RipCordless

A pop-culture consumer who keeps it, by design, in the shallow end of the pool.

Tech

Thrustmaster TX Racing Wheel Ferrari 458 Italia | Review

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After Santa delivered an Xbox One and a handful of games, Forza 5 caught my attention immediately. After playing the game for a few days with a controller, I decided to splurge on a top of the line racing wheel for a more immersive experience. (A friend turned me onto racing wheels a few years ago and it redefined the racing experience on PC and console.) Over the last three to four years, I’ve enjoyed all sorts of racing wheels, from a low-end but solid Mad Catz for the 360, to the top of the line Logitech offering in the form of the G25 and G27 for the PC (the pinnacle of racing wheels/pedals in my humble opinion).

Unfortunately the choice for racing wheels is currently quite slim for the Xbox One so I pulled the trigger on one of the only only high end options currently released, the Thrustmaster TX Racing Wheel Ferrari 458 Italia Edition. Ordered from GameStop online, the wheel arrived promptly and I set about putting the accessory through its paces. This is a honest review of my experience and opinion with this wheel.

Wheel Build Quality

– Very low quality plastic and a THIN wheel. After about an hour of racing, the edge of the wheel was causing discomfort in the web of my right hand (but I manual paddle-shift and thus may be a how-I-hold-my-hand style issue); however, no other racing wheel has ever caused this level of discomfort.
– Cheap plastics which remind me of old Tupperware containers or recycled Ford dashboards. Only visible metal component are the paddle shifters.
– OVERALL WHEEL IMPRESSION: When compared to other racing wheels, this is merely okay. Not amazing, no horrible, barely adequate, and I would rate the wheel build quality a 3/5 stars.

Pedal Build Quality

– Product advertises metal pedals but only the pedal plate is metal, not the entire assembly.
– Very cheap plastics (again) and the entire pedal base is very light weight causing a SIGNIFICANT issue: when one brakes hard for a corner, the entire pedal assembly tilts forward. One would think, “Well, my heel on the pedal base will prevent that,” but not so fast. Because the spring in the brake pedal is quite stiff, one must apply robust force to ensure the brake is appropriately engaged thus the tipping effect is pronounced and unavoidable.
– OVERALL PEDAL IMPRESSION: Probably the worst set of pedals I’ve personally used for any racing game (also used Logitech G25/g27, MadCatz Wireless Racing Wheel for Xbox 360) thus I would rate the pedal build quality a 1/5 stars.

Wheel & Pedal In-Game Feel

– Once more, merely okay. Force feedback isn’t smooth and seems inconsistent with other products I’ve used. One may feel wheel resistance entering a corner but suddenly the feedback is gone mid-corner. Very frustrating.
– Force feedback is VERY robust so it is probably best to turn it down at least initially — though I personally enjoy a good tussle with the wheel.
– Wheel reactions are a mixed bag. If you set up a dead zone for the wheel in Forza 5 (Xbox One), there is a delay in onscreen reactions. In other words, set up a 5% entry dead zone, and you’ll have to turn the wheel 5% before anything happens on screen (causing what looks like screen-lag). Change the dead zone to 0% and anything you’re doing at the wheel is reflected instantly on screen. Unfortunately, removing all dead zone makes the wheel very twitchy and the game becomes near unplayable. Thus I would rate the in-game feel a lousy 2/5 stars.

Bottom Line

– In my opinion, this product is absolutely NOT worth $349 for the set. This is more like $199 or perhaps $149 worth of racing wheel but apparently two things have happened. First, Thrustmaster slapped a Ferrari logo on the product jumping the price. Second, this is one of only a handful of  racing wheel options currently on the market.
– My advice? Wait for something with better reviews. From where I sit, when considering quality, price, and experience, I would rate this a mere 2/5 stars. Pass.

BestBuy Matching Amazon.com Prices

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As a gadget-guy, I enjoy strolling the aisles of BestBuy to see what new goodies are out there. Most of the time you can better prices from online retailers unless you’re in a pinch and must have something right then and there. And that has always been my policy — size up something locally, online shopping is simple, safe, effective and gets my coin.

About a month ago, I was nosing around in a local BestBuy and heard a fellow customer ask a clerk, “I understand you match Amazon.com prices?” The clerk said that was correct with the caveat, “…only if the item is stocked and shipped by Amazon.com.” In other words, the price matching does not extend to the Amazon.com Marketplace.

I was looking for a new camera bag and found something that caught my eye on the shelf. Costing $99, discounted to $89 in the store, I checked the Amazon.com price and found it listed for $43.77 — but surely the store wouldn’t match that price? I chatted up a salesperson and mentioned the online price. Without missing a beat, he verified the stocked and shipped by criteria, called over a manager to adjust the price, and five minutes later I was walking out with the camera bag at about half-price.

I’ve done this about three of four times in the last month, each time receiving somewhere between a 10-45% discount on whatever I’ve purchased. But it does beg the following question: How can BestBuy continue to match Internet pricing while existing as a brick-and-mortor store? I would be surprised if BestBuy continued matching throughout 2013. Surely, their overhead will either prevent continued matching or are they doomed to the fate of Circuit City and The Good Guys (both dead and gone). Time will tell but meanwhile, why wait for the Amazon.com box to arrive when I can pull the trigger and take it home right now.

Microsoft Explorer Touch with OS X, Finally!

