The Germans get serious about making great in-ear headphones

InEar StageDiver headphones

(Credit: InEar)

InEar is a new name to me, but it's an established German maker of high-end headphones. ALO's Ken Ball contacted me a few months ago about trying out some InEars and he sent over two models, the StageDiver 2 and StageDiver 3.

They look similar to custom-molded in-ear monitors from Ultimate Ears and Westone, but the StageDivers are universal-fit models that come with silicone ear tips. The large earpieces rest on the folds of your outer ear, so the fit feels more secure than in-ears that stick out from your ears. Both InEar models have user replaceable cables, and both are balanced armaturedesigns. The StageDiver 2 has two drivers, while the StageDiver 3 has three.

The sound is remarkably clear, but never lean or bass light. There's an open quality to the imaging I find attractive, and I could keep the StageDiver 2 in my ears for hours at a time without ever feeling fatigued. I listened to both StageDivers for several weeks -- that's longer than I usually have time for -- and was consistently impressed by their sound.

Next, I directly compared the StageDiver 2 with a custom $399 Ultimate Ears 4 Pro headphone that are molded to my ears. Both models use dual balanced armature drivers, so it was a fair match. First thing, the UE 4 Pro definitely produces better isolation from environmental noise, but purchasing any custom molded headphone requires a visit to an audiologist to make ear molds, and that usually runs $50 to $75. That's not required with the Stagedivers -- just pop on the silicone tips and you're good to go.

The UE 4 Pro sounds perfectly clear, but the StageDiver 2 has more "juice." Its richer and warmer balance flatters all types of music. Voices sound more natural; they have more body, and the bass and drums pack more of a wallop. Then there's the stereo imaging: it's wider and more spacious over the StageDiver 2. So other than isolation from noise, the StageDiver 2 outshined the UE 4 Pro in every way.

Next up, I pitted the StageDiver 2 against one of my reference in-ears, the custom-molded Jerry Harvey JH-13 ($1,099). That one was more transparent and pure sounding, but the StageDiver 2's richer tonal balance was still impressive. Moving up to the StageDiver 3 warmed up the balance even more, so if you like to really feel the bass, go for the StageDiver 3. The bass isn't muddy or bloated, there's just more of it. The StageDriver 3's big, wide-open imaging doesn't bunch up the sound inside your head. I'm not a bass freak, so I'd stick with the StageDiver 2. The JH-13 is better overall, but it's more than double the price of the StageDiver 2.

The InEar StageDiver 2 ($449) and StageDiver 3 ($599) headphones are available in the US from the ALO Web site.

California couple finds $10 million in buried treasure while walking dog

LOS ANGELES-

A trove of rare Gold Rush-era coins unearthed in California last year by a couple as they walked their dog may be the greatest buried treasure ever found in the United States, worth more than $10 million, a currency firm representing the pair said on Tuesday.

The 1,400 gold pieces, dating to the mid- to late 1800s and still in nearly mint condition, were discovered buried in eight decaying metal cans on the couple’s land last April, said coin expert David McCarthy of currency firm Kagin’s.

“We’ve seen shipwrecks in the past where thousands of gold coins were found in very high grade, but a buried treasure of this sort is unheard of,” McCarthy said. “I’ve never seen this face value in North America and you never see coins in the condition we have here.”

Kagin’s has declined to identify the couple, who according to the firm want to remain anonymous for fear treasure hunters will descend on their property in Northern California’s so-called Gold Country, named after the state’s 1849 Gold Rush.

The couple had been walking their dog when they came across a rusty metal can sticking out of the ground and dug it out. After finding gold coins inside they searched further and found the rest of the cache.

Also unclear is who hid the gold pieces, which were minted between 1847 and 1894, in a variety of 19th-century metal cans on land that eventually became part of the couple’s yard.

McCarthy said it was curious that the containers were discovered scattered across one section of the property at different depths, suggesting that they were not all put there at the same time.

