You are reading this as you’ve just paid out 100+ Euros or 160 USD, you’ve bought a camera USB plug in adapter and you cannot use your Blue Yeti microphone with your iPad right!

• You’ve seen the error: “Cannot Use Device – The connected USB device requires too much power.”
• Now time for the good news: There is a solution to get the stomping Yeti working.
• And the bad news: Means downgrading your iPad + there’s a few more steps you must follow

The Yeti Eats Too Much Power For the New Apple iPad iOS

Why doesn’t the Blue Yeti work with my iPad?

Apple iOS 4.2 altered the maximum power that a device is allowed to draw. So yes, Apple has broken the functionality between devices drawing on iPad’s power.

Bottom line, your Blue Yeti is now an expensive paper weight and Apple as much as I love them, ought to have enabled a feature whereby people may choose the power they wish to draw.

FYI: Previously iPads over iOs 3.2.2 worked with 100MA. That had just a smidgeon of power left over for the Blue Yeti to work. News around the net has asserted  iOS 4.2 works at around 20MA  and iOS 5 around the same.

So, what are my options?

• To get the iPad working you will need iOS 3.2.2 or below.
• You can get this quite simply by going to an Apple store and asking nicely OR… check out TECHTOSH and try it yourself.
• I think I’m going to go GENIUS.

Yeti's Spark Digital that may work with iOS iPad but not iPhone

Worst case scenario: Sell off your Yeti or save your money and wait for Yeti’s spark digital

Is there another way around downgrading the iPad?

None that I’m aware of.

But I’ve heard of other solutions like adding Power USB hubs

People have suggested using a powered USB hub. Note this does not work and has been reported in quite a few places it will not work with 4.2. You’ve been blocked out!

Once you have downgraded to 3.2.2 you have to follow the next steps.

• Keep the Blue Yeti’s power down by moving the gain button so it’s turned about 1/4 or a 1/3 up from zero. I say zero as zero is not 100% muted.

• Always keep the headphones plugged in. If you don’t you’ll get a too much draw on power error and probably break your iPad

• Remember as soon as you unplug your headphones the error will come back!

• Or wait until Yeti Digital Spark comes out.

I hope this helps you. It’s a sad day when technology fails to help and that Apple could add in a measure Don’t forget to comment!

I’ve made a Linked In group to help businesses and business pro’s here in Barcelona, Spain flourish.

Simply the concept is give and take. You may just give.

The idea is to ask various business questions to various seasoned professionals. One or more may choose to answer the question at the event as long as the two professionals answering are not in direct business competition with the group.

Each attendee has 40 minutes to input to each question. The format is done via

1. Qualification of problem and generic Q&A from whole group – 5 mins
2. Focus on the results from the above – 5 mins
3. Expert directly answers question – 20
4. Re-Focus – 5
5. Summary and actions - 5 mins

In essence, joining the group opens up the door to future discussions outside the group. Each attendee even if they are not the expert for their question they may impart advice to someone else. The expert’s strength will permit another expert to attend and who will answer their questions.

It is to be a face to face networking event whereby you know what question you will have answered , putting you in front of people who want to help and learn. It is not intended as a platform for vendors and there is to be no hard selling. Vendors may join but your expertise must shine and impress other attendees. Your mettle will be tested and rated.

The rationale for creating such a group? One, that vendors have to offer something in return for their expertise. It’s educational and by attending you KNOW your question will get answered. It’s quick, easy and face to face. It’s to create trust and further contact if it’s necessary. It’s a group in Barcelona where everyone’s a winner!

Example of business problems and solutions:

• Online company, with no experience of offline branding or generic public relations. You wish to create off-line publicity.
• The off-line PR professional wants to know about technical business work flow solutions. No prior experience as one of their clients wishes to use online collaboration. They don’t understand the concept.
• The work-flow software sales person wishes to explore online lead generation, what’s new and what they can do!

Solution:

• PR processional helps the online company.
• The workflow professional helps the offline professional.
• The online company helps the work-flow sales person!

