So while we were doing our after-christmas-toy-shopping, I decided there needed to be room in the budget for a new headset. I ended up going with the Logitech g330, and here’s what I think after using them a few months with Mumble.

The good…

These things are comfortable. You’ll read that in almost every review, so allow me to elaborate a little bit. My old headphones (sans microphone) were also the behind-the-ear type, but that little over-ear strap to keep them from sliding down around your neck would start to make my ears ache after a while. I can literally wear these things for hours, and sometimes after everyone gets off Mumble I still have them on my head and I don’t notice.

They don’t echo. My old headset had it’s microphone boom made out of hard plastic – it was the bit that snapped and is held together with duct tape. I never really noticed it until I started using Mumble, but that hard plastic transmits vibrations from the headphone speaker, up the boom and back into the mic. The g330′s boom is made from the same shit as Gumby, and do you ever hear of people complaining about Gumby echoing? I didn’t think so.

They sound reasonable. Let’s be honest, they’re no Sennheisers, but they’re not awful. Apparently I sound a lot less “telephony” than I did before, but I’m not sure how much of that is because the mic is better and how much of it is due to the above-mentioned echo factor, and Mumble not trying to de-echo it.

They’re USB and 3.5mm. This was one of the selling points to me. I like to be able to use them on my PC as well as my PS3. When on my PC, I will generally use the sound card’s output because I think it sounds just a hint better than the USB, and it doesn’t disappear as a Windows device when I unplug the headset.

When I plug it into my PS3, I need a USB for the Microphone – but I probably don’t want to hear just the voice comms, I want to hear everything. Having headphones on and still using my TV’s speakers would put me at a huge disadvantage in an FPS. So I plug only the mic into the USB adapter, and the headphone plug into the TV. Bingo bango, best of both worlds.

The Bad…

They sound reasonable. I mean, this isn’t entirely bad, but I don’t want a reader to come away thinking these are the best sounding things ever. The fact they sit on your ear instead of around it doesn’t really help, I don’t think (and might be why I think even my cheap-ass older headphones sound marginally better on output).

The cable’s a bit short. Not a huge deal – it’s long enough that if your PC is on your desk, it’ll reach without you sitting all weird. If your PC is on the floor, you might have to do some re-arranging. Compared to the old PS2 Logitech headphones, with what seems like 10′ of cable, it’s a big difference. It’s non-trivial to use these things while sitting on a couch in front of a TV – you will likely want a USB extender or something similar – or you could upgrade to a wireless/Bluetooth headset.

The conclusion:

These were definitely a good buy, in my humble opinion. I’m not only a moderately-avid gamer, I also run a Mumble host… so naturally I use the shit out of these things, and I really have never had a situation where I wished I’d bought something better.

I bought mine at Best Buy for about $35, simply because I had to have them right then. If you check eBay, there are probably better deals – but be warned there are certainly much worse deals too ($75? Who the fuck are you kidding?).

Anyone that knows me knows I’m basically a hop skip and a jump from a clinical hoarding dysfunction – okay it’s probably not that bad, I really only tend to hang onto things I feel might be useful some day. It’s worked out pretty good, because that’s how most of this site came to be.

For some reason, I held onto an office chair that had the wheel broken off of it somehow. Don’t ask why, I probably won’t tell. Anyway, while reaching behind her, probably to do something with our new baby, my wife managed to snap the arm on her cheap Target office chair – unfortunately the arms on most office chairs are an integral part of the structure of the chair, rendering it pretty much useless.

It struck me to make one out of two, and my original plan of attack was simply to unscrew the screws that went into the bottom of the butt-cushion, and swap bases over. That didn’t work because my old chair, being an “executive” model chair had a high back and that obviously meant needed the screws approximately an eighth of an inch further apart.

What I found next was a small “retaining clip” on a shaft at the bottom that appeared to match on both chairs. After gingerly removing it and carefully dismantling the chair, I discovered that they indeed were a match.

I picked the better looking set of bearings (trivial really, considering the ones in mind were destroyed, see photo), put some good old axle grease in there and reassembled my chair on Sabriena’s wheels/base.

