Sennheiser HMEC-461 ANR Headset Review

Overview:
This review covers one of Sennheiser's more popular aviation headsets, the Sennheiser HMEC-461.
Here is what I like about this product…
- At $730, it costs less than its competitors (Bose A20 = $1095, Lightspeed Zulu = $800)
- Superior noise reduction - Made with German quality
- You can plug your cell phone directly into the headset
- Best warranty in the industry (10 years)
- Very low clamping force
What I don't like about it…
- Clamping force is very low
Ok, let's look a bit deeper now…
Here is what you get:
- Active Noise Reduction (ANR) headset
- Bag to carry the headset and the related apparatus
- Clip to attach the wires to your clothes
- Owner's Manual
- 2.5 mm cable connectors for your cell phone and 3.5 mm jacks for playing your MP3 player
The most noticeable thing about the Sennheiser HMEC-461 is the light clamping force. At first, when you compare them with other high-end aviation headsets you immediately notice that they feel less stable on your head. The good thing is they feel very comfortable. The bad thing is they may be too comfortable, as in they feel as though they may fall off.
The type of ear pad material Sennheiser uses is also fine for short flights, but if your flights tend to be lighter than that, you will likely find they aren't as comfortable as Bose or Lightspeed's comparable products.
Here's how headset makers can suppress noise in the cockpit…
1. Passive noise protection
2. Active Noise Reduction
Sound is first blocked by the physical action of the ear cups.
Active sound reduction filters noise in a different way. First, the ANR system uses microphones to pick up noise in the cockpit. Then, it electronically matches the sound in opposite amplitude and frequency. This mirror-image of the original sound is then broadcast into the ear cup, thereby canceling the noise so you don't hear it.
What do actual users of the Sennheiser 461 have to say about the product?
- Only 2 negative comments out of a total of 33 found on the internet (that's a 94% positive rating).
The bottom line is, the Sennheiser 461 is an excellent headset but you have to check it in flight to make that determination. Almost any headset will work on a short flight of an hour or less. Where a high-end headset earns its keep is when your flights are longer.
It is wise to read the reviews on the internet and talk to other pilots before you move forward. The best thing of all to do is try several manufacturers' products under your actual flight conditions. Then, you have some field-tested data that leaves out the guesswork.
One last thing…remember - you can't regain the hearing you have already lost.
I have lost some of my hearing because of all those hours in a Cherokee 235 growing up in the 1960's flying with my dad. Very few people wore headsets in those days.
We all get busy, move on to other things, and neglect to take actions on things that aren't nipping at our heals. Hearing loss is so incredibly gradual you don't even notice it.
I wear an ANR aviation headset religiously now. There are a number of high-quality competitors for the Sennheiser HMEC-461, including the Bose A20, and the Lightspeed Zulu. If you try one and don't like it, exchange it for another until you find what you like. That is as easy to do through an online or bricks and mortar store.
There's just no way to know which one is right for you until you try several and pilot stores expect that.

