It’s time for another edition of Things We Love here at The Flickcast. This time the things we love is actually a group of things. What are these magical unicorns, you may ask? Well, they’re the Apple Macintosh computers.
This won’t be a place to debate the merits or restart the war between Mac and PC. We each have our favorites and reasons for choosing to use what we do. Many of you prefer to use Windows computers, and that’s just great. Enjoy.
But for the majority of us here at The Flickcast, we go Mac. And we’ve gone Mac since the beginning of time . . . or at least since the last thirty years or so.
What started as a fun challenge taken up by Steve Wozniak at the Homebrew Computer club in the mid-seventies and culminating, at that time, with the release of the Apple I computer (selling for an imaginative $666.00) spawned a whole generation of amazing devices we pretty much take for granted today. Apple computers of the early days paved the way for the Mac, famously introduced in 1984 by an Orwell-inspired commercial directed by young genius Ridley Scott. I wonder what ever happened to that kid?
Since that time, the Mac is grown in popularity and although it’s never achieved the level of success its Windows counterparts enjoy, it’s still the de facto tool of choice for millions of people around the world.
We know it is for us. Well, most of us. Joe doesn’t like Macs. We still like him, though. And we’re still working on bringing him into the light. Until then . . .
Thank you Woz, thank you Steve Jobs and thank you to the thousands of others who labored and toiled and sweated to bring us one of the things we love. And thanks to you Macintosh. We literally couldn’t do it without you. You will always be one of the things we love.
Here’s the infamous “1984” commercial.
Do you love Apple’s Macintosh as much as we do? Or, do you go to the dark side? Nah, only joking. Let us know why you love the Mac, or why we’re missing out on the perfection of Windows, in the comments or hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Time to kick off another new series here at The Flickcast and this time around we’re calling it Tech Time. In it we focus on a piece of technology we love from the past, present or future. And the lucky winner today is a device we couldn’t live without, or at least we couldn’t do our podcast without: the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2.
The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is a digital audio interface. It allows you to connect up to two microphones, or other analog devices like guitars or keyboards, to your computer via a USB-C cable. With the 2i2 you can connect 2 mics, or other devices via XLR, or two devices via instrument inputs, or one of each.
Our podcast co-host Chris Ullrich uses a Shure SM7B microphone to record his part of the podcast. That mic is connected via XLR cable to the Scarlett 2i2 and then to a MacBook Pro via USB-C. On the MacBook Pro, audio is recorded in Apple’s Logic Pro for editing, mixing and final output.
In the interest of transparency, the Shure SM7B is rather power hungry. To help with that Chris uses an additional device between the mic and the Scarlett 2i2: the Cloudlifter CL-1. It provides additional clean gain so the mic gain on the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface doesn’t need to be set as high. This helps ensure cleaner sound.
You don’t need the Cloudlifter CL-1 to make the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 work, it provides enough power on its own. Chris just likes things to be extra clean, with as little gain from the pre-amp in the 2i2 as possible. So, he added the Cloudlifter.
Also, using a different microphone, one that’s less power hungry, would be a way to go too. For example, we’ve had great results with another mic from Shure, the SM58. It’s a great mic and one you’ll find on many stages and in recording studios around the world.
So if you want to make a podcast, record yourself playing guitar or reading an audio book, you’ll need a device like the Scarlett 2i2. In fact, if you do end up with one of these, it’s probably all the audio interface you’ll ever need. It really is a great device and one we use pretty much every day.
For more on the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, check out the company’s website. You can also watch a video about it below.
Do you use a piece of tech like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2? If so, what do you use it for and what do you think of it? Or, is there a different one you recommend? Let us know in the comments or hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Happy Recording!
Image: Focusrite Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
As you’ve seen there’s been a bunch of new episodes of The Flickcast over the last few months. We’re thrilled to bring the podcast back to you and we look forward to doing it for a long time to come.
But what about this website? Well, good news (we think, at least) the site is coming back too. That’s right, look for more content dropping here shortly. We’re getting things ready behind-the-scenes, but hope to have some stuff ready to go for you soon.
We’re talking, of course, about articles, reviews, tutorials, news, videos and more. All the stuff you used to come here for. Going forward, our coverage will be a bit different than what we did before, though.
We’ll keep talking about movies, television and all that good stuff, but we’re also going to expand into other areas of pop culture like books, music, streaming, technology, tabletop RPGs and much more.
Pretty much anything nerds are playing, watching and enjoying these days will be fair game. It’s gonna be fun. We hope you’ll join us and enjoy!
Until then, look for a brand new episode of The Flickcast every Monday at 9AM Central Time. Thanks and we’ll see you soon.
It’s that time again. Time for a brand new episode of The Flickcast. This week we’re doing our “Being Thankful” episode just in time for the Monday following Thanksgiving.
Better late than never, right? Plus, it is Cyber Monday, after all. So . . . On this week’s episode Chris and Joe talk about, you guessed it, what they’re thankful for this year and in general. Naturally, the talk turns to various films, television and pop culture and, sadly, spills over onto COVID a bit too. What did you expect?
Some of these non-covid topics include Star Wars, Star Trek, The Mandalorian, Netflix movies and series such as Enola Holmes and The Queen’s Gambit and lots of music and more. And, of course the usual even more.
It’s a packed episode chock full of thankful goodness and positive positivity. Hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for listening.
WARNING: This episode may contain discussions about COVID-19, mental health and quarantine. We understand not everyone is in a place to talk about or hear discussions surrounding these issues. Please do what’s best for you. Stay safe everyone.
As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, Instagram or, yes, even Facebook. Or shoot us an email. We don’t mind.