The end result, while rough and obviously worn, is a chair that’ll probably last us until we get enough money to buy another one… like any sane person would have by this point.

Dramatic improvements in personal computing and technology and rapid advances in the field of audio compression are moving towards that perfect audio compression with a small file size.

The unending quest for a compressed file format which sounds almost as good as the original uncompressed audio file goes on. Uncompressed CD audio occupies roughly about 10MB of space for every minute, so the files have to be compressed to store them.

To achieve close to perfect compression, lossy or lossless, mathematical techniques are used to (model) represent the working and psycho-acoustic responses of the human ear, the final judge on how “good” the music sounds.

Audio compression is either:

1. Lossless compression makes perfect copies of the original uncompressed audio (wave) file. When you uncompress the file, datum is kept intact, much like Zip file compression.
2. Lossy compression, on the other hand, distorts some of the data, causing the file to lose some information.

In the frequency domain the range of human hearing is between approximately 20 to 20,000 Hz. The dynamic range of human hearing is approximately 120 decibels. Signals over 90 dB may cause permanent hearing damage. Audio file compression is achieved by removing inaudible sections of the pure uncompressed audio file which lies above and below the threshold of human hearing.

Typically, each codec uses complex and unique mathematical algorithms to shrink the size of a pure sound file, with a minimal loss in quality. Thus, an ideal balance between an acceptable drop in quality and small file size is formed.

Many formats have tried to improve upon the MP3 promise of high fidelity audio with smaller file sizes. Quite a few are extinct with their developers having abandoned the standard, but a handful of picky and battle hardened formats have survived, each using their own algorithm to store more in less.

The two primary reasons that MP3 has achieved a cult status are the easy availability of MP3 files before the music industry drove the bootleg MP3 industry underground and the easy and free availability of MP3 playing software.

For any format to take over from where MP3 left off, it will need these two factors in abundance and then some more. It will need to catch the attention of the developer community that democratized the MP3 revolution by creating shareware and free MP3 players, entire archives of MP3s online and peer to peer file swapping services to boot.

Four formats are poised to take the baton from MP3. Admittedly, they are not riding the popularity wave yet, but they could well emerge as dominant formats.

MP3PRO

The proprietary MP3PRO standard was developed by Thomson Multimedia in 2001 and they share the patent rights with the Fraunhofer Institute.

While appearing similar to the MP3 standard, it improves on it by using a technology called SBR (Spectral Band Replication). Essentially, SBR reproduces these high frequency components called the PRO components that are lost during normal MP3 encoding. By combining a low bit rate MP3 file with SBR data, you get a full bandwidth audio file with full bass and precise treble. With SBR, MP3PRO is able to reproduce the quality of a 128 Kbps encoded MP3 file, at 64 Kbps encoding quality, resulting in files half the size of a plain jane MP3.

The extra piece of information that is written into the MP3 file as a separate stream besides the normal data (read MP3) stream is what SBR is. The extra datum when read through a compatible MP3PRO decoder, allows the decoder to guess what the high frequencies sound like so they can be added to the MP3 file on the fly. This is an effective form of improving quality because the high frequencies take the brunt of MP3 lossy compression while allowing the encoder to allot bits to the more important areas of the song.

This format is backward compatible, so portable players with no MP3PRO decoder can simply still play MP3PRO files by ignoring the PRO component, thereby also dropping the quality of the MP3PRO to its original encoding rate which would be directly proportional to MP3 at this stage. Software support on the decoder end is freely available. Winamp has introduced a plugin and recent versions of other jukebox players have also included support.

Unfortunately, on the encoding front, Thomson has a demo version called the MP3PRO audio player that only allows up to a 64 Kbps encoding quality. Hence, you will be required to buy software that comes with the MP3PRO codec to encode files at 80 or 96 Kbps, such as the demo plugin shipped with Nero Burning ROM that allows 30 operations ranging from 24 Kbps for mono up to 96 Kbps for stereo.