Wow.. so instead of DIRECT networking where there’s one person and one vendor, we’re bringing together people with non-related business questions. Each person will access how they can strengthen their advice [so making more precise identification of problems]

Bottom line: 

No hard sell, it’s share and learn. We will aim to have no conflict of interest by those invited to events. If there are two competitors, the first one to reply will be favoured at this time. As time goes on, we will look to have open ratings so even those giving advice can learn the arts of consultancy and parting advice.

We hope to start in Feb 2012. As of yet venue has to be worked out. The idea is to make this NO-COST!

Please ask me questions below: Join by request… to the Linked In Group. Note: This is only for professionals in Barcelona, Spain!

Give, Impart, & Make 40

Outline & Rational For Buying iPad 2 accessories

I recently bought some iPad2 accessories. The official ones would have come close to 150-180 USD. I paid under 70 and postage and packing was FOR FREE. Yes.. for free, well 1 cent to Europe. So it’s by all intensive purposes for free.  So, my rational.. to keep down the cost and get some value added iPad 2 accessories.

So that you know, I’ve included all the items below + included the prices which were correct at the time of purchase. I copied in the prices from the actual invoice so there’s no complications.

Below are my reviews for these items + links + pictures from the Deal Extreme site. I’ve not come across another site offering the same build quality for unofficial Apple iPad 2 accessories anywhere else.

Later on you’ll see pictures that are a bit scrappy but it’ll give an idea. If you come across some.. Let me know below

What I was looking for in iPad 2 Accessories

I was looking for an iPad 2 cover which protected the back of the iPad 2, an iPad 2 docking station, an iPad 2 wireless keyboard and an iPad 2 iRig adapter for music on the go. I opted for an Orange colour as I like that colour. They produce the same [read similar] colours as Apple’s own. Note, the only official thing I bought was the iRig adapter.

My iPad 2 Accessory needs:

• I want to use an iPad 2 on the move to play music, so I needed a DAWS adapter which was small, functional and has low latency. Amplitube make one.. so I thought let’s give this a try… So I looked on deal extreme and found it super cheap!
• I need to write lyrics, so I need a iPad 2 wireless keyboard so I can quickly type without making the screen greasy. This can also function for work and mobile needs per se.
• I wanted to protect the front and back of the iPad. Apple’s official cover does NOT protect the back of the device.
• I need a iPad 2 docking station so I can charge and use it as a media centre.

There’s a massive cost saving on these purchases. So… if you’re clubbing up to buy a present for a friend or an associate, its a no-brainer to buy some cool accessories.

Review of the items I bought

All in all, I like the unofficial ipad 2 wireless keyboard. It has the same metallic finish and it’ll work with an iMac etc. The only differences from the official one are the difference in printing on some keys. This is probably to avoid trademark problems. It pretty much looks the same. Unless you’re an Apple snob, you don’t notice that it’s not official. It comes packed with 2 batteries, but it’s worth getting some rechargeable ones! Comes in at 20 odd dollars… that’s a 20-30 dollar saving.

The unofficial ipad 2 docking station is very good. It holds the pad and fits in snug. It comes with an extra cable to connect it to your machine. This cable fits snug and the build quality is great. It’s very light and can obviously be used to charge and dock iPhones and iPods.It’s just 5 dollars. This is a saving from the official one by 10 dollars.

The unofficial ipad 2 smart wake up cover, overall I’m happy with it. I think perhaps a darker cover from the manufacturers would look nicer. The finish is the same. The key difference is that the surrounds have cut plastic. Apple’s own is smoother. So.. take out some smooth sandpaper and smooth it down. You’ve got a saving of 20 dollars here plus NO scratches on the back of the device! Bargain and smart!

My iPad 2 Shopping List and Final Invoice

iPad recharging dock

USB Data Charging + 3.5mm Line Out Docking Station with USB Cable for iPad – White
Item# 42360 $5,75 USD 1 $5,75 USD

iPad Wireless Keyboard

81-Key Slim Portable Rechargeable Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard – White
Item# 45252 $29,99 USD 1 $29,99 USD
?r=70884376

Cheapest Official iRig Guitar Adapter for iPad

Designer’s Amplitube iRig Guitar Effects Adapter for iPhone/iPad
Item# 73519 $17,10 USD 1 $17,10 USD

Smart Wake Up Cover in Orange For iPad 2

Ultrathin Protective Wake-Up/Sleep Smart Cover Case for iPad 2 – Orange
Item# 80829 $15,60 USD 1 $15,60 USD

The P&P

Here’s the P&P. Okay, it was 1 cent.. but I kinda call that for free….

