YouTube of the Fish?

So who wants to help me out?  Can somebody who buys a Rocketfish Wireless Rear Speaker Kit post a video of it working in your home environment?  Maybe show how it is hooked up, and how it solves your problem?  I’m wondering how well YouTube works to convey a product experience…

Then send me the link to the YouTube post and Ill share it here.  I would do it, but I would prefer it to be from a consumer that was previously unbiased prior to the purchase.

Best Buy’s Sunday ad sure attracts attention

The Rocketfish Universal Wireless Rear Speaker Kit (RF-WHTIB) that I reviewed last week made it into the Minneapolis-based retailer’s weekly ad insert.

As I am not a usual peruser of their weekly ad, what caught my attention was the uptick in hits that my review has been getting in the initial hours of Sunday, stateside.

I hope my review helps folks make a more informed buying decision. It is a really cool, simple, and elegant solution, that folks at my company are watching like proud parents watching the school bus shuttling their kid off to school on the first day… or something like that.

The power of the internet and viral marketing is apparent as I trace the click behavior. The combination of traditional and internet-based promotion media — print ad inserts, an online version of the ad, search engines, and a blog article — makes for an efficient means to get the message out about a product that otherwise would be tricky to promote because of its progressive usage model.

Share your experiences, like this one, with the product here so folks can learn more. Thanks.

UPDATE: WordPress has Alive Matters listed as #19 on its Fastest Growing Blogs page today. Cool.

Canada makes a case for the argument that size matters

My favorite ski resort is going mental, in a good way.

Whistler-Blackcomb is building a ridiculous gondola that will connect the two peaks of their gigantic resort.

Some facts that make this yet another man-made marvel:

1. 11 minute ride peak-to-peak
2. 3.5 time longer than Golden Gate Bridge
3. Higher than 4.5 Statues of Liberty
4. Peak altitude above ground 415 metres
5. Longest unsupported cable-span, 1.88 miles.

Can’t wait to go up there and shit my pants.

Rocketfish Wireless Rear Speaker… a simple “cut-the-cord” solution.

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The sleeper aspect to this product is that it can actually be used for more than just surround sound… so tune-in.

The folks at Rocketfish, a customer of ours, have put together a nice solution for anyone with a home theater system. Traditional home theater amps have a couple connectivity challenges that are solved elegantly and reliably, and it’s rather affordable too at a reasonable $99.

Problems to be solved:

The first, connecting surround-channel speakers up to the amp. Stringing speaker wires from the front of your TV-room to the back of the TV-room — it typically yields a trip-hazard, and is often unsightly. Not wife-approved. So many consumers have to get crafty, sloppy, or give in altogether and forgo their surround experience.

The second, not utilizing your Zone-B speaker outputs (common on many mid-to-high end AV receivers) to enable some cool party mode music scenarios, or patio audio. Who the heck knows what to do with their B outputs? Few houses are pre-wired for speakers anymore, and hardly anyone is really willing to dive into the nuts and bolts of solving the routing issues for speaker wire to secondary rooms.

The Solution:

The RF-WHTIB is comprised of two main components: (1) a little black box called an audio sender, (2) a slightly larger black box that is simply a wireless stereo amplifier… and not a bad one at that… it can easily can light up a large room with it’s full dynamic range, and killer wireless audio link.

What the solution essentially does is let you “cut” your speaker wire, and move the two ends up to 100 feet from one another. The rest of the challenge is taken care of by the latest high fidelity wireless audio system that must be heard to be believed. It is arguably the most bullet-proof wireless audio system ever created. This is not hyperbole. No cordless phone, microwave oven, or WiFi enabled laptop is gonna phase this thing.

Simple to install and use:

1. First, you take your the speaker wire that feeds the signal from the speaker outputs on the back of your receiver (this output can be for surround speakers if you are going for the home theater, or the “B” output if you are looking to light up the next zone in your house), and you plug it in here:

(That’s the sender)

2. Walk up to 100 feet away, through a few walls, or a floor even…

3. Then you take your favorite pair of high quality passive speakers (the old fashioned kind, i.e. the ones that sound good), and you plug those in here:

(That’s the wireless amp)

4. Plug both devices into a wall outlet.

5. Done.

The devices supposedly come pre-paired from the factory, so the connect buttons are only there for field service reasons, to be honest.

