Useful Guitar Effects Pedal Cases

A guitar case is often the first case you think about getting when you play guitar, but if you have several effects pedals how do you transport them around in an easy and tidy manor? Save yourself the trouble of stuffing all of your effects pedals and cables into a rucksack and everything getting tangled together in the process, and save the time it takes you to fix it all when you get to practice or a gig.
Have you ever set out to go to a gig with everything in your backpack as neatly and organised as you possible could, then finding out that everything has still managed to get into a heck of a mess when you arrive at the venue. You might have only walked 10 minutes or put your bag into the car, but its somehow still in a mess.
A pedal board and case will go some way to helping to solve the problems. The good thing about a pedal case is that once you have it at home you can Velcro or screw all of your effects pedals into place on the board, they won't move from their allocated position no matter what. Your pedals will all be set out and connected up with patch cables, then all you need to do is connect one side to your guitar and the other into your amplifier. It saves you about half an hour of untangling the ball of mess that has been created in your bag in the trip from home to the practice room or show. Connect two leads and you are ready to go.
Not only do these cases save you from untangling everything they are really handy for moving everything from place to place. Zip up the cover or attach the lid and you are set to go in a few seconds. There are many models available at most good music stores, they can come with a comfortable handle or a strap that will go over your shoulder, leaving your hands free to carry your other gear. Normally they do come with both handle and shoulder strap.
Effects pedal boards and cases come in all sizes from small to massive. If you only need to take a few pedals with you there will be a small case just for you. They can of course only go to a certain size before it becomes silly, so if you have every pedal ever made then you will need to buy more than one case for all of your stuff.
Pedal cases come in hard and soft cases and as flight cases just like those your guitar. Hard cases are great if you have expensive boutique pedals, or just don't want your gear to get damaged by things falling onto them or being struck by something unexpected. Or go for a soft case if you want some a little bit lighter to carry around.
If you move your gear around a lot and normally do it with a backpack then you should should look into getting a proper purpose made effects pedal case. For saving time, protecting your gear and for how easy it makes moving from place to place they really are worth the money.

Motorcycle Headlights: Why Old Bulbs Could Be Putting You In Danger

Like any other parts, the life of your motorcycle headlights is finite. This means that over time they will wear out. What should you do? Let's investigate:
This has some impact on your safety, as when a bulb 'blows' it will leave you in darkness. In the daytime not a problem, but can you imagine trying to ride a bike in the evening or at night without a headlight? In this situation the sensible option is to change the bulb as soon as possible, but it's what happens before a bulb finally goes that we're interested in here.
Standard motorcycle headlights bulbs are commonly halogen bulbs with a tungsten element that is superheated to become white-hot and therefore give out light. This is OK, but a by-product of this old technology is mainly heat and not light and over time the tungsten element will literally burn away and leave a deposit on the bulb's glass, weakening its brightness.
In this situation you're less visible to other drivers and you have reduced visibility at night. The result of this? You're less safe, thanks to this one small component.
It also works your bike's battery harder, as older bulbs are energy-hungry as they need more and more power to run. This doesn't affect your safety, but it will lead to a worse fuel consumption and more wear and tear on your battery.
So motorcycle headlights are a small component with a big role to play. If you think that you have ageing bulbs it is time to start looking at alternatives.
The best option is HID motorcycle headlights.
These are the ultra-bright xenon lights that are about 3 times brighter than standard halogen bulbs. Not only do they give you more light and more visibility, but they also use less power and won't dim with age because they don't burn anything; and so you're immediately removing a weakened brightness due to build-up from the equation.
They are a bit more expensive than halogen bulbs, but you can pick one up from somewhere around 30 pounds. Bear in mind that this should last the lifetime of your bike! If you have an older bike just double check their compatibility before you buy as they are a very modern bulb and may not be available in a size that fits.
You could also choose LED motorcycle headlights.
Based on the humble LED, these guys also burn nothing and just emit light by passing electricity through a metal semiconductor. They are good for bikers as they light up immediately unlike any other bulbs which grow brighter as they 'warm up.' They are also very small which means that they make great indicator and brake lights too.
If you do serious mileage these could be the answer as they are very solidly built and have a minimum of separate parts and are therefore very resistant to vibration.
Again they are very energy-efficient and are brighter than halogen bulbs and so are a safe option, yet they lack the sheer power and brightness of HID bulbs.
Price-wise you're looking at around 20 pounds per bulb.
These bulbs sound hi-tech, but actually it's very easy to find them at a low price these days if you shop online. If you can just wait for a few days for delivery then you'll find that you can save an awful lot over buying from the garage or motorcycle dealership.