Registered Air Mail ## [TO EUROPE]
$0,01 USD

Subtotal
$68,45 USD

Payment
$68,45 USD

Where to find the Cheapest iPad 2 Accessories on the net [that I know of]

So, as I said above, the prices gave a MASSIVE cost saving. If you’re looking for a great iPad 2 dock, and an Ipad 2 cover that protects the back of the iPad 2 from scratching.. then go right ahead. The best deal for a musician is the iPad 2 iRig official adapter. This is a crazy deal! Finally the iPad 2 keyboard works with an iMac, so it’s a no-brainer! Go ahead.. go crazy!

About Deal Extreme

The Precision 3 Motion Controller for the PS3

Deal-Extreme, you’ve probably heard of this site? If not then let me introduce you to it. This is the site that’s saved my bacon, especially with Apple connectors, rechargers and cables that I didn’t want to spend 4x the price for something that is quite simple to mass produce. They sell official and unofficial stuff. I recently got an official amplitube iRig guitar effects adapter for the iphone/ipad for 10 EUR, 12 USD and it was official. So do check them out…

The Precision 3 Move Controller For the PS3

Back to the cheapest official move gun for the Playstation – PS3. It’s modeled on a Dessert Eagle and a Glock SMG.

It looks bad-ass and you can take away the navigation clip on handle if you’re playing something like time crisis. This is an ideal present for anyone who loves first person shooters.

I’ve tried the Move with KillZone 3 and Resistance 3. I highly recommend using a gun controller for added geek value and to impress your mates when they walk in the door.

I’ve seen mixed reviews for the Precision 3 move SMG / gun / pistol. You can see 2 video reviews below. The second review is quite good. A lot of people seem to talk about the motion controller’s quality. In the reviews, both seem convinced that it is actually very good!

If you wish to buy the cheapest Precision 3 motion controller pistol on the internet for the PS3, I’ve not come across a European site offering anywhere near this price. It presently retails at 9.83 EUR and $11.90 USD.

I’m unsure if this is new on their books at Deal Extreme. Reviews seem to edge towards the VERY good and good build quality for the Precision 3 move controller for the PS3.

Note: I don’t own one of these myself just yet. I think you’ll agree for just 10 bucks, it’s cheaper than Game’s own gun controller without having a navigation control grip and darn it, it can easily be resold on for the same price at your college, work or uni! So, it’s kinda a good investment.

About Deal Extreme

At Deal Extreme they do good and bad stuff, it does depend obviously what you’re looking for. I say, read the reviews before buying. However, they do official stuff as well.

They sell probably everything you have ever wished for from your corner shop. Yeah baby!

For us here in Europe, the site is very cheap and the cost of sending stuff through the post [i.e. postage and packing] is… FREE!

This really puts deal extreme up there with my most favourite places to shop online when I need some specialist cable, but I have time to wait.

Order it soon for Xmas

If you’re stateside and reading this, order it now for Xmas. It’s an ideal present for kids and big kids of all ages and probably the most fun Playstation Move PS3 accessory for die hard first person shooters. For Europe, you’ll be cutting it close to get it before the 25th December. Still.. if you’re in Spain, then it can wait for Reyes! hahaha.

Buy the cheapest precision move PS3 controller here. It’s quite hard to use Deal Extreme’s search engine, so I do recommend you use the link so you can go there direct.

Video Reviews of the Precision Move Controller

Anyway, here’s a few reviews so you can see what people are saying about the playstation precision 3 controller on the net.

Everyone complains about vegetarians. Hey.. they only eat salads, hate the smell of meat etc etc right? Wrong. I hope to demonstrate that any pros working in social and business events pays very close attention to the niche. Those that offer a variety of carnivorous and vegetarian friendly foods plus with a little SEO can make some serious money and repeat business.

