Signals

Sort By: Post DateTitle Publish Date
Signals
Thank You, Jay Homel
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jun 28, 2021  | 
Hey man, I wanted to give you a shout-out. I really appreciate your kind words. Your comments jogged some memories, and I wanted to share them with you. I don’t have your contact information, so I guess I’ll instead just use this public forum.
Continue Reading »
Signals
That's All She Wrote
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 16, 2018  | 
The CES exhibits officially closed Friday at 4 pm, West Coast time, although a CES Closing Party was scheduled to run until 4 am. I did not attend that party.

Continue Reading »
Signals
The Analog Sunset
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Dec 30, 2010  | 

Blu-ray players are changing — and your HDTV might not like it. However, if your TV has an HDMI input, and it’s HDCP-compliant, you don’t need to read any further. You have nothing to worry about. This article doesn’t concern you. Put down the magazine and do something else just as constructive, like, oh, I don’t know — how about you go check your car’s windshield-washer fluid. . .?

Continue Reading »
Signals
The Best Christmas Present Ever
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Dec 20, 2016  | 
It's here. That most special time of the year. You know—when people judge you by the presents you give them. In the 5 seconds it takes them to tear away the gift wrapping, all their apprehensions about your character are raised to the surface, and then suddenly revealed to be correct, or not. In other words, finding the perfect gift is extremely stressful, as well as terrifying.

Continue Reading »
Signals
The Billion-Dollar Mashup: Disney Buys Lucasfilm
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Nov 02, 2012  | 

There is one thing that Disney does better than anyone: monetize intellectual property. It isn’t easy to build an empire on the back of a rodent (trust me, I’ve tried) but Walt pulled it off. Now, with its newest acquisition, Disney is ready to expand beyond its earthly properties.

Continue Reading »
Signals
The Buzzer
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Nov 06, 2023  | 
I know, I know. You already have plenty to worry about. And I hate to do this to you. But, as a professional “journalist,” it is my sworn duty to deliver content that gives people sleepless nights. So, I present to you, The Buzzer. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Continue Reading »
Signals
The Case of the Deaf Diplomats
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Nov 07, 2017  | 
It's perplexing, that's what it is. In fact, it is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma — that sound in Havana that is said to have sickened or deafened diplomats there. No one can explain what it is. Here — you listen to it, and see if you can identify it.

Continue Reading »
Signals
The Case of the Singing Bridge
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 14, 2020  | 
When I bought my first house, the first night I slept there, I was convinced the place was possessed. The first night I slept in my current house, a Nor'easter came along and the place howled like a banshee. Which brings us to the Case of the Singing Bridge.

Continue Reading »
Signals
The Case of the Unlikely Loudspeaker
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 10, 2018  | 
I was mystified, confused, and perplexed. The low-slung vehicle cruising in the lane beside me sure looked the business, and sounded the business too. As it briskly accelerated away from me, its low throaty roar was decidedly delicious. Something was amiss. Very amiss.

Continue Reading »
Signals
The Cat-and-Mouse Game of Predatory Pricing
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Aug 10, 2020  | 
So a woman walks into a store to buy a smart speaker. She sees that the speakers are selling for 20 bucks. “Wow,” she exclaims, and asks the store owner, “How can you sell these for such a low price?” The store owner responds, “Well, actually, each speaker costs us 30 bucks.” The woman says, “Then how do you make a profit?” The owner responds, “We make up for it on volume.” The woman says, “That's illegal!”
Continue Reading »
Signals
The Cheesiest Video Projector Ever
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jun 23, 2015  | 
Without a doubt, it is a cheesy idea. On the other hand, at least it doesn't cost a lot of dough. Pizza Hut Hong Kong is selling pizza in a specially designed Blockbuster Box. Figuring that movies and pizzas go together like, well, mushrooms and pepperoni, the cardboard box can be rigged to project movies played on your phone. Yes—you read it right—a pizza box that projects movies.

Continue Reading »
Signals
The Coming Boom in Home Theater
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jul 30, 2019  | 
I have a theory. Well, it’s not really a theory. It’s more of a hunch. Actually, it’s not even a hunch. Just a tingling. But sometimes my tinglings are surprisingly prescient. Here’s my tingle: Thanks to societal shifts, in the coming years there will be a huge resurgence — a boom — in the popularity of home theater.
Continue Reading »
Signals
The Cone of Silence, Eavesdropping Speakers, Raspberry Pi, and You
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 22, 2019  | 
If you are a certain age, you'll surely remember the Get Smart TV series, debuting in 1965 on NBC. You'll also remember how Maxwell Smart always insisted on using the Cone of Silence — plastic domes over him and the Chief that supposedly prevented anyone from overhearing their conversations. Now, 54 years later, in the age of Alexa, the Cone is back, new and improved. And you can build one yourself.

Continue Reading »
Signals
The Curious Case of "TV Man"
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 03, 2023  | 
Here are the facts, which are not in dispute. Furthermore, I am not making this up. In a suburb of Richmond, Virginia, a man wearing a television on his head was leaving televisions on front porches.

Continue Reading »
Signals
The Dimming Future of AMOLED
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Dec 18, 2012  | 

It is the job of engineers to push the envelope and design the products of the future, not the products of today. When the first Compact Disc players were on the drawing board, 780-nm lasers were extremely expensive, but engineers anticipated that low-cost versions would soon become available. They bet right: cheap laser modules were perfected just before the CD format’s launch.

Continue Reading »

Pages

X