Looking for Recommendations on Real World Things

I am going to lump together a few things I have been looking for into a single post to see who recommends what in the hope that it might help break a log jam or two.  Normally I save these sorts of “not quite gaming related” posts for the weekend, but I figured I would try to catch some of you bored at work on a Friday.

USB Headset Replacement

I have a five year old Plantronics .Audio 510 USB headset that performs very well.  The sound is good and the mic boosts my very quiet voice so that people can actually hear it.  And it kills background noise very well.  Using it was a requirement when appearing on podcasts, back when I was getting invited to appear on podcasts.

And as a unit, it remains simplicity itself.  One USB plug and you’re done.

For the visually oriented

The only problem with the whole thing is that they are a bit too small for my head in just about every dimension.  I can wear them for an hour at a stretch no problem, but after that they start to annoy, irritate, and eventually hurt at about the three hour mark.

I replaced the Plantronics set with a Turtle Beach Ear Force X11 set a while back.  The new set was very comfortable, I could wear it for hours on end.  The mic was decent and sound was okay, even if connections were a bit more complex.  It isn’t just a simple USB plug.

X11 Exposed

So I started using that at home while I brought the old set to work where having the USB powered mic helps with speech app work I do and lets people actually hear me on conference calls.

The problem is that the X11 has not proven to be a very durable unit, and less than two years down the road, the headset was coming apart, the mic was crackling (much to the annoyance of the rest of the instance group), and the volume adjust/mute fob on the cable was clearly on its last legs, feeling loose and likely to break at any moment when I used it.

So the X11 set had to go.

As a stop gap, I now drag the Plantronics set back and forth with me to work.  But I would really like to get a headset that works as well and is as durable as the Plantronics.  I would buy another one of the same model, except that they don’t make it any more (I am not buying used) and all of the new Plantronics models are different enough that I won’t buy them sight unseen.  And, of course, there is no place I can go to try them on.  I am not one of those people who can rip open sealed boxes at stores just to see if something fits, and my wife won’t return things to Fry’s for me.

So, I am looking for, high quality, durable, USB powered, headset with noise cancelling mic.  Comfortable for fat-heads like me would be a bonus.

Video Editing Software Upgrade

Over the last couple of years now I have have created a few video for YouTube related to gaming.  They have tended to be pretty simple  Part of the reason for that was because simple was what I wanted;  import video, trim video, add credits, add music, and upload to YouTube.   But another part is that the video editing software I use, Windows Live Movie Maker is really geared towards simple.  It doesn’t do much more than I have already done with it.

But now I feel I want to do more.

That means going out and spending some money on some better software.

However, within my budget, which is the ~$99 price range, there are a number of options, and choosing between them is hindered by my inability to articulate what the “more” I want to do really is.  I’ve only been in the video editing kiddy pool so far, so I am not sure what the options really are.  The only aspect I am pretty sure I don’t need is any high end audio editing, as I have a couple of such packages for doing just that sitting on my shelf already.  Audio I do at work.

And, of course, I don’t wholly trust the end user reviews (when did shipping problems become a reason for a 1-star product rating?)  or the glossy data sheets one finds at the company web sites.  So if you used a video editing package in my price range and are happy (or even unhappy) with it, let me know.

Should I Sell My Soul to U-verse or Xfinity?

I think I have a quorum  now that agrees that our seven year old DSL plan is not giving us the bandwidth we clearly need as a household.  Basically, even my wife is complaining about interned speeds now, while my daughter thinks YouTube is a radio and streams videos just to listen to the music while she draws on her iMac.

Due to where we live… Silicon Valley FFS… I cannot just call up AT&T and ask them to boost my DSL package.  I have all they offer for losers like me who dare live so far from their local CO.

So, to get a speed increase, I have to buy into one of the separate upgraded services.  This leaves me with only two choices at my address, AT&T’s U-verse and Comcast’s Xfinity.  Both can theoretically bring me an internet only upgrade, though I wouldn’t be surprised to find strings attached or other barriers in place.

Battling for my immortal soul…

The question is, which one to choose.  Having the phone company on one hand and the cable company on the other is clearly a no-win situation.  I have no love for either company, neither the reassembled AT&T deathstar nor the Comcast cable anaconda.

So the question probably is, which one will hurt me the least?  I have heard bad tales about both running with “up to” bandwidth numbers that are nowhere near what you end up getting or that either company will screw you on bandwidth if you try to order without their TV package.

Thoughts and/or experiences with either service?

Bonus Questions

Anybody have any experience with devices like the Lag Buster that Cringely wrote about a while back?

And, to totally leave computers and electronics, is anybody else in the market for a new dog kennel… I mean a new mattress?  My wife’s work and research has come up with the Simmons Beautyrest as the most likely candidate for us at this time.  But to me, buying a mattress seems to be somewhere just behind buying a car in anxiety about making the wrong choice.  The end result, in this case, is literally “you made your bed, now sleep in it!”