Jonathan Markevich

Category: Electronics

  • Helios One – Cheap DIY Synth

    Helios One – Cheap DIY Synth

    The idea of building a DIY synth is certainly not new, I’m sure you can easily find projects in magazines going back 50 years or so, but it required good familiarity with discrete components. While that really hasn’t changed all that much, we now have some shortcuts – like having a small and easy to…

  • M-Audio StudioPro 3 repair

    First of all, let me say “hi there, Googlers!” I owned the M-Audio StudioPro 3 speakers for quite a few years before they started to fail on me.  They were not too bad, gave decent sound at reasonable desktop volume.  In the last year or so, the right speaker conked out.  Well, it played, but…

  • AppleTV Updated

    Finally, Apple decided to update the AppleTV – and promote it to the product menu bar on the main site!  This common, and popular, device had been overlooked for four years! The changes are exactly what I was wishing for… but somehow not enough.  The main thing I wanted was apps.  It seemed kinda dumb…

  • Maglite Solitaire LED Conversion

    I got a Maglite Solitaire LED flashlight this summer, but I already had two regular incandescent ones.  Once you get used to the LED one, the incandescent one is so… dim… and yellow.  It’s really really convenient, though, and I’d hate to just drawer it, or worse yet, junk it. I got a cool little…

  • Apple Watch

    I, like others, was drooling when Apple introduced their new wearable.  They made the competition look horrendous.  (As a side note, when I first saw the Galaxy Gear S in pictures, I was excited – it too looked great, and not Android… until I saw the actual size.  It’s absurd.) They pitched this at everyone.…

  • Arduino.  Fine, and you?

    I have long avoided Arduino, because “that’s hardware stuff”, and I just didn’t get it.  Based on a request from a friend, I looked at it and I just knew I could write the code to get him started. Turns out I could and I did! Now I’ve got loads of ideas, partly practical, partly…

  • Hardware vs. Software (Nikon)

    This week I ran head-on into a fantastic hardware product (Nikon WU-1a) that is almost made useless by its software (Wireless Mobile Utility). I wish this sort of thing was rare, but it happens only too often. (I’m looking at you, Logitech) In this case, the device is a tiny adapter that plugs into what…

  • Arc Reaction

    I got myself a Kobo Arc when they had them on sale just over a week ago.  About 22 hours before they announced new ones.  Well, this time I don’t mind. What I ended up getting was a pretty decent tablet/reader.  I got it primarily as a reader, though I recognize how much better e-ink…

  • The look of iOS 7

    I agree for the most part with this post. I’m not crazy about the icons – I particularly dislike the settings icon. Me: “I don’t like the settings icon” Tina: “Yeah I preferred the gears better” Me: “It is gears, see?” Tina: “It looks more like the fan in the back of a computer” But,…

  • New CRTC Wireless Regs

    It looks like the new CRTC cell phone regulations have been enacted. We may still have 3 year contracts in Canada but with zero termination fees after 2, we effectively have the shorter period now.  It remains to be seen whether carriers will make up the difference with reduced subsidies (higher handset prices) or still…