The aPad iRobot Looks to Be a Real Contender to Apple's iPad At Half the Price!

The aPad iRobot and Tablet PC's in general are the future... Or so say many of the biggest computer hardware manufacturers in the world. The heads of HP, Samsung, Nokia and of course Apple, with the iPad have sworn that this will be the new way we interact with and use computers. While Apple's iPad is already on the market, all of the other companies that want a piece of this computer segment continue to work through designs and re-designs to ensure that they get their slate or tablet PC's just right.
That hasn't stopped some smaller, yet very innovative companies from jumping on the tablet PC bandwagon, releasing various tablet pc's and form factors to try and compete with, and offer an alternative to, Apple's iPad. The operating system of choice for many of these small companies is Google's own ANDROID OS. Already popular in many smartphones that have come to market. It was originally designed only as a smartphone os, but works amazingly well as a full fledged touch control operating system on tablet PC's too. Much like Apple using their iPhone OS in a tablet PC, manufacturers are looking to the previously mobile only Android OS for their tablets as well.
One of the small companies I mentioned earlier developed and is shipping the aPad iRobot is poised to be a real contended in the tablet PC world. While companies such as HP and Samsung try and rush out tablets that we've only seen concept art for, the aPaid iRobot has already started shipping and aPad's are already in the hands of customers world wide.
While the company behind the aPad iRobot may be small, the aPad itself is BIG on features. Boasting expandable memory via MicroSD Flash cards and built in apps and videos, set up out of the box, to allow you to take your content with you anywhere you please. The aPad comes with a 7" touch screen and runs Google Android OS. With a built in camera - something the iPad from Apple lacks - it offers video conferencing from the moment you open the box and power up the unit.
It runs Android OS 1.6 and has built in support for GMAIL email, High Definition Videos, and access to all the Android Marketplace apps you can get your hands on. All installable and useable just like Apps from Apple's AppStore.
One of the things people complained about with the iPad was the lack of a standard or mini USB port, to allow third party accessories to be connected easily - and without having to spend more money on adapters. The aPad iRobot has that covered too, with the mini USB allowing you to add any USB Compatible device, including an external Hard Drive and USB keyboards too. And not to be out done by anything Apple. The Apad also has the built in G-Sensor so that it will automatically switch to the direction that you're holding the aPad - either vertically or horizontally.
An 600mhz processor powers the aPad, with an additional 600mhz for the DSP (digital signal processor) allowing HD movies to be watched. Our favorite time waster - YouTube, is just a touch away as an icon on the main menu. You'll instantly be on YouTube watching whichever video you want to watch. For all of the social networking folks out there, you're set to go as well. Facebook and every other major site can be accessed via the built in Google Browser that bring up web pages lightning fast on the high resolution 7" screen. Google Maps, Google Talk and PDF reader are all built in. Much like Apple's iPad, the aPad is a very capable and comfortable eBook reader too. And it's much more comfortable to read your eBooks on the aPad than on any mobile phone out there. Sometimes, bigger IS better. And this is really the case with the aPad iRobot.
And the best part of the aPad iRobot is the price. While Apple's entry level unit comes in at a crisp $499.00 - the entry level aPad can be had for less than half the price. At under $200.00 it's much more obtainable for the majority of people that want to try out a Tablet PC but don't want to spend $500.00 to do so.
I can honestly say that for most regular tasks, browsing the web, reading and responding to email, catching YouTube videos, etc... a Tablet PC - in this case the aPad, feels much more natural than any notebook or netbook out there today. There's just something about holding it in your hands and being able to carry it around with you to show videos or pictures to friends that really does make a tablet PC very attractive.

