Wednesday, February 26, 2014

dapper dab docking device

hello there

those brave souls amongst you who read this blog on a frequent basis shall, no doubt, recall the trials and tribulations of my efforts in getting my beloved iTwat device to play via a docking station here.

you would be very welcome indeed to flick though the blog entries thus far for 2014, but for those of you who, somewhat understandably, cannot be bothered to recap i purchased a docking station that worked for a bit but then needed you to fiddle with the iTwat to make it work, and then i purchase a casing with an Apple gloryhole on it to see if that would "wedge" it a bit in the docking station.

annoying but manageable, really. except yesterday, right, i was doing some stuff upstairs (putting me threads away, strides and that, if you must know) and listening to the magnificent Excitable Boy album by Warren Zevon. and as i did this i clocked just how much i miss my vibes being on during the day.

motivation enough, then, to go off today for a browse. which is when i found and invested in this.



yep, a second docking station. or a third, really, since my original one is still somewhere on the high seas (i think), battling away against hopelessly lost Somalian pirates and quite possibly sharks with a rather poor sense of direction too.

this one was slightly cheaper than the first (second if you like) one i bought, and had the added benefit of this "DAB" radio i had heard of on it. but that is not what it was purchased for - it was posted to spread the vibes from the iTwat, a convenient device in the absence of a proper stag of a stereo.

does it perform that function? yes it does. as good as sound is possible off of an iTwat, too. and you just hoy the iTwat into the docking station and it does its thing. no fiddling or wedging required.



yes, indeed it is. those with a keen eye will no doubt have spotted that the iTwat is playing the Black & White album by The Stranglers. it is this funny thing i have, really - all new stereo and audio equipment gets tested with the sensational music of The Stranglers. just a habit that has stuck since my first tape deck in my first car.

i am most happy with it. i am also really well and truly impressed with this DAB thing, and this DAB+, whatever that is. i suspect the + part might be that the details of the station and what's playing comes up on the screen. or it might be a reference to the fact that the clever DAB radio picked up on the correct date and time for me, meaning no needless time wasted setting it by me.

when i asked a few friends about this DAB stuff they were rather dislocated about it, really. they mentioned it was all right, but nothing to go out of your way for. methinks my friends have become complacent, really, because it's ace. if you come from an area, like i have, with little in the way of choice on radio and what choices you have are often far from great (like, for instance, a dreadful little talk station i could mention), this DAB is a revelation. rather pleased to have it.

another look at the docking station business, but this time in Commodore 64 mode with scan lines on? sure, why not.



whilst i was messing about taking these Commodore 64 mode pictures off the iTwat, battling with the new "brilliant iOS system update", i noticed that i had taken some other pictures with it that i had not, as of yet and for no reason, shared with the world.

if for some reason you were wondering what my sister-in-law Tasha looks like on Skype via the magic of Commodore 64 mode with scan lines on, here you go!



i think she mentioned something in passing about either not taking this picture or not uploading it anywhere. can't remember which one, so i am pretty sure it is OK to put it here.

anyway, dapper dab docking device. if for some reason you look towards me for consumer device advice, well it was just shy of thirty notes and i picked it up at a store called, and i think i have the spelling right, B & M. for some reason a DAB thingie on its own was the same price as this with Mr Dock for Mr iTwat, which seems strange, but there you go.

to keep the momentum going on the consumer device advice thing, there's also a USB port on the back of it. for some reason, however, it was one of them "mini" USB ports, meaning that i don't think one could shove a traditional memory stick in to it. i shall have to consult the book for the purpose of it, but it's not like it is getting used any time soon anyhow.

for those of you hoping for a close up of the display on the new docking device, and a close up taken in Commodore 64 mode with scan lines on, well, you are in for a treat with this next picture, aren't you just.




and what is to be the fate of the other docking station? well, we do not have a vibes machine as such downstairs, so now downstairs it is. i can fiddle with the iTwat down here with it a bit and get it to play ok, meaning i can enjoy the vibes as i wish around the house.

i suppose with this being all 21st century and that i should "stream" around the house, but i just cannot be bothered with that sort of nonsense. i really, really like buttons.

here i am, then, with the initial docking station doing its thing.



at that time i was listening to the magnificent Nilsson Schmilsson album by, as you will no doubt be all too aware, Harry Nilsson. and then, to appease my (considerably) better half, that new, or at least most recent, album by that Pearl Jam lot. Lightning something. quite a good album it is, it is just not Harry. or Warren. or The Stranglers.

and that, i imagine, is all you would at best want to know of my new dock thing! 

with some good fortune more stuff of some interest soon!



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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