones are around $200. Etymotic's ER6 headphones sell for under $150. I'm a little nervous about the wires. They're thin and fragile looking. I'm not going to try to break them, but I wonder how much of a pull it would take to tear something lose. That's the only downside I see, though. The sound is remarkably good.

Etymotic claims stronger-than-usual bass response. I didn't hear that, even when I set the Ipod to its hip-hop setting. But I did hear clean audio. The days are long gone when my ears could pick up ultrasonic signals from traffic lights and burglar alarm systems, but I still enjoy good sound. This is one way to enjoy good sound without bothering everyone within 100 yards. The sound really is clean.

Your Ipod (or other device) probably came with headphones of some sort -- most come with "ear buds" that hang from your ears. In my case, they invariably fall out. That's what I took with me on the trip to Kansas City. It was a good set of ear buds by a well known manufacturer. They sounded good, but they kept falling out of my ears. The ones that come with your player probably fall out of your ears, too, but that's not a bad thing because the ear buds provided by manufacturers are typically lousy.

Spending another $130 to $150 will make your ears happy unless you're the kind of person who doesn't like to have things inserted into your ear canals. The feeling isn't unpleasant, but it's a good bit different from wearing headphones. Inserting and removing the buds applies pressure or suction on the ear drums. It's a momentary sensation, but you may not like it. The again, you may not like it, but you might decide that the sound is worth the momentary odd sensation.

Because ears produce a waxy secretion, Etymotic provides replaceable filters. The basic set comes with a filter changing tool, but no extra filters.

Is paying $130 or more for a set of fragile earphones that make your ears feel funny a good thing to do? If sound is important to you, yes. Since I've been home, I've spent a fair amount of time with the ER6 headphones in my ears. The sound is wonderful.

The ER6 system includes ER6 Isolator earphones, a 5 ft. cord with 3.5 mm stereo plug, 1 pair of 2-flange eartips (the better choice), 1 pair foam eartips (yawn), a filter changing tool (but no replacement filters), a shirt clip, and a pouch to store everything.

If you don't like headphones at all, stay away from the ER6 headphones. If you don't like things stuck into your ear, stay way from them. But if you travel much, and you like sound, these could be the best present you've ever given yourself. See the headset on the Etymotic website.

Technology corner rating for ETYMOTIC ER6 HEADPHONES

NINE CATS: Superior sound and low power consumption combine with suppression of background noise in a tiny, portable package. My only concern is the somewhat flimsy-feeling cords.

How the Technology Corner rating system works.

Take your PC with you in a Migo

Remember when moving files from one computer to another required a cable? Or a stack of floppies? Or a CD or DVD? Today it seems that just about everyone who needs to move files from here to there has a solid-state USB disk drive. They make moving files easy, but what if they could do even more?

Apparently that's what the folks at PowerHouse Technologies Group thought. They make standard USB flash drives in the standard format, but they also make one that's housed in a watch. Besides making me feel like a secret agent man, the Migo watch made it easy for me to be myself at somebody else's computer.

Migo devices come with synchronization software that lets you transport your identity in addition to the usual folders. Plug a Migo into a public computer and your desktop will appear, your IE browser Favorites and History will be present. If you use Outlook, even your e-mail. Instead of traveling with a computer, you could travel with a watch or device that easily fits in your pocket.

Migo works with any Windows computer that supports USB, which means not Windows 95 or 98 Pareto to the second edition (which requires an update from Microsoft). But most business computers run Windows 2000 or higher, so you won't have a problem. If you don't use Outlook, your e-mail won't go with you. And if you use Firefox, your bookmarks and other browser data won't go, either.

As with most USB devices, you just plug it in and it works. The software gives some control over what you want to carry around. Files on your desktop are included by default. You can other files and folders that you want to have with you and you can tell the application to synchronize the files between the Migo and your desktop. You are, of course, limited to the capacity of the portable drive. For Outlook, you tell the Migo what you want to synchronize -- just the In box or other folders (including your Calendar, Tasks, and Contacts).

When you take the Migo on the road and plug it in to another computer, a menu appears at the top of the screen. Click it and your stored computer's desktop appears with all the files and folders that were on the desktop. Even the wallpaper. When you remove the Migo, your desktop and all of your files go with it -- there's no trace of you on the other machine.

If you have an Ipod, you can use it as an ersatz Migo drive. Migo for aped is the Migo software, modified to run on an Ipod. The software lists for $100, but there's a "limited time" offer at $40 on the Migo order page.

The Migo devices range in price from $45 (64MB) to $240 (2GB) and the watch (512MB only) sells for $160.

Technology corner rating for MIGO DATA DEVICES

NINE CATS: The Migo line of solid-state disk drives cost a bit more than competing drives, but they also do more. The ability to perform automatic synchronization is a big plus.

How the Technology Corner rating system works.

Your phone can hear you now

Despite security concerns with Bluetooth devices, the technology continues to grow in popularity among cell phone users because it makes external headsets so easy to use. And used with care, the security issues are manageable.

I recently took a look at an Actiontec Bluetooth headset. Actiontec also produces media centers, Internet telephony devices, and home networking gear. The Wireless Bluetooth Headset is light weight and easy to use. It comes in a little black bag and includes ears buds, a lanyard, a business-card-size installation CD, and a power adapter that doesn't fit in the little black bag.

It's essentially a "plug it in and it works" kind of device. You'll find the headset on-line for about $50.

Technology corner rating for ACTIONTEC BLUETOOTH HEADSET

EIGHT CATS: I don't travel enough or use my cell phone enough to "get" the need for this product. But then I'm the one who thought nobody would ever want a cell phone. If you spend a lot of time talking and wired headsets bother you, this is what you need.

How the Technology Corner rating system works.

Nerdly News

Dumb hackers take dumber users' files hostage

Websense Security Labs describes a new tactic being used by none-too-bright hackers to extort money from computer users. Here's how it works: You don't bother with security updates and you visit a rogue website with an unpatched version of Internet Explorer. The website takes advantage of the vulnerability to run a small application on your computer.

The small application finds and encrypts files that look like they might be important -- spreadsheets, word processor documents, financial records, and the like. So the victim can no longer read the files. How does the victim recover the files? Well, we've already established that people who have this happen to them aren't too bright, so they probably don't have backup, either. That means their only option is to pay the ransom demanded by the crooks who encrypted your files.

I've established why the victims are several eggs shy of a dozen, but what about the crooks?

Financial transactions can easily be traced. The people who came up with this one will get away with a few heists, but the law will catch up with them.

If you'd like to avoid being a victim, make sure that you have installed all current security patches from Microsoft, that you have up-to-date antivirus protection, and that you're running at least a software firewall.

Podcasting comes to Itunes

Apple says the next version of Itunes will support podcasting, which is sort of like time-delay broadcasting. Listeners must seek out the shows they want to hear, download them, and then copy them to a portable device (or listen at the computer).

Some big media organizations are trying out podcasting, but it's really a kind of guerrilla broadcast phenomenon. Millions of podcasts are available -- most are dreck, but some are quite good. Apple will make it easier for podcasters to increase the quantity of both types.

All media. All the time. Stay tuned.

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