Well, I’m a vegetarian, 20 years and going on some, and I’m perfectly fine and healthy. Let’s not talk about me. The mainly carnivorous Spanish restaurants, where I live and work, are loosing out on business from very wealthy multinational companies. Why, as there’s a great deal of Northern Europeans, Middle Eastern and Americans who have health allergies and food preferences. Hey, I’m a veggie because of taste. This makes any type of business, events, and networking event a deal maker or a deal breaker. Let me explain….

It boils down to the feeling of exclusion. This results in discontented people / candidates not returning, going or leaving early from events. I frequently do this, as simply I think, you don’t think about me then, you don’t care or want my business!

Think every food type, for every event

I work as a marketing director. Having organised a plethora of offline events, one has to make sure everyone is catered for. Anyone who’s worked in events will know. Did you forget that Jake was Jewish and doesn’t eat the pork starters? Or how about Janine who’s Muslim and doesn’t eat that beef that’s not halal.

Now, you don’t have to be a genius to work out that some of the most envied, rich countries in the world like Saudi Arabia or at a media event, with the main shakers from Warner, could be invited to an intense networking evening when you don’t offer finger or sit down food that caters for them. Why? As you’ve not thought about them.

Meal taker, Deal Breaker

Everything is perfect at the event. But a close conversion don’t drink and the food.. well that neither. Ice breaker, a few stale jokes then perhaps. Deal breaker - definitely.

What’s this? They’ve spotted a restaurant down the road or are busily flicking through google maps or foursquare as they’re getting HUNGRY! Events organisers make the whole thing work. They put hours into the event. However, time and time again, even from the larger events group organisers, I see the same mistakes. You don’t think about me, you bought me here, you insulted me. I’m 20 seconds on foursquare and that deal your CEO was hoping to get. Well, they’ve left the building.

I was at one event in Germany a few years ago. The same thing happened. It was ironic that one of the sponsors was after a guy who was vegetarian. We left as I was getting hungry before he made his way to us. We kinda were disappointed, and hungry and felt let down.

I ended up with a great media contact, and we still joke about the event and the fun we had finding the other place and sharing some great wine.

Now, what happens if the deal you’re hoping to sign falls down because of that? What if I was the major competitor of your company and wanted to seal a deal and took the opportunity [being of a food type preference or not], to change my perspective and to make the other person equal? I’m talking business, I’m eating vege food.. so what? Business IS BUSINESS right? Wake up, as is social media finding and connecting to people like us, how come we’ve not worked this out in the real world?

Now I’ve kind of put it into perspective, being vegetarian is like any other respected choice. It makes or breaks deals. It makes the event for your guest, a non event.

Simply put, if you don’t offer plates that can cater for vegetarian friendly people, that’s one other nail in the coffin. The short sighted restaurants, with unimaginative chefs or managers can and will loose valuable business.

The Spanish Restaurant Market Failure To Address Food Preferences

I’ve been to very luxury restaurants and hotels and the only thing they could serve up, 9 times in 10 is risotto. My personal unimaginative dish is fried or grilled vegetables on toast. I can personally make hummus in about 10 minutes, another 10 in the fridge using ice and it can seem like it’s been there for some time.

My question is how about offering some other Spanish tapas, other than pork, pork, pork.. and ermm.. pork. How about some Moroccan / Arabic influence which is a little spicy? Potatoes and Onions fried is nice. How about tomato soup with pimenton / paprika.

Did I ever attend one class in cookery ever? No. So how come educated chefs can’t think out of the box. Oh, and by the way, my girlfriend can make 2 vegetarian courses in 30 minutes, so there’s no excuses.

When vegetarians mean lost business for restaurants. It’s not about the meal deal price, it’s how easy other options are found

Anyway, now the ball is on the other foot. Event organisers, like marketing pros know that it’s the small things, especially their pet hates, or morals/ethics that determine how loud people can be. You upset a few of the crowd, then poison has been added to the wine. So, what does the smart professional do? Look for somewhere that offers selection for everyone. This is based on the worth and the ROI for the event. For social events, it means the ante needs to be set higher.

This means all those great hotels offering deals will be overlooked on Google for others that make it easier for busy secretaries and events pros to find. Result, lost business, even calculating in the price of the event.

I always ask now as luckily I’m involved with decision making processes for the company.

I make sure that I know people’s food preferences, background, allergies etc.