The $20 gold pieces appeared to have been new when they went into the ground and had suffered little damage from being in the soil for so long.

McCarthy said the couple wisely refrained from cleaning the coins themselves and brought a sampling of them to him in little baggies, still covered in soil.

“I picked up one of bags. It was an 1890 $20 gold piece. It was covered in dirt,” McCarthy said, recalling when he first saw one of the gold pieces. “An area of the coin was exposed and the metal looked as if it had just been struck yesterday.”

His company took what became known as the “Saddle Ridge Hoard” to an independent coin-grading service, which found that it was comprised of nearly 1,400 $20 gold pieces, 50 $10 gold pieces and four $5 gold pieces. One of the coins, a so-called 1866-S No Motto Double Eagle, is said to be valued at $1 million on its own.

“The Saddle Ridge Hoard discovery is one of the most amazing numismatic stories I’ve ever heard,” said Don Willis, president of Professional Coin Grading Service. “This will be regarded as one of the best stories in the history of our hobby.”

McCarthy said Kagin’s will sell most of the coins on Amazon for the couple and that a sampling will be displayed at the upcoming American Numismatic Association show in Atlanta later this month

Apple issues fix for glaring security flaw on Mac computers

SAN FRANCISCO

Apple Inc has issued fixes for a security flaw in its Macintosh computers that allows hackers to intercept data such as email, patching a major and embarrassing glitch that came to light several days ago.

The security update for users of Apple’s OS X computer operating software follows a fix issued for iPhones last week, meaning all Apple device users now have access to the patch.

The flaw allowed attackers with access to a mobile user’s network, such as a shared unsecured wireless service offered by a cafe, to see or alter exchanges between the user and protected sites such as Google Inc’s Gmail or Facebook.

Governments with access to telecom carrier data could do the same, experts said.

On Tuesday, Apple said in a statement that the Mac security update also improved features such as its FaceTime videoconferencing service and email.

The flaw appeared related to the way in which well-understood protocols were implemented, and how Apple’s software recognizes digital certificates used by websites to establish encrypted connections.

Researchers have said the bug could have been present for months. Apple has not said when or how it learned about the flaw in the way iOS handles sessions, in what are known as secure sockets layer (SSL) or transport layer security. Nor has it said whether the flaw was being exploited.

A spokesman for the company declined to comment on Tuesday.

Beard transplants latest fad for Brooklyn’s hip young men

NEW YORK

Young men wearing pork-pie hats, knitted snoods and stylishly drab clothing are crowding doctors’ waiting rooms in a burgeoning trend: Brooklyn hipsters seeking beard transplants.

Toting photos of perpetually scruffy-faced actors like Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Gosling, an increasing number of men in their late 20s to early 40s are undergoing the procedure that can cost up to $7,000, Yael Halaas, MD, a facial plastic surgeon based in Manhattan said on Wednesday.

“The demand for it has definitely increased,” agreed Jeffrey Epstein, MD, a New York facial plastic surgeon who said he did 175 beard transplant procedures in 2013. “One reason is that whole hipster, casual way people like to look.”

Demand for the out-patient procedure completed under local anesthesia, which involves transplanting hair from the top of the head to the face, is growing quickly among those living in Brooklyn’s coolest neighborhoods.

“They are young people who live in Brooklyn, look cool and hip and tend to work in the visual arts,” Halaas said. “I’ve had pork-pie hats in my office and that kind of beige and olive wardrobe they tend to wear.”

New York’s coolest go as far away as Florida to undergo the one-day transformation without raising suspicion.

“We’re seeing Brooklyn hipsters,” said Glenn Charles, a cosmetic surgeon from Boca Raton, Florida, who said a third of his beard transplant patients are from New York.

“They are hiding away for a little while. It takes a week or so to heal up so you’ll have remnants of the surgery show for a week.”

Some smooth-faced young men ask for bushy beards, others are looking for a chic square of hair under the lower lip, known as a soul patch, Charles said.