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I’ve been both a PC and Apple guy for many years. In fact, my L-shaped desk has both a PC and an iMac perched at a friendly distance — both systems eyeballing each other with a healthy distrust. It appears I’m the bridge between both system and keep the situation stable. Besides my obvious enjoyment of the OS X (and iOS systems) there has always been one significant flaw in the Apple periphery cast — their mouse.

Long have I pined for a mouse that will actually do everything advertised. I tried the so-called Apple Mouse but found little appealing about the product. With a wacky small ball for navigation and a pseudo-second button that is hit and miss, I used then promptly abandoned it in favor of a different choice. I’ve also tried a host of wireless Logitech products but had little luck with precise compatibility. They work but don’t really work if you know what I mean. For the longest time, I’ve settled on the Magic Mouse but once more found the product lacking. This was the firsts Apple mouse that introduced me to the “flick” gesture — something I’ve grown to love and enjoy. Truth be told, I won’t use a mouse that doesn’t have the flick capability. However, the Magic Mouse is ponderous, has horrible feet that don’t slide well on seemingly any surface. Though it works, in a fashion, it does little to impress me.

I’ve always enjoyed Microsoft products and wanted to find something which could usurp the Magic Mouse throne and I believe I’ve found such a product. I recently purchased the Microsoft Explorer Touch which appears to be completely friendly to the OS X operation system. Installed quickly and with drivers completely compatible with the OS X platform, the Microsoft Explorer Touch has impressed me. With better response and a more comfortable grip (and slide) than the Magic Mouse, the Explorer Touch has worked flawless for the last week or so. I’m quite happy clicking, moving, shifting and scrolling with the new mouse that working in the OS X interface has become slightly more enjoyable and easy.

If you are in the market for a new mouse for your OS X device, I recommend giving the Microsoft Explorer Touch mouse a look. Buy from an establishment which allows returns and enjoy the ease in which it adapts to the OS X environment. Now, if Microsoft would get off it’s rear end and actually provide drivers for their newish Microsoft Touch Mouse, world peace could easily be obtained.

iTunes Match, My New Favorite Service

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I have a foot in two worlds, one centered around the PC, a second centered around my Apple iOS gadgets. Notice the plural on the Apple side of the equation. What can I say, many moons ago I tried a Mac Mini and was hooked. From then, I’ve pulled the trigger on any number of nifty Apple gadgets but they appear to have taken over entirely — or perhaps I should say mostly.

My iOS universe includes a 27″ iMac, an entirely solid-state MacBook Pro, my beloved iPhone 4S (holding out for the second gen iPhone 5), and my constant companion which provides unconditional love and media saturation, the 64GB Retina display fourth-gen iPad in black. Yeah, I feel pretty good about that ensemble cast of gadgetry and but something recently synched together my stroll in the Apple universe — they call it iTunes Match.

I have zero issue with keeping my music collection within the Apple ecosystem. Everything works, it works well, and the music is not loaded with any DRM. Good for me. But I’ve always desired a way to sync my music collection between iOS devices — iTunes Match has solved that issue with grace and elegance.

With a paltry $25.00 annual subscription fee one can save up to 25,000 sounds in an associated AppleID iCloud account. That means my entire library is online available to be downloaded or streamed (if the Internet connection is robust enough) at any time and I recently discovered yet another benefit of iTunes Match.

Back in the day, the standard bit rate for all music was 128. A plethora a tests confirm the higher the bit rate, the better the musical quality (so many studies and test, in fact, low vs high bit rate quality is beyond dispute). However, I’ve been in the Apple ecosystem so long, I have plenty of 128 bit music in my local library — but not for too much longer. I’ve discovered all I need to do is delete any offending music from my local library which is ripped at an undesirable bit rate (ensuring I do not delete the same mirrored music from iCloud). Now, I can just re-download the music I just deleted but this time from the iCloud version which is automatically set at 256 bit quality.

Did I mention how much I enjoy my iPad?

HDMI Cables, You Want Fries with That?

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I’ve long suspected high cost HDMI cables are a scam. Why is it I can wander into my local Fry’s or BestBuy and find a three foot HDMI cable ranging from $19 all the way to $99? Is the quality difference that great? Hrmmmmm, perhaps the cables’ construction means a higher quality, or perhaps better 3D experience, or deeper color? Nope, that is not the case — not even close. HDMI cables are sending a digital not analog signal and that simple fact makes all the difference in the world. The difference between a digital and analog signal? Just think like this, digital is simply sending 1’s and 0’s down the cable — and any cable of reasonably good construction can handle that duty with elegance and 100% effectiveness.

Why has this suddenly popped up on my radar? I was shopping for Christmas gift ideas and while surfing through various websites, I stumbled into an article on CNET.com detailing the issue with HDMI cables. You can check out their article here. In fact one searches for any articles related to HDMI cable value or quality, there are hundreds.

Why does this work on the population at large? Because of a comprehensive disinformation print campaign, excellent packaging, and consumer ignorance. After all, some sucker who just paid $2300 for a flat screen is ripe for the picking and “surely” need a high priced cable to maximize the image on screen. Truth be told, I’ve fallen for this concept as well. I think I was taken in by the old-school theory of analog cables and I was the idiot who paid $200 for a solid-silver 1-foot composite cable — that made some sense back in the day but with a digital cable, that concept is irrelevant.

So, if you are looking for a new TV for the holidays don’t get caught up on the high-priced cable fiasco. Grab something solid, well crafted, and you brand new TV will display a stunning picture.