Geeks Blog

Where Geeks Rule

The Nuances of Noise Cancellation

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Everybody has experienced the problem of having to take or make a very important call on your cellular and not being able to understand a word you or the person you are calling, annoying ain’t it. Now comes noise-cancellation which is actually quite an old concept which works by having a separate microphone to pick up the undesired sound (noise) and generating a counter sound/noise or sound in an inverted waveform to cancel out the offending sounds giving clear and noise-free conversation.

The technology started out as a fad made available on expensive audio equipment like BOSE which came out with cordless noise cancelling headphones for it’s various audio video products. Nowadays, the technology can be found on Bluetooth cellular phone headsets like the one from Aliph code named “JawBone” which cancels out background noise when making and receiving a call allowing comfortable and natural conversation.

Devices using Bluetooth have similarities whatever form they may take for they all rely on radio frequencies to communicate with each other. They are paired-up or connected to each other allowing them to recognize each other which many people do not realize but there are tons of devices that use Bluetooth out on the market that they connect at all is the miracle of the technology. The radio frequency that “WiFi” uses is similar to what Bluetooth uses which makes pollution or noise very much abundant hence the need for the said noise cancellation technology. There are a lot of wireless Bluetooth headsets on the market for all kinds of devices such as mobile phones a comparison of which can be found on many reviews on the net with a certain search.

Technical Aspect of Things

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Understanding Technical Issues

People would often have to cram and do immediate research to get a full understanding of a particular area of concern. People have to resort to doing search queries, resorting to periodical content and even reaching down to known reference books such as an Encyclopedia or the Almanac, to be able to get a full overview of what a particular topic or subject matter is all about.

While such is a given, there are people who can give their two cents worth of opinions and stored knowledge as well. This all stems from these individuals who have put emphasis on certain areas of interest that include electronics, travel and history. Not all people are expected to invest such effort and time since every individual would want to cater to a lot of things with nothing particular to specialize in.

Ideally, such knowledge from people which are tagged geeks at some time would go as far as holding technical information such as content, components and workflow processes. Such areas are not given much attention in the normal phase of life. But such are investments to which one day; such stored and solicited knowledge shall be of big use towards other people and big entities who seek better knowledge as well.

Wireless Laundry?

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Some ideas are good, even great. Then again there are some ideas that maybe should remain just that – ideas. Check out this “innovation” that several washing machine companies are testing – wireless laundry. The idea is that the modern person is very busy such that doing mundane tasks such as laundry can be relegated for other more worthwhile activities.

So how is it supposed to work? Currently undergoing testing right now, the wireless laundry scheme connects washers and dryers to the Internet or cellphones. When a cycle is done, the user can be notified wherever he or she may be, whatever he or she may be doing. The system can also inform the user if the wash load is too much or if there is a clog in the machine.

The whole experiment is getting a lot of mixed reactions. Some think it’s a brilliant idea. Indeed, not having to run down to the basement every few minutes to check on the laundry is convenient. Yet some think that it’s like trying to fix something that isn’t broken. In other words, frivolous.
As for me, I think it could work, although it’s not really a need. Convenience is the name of the game here. If you can save up several minutes to do other things instead of wasting time checking on the laundry, then why not. Then of course, there is the issue of cost.

Call me a cheapskate but if this little “innovation” is going to cost me big bucks, then I’d rather stick with the old ways.