Some patients seek to fill in bald patches caused by scarring, sometimes from acne, others have difficulty growing any facial hair at all on their own.

While 90 percent of the transplanted hair tends to flourish, it can take up to 10 months to see the full fuzzy result, Halaas said.

Now there’s a smartphone that will self destruct to save its keeper!

Boeing Co on Wednesday unveiled a smartphone that appears to come straight from a James Bond spy movie.

In addition to encrypting calls, any attempt to open the casing of the Boeing Black Smartphone deletes all data and renders the device inoperable.

The secure phone marks an extension of the communications arm of the Chicago-based aerospace and defense contractor, which is best known for jetliners and fighter planes.

Such a phone might have prevented damage to Washington’s diplomacy in Ukraine from a leaked telephone call. A senior U.S. State Department officer and the ambassador to Ukraine apparently used unencrypted cellphones for a call about political developments in Ukraine that became public.

Boeing’s tamper-proof phone is aimed at government agencies and contractors who need to keep communication and data secure, according to Boeing and filings with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

Made in the United States, the phone runs on Google Inc’s Android operating system. The 5.2-by-2.7-inch (13.2-by-6.9 cm) handset, slightly larger than an iPhone, uses dual SIM cards to enable it to access multiple cell networks instead of a single network like a normal cellphone.

Due to the phone’s security features, Boeing is releasing few details about the wireless network operators or manufacturer it is working with, and has not provided a price or date by which the phone might be widely available, but said it has begun offering the phone to potential customers.

Boeing’s website says the phone can be configured to connect with biometric sensors or satellites. Other attachments can extend battery life or use solar power.

The phone can operate on the WCDMA, GSM and LTE frequency bands and offers WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.

The company has been developing the phone for 36 months, said Boeing spokeswoman Rebecca Yeamans.

“We saw a need for our customers in a certain market space” that Boeing could meet with its technology expertise, she said.

A sample purchase contract submitted to the FCC says the phone would be sold directly by Boeing or its agents

Indo-Pak Express through to semi-finals of ATP 500

The ‘Indo-Pak Express’ came back strong after suffering from a setback to beat their rivals. PHOTO: AFP

DUBAI: Pakistani tennis star Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Rohan Bopanna managed to clinch a spot in the semi-finals of the ATP 500 Dubai Duty Free Championships on Thursday, reported NDTV Sports.

Dubbed as the ‘Indo-Pak Express’, had suffered an early setback losing the first set 5-7 to the powerful tennis duo of Mahesh Bhupathi (India) and Denis Istomin (Uzbekistan).

However, they rallied back 7-6(3), 10-7 through a super tie breaker to clinch the tie.

After playing two sets, the two pairs were neck-to-neck in the first 10 points after the tie breaker. Qureshi and Bopanna then took three points subsequently and put their rivals under pressure.

Bhupathi and Istomin were down by three match points, but only managed to save one as the Indo-Pak Express duo dominated the match within the span of 90 minutes.

The Indo-Pak Express will face Poland’s Tomasz Bednarek and Czech Republic’s Lukas Dlouhy in the semi-final.

Bolt nominated for Laureus award

Jamaican sprint ace Usain Bolt has been nominated for what would be a record fourth Laureus Award. PHOTO: AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: Jamaican sprint ace Usain Bolt has been nominated for what would be a record fourth Laureus Award, while US tennis player Serena Williams is also in the star-studded short-list, organisers said Wednesday.

Joining Bolt as nominees for the prestigious “Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award” are British distance runner Mo Farah, US basketball star LeBron James, tennis ace Rafael Nadal of Spain, Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and German Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel.

Besides Serena, the “Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year” could go to German football player Nadine Angerer, US swimmer Missy Franklin, Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia or Slovenian skier Tina Maze.

US golfer Tiger Woods has been nominated for “Laureus World Comeback of the Year”, together with Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho, Nadal, Isinbayeva and two others.