MP3PRO is aimed at applications involving streaming audio, Web casting and Internet radio. For the desktop user, this format is suitable only if the file size is just as important as audio quality–if you enjoy the quality of MP3s at 128Kbps; then consider shifting over to MP3PRO to save desktop/portable real estate.

However, plain jane mp3 files encoded at 192 kHz and above have superior sound quality compared to MP3PRO at 96 kHz–the maximum encoding quality possible with MP3PRO.

Avoid converting (transcoding) your existing mp3s into any format (including MP3PRO)–instead of the superior audio quality you expect, there will be a further drop in quality. Instead, re-rip from your audio cd’s and encode into the format of your choice to get clear, high fidelity audio. Try experimenting with “vbr” for better compression quality.

• Website: www.MP3PROzone.com
• Ratings: File size: 3/5 Audio Quality: 1/5

Windows Media Audio

Arguably the most patented and proprietary format after MP3, Windows Media Audio (WMA) proves a close rival to the MP3 standard. Made only for Windows users, this format just got better with the recent release of the WMA 9 codec. WMA 9 can capture audio feed with a very impressive 24 bit/96Khz sampling rate in either stereo, 5.1 or 7.1 channel surround sound–so you can record your music in discrete digital surround sound (provided you have the hardware). Unlike the earlier versions, WMA 9 also has a lossless codec and it sounds just as good with an old stereo arrangement. It is widely believed that WMA 9, encoded at a bit rate of just 48 Kbps, sounds as good as an MP3 encoded at 128 Kbps. With WMA’s encoded at 96 Kbps, you have sound fidelity and clarity achievable only in MP3s encoded at 192 kHz and above.

WMA supports VBR encoding, which is ideal for squeezing in maximum quality within a minimal file size. Of course, there a caveat–Microsoft’s continued support for DRM (Digital Rights Management) means that distributing copyrighted WMA’s is severely restricted. The licensed file is encrypted with its license key that restricts you from storing or playing multiple copies of the file. Microsoft also tracks the transfer of the license across computers.

The hardware and software support for WMA 9 are just as good as it is for the MP3 standard. The format is backward compatible, and decoder support comes in the form of the old Winamp WMA codec. As far the encoding is concerned, you will need the new WMA 9 system codec along with encoding software or have Windows Media Player 9 installed.

With Microsoft’s muscle (read acoustic research sometimes) backing WMA 9, its well on its way to becoming the dominant format in the digital music arena. The format is well featured to suit diverse users, from artists wanting to distribute their music online securely to home users who need to encode a stack of CD’s.

• Website: www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia
• Ratings: File size: 4/5 Audio Quality: 2/5

Ogg Vorbis

This is a completely open, free source audio format that strives to replace all proprietary, patented formats. It achieved enormous popularity almost immediately after the Fraunhofer Institute decided to get tough on the MP3 standard patents and enjoys extensive developer support. In fact, the boys at Ogg Vorbis posted an open letter to the Fraunhofer Institute expressing their delight at the decision to extract license fees for MP3 and reporting higher website hits thereafter.

Ogg Vorbis is a lossy codec that compresses music in a technique similar to, but vastly better than MP3. It supports VBR which lets you tweak a song to achieve fine fidelity for less space. There is no encoding quality limitation specified, the encoders can support an amazing 16 to 500 Kbps in stereo and 32 to 256 Kbps in mono mode. Here, quality is not measured in kilobits per second, instead an arbitrary 10-point scale is used–quality level 0 is equivalent to 64 Kbps, level 5 is roughly 160 Kbps and level 10 is about 400 Kbps. Near Audio CD quality is closely achieved in level 3 and 4 which also adjust sound quality and file size excellently.

Many players have been supporting Ogg Vorbis through plugins for some time now. Winamp for instance, natively supports Ogg Vorbis. On the encoding front, software such as dBpowerAMP converts your existing audio files to Ogg Vorbis in a few mouse clicks. The software support is expected to increase significantly over time, with more and more users seeing Ogg Vorbis as the format offers the right mix of audio quality and file size.

