Ken C. Pohlmann

Signals
[Your Name Here] Audio Corporation
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Oct 20, 2015  |  2 comments
When we think of audio companies, images of tall buildings, rows of cubicles, and loading docks usually come to mind. And it’s true that many audio companies are still like that. But a more contemporary image of an audio company would be you in your pajamas. You see, technology manufacturing isn’t what it used to be.
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Amazon's Echo: It Can Hear You Now
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Oct 13, 2015  |  1 comments
You might recall a recent Signals column about a Google patent application that described an anthropomorphic entertainment controller. The microphones/ears and cameras/eyes of the proposed Chucky-like device really creeped me out. Then a reader alerted me to an Amazon product that has similar functionality. It's not a document in the Patent Office; it's a real thing keeping tabs on people in their homes.

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Do You Have Stagefright? (Hint: It's an Audio/Video Virus)
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Oct 06, 2015  |  0 comments
Everyone is familiar with virus attacks on PCs and Macs. We take precautions to minimize the risk - making sure the firewall is up, keeping our antivirus software up to date, and not clicking on scary attachments. We are perhaps less vigilant with virus attacks on our phones. Of course, the danger is just as scary. Adding even more anxiety is a new virus called Stagefright that can be embedded in MP3 and MP4 files.

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Toshiba's Bad Math
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 29, 2015  |  0 comments
It's not easy being a corporation. Take Volkswagen, for example. Right about now, they are probably wishing that Ferdinand Porsche had never stuffed an air-cooled engine in the back of a Beetle-shaped car. Along similar lines, Toshiba probably wishes it had hired more ethical accountants. In particular, it recently announced that it had overstated its profits by $1.3 billion over seven years. Oops. Not exactly a rounding error.

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Google Patent Application Is Downright Creepy
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 22, 2015  |  1 comments
As you may have noticed, things are becoming more complex. Blame Moore’s Law, or whatever. But things are complicated. To help us manage that complexity, companies are devising even more complicated things that give us, the human users, the illusion of simplicity. However, a recent Google patent application, aimed at simplifying the operation of things like home entertainment systems, is just downright creepy.

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Will Technics Make a Turntable Comeback?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 08, 2015  |  3 comments
My To-Do list for the week:

1. Program my selfie-drone to follow me everywhere I go 24/7 and transmit live video across the Internet.

2. Drive a car across North America without using a single drop of gas.

3. Sign up for NASA's one-way mission to Mars. (Many thanks to all my friends and family who are strongly supporting and encouraging me to do this.)

4. Buy a record player.

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Is Ultrasound a Sound Whose Time Has Come?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Aug 25, 2015  |  1 comments
Some inventions are unquestionably awesome and tremendously useful. Things like the steam engine, electric battery, electric light, radio, internal combustion engine, and transistor were truly transformative. Other inventions are uber cool, but for some reason find it tougher to break through to broader application. Case in point: sound from ultrasound; more specifically, the generation of audible sound from modulated ultrasonic beams.

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Gunfight at the 4K Corral
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Aug 18, 2015  |  1 comments
Tombstone, Arizona Territory. October 26, 1881. It is a Wednesday, around 3:00 p.m. In a vacant lot adjacent to the O.K. Corral, four lawmen including Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday square off against five outlaws. Within 30 seconds, 30 shots are fired. When the gun smoke clears, three men lie on the ground, wounded. And three men lie on the ground, dead. Only Wyatt Earp walks away without a scratch. A Wild West legend is born.
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Vizio Asks: Hey Punk, Do You Wanna Piece of Me?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Aug 11, 2015  |  1 comments
The TV business is lousy, right? Companies are getting out of that market like it was a house on fire. Just last week, we reported that Sharp is leaving the Americas. It sold its Mexico plant and name and rights to Hisense for a measly $23.7 million. Sharp follows Toshiba, Hitachi, Pioneer, Mitsubishi, Philips, Magnavox and Thomson in divesting and selling its TV interests for fire-sale prices. The TV business is lousy, right?

So, how would you like to buy a piece of a TV company?

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Do Tortillas Make Good Records?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jul 28, 2015  |  0 comments
Some people think that digital audio is cold. That's debatable. But it's almost universally accepted that analog audio is cool. It is also funky, weird and apparently makes people say and do strange things. Digital audio comprises binary data offering relatively few opportunities for freakish mischief. Analog audio, on the other hand, offers endless possibilities. For example, I am sure you have noticed that flour tortillas fit nicely on a turntable platter.

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