iSoundCap Puts Music on Your Head
The perennial problem with Apple's iPods is that the darn things look so nice you don't want to scuff them, hence the lucrative market of iPod protective cases and skins. But even those can't help with the problem that all portable audio devices have faced since the days of transistor radios: those dangling cords that seem to get tangled in just about anything.
Here's one novel solution: Popgadget's $30 iSoundCap, which snugly fits your iPod Nano or Shuffle into a compartment near the back of your head, and also drastically reduces the required length of cord.
Avoid Headphone Entanglements
I've already mentioned one way to avoid tangled headphone cords: wear your iPod on your head. If you don't have an iPod or just prefer other headgear, the diminutive Cordgo might be the answer to your problems.
Using the Cordgo is simple: pop the lid off, loop your headphone cord around the spindle, and replace the lid. Then you can adjust the cord's length by winding the Cordgo. There's a clip on the back so you can attach it to your belt, lapel, armband, or wherever's convenient.
I found the Cordgo worked pretty much as advertised, but I had to practice a bit to get the knack of getting the right amount of cord length on either end. But hey, for $10, I can't complain.
Tangle-Free Listening With Logitech Headphones
Aside from iPod hats and cord winders, another way to avoid snarled headphone cords is to eliminate them altogether. Logitech has just announced the latest version of its FreePulse Wireless headphones ($99) to do just that. Plug the included Bluetooth 2.0 adapter into any audio device with a standard 3.5-mm audio jack and the music pipes into the headphones, up to 33 feet away. The 2.1-ounce headphones include integrated volume and bass-boost controls in the earpieces as well. The FreePulse Wireless headphones should be available in October.
Wraptor Keeps Your Shuffle Clean
This just might be the spiffiest Shuffle case ever. Mophie's Wraptor is a clear composite Lexan case that keeps your brand-new iPod Shuffle scratch-free and also has "precision engineered grooves" to keep your earphone cords wound up nicely. It's perfect for those of us who prefer our listening experience to be less random than our music.
Rugged iPod Nano Cases for Very Active Listeners
iPods and exercise have gone hand in hand before, but usually the exercise in question doesn't pose much risk to the gadget itself. However, if you're into more demanding activities and have recently acquired one of the new iPod Nanos, Speck Products' new cases might be just your speed. The rubberized ToughSkin case ($30) acts as a shock absorber; the $30 Canvas Sport cases borrows from basic sneaker design to protect against dings and scratches; and the $35 Active Sport armband looks like it could protect your musical investment from a few spills if you tend to jog on rugged terrain. The new cases go on sale on September 27.
Short Takes
Free Downloadable Movie for the iPod: For me, September might as well just be rechristened Movie Month. Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal all host major international film festivals--it's a fine time to be a film fan. And this of course reignites the never-ending debate: How will independent filmmakers get their works seen in increasingly congested markets?
Isis Productions, the company behind the feature Rune, has come up with an idea. When it releases the movie on DVD on October 10, it'll simultaneously make it available as a free download for the iPod that people can copy and distribute as much as they want. For details, read The Hollywood Reporter story.
See Movies Your Way With Cuts: When The Mask came out on video, a friend of mine made his own special version composed entirely of scenes featuring Cameron Diaz. That's good. A few years after that, a company in Utah started offering edited versions of Titanic and other films that were free of nudity and profanity. That's bad.
The difference between the two has to do with copyright laws and fair use. Mashups have brought the same issues to the fore recently, though with fewer lawsuits (if any)--but I'm curious to see if a new program called Cuts might spark some new debate.
Borrowing a concept from the film-editing world, Cuts allows you to edit video--even copy-protected content--without modifying the source material. Cuts creates a "cutlist" from your editing session and applies these modifications to the source material during playback. Cutlists can be distributed to others, but they'll only work for people who own the original source material.
No harm, no foul. Right?
Be sure to visit the Digital World blog often to keep up-to-date on the latest high-tech gadgets and cool software.
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