The music industry is veering sharply away though–Ogg Vorbis, like MP3 and unlike WMA has no safeguards against piracy. Hardware support is also wanting, with just a few players supporting the format. Iomega and Rio are two companies all set to make Ogg Vorbis compatible with their players if the consumer demand is strong enough to necessitate the change.

Ogg Vorbis is a potential rival to the MP3 format and it will continue to get better because of the flexibility that allows significant tuning and tweaking of the algorithm, even after the format is frozen–and all this for free, with no copyright or patents.

• Website: www.xiph.org/ogg/vorbis
• Ratings: File size: 2/5 Audio Quality: 3/5

AAC

One of the most promising formats on the horizon is the patented AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) standard. In the late 1990′s this format was sidelined by MP3, as it demanded unrealistic computing resources for encoding and decoding. But now, AAC is being promoted as the audio data compression standard of the 21st century. It is now and official standard under ISO-MPEG with Via Licensing currently in charge of licensing the technology.

AAC has become the base for a number of sophisticated audio codec’s, including AT+T’s a2b and will also be used in the MPEG-4 standard.

AAC can record data both in mono and stereo mode, and up to a maximum of 48 channels of data! Add to that sampling rates of 96 kHz and broadcast quality at a bit rate of 320Kbps for 5.1 channel sound and you have the future of compressed digital audio.

The standard is made up of three different ‘profiles’, which differ from each other in sound quality. Studies conducted by MPEG show that AAC profiles encoded at 128Kbps and 96Kbps bit rates rank way ahead of MP2 at 192Kbps and MP3 at 128Kbps. While this and numerous other tests show that AAC ranks way ahead of its contenders, including WMA, its popularity is severely restricted by the fact that it is very tightly licensed. This may change though–AAC is widely regarded as one of the highest quality formats for distributing music on the Internet and is also targeted towards streaming audio. However, despite the improvements in processor technology, the processor requirements for both encoding and decoding are rather high.

Moreover, software support is quite limited–as far as decoders go, there is a plugin for Winamp. On the encoder side, AACenc is available for non-commercial use only. You can use dBpowerAMP for converting your CD’s with a plugin. Hardware support too is a while away, rumors of popular portable players upgrading to this format are in the air but, the format itself is yet to pick up.

• Website: www.vialicensing.com/products/mpeg4aac/standard.html
• Ratings: File size: 5/5 Audio Quality: 4/5

MP3 may be aging, but development is still in progress to produce encoders that are leaner and produce better audio fidelity with lesser artifacts. And it still rules the P2P roost as the most traded commodity online. So while the MP3 standard cannot be discounted yet, the future of digital audio clearly belongs to other standards–WMA and Ogg Vorbis aim for top-of-the-line quality, while MP3PRO gives us small yet clear files. The crystal ball also shows the emergence of MPEG-4, bringing full blown multimedia integration across the spectrum, not just bits and pieces.

Even with complex mathematical algorithms that accurately model the psycho-acoustic responses of that incredible human organ, the ear, and what you may hear about listening room tests, there is only one real testing ground: how good does the music sound when you play it on your computer or portable?

The human ear is the final judge of quality.

Note: This article by Strykar was reprinted from his orignal: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/audio-formats-explained-and-rated/.

Related Reading

• A Practical Guide to Video and Audio Compression (Amazon.com)

(WARNING)

this is somewhat a gag text. if you go and get your ass beat – or worse – kill someone, then that’s your own stupid fault for actually putting what you read in this magazine into practice. you’ve been warned – i won’t take responsibility for any misfortune which might result from you reading this text.