Don't Buy An Aviation Headset Until You Have Read This Article Entirely

If you have been a pilot for any length of time - flying with or without an aviation headset - you may have already lost some of your hearing. You can't reverse the damage that has already occurred, so you need to take action now to protect what you have left.
Pilots experience damaging noise for long periods of time - that is unavoidable. The sound in the flight environment is intense.
First, there are 3 aspects of sound that define cockpit noise:
1. Frequency (Hz - Hertz)
2. Intensity (dB - decibels)
3. Duration of the sound
This is how some typical environments rate in sound intensity:
* Jet cabin - 60-88 dB
* Small single engine airplane - 70-90 dB
* Single engine helicopter - 80-102 dB
* Average office - 40-60 dB
* Major city street - 80-100 dB
* Chain saw/lawn mower - 100-110 dB
* Rock concert - 115-120 dB
Here are the sound limits before hearing damage occurs...
* Ear discomfort - 120 dB
* Ear pain - 130 dB
* Eardrum rupture - 140 dB
* Temporary hearing impairment - 2-3 hours of noise greater than 90 dB
* Permanent hearing impairment - 8 or more hours/day to sound greater than 90 dB for 2 or more years.
The worst thing is the way loud noises affect your flying:
* Distraction and fatigue
* Hard to make out what others are saying and difficult to understand them - in other words, you have to shout to be heard
* Decrease in personal performance by decreasing concentration
Here's what you can do about it...
Use hearing protection - here are your options:
1. Earplugs - wax-impregnated polyurethane are the best and block out the most noise
2. Aviation Headset - the cheapest ones just physically block the sound out
3. ANR Aviation Headset - these headsets block out the sound physically with the added dimension of matching cockpit noise with mirror-image sound that cancels out the noise
4. Combine earplugs with headsets - this is an extreme step, really only for super-loud environments over 115 dB
Conclusion:
You can't regain your hearing.
The moral to this story is to get aggressive with hearing protection while flying. You spend upwards of $500 for flight in many aircraft, so what is the point of skimping on a headset?
Check out your headset options today. Try several types and makes to see which works best for you. Aviation headsets are like clothes or shoes - what fits one person doesn't necessarily work for another.

Understanding USB Cables

In the world of cables, there are many types. One that has permeated the market is USB. USB is short for Universal Serial Bus and offers support for computer hardware, such as keyboards, mice, and storage devices. You can also find it used on items such as PDAs and cell phones. It has a maximum length of 5 meters, or about 16.4 feet. However, you can easily obtain longer connections by using hubs. Two common kinds are 1.1 and 2.0, with 3.0 gaining popularity as well.
USB 1, the original design, supports slower running items with a maximum speed of 1.5MB per second. USB 2.0 came along next and offers faster speeds of up to 40MB per second. It can be found on external hard drives, card readers, printers, scanners, and more. Both types can often mix and match, with each being found on the same computer or hub. While 1.1 hubs will work on 2.0 ports, they will still run at slower 1.1 speeds. And vice versa is also true; USB 2 hubs will work with older 1.1 computers as well.
These cables have several different types available. Type A is used on most devices, such as computer ports. Type B is seen on hubs. Peripheral devices are connected to computers through USB A-B cables. Mini-USB, 4-pin, is used for portable devices, often cell phones or cameras. Mini-USB, 5-pin, is also used for portable devices. However, the extra pin makes if perfect for cell phones and cameras as well as external hard drive devices, i.e., hard disk drives and optical disc storage. And finally there is Micro-USB. Micro-USB, as the name suggests, is considerably smaller than Mini-USB and will eventually replace it. You can find Micro-USB on smart phones and PDAs.
USB 3.0 came along more than ten years after the original (1996 to 2007). USB 3.0, also known as SuperSpeed, works ten times as fast as 2.0. It offers higher performance and better power management while still being fully functional for use on USB 2.0 devices. USB 3.0 only comes in Type A, Type B, and Micro-USB formats.
With its superior speeds and functionality, USB 3.0 is likely to one day replace all other USB devices. That day, however, is farther out than one might think. Currently, over 10 billion devices utilize USB 2.0 technology. In addition to widespread use, USB 2.0 is less costly and will coexist with USB 3.0 for many years to come. In time, the difference in cost will narrow over the course of many years and USB 3.0 will slowly become the industry standard for high speed external interfacing.
Overall, USB remains a household staple with all the technology we enjoy. Just about everyone these days has some sort of digital device, be it a computer, camera, or cell phone. Whether you use 1.1, 2.0, or 3.0, you now have a little bit more of an understanding of what USB is and the different types in use. And for those using high speed devices, investing in 3.0 now could be a smart choice.