I then find places that cater for this. Seasoned events specialists do the same.

So, if you wish to attract the oil money, a lot of amercian jewish players [there's lots in the Fortune 500], anyone with food allergies and vegetarians plus vegans, you’re actually talking about a HUGE loss in profit.

Solutions for Restauranteers

Simply offer 2 dishes for those on a kosher diet. Halal is harder, however I do understand that the meat is actually tastier.

Food choices for vegans, vegetarians and gluten allergic, these are very, very simple to offer. You place this on a menu, do a bit of basic SEO, put it on 4 square and you can enjoy another rather profitable and loyal market coming your way.

Those that do not follow this simple advice you may be very successful with your restaurant however choice of venue is often down to the weakest link? When vegetarians and other food preferences mean lost business for restaurants, you’re a fool to think that within Spain, in a downturn in the economy that attracting new, repeat and loyal business isn’t a sensible idea.

They mentioned that Play.com was offering Resistance 3 for a bargain rate. I thought, bah.. probably a few quid off. I guess it was for Hallowe’en, or they had an offer using HotUKDeals?

I went to the site and got the game for 22.49 EUR, it’s even got Move compatibility!

It now seems to have gone up in price again, see my receipt below.

Item: Resistance 3 (PlayStation Move Compatible)
Price: EURO 22.49

I hear it’s shipped, so either play.com had a bad price and honoured it.. yay for them.. or Hallowe’en had ended. I think the latter.

Sounds like a plug, but I’ll be following HotUKdeals a little more closely. I’m looking for another mobile phone Sim Free.

Let’s hope the boys come through!

They have posted that there’s some deals for iPads.

Trending: IPad2 (and all other tablets) – 2 year guarantee and free delivery £399.99 at John Lewis http://hukd.net/s/1hwh, but I think it’s for the lowest pad without 3g :-D

• Post updates directly from a company overview page
• Sharing company announcements etc
• To directly engage directly your followers and subsequently possibly their network

When you first get to the page I was expecting something like Facebook, updates go at the top of the page right? No, it took me some clicking to find the new functionality.

It’s a little hidden under your followers. It’s titled Linkedin Company Pages.

Here is what it looks like.

Only designated admins can actually post updates, so you’re going to have to make sure your PR/Marcoms department have that right over the LinkedIn company profile.

You can read the FAQ on company updates from LinkedIn here.

Recently, I purchased a great Samsung TV for use in a spare room. I was made aware that the TV doesn’t support HDMI for the PS3.

I had 3 cable connector options, normal AV [audio visual connection and component] and HDMI to component. I settled with AV to component.

I had tried the following combinations:

• HDMI to HDMI: Obviously… - result – no screen display
• PS2 AV cable – result – no screen display
• HDMI to component – result -no screen display
• AV to 3 pin AV – result -no screen display

Problem

You have the right kit, and you want 1080 resolution and want to kick some butt. You have bought a AV, component and a HDMI connector port, but it still shows up as ‘no signal’.

The problem with the PS3 is that it fails to automatically generate an output signal based on the connector that is inserted into the PS3 device. Sony, have placed too much control on the part of the user.

Process

The solution is so simple you are going to kick yourself. The problem is that you will need a good friend to help you. This friend has a HDMI compatible TV with the PS3. As far as I know, there is no other way around this by inserting the correct cable. If you happen to buy a PS3 out of a box, perhaps it might work right away. If you’re downgrading screen resolution / capability like I did, you might come across this problem.

1. Ask a friend to bring around a HDMI compatible TV.
2. Connect the PS3 to the TV via HDMI to HDMI cable
3. Fire up the PS3 and it works right away right? Perfect screen etc
4. Voila. If the PS3 doesn’t have any graphic interface problems, it’s working fine. Don’t rush to the shops just yet.
5. Go to this page on the Sony site: http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/videooutput.html
6. I got it working using the second selection: Component / D-Terminal *2
7. Go through parts 5-10 from the manual on the Sony site.
8. And your done.
9. Unconnect the HDMI to HDMI cable and insert your AV to Component into the TV and Ps3. Previously you had no screen display. Now you ought to see it displayed!
10. Just adjust the PS3 menu to the graphic size of your choice when playing games. Best to test it for 30 seconds and press the X or O button.
11. Buy your friend a beer for bringing over the TV
12. Let your friend win a few games :-D

Conclusion & Follow Up

It’s a pity that Sony doesn’t have an auto-detect output when you fire it up. I am going to try the HDMI to Component selection next.I had hoped by now with all the various updates that this would have been tackled.

