The "New Toys" Thread

I treated myself to a new headset via work.
As the one that's sitting on my desk in the office is only one-ear and deprecated as far as desk equipment policy is concerned, and the one I've been using at home for the last two years is wired and therefore got on my nerves, I got a new wireless one, the Jabra Evolve 65 which is the standard one in my company.
Mic sounds a little muffled on first impression, but I'll reserve judgement until I've made a few video call using different computers (Windows 10 vs. Ubuntu), connections modes (dongle or plain bluetooth) and applications (MS Teams, Google Meet, ...).
 
Ive been given a Jabra Evolve2 40 since all pur calls are handled through the computer (+every f2f meeting is now done through Teams) and I’m very impressed. Sound quality (even noise cancellation) and comfort are very well, no more hurty ears after a whole day. Only niggle is the wire but hey, beggars cant be choosers.

I only remember Jabra from those old ‘BMW driver’ bluetooth earpieces from ages ago, but apparently they make some good stuff
 
Bluetooth earpieces are very much still a thing, used by most people that want both of their hands free while on the phone. I use Airpods Pro for this nowadays though.

I have a pair of Jabra 85h which you could say are music listening cans slightly skewed towards office use. Great ANC and great battery life. I just wish they had a bit more adjustment.
 
but apparently they make some good stuff
Headsets are one thing, but the conference room things they build (speaker/mic device for placing on the table) are seriously impressive. We had daily team meetings between the two halves of our team in different locations, each just using one of those placed somewhere on a desk in each room.
 
Really? Earpieces are still a thing? I cant understand why, most headsets double as a microphone just fine? And almost every car has a BT built in which has much better audio, automatically mutes your music, etc.


So...
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Some people just don't want a headband I suppose for a traditional single ear headset and need privacy for office use. I find earpieces really uncomfortable myself with all the weight hanging out of your ear, I have a Plantronics CS540 at work with my IP phone.

I prefer my current home setup with proper speakers and the Blue Yeti mounted above the screen though.

We used a lot of ClearOne Chat 150 boxes at work but people are animals and busted the (admittedly a bit flimsy) mini-USB port on them. I fixed a bunch and when we eventually got tired of wasting work time soldering USB ports I brought one home and fixed it here. Makes a decent USB speaker but the mic setup on it is very good for a big room.
 
Really? Earpieces are still a thing? I cant understand why, most headsets double as a microphone just fine? And almost every car has a BT built in which has much better audio, automatically mutes your music, etc.


So...
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AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT A HEARTACHE.
 
Really? Earpieces are still a thing? I cant understand why, most headsets double as a microphone just fine? And almost every car has a BT built in which has much better audio, automatically mutes your music, etc.


So...

Everyone doesn't want, or can't have, their phone calls coming out of their car audio. To name a few off of the top of my head: bus drivers, cabbies and mechanics/garage owners. What's the point of having your call routed to the van that's idling outside while you're 10 meters away in my shop buying parts? And what's the point of having the phone pair to the van for the 47 second drive back from my shop to the garage? Might as well wear an earpiece all day.

Also everyone else that's getting a fuckton of phone calls all the time while they're working. Including me. I use an Airpod Pro (singular) though, not a "dedicated" earpiece per se. It's far from as comfortable as something like a Jabra or Plantronics since it's wedged in your ear canal instead of resting on top of your ear so I tend to put it in when I know it's going to be a lengthy call or I want both hands to use the computer.

I'm just saying that not everyone uses telephony the way you do or have the kind of work you do.
 
My wife was given (!!) a 4k tv from her neighbor whose father had died. Initially the plan was to give it to the kids for playstation/switch duty. As it turns put it’s much nicer znd even larger than our current TV so I guess I have a new TV now?

It’s a Philips so it has ambilight, which I’m lot sure I like. Screen is good though, and 4k is definitely an upgrade.

And now my kids have the ‘small’ 40 inch TV for shenanigans...headsets only though since 2 TVs blaring at the same time makes my brain melt. So yeah, good stuff
 
And now my kids

I really don't like this aspect of growing up, knowing friends of mine have kids, like, I could have kids, I can just do that now.
 
I really don't like this aspect of growing up, knowing friends of mine have kids, like, I could have kids, I can just do that now.
Did they announce a new machine at CES that I didn't see? I think Japan already has that type of machine actually...

Funny thing is of my close friends and colleagues (FG members aside) only one has kids and he's my boss. They're all different ages and as far as I can tell none have intentions of having kids either. I don't either, screw it. :p
 
Bought a DJI Osmo Action to record my cycle rides. The image quality and stabilization is really good, unfortunately the battery lasts only about 90 minutes. On the cargo bike I can connect it to the hub dynamo (there are devices which convert the unstable output of the hub dynamo to a stable 5V so you can charge USB devices on the go), but for the gravel bike I'm gonna have to get a suitable powerbank to charge it...
 
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New Wouxun (left) to replace the cheap Baofeng (right)
 
I would totally have had a CB radio in the car if I had been born 5-10 years earlier.
 
I'm mildly interested, @Blind_Io. Is the new one fixed on PMR, or also freely programmable?
It's fully programmable on 70cm and 2m. Programming was really easy with the data cable and CHIRP.
 
I would totally have had a CB radio in the car if I had been born 5-10 years earlier.
I have a CB in the car too, but the next vehicle probably won't have one in favor of GMRS, which is replacing CB for off road use. This is a dual band ham radio.
 
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