The Future of Flipchart Easels - Nobo Kapture

Picture the scenario, you've just finished a three hour brain storming meeting and have lots of great new ideas to go away and work on. Only issue is the meeting notes were taken on a flipchart pad that is now spread across the meeting room and you need to get it back into some sort of order and type up all the notes. If this sounds like an all too familiar situation the the Nobo Kapture System might just be for you.
How it Works
Nobo Kapture digital flipchart solution that allows for written or drawn presentation content to be captured automatically and in real time. The system requires a Nobo Kapture Flipchart, a digital marker and a USB receiver and a standard Flipchart Easels. The Digital Flipchart Pad and Marker are the key components of the Kapture system. The pad is printed with a pattern of dots which recognise what you are writing (including Graphs and Diagrams) and then transmits this to your computer. The USB receiver with integrated Bluetooth technology and pre installed software captures the data from the digital marker allowing for the presentation to be edited and shared with others.
Getting Started
The Nobo Kapture starter kit includes a Digital Flipchart, Digital Marker Pen, USB receiver and configuration card. The USB receiver is plug and play and should install automatically, alternatively it can be downloaded from the Nobo Kapture website. Additional flipchart pads and pens can be purchased as and when required and the flipchart pads themselves will fit any standard size flipchart easel. Once the system is set up correctly capturing a presentation happens automatically and appears on your computer immediately. The presenter does not need to worry about monitoring the system and can focus on delivering their information or running the meeting.
Data Capture
The capture of data is activated by the pressure applied to the pad so a bit of experimenting prior to your first proper usage may be worthwhile. In order to ensure the accurate data capture all writing and drawing should be slow and deliberate so you may have to amend your presentation style to get the best from the system. However, the end rewards will be worth the extra effort and will save you time in the long run.
Editing the Information
You can edit directly from within the Nobo Kapture software and this is a great tool to help clear up the sheets and make them more legible.
There are a lot of neat functions that help make editing simple. Each pen stroke is recorded as an object which allows for quick amendments to be made. You can also cut and paste objects between different pages and rotate objects up to 360 degrees. You can also amend the colours of what's been captured so if you want to highlight key points in red and leave the rest as black then no problem.
Who Should Buy One
Any person or business who conducts regular meetings using a standard flip chart pad should give Nobo Kapture a serious look. It can be a big time saver when it comes to typing up the meeting notes and allows you to focus on what you're trying to achieve from the meeting rather than trying to keep tidy notes.

Desktop As a Service and Cloud Computing Solutions

For individuals that do not know technologies, you may not understand anything about Desktop as a Service. DaaS is a crucial application when it comes to remote access to your PC files. This requires a secure internet connection. You can be virtually anywhere and still be connected and have access to your personal PC files.
There is an increasing need from consumers for mobile access, and a lot of companies are contemplating DaaS systems in order to in order to generate a highly effective mobile system that is secure. This is a tremendous advancement in technology. Workers still possess accessibility to their own data files or company intranet. Dynamic PC systems provides computing systems for the internet. This platform significantly minimizes PC management obligations and will additionally manage cloud computing for DaaS.
DaaS may also be known as virtual PC. Furthermore, there are several third party companies that utilize this system. Usually, DaaS features multi-tenancy structures and also the provides back-end support. This certainly will include data storage, back-up techniques, all security issues as well as upgrades. The whole computer ends up being virtualized within the centralized data facility.
The actual DaaS technologies won't hold data on the actual computer All data is actually kept remotely. Employing this process keeps data secure and in a central location that cannot be penetrated by interlopers. If your notebook computer or cellular device is misplaced or stolen, the actual information is still secure.
There are numerous advantages of employing this specific program. This will produce new workstations very quickly. This platform offers dependable and scalable options through which enables businesses as well as other distributors can provide secured virtual workspaces. This is really accomplished in a very fast and beneficial approach. Data safety is furnished. It holds preserved data inside the secured data center as opposed to the actual mobile product.
Generally, this is an exceptionally adaptable and cost conserving process. Ease of access is definitely attained when you want without issues. DaaS will be able to operate with a variety of cellular devices. There isn't a need to install unique applications. The entire technique is central. It generates a significant amount of digital workspaces originating from a solitary source. This tends to generate a simplified process.
DaaS is considered to be a highly effective instrument whenever it involves virtualized platforms. It is really an essential process that is most certainly changing into a hugely popular system. This is extremely important these days with regard to users being able to get entry to their emails and files while on the go. This is required for business owners that travel often, they are going to have to be in a position to access their Computer without having to be on the real PC. This is certainly all made possible as a result of this innovative technology. This computer access is actually instantaneous.
DaaS moreover allows employees to communicate and share data over different platforms very easily. This is often realized in a very guarded environment. Personnel don't have to stress about others obtaining entrance to not authorized information. It also enables personnel accessibility to their very own Desktops from any region within the world. You just need an internet connection. Desktop as a Service offers overall security and safety as well as continuous entry.

