Heil USBQ USB Inline Microphone Preamp - Shure, MXL, CEntrance, Blue Ice - they all have inline USB mic preamps. But Heil's new USBQ offers +/- 12dB EQ at 80 Hz and 10K Hz. Read my mini-review for more information.
Oh - and it is purple ...
(Via clintbradford.com.)
Nexus 7 vs. Kindle Fire or wait for something better? - Mini-tablets are affordable enough that everyone wants one. But which one should you get? Ask Maggie's Marguerite Reardon offers some advice.
(Via CNET News.com.)
Fire Devastation in the Western U.S. Seen From Space - The scale of the fires burning in the Western United States this summer can be hard to fathom. But the view from space reveals the true extent of the devastation. Satellites have captured some sobering images of the fire, smoke and burn scars scattered across the Intermountain West. While the fires in Colorado are dominating the news this week, blazes have also been raging in New Mexico, Utah and Arizona in June. Here are some of the scenes from space collected by NASA, NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey this month.
(Via Wired Top Stories.)
San Diego schools spend $10M on iPads for students - The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) has purchased 26,000 iPads to be used in classrooms by fifth graders through seniors in high school.
(Via CNET News.com.)
How to choose a to-do manager - 
David Sparks has a complicated life and needs a good task-manager to get everything done. He eventually chose Omnifocus for the job. Here's how he worked his way through that buying decision.
(Via Macworld.)
10 Quick Tips for Getting More Out of iTunes -
iTunes has always been that featured-filled music-management software that has left us wanting just a bit more. It can be a little finnicky at times, and with iOS 6 creeping up on the horizon, it may be high time to get your bearings with iTunes before it's too late. If you managed to get stumped by iTunes sometimes, or just need a helpful push in the right direction, here are ten quick tips for getting more out of iTunes.
(Via Mac|Life all.)
8 Apps for the Mobile Podcaster -
Everyone seems to have an opinion on everything, and thanks to the proliferation of free podcasts, everyone can have an audience as well. Podcasts are one of the fastest-growing forms of media, with some of the more popular shows earning many hundreds of thousands of listens each week. Starting your own broadcast is easier than ever -- even if you don't have a studio to record at. With nothing more than your iOS device, the eight apps we've collected, and a bit of free time, you too can join the ranks of Podcasters. Now all you need is someone that will listen.
(Via Mac|Life all.)
Square launches support for customer loyalty programs - 
Square, a startup focused on facilitating credit card transactions at small businesses, began supporting customer loyalty programs in updates of its major apps launched Tuesday.
(Via Macworld.)
Final notice: Make the move from MobileMe to iCloud -
The time has finally come: you need to make the move from MobileMe to iCloud, as MobileMe officially goes dark on June 30.
If you have an older MobileMe account, you may have held off on the transition to iCloud until the very end. It can feel like a significant move, especially if you hold a .Mac or original iTools account, from when Apple first started offering web-based services in 2002 and 2000, respectively. Apple has offered various cloud-based services, like iDisk, Domain Hosting, Web Galleries and several other Sync Services, over the years, but none of these will work with iCloud moving forward.
(Via TheAppleBlog.)
Downloads keeps all downloaded items organized - 
When you launch Downloads, you'll see all the items in your Mac's Downloads folder, whether they are at the top level, or buried deep inside folders. This handy app keeps all of your downloaded items neat and organized.
(Via Macworld.)
Can you borrow e-books at the library? Most don't know - A recent Pew Internet poll finds that 62 percent have no idea whether their local libraries lend e-books to patrons. Even if they do, of course, they're rarely easy to get.
(Via CNET News.com.)
Kodak motions to auction 1,100 digital camera patents - 
Kodak has filed a motion to sell two of its patent portfolios relating to digital imaging, as part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. The Kodak Imaging Systems and Services (KISS) and the Digital Capture patent portfolios contain a combined 1,100 patents for the capture, manipulation and sharing of digital images ...
Ray Bradbury on Sci-Fi, God and Robots: The Late Author's Biggest Ideas - Ray Bradbury was a man of words. Some he spoke, some he wrote, and many of them burned with a passion for big ideas and the power of language itself.
