News

Mac Edition Radio has returned safely from 2012 International Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas and begun to take a measure of this year’s massive show. More stories and product reviews will follow, but here are ten quick hits from this year’s CES.

John Mulhern III, posted 1/19/12

We pride ourselves on being good listeners – maybe not always to each other, but definitely to great music! In what seems like an avalanche of new items promising ever better audio, cool features, neat colors or bling, it’s rare to encounter a product that changes the way we actually listen to music. We tried the dBLogic EP-100V Earphones and found the idea interesting: earphones that automatically limit the sound volume to protect the user’s hearing. In this review we take a look at their new earphones and their approach to providing good sound while protecting your hearing. The dBLogic EP-100V Earphones are a Mac Edition Radio Holiday Pick!

Harris Fogel, posted 12/31/11

Twelve South’s founder Andrew Green has a simple goal for his young company: make twelve new products a year, and do it with style. And, to quote their website, Twelve South is not just Mac Friendly, it is Mac only! Two of their very useful items are reviewed here: the updated BassJump 2 Portable Subwoofer, and PlugBug, which adds a USB charging port to your Apple laptop charger. The PlugBug and BassJump 2 are Mac Edition Radio Holiday Picks!

Nancy Burlan and Harris Fogel, posted 12/29/11

For almost 20 years, Roxio’s Toast has been the leading tool for manipulating optical media on the Mac OS. Roxio Toast Version 11 carries on this position and adds some useful upgrades and a substantially improved interface. While many folks seem to feel that there is no longer a place for optical media in their workflow, write-once media has many advantages including immunity to a hard drive crash, electrical surge, data corruption, or OS and interface changes. How well does Roxio Toast 11 handle this changing landscape? Hint, Roxio Toast 11 is a Mac Edition Radio Holiday Pick!

John Mulhern III, posted 12/28/11

The word “Photoshop” has become synonymous with almost any kind of digital image manipulation, and is now a staple of the English language as not just a noun, but a verb, too! Although there have been a few pretenders to the image manipulation throne, none have been able to make a dent in Adobe’s solid lock on the kingdom. The recent release of the cross-platform Creative Suite 5.5 for the power and professional user, and Photoshop and Premiere Elements 10 for the consumer, has kept that momentum moving forward. In this review we examine whether or not these new versions or upgrades are right for you. Adobe Creative Suite 5.5, Photoshop and Premiere Elements 10 are Mac Edition Radio Holiday Picks.

Harris Fogel, posted 12/28/11

Audio-Technica is one of the most highly respected names in audio, and their line of headphones and earphones is well known. We have reviewed their noise-canceling units in the past, and this year saw revisions to those product lines. We look at their newly released ATH-ANC23 QuietPoint® Active Noise-Cancelling In-Ear Headphones, the ATH-ANC7b QuietPoint® Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones, and the ATH-AD900 Audiophile Open-air Dynamic Headphones to see how they stack up. Hint: all are all Mac Edition Radio Holiday Picks!

Harris Fogel, posted 12/27/11

ThinkTank Photo makes some of the most imaginative camera bags on the market. The company was founded by working photographers, so their bags cut to the chase to get the job done with a minimum of fuss. Two examples of this are their Hydrophobia camera covers and their vintage feeling Retrospective 5 camera bag. Do they measure up to the needs of photographers on the road? Read on to find out! The ThinkTank Photo Hydrophobia and Retrospective series are Mac Edition Radio Holiday Picks!

Harris Fogel, posted 12/24/11

Our day-to-day use of personal GPS units is one of the more astonishing technological fruits of the space race, and has now become commonplace in our everyday lives. Who could have imagined that a small handheld device would be able to communicate with satellites orbiting the earth and triangulate a user’s position to an accuracy of a few meters, making it seem as easy as getting the time from your watch. Even early science fiction couldn’t predict them; instead we saw flying cars, personal rockets, ray guns, and aliens. Who needs those fantastical gadgets anyway, when what really matters is that we are still stuck in traffic, disoriented on a mountain, trying to find that perfect fishing spot, or find that food cache. Magellan’s eXplorist series promises to meet any of our location needs, and more. We tested their flagship eXplorist 710 model to see how it delivered on those promises. Hint – the Magellan’s eXplorist 710 is a Mac Edition Radio Holiday Pick!

Harris Fogel, Posted 12/24/11 

Remastered pop music is an art form that allows us to listen to the music we grew up with through a new pair of ears. Differing philosophies about how best to accomplish this has created a consumer awareness when these projects are done correctly, as well as when they aren’t. Recent releases of a remastering of the entire Pink Floyd catalog, a masterful remixing and remastering of Jethro Tull’s rock classic Aqualung, a fresh look at the beginnings of Smashing Pumpkins via their classic Gish and Siamese Twins albums, and Frank Sintatra will put you in the mood for a martini and a lounge to drink it in! Should you rush out and pick them up for the music lover in your life? Read our review to find out! These releases are Mac Edition Radio Holidays Picks!

Harris Fogel, posted 12/23/11

Canon has been a technology leader for many years. They may be most frequently associated with still cameras, but consumers shouldn’t overlook the impact that Canon has had on video cameras. From the pioneering XL-1 Mini-DV camcorder first introduced in 1997 which boasted interchangeable lenses, 3-chip CCD, and quickly became the darling of indie filmmakers everywhere, to the HD systems that bring incredible quality at an affordable price, Canon has a wide range of video offerings. To find how this evolution translates into a quality consumer product for today, we spent time with their entry-level Canon Vixia HFR-20 HD camcorder. Is this the video camera you want to have in your pocket at the ready? Read our review to find out! The Canon Vixia HFR-20 Camcorder is a Mac Edition Radio Holiday Pick.

Harris Fogel, posted 12/18/11