Cloud Computing and Hosted Services Help Empower Your Business and Staff

All businesses, start-up, small, medium and large rely heavily on technology for day to day activities. Expectations around the technology are that it must be available 99.9% of the time and work. If it doesn't work, money is lost through staff not being productive through not having access to key information or the ability to reach out to clients.
Building and managing a technology infrastructure is costly. Capital must be used to purchase servers. And support contracts put in place for maintaining and keeping the server lights on.
The traditional approach to IT where a server has been placed in the main office along with a telephone PBX has been a solution which has worked well for a number of years.
Changes in staff working locations be it from home or when travelling and expansion to new office locations is challenging the traditional IT approach.
Additionally, maintaining a server is costly and upgrades are time consuming and expensive. Furthermore, when the server in the office is unavailable through loss of power, hardware failure or virus infections, the whole company is without the ability to access information and communicate with clients.
Cloud computing or hosted services are offering a compelling alternative to traditional IT solutions of installing and maintaining servers and / or a PBX.
Your current setup, working locations, numbers of staff and quality of connectivity will influence how much difference cloud computer or hosted services can help provide resilience for your technology and additionally help empower staff by enabling the right information at the right time wherever they are.
There are a great number of services available. Sound advice would be to ask an IT Support company who has a good knowledge to help understand how your business operates and suggest practical ways that cloud computing and hosted service can help empower your business and staff.
Below is a selection of services that are on offer:
• Remote desktops
• Remote servers
• Email
• File storage
• Telephone systems (VoIP)
• Application e.g. SAGE
A company with good knowledge of traditional IT support and cloud computing and hosted services will be able to quickly help you choose which cloud computing / hosted services are right for your business.
The process of implementing cloud computing and hosted services is usually very straightforward and will not impact your business in any way. Using a company with a good knowledge of cloud computing and hosted services will help you make a very smooth transition.