(Via Wired Top Stories.)
1 Hour in Square's World - Square transactions have spread across the US. Here's a one-hour snapshot from a recent Thursday afternoon.
(Via Wired Top Stories.)
Best headphones for under $50 - Looking for inexpensive headphones that sound decent for the money? Here are CNET's top bargain picks.
(Via CNET News.com.)
DisplayMate Takes on Gadgets and Polarized Sunglasses -
If you’ve ever hit the road with your iPad, then slipped on your polarized sunglasses to kick back and take in some reading, you’ve no doubt discovered a dirty little secret about gadgets -- but one expert says it doesn’t have to be that way.
DisplayMate Technologies Corporation has published an interesting study of how polarized sunglasses affect the gadgets we use every day. The topic is certainly a timely one as we enter the summer vacation season, onto to discover that reading on an iPad while in portrait mode results in a black screen while wearing such glasses.
(Via Mac|Life all.)
iPod nano as a watch: living with the LunaTik and iWatchz Q - 
Although the iPod nano did not receive much love from Apple at its last revamp from a hardware perspective, Apple acknowledged its popularity as a digital watch by giving users a number of new clock faces taking the total to 18. One of the first on the block with a band designed to accommodate the iPod nano was the LunaTik. iWatchz has also come to the party with the Q watch band, among others in its range. Electronista has been giving both a try this past couple of weeks. Read on for our hands-on take ...
Square to sell credit card reader at Walgreens, elsewhere - The company makes its Square Card Reader available for purchase in 10,000 more stores in hopes of adding to the 1 million merchants who have already bought the reader and are using the service.
(Via CNET News.com.)
The ultimate iPhone app for finding free iPhone apps - Appsfire Deals serves up a daily helping of apps that have "gone free" or come down in price. For the app lover and bargain hunter, it's a must-have.
(Via CNET News.com.)
How an AT&T tool can make your app more efficient - AT&T's Application Resource Optimizer can make apps more network and battery friendly.
(Via CNET News.com.)
If you're going to check out the Venus transit try to capture it with your iPhone - 
On Tuesday, Venus will pass in front of the sun for the last time until 2117.
Southern Stars Software, makers of SkySafari for iOS wants people to use their iPhone or iPad cameras to capture the transit and have a chance to win an iPad, iPod touch, or a Samsung Galaxy tablet (which most of our readers would probably pass on).
To enter, here's the catch, you must own a copy of one of the editions of SkySafari, which is on sale for this event starting at US $0.99. Rules for the contest can be found on the Southern Stars website.
Contest aside, this is a good excuse to get SkySafari if you don't have it already. It's a great way to get out under the summer night skies and see what is up there. At transit time, which is of course a daytime event, you'll be able to see a simulation of what's happening in real time. Let me emphasize that just like an eclipse, you DON'T want to look at the sun. Make a pinhole camera, or get some solar viewing glasses, and don't look at the sun with a telescope or binoculars unless those devices are properly protected. Frying your eye is simply no fun and can ruin your day.
Here's some NASA information about the transit and some general photography tips, although they don't apply specifically to your iPhone camera. If you want even more information, the Bad Astronomy website has a good collection of facts and tips.
Enjoy the transit, if you can see it. It will be visible in about 2/3 of the world, so if the weather cooperates you should have no trouble seeing Venus glide in front of the sun. Most of us won't have a chance to see the next transit, so good luck.
Review: Dolly Drive offers a variety of online storage services - 
Dolly Drive is a portmanteau of remote storage, backup, and access options that could be a simple answer to a whole set of storage problems all in one package.
(Via Macworld.)
The five handiest smartphone apps ever - Mostly free, and available for both Android and iOS, these apps are truly transformative, making life easier and just plain better.
(Via CNET News.com.)
Apple reminds users of MobileMe closure - Apple's MobileMe service will be shuttered for good on June 30, so be sure to retrieve all of your files from it.
(Via CNET News.com.)
How to self-publish an ebook - Interested in self-publishing an e-book? CNET executive editor David Carnoy offers some basic tips for e-book publishing and lays out your best options for publishing quickly and easily.
(Via CNET News.com.)