And, we’re back. That’s right it’s an all-new episode of The Flickcast. Be happy because it probably won’t last. But for now …
On this week’s show, Chris and Joe discuss the latest from the upcoming new Star Wars movie, the brand new iOS 8 and iPhone 6, upcoming Fall TV shows like Gotham and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., True Detective casting news and, you guessed it, more. A lot more.
Picks this week include Chris’ pick of the movie Lone Survivor and Joe’s pick of the LEGO Ecto-1.
As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.
In a bid to compete with devices like the Google Chromecast, Roku and mainly the Apple TV, Amazon today announced the Amazon Fire TV. According to chairman Jeff Bezos, the Fire TV “is a tiny box that plugs into your HDTV. It’s the easiest way to enjoy Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, low-cost video rentals, and more. With instant access to over 200,000 TV episodes and movies, plus all your favorite subscriptions and streaming services, you can watch what you want, when you want.”
In addition, if you’re a Prime member “you get unlimited access to thousands of popular movies and TV shows, including exclusives like Downton Abbey, The Americans, Alpha House, and Under the Dome.” All in 1080p, of course.
Bu wait, there’s even more. “Fire TV has voice search that actually works. The old way of searching with a TV remote—scrolling and clicking one letter at a time on an alphabet grid—is painful. With Fire TV you simply speak the title, actor, or genre into the remote and you’re done.”
The internal specs of the Fire TV are impressive as well. The device features a quad-core processor, dedicated GPU, 2 GB of memory, and dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi. It also features a new buffering system which will supposedly help eliminate any streaming lag. Of course, your mileage may vary.
The device also plays games. Titles at launch include Minecraft, The Walking Dead, Monsters University, the Amazon exclusive Sev Zero, and many other free games available to Prime Members.
The Amazon Fire TV is $99.00 and ships today. The optional game controller will set you back another $39.99.
I’m one of those “weirdos” who still wears a watch even though Iv’e got a perfectly good cell phone in my pocket to tell me the time. What can I say, I still like watches and I don’t mind having to look and see where the little hand and the big hand are to see if I’m late for an appointment.
However, I am very interested in all of the wearable tech, including watches, that seems to be heading our way. And that goes double for what Google announced this week. It’s a new SDK called Android Wear and damn if it doesn’t look pretty cool.
It’s basically Google Now and provides you with information as you need it or as it happens in a card-style format. The company is starting with watches, but you can imagine other products not far behind.
Here’s some other highlights of Android Wear:
• Straight answers to spoken questions. Just say “Ok Google” to ask questions, like how many calories are in an avocado, what time your flight leaves, and the score of the game. Or say “Ok Google” to get stuff done, like calling a taxi, sending a text, making a restaurant reservation or setting an alarm.
• The ability to better monitor your health and fitness. Hit your exercise goals with reminders and fitness summaries from Android Wear. Your favorite fitness apps can give you real-time speed, distance and time information on your wrist for your run, cycle or walk.
• Your key to a multiscreen world. Android Wear lets you access and control other devices from your wrist. Just say “Ok Google” to fire up a music playlist on your phone, or cast your favorite movie to your TV.
Google is already working with manufacturers Asus, HTC, LG, Motorola and Samsung, along with chip makers Broadcom, Imagination, Intel, Mediatek, and Qualcomm. Fossil may make the first watches available later this year.
To see Android Wear in action, check out the videos after the break.
If you’re already taking advantage of Amazon’s Prime service, this is a post for you. And if you’re not, it might be a good idea to pay attention too. Why?
Well, the company announced today they are raising prices on their Prime service to $99 from its current level of $79. Students will pay $49, up from $39.
New members have until March 20 to sign up for $79, according to the company, while current members will see the price increase to $99 at their next renewal. Guess they’ve gotta pay for those drones somehow, right?
Members whose accounts are set to renew before April 17 will be charged $79. Lucky them.
Currently, members get unlimited free two-day shipping on eligible items, free streaming of movies and TV episodes, and free e-book borrowing from Amazon’s library of more than 475,000 titles. It’s expected that Amazon will offer additional services and perks to help soften the blow of the price increase. But so far, no word on what those might be.
In the meantime, if you haven’t signed up yet, now would be a good time. Check out more at the official Amazon Prime page.
In case you haven’t heard, Apple released an update to its mobile operating system this week. The update, known as iOS 7.1 to those in the know (and pretty much everyone else) features a host of improvements and bug fixes. But much like most of Apple’s updates, the company doesn’t really spell out exactly what all those “improvements and bug fixes” are.
But what if you really want to know each and every detail of this update? Fortunately, the folks at iTwe4kz have got you covered.
In fact, they’ve made a handy video that highlights pretty much everything that’s new in iOS 7.1. Cool, right?
Check out the video after the break. You can download Apple’s iOS 7.1 via software update on your devices or via iTunes.
Love them or hate them, Apple is one of the most dominant players all over the world world with their iPad and iPhone devices. And now they’re looking to expand that dominance into a new place: your car.
That’s right, today Apple announced a new way to integrate iOS7 devices with your future vehicle. It’s called CarPlay and, to be honest, it looks pretty darn cool.
Set to debut later this year in vehicles from select manufacturers, CarPlay will let users make and receive calls, send and receive messages, listen to music and navigate with Maps, all via a built-in display in the car. Several other apps will be supported at launch, including Podcasts, Beats Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio and Stitcher.
Car companies such as Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo will showcase CarPlay at next week’s Geneva International Motor Show. Meanwhile, others such as BMW, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota intend to make future vehicles compatible with CarPLay.
For more on how it will work, Volvo has released a video highlights CarPlay’s features. Check it out after the break.
It’s time for another edition of Things We Love here at The Flickcast. This time the things we love is actually a group of things. What are these magical unicorns, you may ask? Well, they’re the Apple Macintosh computers. 