(introduction)

let’s get down to business. someone’s pissed you off in some way, and talking it out just doesn’t work. it’s time to get dirty (or your knuckles bloody). i’m probably no expert in this being that i’ve only been in like 5 fights in my whole life (i’m happy to report though that all of them were real fights – see below).

obviously, the first step is to attempt to talk your way out of the situation that requires someone’s ass getting kicked – preferably someone other than you (unless you’re fighting me, in which case forget everything you read in this text and try bitchslap me). sometimes though, this fails. that’s when we progress to the next level, the ancient martial art of ass kicking.

ass kicking has existed far longer than any of the other martial arts. there is no strict discipline, no belt levels, dans, or anything else. there’s really no breathing control involved either. ass kicking dates back to the caveman days. say there’s two cavemen, and a hot cave-chick.

for simplicity’s sake, i’m going to call the first caveman “caveman 9812378952″ and the second caveman will be referred to as “caveman 1982347891″. the cave chick will be referred to as cave-chick, in the interests of detail.

caveman 9812378952 is happily snogging with cave-chick, who just happens to be the lady friend of caveman 1982347891. now here you will notice that ass kicking dates back PRIOR to complex verbal communication languages including that which we call english (you should know something about this if you’re reading this text, unless it got translated into some alien language in which case – ELITE! aliens may probe me my address is 484-… *ahem*).

anyway.. caveman 1982347891 tries to talk the problem out – which for caveman consists of a simple “ugh”. this is caveman talk for “what the fuck are you doing with my woman you delapidated mammoth foreskin?”, to which caveman 9812378952 replies “unga bunga”. this is a simple response, something which i estimate will translate roughly to “can’t you see i’m about to start bangin her like a flint rock?”.

obviously this is not the response that caveman 1982347891 was looking for, so he promptly picks up a large rock and smashes caveman 9812378952 in the face with it. cave-chick notices his obvious testicular fortitude and falls madly in love again. she and our happy caveman now feast on the remains of caveman 9812378952.

the obvious point here is that while violence is not necessarily a preferred solution, it is often a speedy way to resolve problems. in this case, the resolution was final. let’s move on and discuss pussy fights and real fights.

(pussy fights)

never make the mistake of pussy fighting, even for a second. pussy fighting is the act of pushing your opponent with your arms, or chest – often accompanied by repeatitive shouts of “you want some?” or something to that nature. this is silly. firstly, you lose any possible element of surprise (your best friend, see later). secondly, it wastes valuable slugging time. it also usually results in a large crowd gathering prior to any punching occuring, which also speeds in the response of authoritive figures such as teachers at school or police at other public venues.

NEVER pussy fight.

(the element of surprise)

surprise is your best friend, especially in the school yard where most others are well versed in the art of pussy fighting. while they are coming you to you, pushing you with their chest, if you’re tall enough – head butt the cunt! if you’re not, a quick jab up under the nose, up at an angle usually does wonders as an opening move.

the overall idea is: hit first, and make sure you’re the last one hitting. preferably, you’re the only one hitting. when perfected, you need never get hit.

suitably surprising opening moves can include the abovementioned jab and headbutt. with the headbutt, don’t be a hardass and butt heads – it invariably hurts you as much as them. instead, aim to hit just above your brow right smack on top of the nose. obviously causing nose breakage is a huge advantage for you – not only does it sting like fuck but it makes your eyes tear up and your sinuses start to run. three distractions in one!

if your opponent is running at you and you’re NOT retarded enough to try and headbutt them, then try just doing a jump kick to the kneecap. for example if your assailent is running at you with intent to “press and knuckle” (land on you and beat the snot out of you) – at the last minute, jump a small jump and aim to kick at about a foot off the ground, putting all your power into his kneecap. if done correctly, you can twist, sprain, over extend or break the joint. nasty shit, but an amazingly effective fight-stopper.

if you’re – shall we say – “husky” then you could quite conceivably have a good deal of success against smaller assailants with a running elbow. simply hold your right wrist in your left hand, with your elbow out perpendicular to your body. do this at the second last second, and just take like a fast step forward and WHACK take his fuckin head off.