At least I have the most basic version running. I have noticed that the screen update is a lot more laggy than HDMI.

I had a conversation the other day with a friend who was going to furnish their apartment. I head heard on the grape vine that San Gervasi in Barcelona was a great place to find second hand, high quality cast offs.

On one hand, I could see the attraction, in let’s say London. In the UK, buying second hand isn’t a bad thing. In Spain, there’s shops like Humana, a bit like Oxfam but is alleged to take a HUGE proportion of the selling price as profit while donating a small percentage at actual charity. This is unlike Oxfam, which is alleges to give a lot more to their own causes. So, is second hand a viable option when socially frowned upon?

I would guess that there are markets, such as landlords and perhaps bars that can be furnished quite cheaply. However, does it really need a mafia street gang? Additionally, is it really cost effective when prostitution and human trafficking has lower overheads?

The story continued from my associate who said their friend had been accosted by Barcelona ‘heavies’ [mafia] after they had absconded with some furniture. They reported that each area of Barcelona had it’s own collection crew. Living in the Eixample, perhaps here it’s not so high-end as say Zona Alta. However, I’ve seen quite high end PC’s and even a Mac once thrown onto the street here. Working in real estate, I know the better areas of the city… but still, it doesn’t add up.

I could assume that electronics would interest the mafia, as using a motherboard registered to someone with a MAC [not an apple Mac] address might be useful with ‘buying time’, on a crime. But, second hand furniture? For one, it’s bulky, two, the overhead in removal and delivery, plus the chance of restoration is quite low. Okay, it’s for free, but the overhead? In the scenario described there were three heavies working this ‘yard’. Sorry but I don’t find it convincing enough. I believe there would be more money in shifting petty theft items, maybe original passports than furniture.

I remain unconvinced. I may have missed something. Let me know below what you think.

Introduction:
Why I needed to restore my Samsung NC10 back to factory settings

I was gutted. I went away a weekend, hoping to enjoy my wi-fi on my mean slick NC10. What happened, basically total Samsung NC10 breakdown. I was ready to trash it. I thought, hey I could backup and restore my Tosh notebook why not this one.

It’s easy to restore a Samsung NC10 back to factory settings

After reading this you’ll be beating yourself over the head how easy it is  to restore  a Samsung NC10 back to its original settings, or even clean wipe the hard disk if you wish to sell it on to others. Other forums and help sites [asking for sign up fees] are useless in the first three pages of google.co.uk.

I did however find the answer. You can find it here. But before you go.. I can tell you how to do it here. And it’s easy to restore an NC10 back to it’s factory settings, or at least minimally to set up the major windows files back in place. You’re given three options: restore major files on the NC10, backup NC10 or clean wipe the NC10 [factory settings and loose all].

How to restore an NC10 back to factory Settings

Press the on button and immediately hold down F4 key. Keep it held, yeah baby, an MS DOS screen shows up with RESTORE/CLEAN WIPE/BACKUP your Samsung NC10. Never have you loved to see a MS DOS screen so much!

Up pops a blue fresh screen with the three options I outlined earlier. Choose what you desire.

The Samsung NC10 ought to come with 2 partitions [a C/ and D/ drive]. Before you do a clean wipe, make sure you’ve copied over all your word / pics / videos / music etc to to other partition. So if you’ve not done it now, then I suggest you do, or at least  try in MS safe mode on start-up and see if you can.

Normally, if you’re smart you would have at least one first backup that’s stored somewhere on the partition.

Still you’ll have to update it with all the MS updates etc.. but hey, your favourite playtoy isn’t a brick any longer!

Best of luck. BTW: This advice is pursued at your own risk with your Samsung NC10. You might have damaged hardware etc. Always pursue  IT help and advice with things you love. I’ve restored mine today, so I can give my advice some credence. It worked for me. If it works for you.. then please give me a thanks comment below :-D