Your Tech Weblog

Top Apple-gear maker now is a Minnesotan

I'm a fan of XtremeMac, one of the better makers of gear for Apple products such as the iPhone, iPods and the Apple TV. So it's with mixed feelings that I'm seeing a bigger technology company add XtremeMac to its acquisition portfolio.

One the bright side, the buyer is quite familiar to me: It's Minnesota-based Imation, the famed data-storage company (and 3M offshoot) that earlier acquired rights to the TDK and Memorex brands in a bid to boost its consumer relevance.

Imation offers some nifty consumer products of its own, such as supersmall flash drives. But it's not big on Apple-type products of the kind you'd find at one of those popular Apple retail stores, so XtremeMac looks like a good acquisition.

A reporter on the Pioneer Press' business desk passed on the following after talking to Imation spokesman Brad Allen:

-- The XtremeMac team remains intact in Florida. Imation is not moving or touching them. That should reassure you. They said they recognize that the founder, Gary Bart, has won awards and acclaim for innovation and they don't want to mess that up (my words, not Allen's).

-- Imation expects to be able to use its global distribution network to help expand the regions where XtremeMac products are sold -- "to put more legs underneath it," as Allen puts it. In short, they want to grow the sales by expanding geographically and maybe by getting XtremeMac into new stores where Imation already has a presence but XtremeMac does not.

-- Imation is also very happy with the acquisition because XtremeMac has a strong presence on shelves in Apple stores, among other places, and that will increase Imation's presence in a coveted retail space where Apple fans shop.

XtremeMac apparently isn't in the greatest financial shape, in any event:

-- The business had "minimal returns" in 2007, Allen said. Its profits or losses won't impact Imation's finances this fiscal year, meaning there's not enough profit (or loss) there to affect it one way or the other.

Large tech companies swallowing boutique Apple-accessory makers is a bit of a trend; The Royal Philips Electronics tech giant last year acquired Digital Lifestyle Outfitters, a company quite similar to XtremeMac.

Here's another way to upgrade Apple's buds

I'm hardly alone in my hatred for Apple's iPod earbuds. You have to jam these uncomfortably in your ears, yet they keep falling out anyway.

So a variety of earbud add-ons have appeared in recent years, all claiming to improve listening with the Apple phones.

I have previously written about two such options, custom-molded hard-plastic earmolds, and foam eartips fitted onto plastic cups that go over Apple's buds. (I get into both these options in a recent article; get a page PDF here).

Now there's a third option: the new BudFits. These, like the earmolds and foam eartips, are from a Minnesota company (cool).

But they are a completely different approach to the Apple-bud problem, consisting of soft-rubber over-the-ear loops that essentially suspend the iPod phones in place.

Attach the BudFits to the earbuds, tuck the bud cords into little canals, loop the BudFits over your ears and adjust the bud speakers so they're pointed into your ear canals.

Now you can work out without worrying about your buds falling out.

This is an ingenious but not perfect product. I wish the BudFits gripped the Apple buds a bit more firmly. The comfort is not as complete as the maker, Innovelis, claims.

And this approach lacks the sound amplification inherent in both the hard-plastic earmolds and the foam eartips, which means you need to crank up the volume when using BudFits in noisy places.

But, at only $9, this is a painless and remarkably effective way to upgrade those awful Apple buds. It's a lot cheaper than the alternatives.

Get the BudFits (in a variety of colors) on Amazon.com.

Need your CDs digitized? Rent ripping robot

Ripping CDs, I've always assumed, is a tedious do-it-yourself project or something for a ripping service, at a price. Turns out there's a third option: You can rent a ripping robot.

I cover Minnesota-based Primera's Bravo SE rental program here. (Here's a page PDF.)

To test the device, I used my editor and her extensive CD collection as my guinea pigs, and I was amazed at how quickly and effortlessly I burned through all those platters.

I  recommend this -- provided you have a large enough (300+) CD collection to make the $300-a-week rental cost-effective when weighed against the per-disc costs of a ripping service.

Otherwise, use Ripshark.

Local iPhone-app maker gets hits on its vid

Local iPhone-software developer CodeMorphic reports brisk traffic for another demo video of an application in progress.

This Global View app, like the one called HomeFindr, is not headed for the App Store next month but is more of a proof-of-concept-type thing.

Still, slicksville.

Update: CodeMorphic on Minnov8

I am all over the airwaves on latest gadgets

I'm always delighted to be a guest on Minnesota Public Radio's Future Tense, one of my fave podcast downloads -- right up there with On the Media, TWiT and Buzz Out Loud.

This morning, FT host Jon Gordon and I discussed a couple of hot new gadgets -- Pure Digital's Flip Video Mino and the Polaroid PoGo portable photo printer -- in a Father's Day context.

I'll also be talking Father's Day tech on KSTP's Willie & Jay show tomorrow morning (at 8:35 a.m., I think) and the PoGo on Monday (just after 7 a.m., I believe).  Being on W&J also is fun, in a wackier way.

Note that the PoGo (which I earlier covered here) is the focus of my Tech Test Drive column in Sunday's Pioneer Press.

And, speaking of the TWiT world, Scott Bourne and Leo Laporte plugged me briefly in a MobileMe/.Mac context on the latest episode of MacBreak Weekly, which was a thrill (that's another podcast I never, ever miss, along with its cousin Windows Weekly). Thanks for mentioning me and my newspaper, guys.

Dad, boys see "Walking with the Dinosaurs"

Here's my review of "Walking with the Dinosaurs." Grab the page PDF, if you prefer.

A behind-the-scenes look at dinosaur show

I'm checking out the "Walking with the Dinosaurs" show tonight with my son and one of his buddies. Should be a hoot (I'll probably be the only guy in the audience with an open laptop since I'll be tapping out a review for the newspaper).

Earlier today, the "Walking" folks gave me a behind-the-scenes look at the dinos and preparations for tonight's opening at the Xcel Energy Center. I shot video. Here's YouTube and a QuickTime download. A Flickr version is embedded here:

I cover new iPhone, PoGo printer in paper

I cover the new iPhone (with a local spin) and Polaroid's PoGo printer (also a local story) in today's Pioneer Press business section. (I previously covered the PoGo here.) Grab page PDFs, if you wish.

Local iPhone developer CodeMorphic has updated its Web site with a bit more info (including the HomeFindr demo below) on its iPhone applications in progress.

I write about the C-3PO actor, his local role

I had the honor of interviewing Anthony "C-3PO" Daniels, and writing about his substantive role in the upcoming "Star Wars" show at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Read my coverage on TwinCities.com, or grab the page PDF.

A local Imperial Stormtrooper, droid builder

As a "Star Wars" fan, Michael Hansen of Woodbury is pretty hardcore.

He's spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on his two pet projects, a working R2-D2 replica and an Imperial Stormtrooper uniform he wears for public events.

My Monday story about Hansen is on TwinCities.com and in today's Pioneer press (Grab the page PDFs here).

Here are photos of his R2 at the recent Grand Old Day parade. More photos of the droid and its human entourage are here.

I also did a video of Hansen and fellow "Star Wars" fans in their incredibly intricate uniforms (they recently appeared at a children's festival in downtown St. Paul's Rice Park).

A TwinCities.com video clip is embedded below, a higher-quality QuickTime version is here.