Rocking the blank keys, booyah!

Das Keyboard: I’m not sure if this product is well known, but it really rocks! If you ever took typing in grade school or you remember the clicky keyboards, then you’ll love this one. Every key is built with the same mechanical switch as the legendary IBM Model M. The keyboard featured a mechanical switch design that gave excellent response. All the modern membrane keyboards feel dead in comparison. It’s the Remington of the keyboard world. Das Keyboard is designed in the good ol’ USA and made in Taiwan. I don’t know how many times I can say ‘It Eff’n Rules!

Now it appears that they have two versions: Professional and Ultimate. Both have a two port usb 2.0 hub and all the usual pc108 keys. I can say this with total confidence, you need the Ultimate. Only lamers need key letters. Seriously, if you’re not a touch typist, you should be, it’s 2008. I can already feel myself typing faster. Wooo… go out and get one already!

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they don't look dead, but they are

If you own an iPhone then you’ve got to have a pair of great headphones for listening to music AND taking calls. I tried the original headphones (those white ones that come with the phone) and they were ok; except they kept falling out. I’ve always liked headphones that are in-ear for the road. So I checked out a few brands and settled on the vmoda vibe duo headphones. They were kinda expensive and promised a strong feature set. It also comes with snazzy case. Well these stupid headphones cost $100 and now they’re playing mono. Eff that, I want them fixed or I want my money back. I am sick of over paying for crap build quality.

The overall fit of the headphones was never perfect. I feel into a range somewhere between medium and large. My ears would get sore after wearing them for about 3 hours. This is not a common time frame for me, so still no deal breaker. The style of the headphones was pretty cool. You look slick wearing them. I preferred the black color over the silver. It is much more subtle on the subways.

The sound was always good, sometimes excellent. I have to say that before I get into why I ended up disappointed. There was, as the reviews say, ample bass. All the highs came through loud and clear even in the noisiest conditions. One complaint about the sound was that in a data center it was difficult to make out voices on the phone. A noise canceling feature would probably help a lot. I ended up getting a jawbone headset instead (It’s Niiiice)

Now, I am not the gentlest on my electronics, but I always expect them to take a mild beating; esp. for headphones that you know will be worn on the mean streets. Sadly, these were just not up to the task. They started to become fuzzy in one ear for about a month or so, then they just cut out to mono (I’d prefer to have stereo). A quick look at the vmoda site shows a 1 year warranty, so I will try to send them in and see what happens. I guess the point is don’t spend $100 on headphones, they break as easily as the cheap ones.

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