The Android Open Source Success Story

Developed by the Android, Inc., and financed by the Google, the first Android phone with Linux-based operating system had hit the market in October, 2008. The Google released this open source code under the Apache license with far more permissive licensing. This enabled device manufacturers to freely distribute and manufacture this unique software. This attracted many developers to compose applications in Java script.
This open sourcing has become the real strength of the Android operating system. It is now the most extensively used operating systems. It has over 700,000 different applications. The latest statistical survey shows that the Android capable Smartphones have over 75% of market share. There were over 1.3 million activations per day. There were 500 million activations in the third quarter of the year, 2012.
The software technology companies hunt for an operating system that is customizable, low-cost, and lightweight. The Android operating system exactly fits the slot. It achieved mass acceptance in no time. In addition to its use in phones and tablets, it has fed applications to the game consoles, television and several other electronic devices. It openness has found its use in community driven projects.
The user interface of the Android operating system responds to touching actions such as tapping, swiping, pinching, and opening. This fluid touch interface that directly manipulates on-screen objects are based on vibration capabilities. Some other hardware such as gyroscopes, accelerometers and proximity sensors give more response to user actions. The device orientation changes the screen from landscape to portrait mode. A rotation of the device rotates the steering wheel in a racing car game.
Android device boot the home screen. The home screen displays application icons and widgets. The application icons open up associated applications. The widgets display real-time content such as emails, weather forecast or a news crawler. The users may adjust the device to their choice. They customize favorite pages from the several pages available on the home screen. The user may re-theme the home screen through third-party applications. This way, different manufacturers present the same available applications and widgets with different priorities to showcase their product's competitiveness.
The versatility of the Android operating system could be gauged from the fact that several new and upcoming applications own it such as car CD/DVD players, headphones, mirrors, landlines, smart books, smart TV and smart cameras. The latest "Android@Home" is a technology for home automation. It controls home devices such as thermostats, light switches, power sockets etc.

High-Intensity-Discharge Lights (HID's) AKA Xenon Bulbs Or Lights - Which One is Right For You?

In the quest of customizing our rides, as well as getting better night driving visibility (and being noticed by onlookers), the most common aftermarket upgrade that auto enthusiasts do to their rides is replacing the halogen bulbs of the headlights for xenon bulbs, or to be more precise, High Intensity Discharge Lights (HID's).
The term "Xenon Headlight" is actually is a misnomer. There are several types of HID lamps, and those without xenon follow this sequence when turned on: A sudden bright flash of light, followed by the lamp turning dim, then slowly becomes bright as it reaches its normal operating condition. The xenon gas is only used to speed up this process and provide instant light upon ignition of the lamp.
Upon purchasing HID's, there are a multitude of Kelvin temperatures to choose from, usually starting from 3000K, all the way up to 12000K or even higher. Be wary of this as it is a common misconception that the higher the Kelvin temperature, the brighter the light. This is NOT TRUE.
The Kelvin temperature is also known as color temperature. Simply put, the color temperature, measured in degrees Kelvin, determines the color of the light output, not the brightness. The lowest color temperatures used in HID lights usually have yellowish hues, and as you go up the color temperature chart, it goes from white, to blue, to purple. The stock halogen bulbs are around the 3200K range.
So if you are to choose which one is right for you, well you first have to determine your application. Are you installing this for show, or are you looking to get the HID lights which can provide the most useable light output? If you are using this for show, then go ahead and purchase any color temperature you'd like to get to produce the desired look. But if you're looking for brightness and usable light output, then you're limited to a small range.
To give you an idea, manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes Benz use 4300K to 5000K HID lights on the models they release which have HID's as stock options. These are the models which usually come with the "Bi-Xenon Headlamps" or "Xenon Adaptive Headlights" tags. Why do they stick with this range? Because it is this these color temperatures which produce the greatest useable light output.
If you'd still want to mix "show" with "function", for safety reasons, HID's with color temperatures above 8000K should not be used as the main headlights but instead, as an accent to be used as foglights. Higher color temperatures tend to reflect off fog and rain, and therefore do a bad job in illuminating the road in poor conditions.
And going back to the example of Bimmers and Mercs, the reason why they come with halogen auxiliary fog or driving lights is because lower color temperatures are known to be better at penetrating water molecules. These compliment the HID's in poor road conditions. Low color temperature HIDs (yellow hue) should be able to do work the same way if used as fog lights.
4300K HID's have about 3100 lumens of output, which is more than 3x the light output of halogen bulbs. This is the color temperature which give the most output. The light is fairly white, with a slight hint of yellow when reflected off the road surface. OEM HID's come in color temperatures from 4300K to 5000K.
6000K HID's have about 2900 lumens of output, which is about 3x the light output of halogen bubs. The light output is white, with a slight hint of blue.
8000K HID's have about 2500 lumens of output, about 3x the light output of halogens. The light output is blueish white. The most popular aftermarket HID conversions are from 6000K to 8000K color temperatures.
10000K HID's have about 2300 lumens of output, which is more than 2x the light output of halogens. The light output is blue and approaching violet.
12000K HID's have about 2000 lumens of output, which is more than 2x the light output of halogens. The light output is blueish purple.
Though you should be warned about retrofitting HID's into headlamps meant for Halogen bulbs. These are not without fallbacks due to the scientific differences between HIDs and Halogens. But there are many different HID headlamp units available for various vehicle makes and models, making this upgrade very doable for almost any of your rides.