You will forget this is a wireless system within minutes. Just enjoy what ever sound effects or music you throw at your new wireless speakers! Once they are setup, they behave like any other wired speaker you could have plugged into that speaker output you chose in step 1 above.

Verdict:

Well, that’s not fair. I can’t give an objective opinion. I know the details a little too well (disclosure — the company I work for supplies the wireless mojo), and really believe this is a darn savvy piece of marketing by the Rocketfish guys. They nailed a solution for a frustrating pain point that anyone with a home theater system knows all too well. I wrote this rambling and unprofessional review just to say, that if you are one of these folks, there is help for you now

I personally know more than ten people who can use this product, like yesterday. Well, Best Buy says they can ship them in 1 day, so you can have yours day after tomorrow… go get one.

The knack for bumping into sports greatness…

My long-time friend, Adam, and his wife Danielle, have this uncanny knack of bumping into sports greats, and somehow being non-creepy enough to snap a photo with them.  Just today, I get this emailed to me, because Adam knows for me growing up, Cal Ripken, Jr. was the MAN.

That’s Danielle, his wife, and their lovely daughter Ilana (who looks thrilled by the way).  Wow, Cal looks… er… uh… mature?  Seriously, I am one to talk…  you da man, Cal!  Please buy the O’s, manage them, and bring some joy back into Baltimore Baseball… please!

But that’s not all, just over a year ago, Adam sent me this…

Once again, Danielle, and HER hero, Doug Flutie.  This time in Logan airport.  Flutie was also one of my dad’s favorites… he wrote about this snapshot, and more here and here.

I also have a funny story of Adam giving a shout out to Eric Davis in the airport from back in college… funny.  But Eric was only so good, so no photo for you!

But this post ain’t all about Adam and his trigger-happy photo-finger.  I have my own brush with sports greatness, not that I am one to get star-struck… seriously.  But I was passing through Rio de Janeiro with some friends and we bumped into none other than…

Ronaldo… yeah, that Ronaldo.  Very cool guy.

Time it Was: American Stories from the Sixties

This book is available for pre-order on Amazon now. Included in this is a story written by my father, R. Thomas Collins, Jr., and so is likely his last published work. I wrote about it on my dad’s blog after his passing. To read more about this book, and my father’s influence on it, check out the article on quillnews.

Chances are if you are reading my blog at this stage, you were already reading my dad’s blog over the last couple years… but if you are new to it, you should check it out. Lots of timely articles there, not to mention excerpts from many of his other books that have an amazing amount of relevance to what’s happening in the world today. Long career in energy and policy, go figure.

I miss my dad. What a man.

Great shot…

Wikipedia is doing some cool things with photos… I found this one on here

It is pouring some hellish kinda rain with thunder, lightning, the works. Doesn’t come down like this in Portland. In fact, I’ve not seen a sunny sky like this picture shows in all the days I’ve spent here. I don’t think this time of year lends much hope.

Good facts on Hong Kong’s complicated history here.

I’ve chosen the food and nightlife of HK over Shenzhen at the price of a 100 minute commute for meetings with our manufacturing partners. Worth it so far. Quite easy actually. I take the KCR fron Tsim Sha Tsui to Lo Wu, then go through HK immigration, then China immigration, then a quick 5 minute walk to the Shangri La Hotel lobby to meet a company car that takes me to the factory. In the process, I’ve got an Octopus card, a stash of Entry-Exit forms for both China and Hong Kong that I fill out on the train, which all serve to the make the commute quite manageable. Helps that my Blackberry lets me keep up on email through it all. I also picked up a new SoftBank 3G phone that will keep me connected whereever I roam in Asia. So I am more or less getting connected enough to get around.

Had some great Korean food today. Go figure. Also, the Starbucks on the corner is like an Asian filter. You walk in there, and the demographic mix instantly seems more Chicago, than Kowloon.