How to Choose a Cloud Backup Solution for Businesses

There are MANY cloud backup solutions on the market today. It has become very difficult to know which is the right one for your needs; everyone is claiming they are the best, the easiest, the fastest, etc. After 10 years of experience in the field and hundreds of thousands of hours spent on global analytical research I have put together a list of the most important factors to consider before choosing a solution:
1- In any business time is money. A key feature in a backup solution is simplicity when it comes to deployment and installation; zero hassle, zero employee intervention, zero headache. The installation should be seamless and take up little-to-no time to complete. Everything should be handled on a central, remote location on the cloud without the need to install anything on individual machines or on a complex local server.
2- Configuration should be done completely in the cloud throughout the entire company; there should'nt be a need to manually configure each machine with regards to the backup settings and what data will be backed up. A solution that requires manually setting up a backup policy/job configuration should not even be a consideration.
3- Why stress over using separate software to handle images of your hard disk stored on local locations when you can find a cloud backup solution that handles all of that for you? Using a cloud backup solution that supports complete DR will remove the hassle of worrying about local storage, servers, purchasing hard disks, etc.
4- For example: If you are away on a business trip and your Windows somehow gets corrupted you can easily repair your entire system from the cloud. With today's high-speed internet it will only take a couple of hours to get back up and running with all of your data, applications and settings intact.
5- Make sure that DR comes with "true" deduplication technology. If the Disaster Recovery is not deduped it will not be useful (Deduplication refers to backing up only one instance of a particular file throughout the world and using pointers to acknowledge who can access this file. This can be done on common files, such as Windows files to save both time and space) A true cloud solution is mandatory! Most cloud backup solutions use proprietary storage, backing up to their own personal servers. A true cloud solution means that your data will be stored in well known, first class storage facilities that duplicate your data throughout their global network of locations. Using a proprietary storage location has a great deal of risk since they are not as secure or reliable. In 2009 Carbonite lost the data of their customers due to proprietary storage failures. True cloud locations like Amazon, Nirvanix, etc. also have a risk but their risk is much smaller and backed with a guarantee to help protect you from such instances.
6- Block Level Backup, otherwise known as Delta Backup, is crucial. Block Level Backup breaks up larger files, that are changed often, into smaller pieces and only backs up pieces that have been modified. For example: Outlook stores all emails in one large.PST file, without block level backup your Cloud solution would backup this large file (around 1 GB) each time you receive an email which will tie up your business' bandwidth and is not very practical. Block level will allow you to only back up the modified sections of the file saving both time and space.
7- Security is obviously extremely important to all businesses. A backup solution is handling important data and time and effort should be made to make sure that it is secure. The key things to look out for is that the backup will be encrypted using AES-256 or higher, your backup is encrypted at the source and that you are given the ability to authorize personal encryption for key people in the company, such as the CEO.
8- One of the major benefits with leveraging the cloud is the ability to access your data at all times. Your backup solution should provide the same convenience. You should be able to access your backed up data through a web interface and/or your mobile device. By access this means the ability to restore, view, share and maybe even edit.
9- Speed!!! Backing up an entire computer, let alone a company, can be extremely time consuming. There are different technologies that help speed up the process; make sure the solution you choose uses these technologies. Most cloud solutions on the market are extremely slow and give little to no options when it comes to throttling the bandwidth. A backup solution that is slow negates all other fancy features that it may contain.
10- Strong management consoles are often overlooked. A powerful web console can make or break a backup solution. The management section should allow you to completely control your entire company's backup; You should be able to view reports and monitor activity, edit, add and suspend users, create/edit backup policies, control security, etc. all directly from the cloud. Many backup solutions on the market claim to have such management functionality, but at the end of the day all it does is handle the billing, which is important but not the only important thing. There is no point in backing up if you cannot restore. The backup solution you choose should come with a variety of restore options. Backup has come a long way from single file restore, emailing compressed files, or requesting a CD with the restored data to be shipped which can take a lot of time. In this fast paced day and age, time is of the essence, so restoring a file should be done in seconds. There should be several restore options, such as file restore, folder restore, drag and drop restore, restoring deleted files, restore from an older version, and complete Disaster Recovery restore. These options should also be available in remote locations such as from a web interface or a mobile device.
11- Data is critical and losing your data can be detrimental! Make sure the backup solution you choose gives you the ability to restore your entire machine easily and quickly in case anything were to happen to your data. You should have the option to restore data to its original location and even restore Windows files if needed.
12- Cost!!! As a business owner the last thing you need to worry about is another bill. Payment should be straightforward, one flat fee and without surprise charges.
13- Features and bells and whistles are great but if it affects your computer's performance it is going to slow productivity. You should not be able to feel the impact of a backup solution and it should never interrupt your work. To have different performance modes, such as battery mode or presentation mode, are key. For example: If you are presenting a PowerPoint to an important customer you should not have to feel a hang because a backup has started. The solution should intelligently notice that you are running a presentation and slow down the backup so that it goes unnoticed.
14- Finally, as a business, you need something that is simple to setup, worry free, and requires little to no learning curve. A set-it-and-forget-it type of solution is ideal.
Business wide backup is important, and with the increase in computer reliant data its importance is only growing stronger. There are many players in the market claiming to be the fastest, easiest, most powerful, and the best so it can become confusing. This article sums up all of the major features that should be mandatory when selecting a cloud backup solution. Without the core features such as the backup technology, user experience, restore options, seamless performance, and a safe and secure cloud storage facility, a backup solution will not be as powerful and as beneficial as it could be. The key is to look for a solution that is the complete package, provides complete protection, access and sharing options, and of course a fail safe such as a variety of restore options and disaster recovery in case something were to happen to your computer. This article should make choosing a company wide backup solution a little less confusing and allow you to benefit from all that a cloud backup can offer.