(following through)

once you have gained the upper hand from the opening, it’s important not to lose it. if you can last the entire fight with the upper hand (preferably never letting your oppenent land a punch), then you’re virtually assured the win. if your assailant is on the ground, then use some of those submission moves you learnt on wwf smackdown!. just some hints though, most of them take a little modification to actually work.

for example, unless you have huge biceps like HHH, then kurt angle’s ankle lock is unlikely to do much damage. so try this on your little brother: when they’re on the ground face-down, clutch the ankle in your left elbow against your chest, and press down with your other hand, in an attempt to make their toes touch the front of their shin.

if your opponent is on their back and you have some time, there’s a nifty lil bastard i learnt in judo (the hard way) called the “mongrel hold”. simply climb on the victim, press your knee into the sternum, and pull up on the shoulders. keep pulling up till they squeal like a pig. for added entertainment, start yelling in their face “ima make you squeal like a pig baw”.

(if they don’t go down)

if they don’t go down first go, it’s important to still not lose the upperhand. even if they don’t show it, chances are you took them by surprise (unless they’re like a marine or SAS or something – in which case i can’t help you) anyway. don’t give them a chance to get their bearings. aim for weak points such as the nose, neck, lips (and behind them, teeth) and the solar plexus. use the first two first if possible, as they’ll have markedly more effect than the last two.

(countermeasures)

if you have the reactions, and someone is trying to punch you, try to grab their arm. if you manage it, you can utilize their momentum and use it against them. for example, for a high punch, grab the arm, turn, squat, then when you feel an impact on your back, push up with your legs and bend over. if someone’s running at you really hard, they can fly quite far (ask my cousin).

for low punches, use a wrestling “irish whip”. simply spin with them, and slingshot them into something like a wall or a car or something. sure, wrestling’s fake, but if you put all your might into an irish whip you can do some real serious damage. the best is when they trip right before they smash into a car door or something.

if someone tries to fly-kick you, try to grab their leg (and not get hit). once you have ahold of a leg, the world is your oyster (in terms of the fight anyway). there’s always the infamous wrestling “dragon screw”. or you can raise the leg and bring your elbow down on the front of the thigh at the same time. or always just raise the leg up and backwards and sweep the other, before promptly applying some sort of submission lock.

(know your opponent’s weaknesses)

it’s important to try and discover the weaknesses of your oponent. this is crucial to if you want to win the fight. for example, if your opponent has a large forhead, buck teeth, and a nose that has several lumps – then any attack to the head probably isn’t going to do much good.

try to figure out what will work and what won’t. if you’re fat, and your opponent is small, chances are they’ll be quicker than you. your surprise attacks are going to have to be VERY crafty to make them work.

(wrestling moves)

now we’ve mentioned quite a few wrestling moves in this text. obviously – wrestling is fake. any moron knows that. some – i repeat SOME – of the moves can be used in real life ass kicking though. but not all. for example, some moves you might want to avoid are:

• the people’s elbow
• the five star frog splash
• shake rattle and roll
• stink faces

among others. use common sense – if it’s a flashy move, it probably won’t do all that much. unless you’re confident in it’s execution, don’t use it.

(foreign objects and weapons)

think very carefully before using foreign objects as weapons. smacking your opponent in the head with a chair could kill him – so like i said, think very carefully.

furthermore, when it comes to chickening out and using knives and shit (pussies do this in my opinion) remember this: if you’re going to carry a knife, be prepared to be stabbed and die. if you’re going to carry a gun, be prepared to get shot.

(getting away with it)

this is probably the most challenging part of all. getting away with it. for example, your opponent is laying in a bloody mess on the floor and the police or some teachers are heading your way in riot gear. how the fuck do you get out of this one?

well you could try ass-kicking your way out of it, but i really don’t like your chances of that one (especially with riot gear in the equation). if it’s the police, you could start laying grounds for an insanity plea by yelling obscenities, barking at onlookers, and trying to lick your ears.

if it’s the teachers, immediately yell “he started it, i finished it!” or even better “he tripped! go get the nurse quick!”. i dunno these are some lame ideas, but i’ve had a rather limited fighting experience and i’ve only ever been caught once and i got my ass beat and didn’t lay a finger on the guy so i didn’t get in trouble.

(repeat WARNING)

this is somewhat a gag text. if you go and get your ass beat – or worse – kill someone, then that’s your own stupid fault for actually putting what you read in this magazine into practice. you’ve been warned – i won’t take responsibility for any misfortune which might result from you reading this text.