Ken C. Pohlmann

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Signals
What Would Music Sound Like on Mars?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 11, 2022
Congratulations! You are one of the first humans to walk on Mars! That is so awesome! But then you suffer an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction – your helmet comes off and there you are – completely exposed to the Martian atmosphere. As you lose consciousness, you hear the sound of a piano.

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What You Don't Know About Velodyne
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 06, 2016
Velodyne. Subwoofers. Actually, really good subwoofers. When you're talking to your buddies, running down your list of home-theater equipment, you pause ever so slightly before you say "Velodyne subwoofer" because you know that pause will add even more of an impression to an already impressive name. But Velodyne is more than subwoofers. Much more.

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Other Tech
What's up, Dock?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jul 28, 2008

The sight of a dancing iPod user, and particularly her white earbuds, is a genuine cultural icon. But it would be a mistake to overlook the iPod's nonportable applications. Most of your music collection might be on a 'Pod, but you don't have to condemn your tunes to the lowly fidelity typical of most 'buds.

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What's Wrong with iTunes?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Oct 10, 2017
The plan was straightforward. Founded on the overwhelming popularity of the iPod, and then boosted by the dominance of the iPhone, iTunes was ready to own audio and video downloads and streaming. The executives in Cupertino probably had a calendar on the wall, with the exact date of achieving world domination circled in red. That hasn't worked out.

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What’s In a Name?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Oct 31, 2017
“The Quality Goes in Before the Name Goes On.” If you are of a certain age, that trademarked slogan is imprinted in your brain. It was marketed relentlessly. And it was a darn good slogan. It assured you that any product with the company’s name on it was of high quality. It also redirected your attention to the importance of the name of the company itself; you didn’t need to know anything else about the product; the company’s name ensured that it was good. My, how times have changed.
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When Max Headroom Hijacked Chicago
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Nov 14, 2022
Dear reader, are you ready for one last trip down the rabbit hole? It is Sunday night, November 22. The year is 1987. You are in Chicago, watching a Dr. Who episode on Channel 11. Then something very, very, very, very creepy happens.

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Where Is Sonos Heading?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Mar 15, 2016
Sonos is a terrific company with terrific products. I reviewed their first-generation wireless speaker, back when no one had ever heard of streaming, and it blew my mind. Since then, of course, Sonos has become the Gold Standard for whole-house playback. But suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Sonos is changing course and laying off employees. What the heck?

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Where There's OLED Smoke, Is There OLED Fire?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Aug 24, 2020
Before we begin, to all of our South Korean readers, please do me a favor. Check to see if your TV is on fire. I'll wait here while you're gone. Let me know if I should call the fire department. I am standing by.

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Who Killed Radio?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 16, 2013

Back in the day, as you drove off the dealer's lot, you turned on the radio. And that radio stayed on, all the time, for the life of the vehicle. Whether or not you were actually listening to it, the sound of the radio was as reassuringly present as the purr of the motor. That is changing.

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Why Are Music Album Sales Tanking?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  May 15, 2018
"I live my life a quarter mile at a time."

Who uttered that famous declaration? Was it: a) Confucius, b) Friedrich Nietzsche, c) Vin Diesel, d) Dominic Toretto? Of course, that is a trick question because both “c” and “d” are correct. The movie was The Fast and the Furious , a cinematic masterpiece about street racing and skid marks.

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