Skullcandy Lowrider Review

I recently had the opportunity to try a pair of Skullcandy Lowrider headphones.  Being an audiophile and a musician, I was excited to put them to the test.  I am pretty hard on my headphones. With the exception of my Shure E2c’s, I usually go through about 3 pairs a year. I don’t physically break them but the wires usually come loose and then I end up having to throw them out. I have seen the Skullcandy products in the stores before, but I have typically passed them up in order to purchase from brands that I was more familiar with, such as Sennheiser, Sony, Shure, etc. So when I received a pair of these headphones to try out, I was interested to see how they would stack up against the competition.

First, let me tell you how they look. They are definitely not your standard old style headphones. Skullcandy gives you plenty of options when it comes to colors. The pair I tried was blue and white and decorated with the Skullcandy logo. Most other brands only offer a single color option.

The headphones felt really comfortable to wear as well.  The headband was padded so you never felt that hard plastic feel that you get from other headphones. The earpieces also had a nice padding to them and felt comfortable on my ears. Another added benefit is that these headphones had a decent amount of metal construction. This helped me feel secure that these headphones would take a decent beating and still hold up well.

The warranty on these headphones and all other Skullcandy products also reassured me that these headphones were made for me. This is from their warranty information “Aggressive Listening Discount: All Skullcandy products that fail due to "aggressive listening"--that is, if Skullcandy products fail or break due to a crazy crash on the mountain or a violent head-banging session... or any other reason that is not a product defect, we will still hook you up!  Send in whatever remains of your product, and we will send you a coupon good for 50% off any product in our Online Shop.

Defective Product Replacement: We will gladly replace any defective Skullcandy product. Please write a detailed description of the problem below so our team can serve your needs quickly.” With a warranty like this, this may be the last pair of headphones you ever need to purchase. It will definitely save me money over the course of a year should they fail.

Now, let’s get to how they sound. I like to “break in” my headphones and speakers first before I put them to the test. So I set my iPod to half volume and played music through the headphones for 4 hours.  This allows the speakers a breaking in period. I then played various styles of music from Classical to Heavy Metal and everything in between. These headphones sounded great no matter what I played through them. I also played music at all volume levels. At the lowest volume, they still cranked out enough sound to block the sound around me.  At the loudest volume, they hurt my ears, yet still produced crisp sound that was not distorted. The highs were crisp and the bass was there but not over bearing. I really like these headphones and now carry them with me all the time much to the disappointment from my Shure E2c’s that now just sit on my shelf.

Do yourself a favor and purchase a pair of Skullcandy headphones. You will not be disappointed.

Blog Contributor
Chris Skrzypchak
Consolidated School District 158
Computer Literacy Educator

Wacom Intuos4 Review

Having never used a tablet before, I was really excited to try one out, especially since I was starting with a tablet that is made to be pretty sweet. Initially, it was hard to get used to using the tablet (and admittedly I was just excited to write my name successfully), but I would hope this would be the case with anyone who hadn’t used a tablet before.

The Intuos4 is extremely sensitive, and with the slightest touch to the tablet you are in action! The touch ring (similar to an IPod control) allows for zooming, scrolling, and changing brush sizes quickly. There are also a lot of software features that are fun to use, including a flick feature which can help you navigate internet pages or folders with a quick flick right or left acting as the forward or back button, and a flick up or down scrolling the page up or down.

Features I haven’t gotten to use yet:  Express keys, which I honestly don’t know if I will use much because I am used to working with keyboard short cuts. Different pen nibs and a nib remover are inside the pen holder so you can switch out the nibs for different types of work (which I admit, I didn’t catch onto until today) FREE SOFTWARE: Including Photoshop Elements 7 (or 6 for Mac), Autodesk Sketchbook Express 2010, or Corel Painter Sketch Pad. Check out this link for more info on the other free software you can get with an Intuos4 purchase

Windows 7 (and Vista) has A LOT of features for tablets, and working with the Wacom, I can use the pen input for just about any program. And easily accessible on-screen keyboard and handwriting input even allow me to skip the keyboard if I want to.

Cons:  It might be TOO much for me to handle, with a lot of features and functions I may not ever use. With research, I am sure it would be easy to find all of the cool things that come with using an Intuos4.

Pros: The tablet itself is really easy to use and catch on to, even if you don’t use all of the features, it makes photo retouching and illustrating a lot easier. It is very realistic, allowing for the feel of pen to paper as you move the pen around. It’s really small! It is great to just throw in my laptop bag and travel with. I bring it to and from work easily so I can use it on any computer I am using.

Blog Contributor
Naomi Cadwallader
Operations Manager

ScholarBuys Academic Marketing

**By the way, if you are interested in your own tablet please call us. We are very aggressive with our Academic Discounts! 

Camtasia Studio 6

Camtasia Studio Overview

I recently had the opportunity to download and use TechSmith's Camtasia Studio 6. If you are interested in screencasting look no more! This product has become the industry standard in screencasting. If you are not familiar with the term screencasting you are probably familiar with its function. Screencasting allows you to capture what is on your computer screen and display it in video or picture format. This is very helpful when creating tutorial videos or demonstrating a products functions online.


Techsmith provides a number of tutorial videos (screencasts) within their product. There is a learning curve with this product and the videos help immensely. I am the type of person who refuses to read the instructions on anything. I am not sure if it is out of laziness or my chronic adult ADD. Either way, I was able to just start this product up and use it. Anytime I got stuck I would refer to the tutorial videos for assistance. If only IKEA's furniture came with screencasts!


I highly recommend this product and plan on using it on future blogs. Screencasting allows you to review software, websites and anything on the web. You can add captions, audio, narration etc. So you will be seeing allot of this product in use on future posts!


Blog Contributor
Matt Ryan
VP Operations/Marketing
ScholarBuys Academic Marketing

Office 2010

Microsoft plans to release Office 2010 on June 15 2010. Any ScholarBuys customer who purchases Office 2007 between March 5, 2010 and September 30, 2010 will be given a free copy of Office 2010 when available. Currently selected customers can purchase Microsoft Office 2007 for $69 through our Student Select Portal. If your school is not listed on our portal please contact us for further instruction. 


Taking advantage of this offer allows you to get Office 2010 at the current low Office 2007 price!


www.shopscholar.com


Blog Contributor
Matt Ryan
VP Operations/Marketing
ScholarBuys Academic Marketing

Bamboo Touch Review

If you’re just starting to wean yourself off “The Mouse” and into the tablet arena or a designer who sometimes needs to quickly fly across the screen, Bamboo Touch is a great tool for you. With its small almost-paper-thin frame this Tablet takes up no room at all while being pen and touch enabled. It can replace your mouse and laptop touch pad if you want!
Cons: Sensitivity with the Bamboo Touch will get the most basic jobs done but graphic artists and illustrators may want to invest in one of Wacoms more specialized tablets (like the Intuos) for higher sensitivity and bigger size.
Pros: It’s small! Would easily fit into a suitcase, backpack or the pockets of those oversized harem pants you’ve been dying to wear.
Purchase Here
Video
Reviewer:
Sabella Flagg 

ScholarBuys Academic Marketing

eCommerce & Design Coordinator