toys (for a gadget geek)
There are some new electronic toys in my life.
At work the design team got Dell 24″ widescreen monitors (1920×1200 resolution). Sharp, crisp, and sweet! A marked improvement over the low-end 19″ monitor I’d been using.
On the home front, I installed an audio auxiliary input jack in my Prius. I’d been waiting for Coastal Electronics to get their prototype in production, but finally gave up on them (in April I’d broken down and sent them a couple emails asking about its availability, but they never responded). None of the auxiliary input adapters I’d found on the web claimed compatibility with the Prius, and I got a variety of responses from distributors (including misinformation). In the end, I went with the PAC AUX-BOX. Their tech said they had inconsistent results and therefore couldn’t guarantee compatibility, but I’d read online reports of successful installs. I also found a great deal.
A couple Prius owners have created incredibly detailed installation guides for stereo adapters. I decided to try the one that only removed the lower glove compartment and vent panel to the right of the stereo rather than the one that completely disassembled the dashboard. It meant that I had to feel around behind the radio through a tight space, but figured it was worth a shot since I’d know within 20 minutes whether it was going to work (and after just a few minutes time removing the glove compartment and vent it seemed like it shouldn’t be a problem). After 20 minutes I’d managed to get everything connected and working. I spent a few minutes testing, turning the car on and off, switching audio sources, etc., and everything sounded good. I put the dash components back, but left the vent cover loose in case I need to get back in there. I’ll spend this week testing it with my old Rio500 MP3 player. If that goes well, I’ll have to get my newer player back from my brother.
