It might sound corny but I have really been worried about all of us with this worsening economic climate. For those of you who remember when nOrh started, we started because Asia had an economic collapse. That collapse was severe – much like what the US and most of the world is experiencing now. In fact, the cause of the collapse was nearly the same. It started with bad loans on failed real estate projects.
I started nOrh because so many people that I knew were loosing their jobs and at the time I had some extra money which I decided to put to a useful cause. Every customer who bought nOrh products not only got a wonderful product, they also help get some people through the en comic downturn.
We experienced our own downturn after 9/11. While nOrh has been operating now for over 10 years, we experienced a big drop in business after 9/11. None-the-less, we continued to deliver high quality products at extremely reasonable prices.
I hope that everyone reading this will remain employed or quickly find employment. I hope that you all find that 2009 is a great year and that whatever hardships you might suffer are short and that prosperity will return soon.
As most readers know, I have been writing this newsletter for over 10 years. I have combined some of nOrh's and NorhTec's progress and used the pages to pass on opinions, information and other random thoughts. In the near future, I will create a blog and link to this from both nOrh and NorhTec. NorhTec has been a very existing project for me. We started over 8 years ago with the idea that the world was going to shift to energy efficient computers and that bet appears to be the right one. NorhTec has sold tens of thousands of computers.
In order to drive the idea of energy efficient computers harder, I teamed up with Eula Adams from the US and created Xcore (www.xcore86.com). Xcore has created a Device-on-Chip™, the Xcore86. The Xcore86 is a complete computer on a single chip. All that needs to be added is RAM and a few parts for the power supply. The Xcore86 is the least expensive and most energy efficient x86 computing platform at 1Ghz or higher.
In the next couple of months, a new NetBook will be made available using the Xcore86. This NetBook will be unique in that it is will be modular and easy to repair and upgrade. The new Gecko EduBook will cost about $200.00, feature a 8.9 inch screen and uses standard AA size cells to make it very easy to replace or upgrade rechargeable cells.
Gecko Edubook coming soon
The Xcore86 will allow for a new generation of low-cost connected x86 compatible devices. The Xcore86 has high definition sound so I am quite excited about the applications for home entertainment.
While at CES, we demonstrated one of NorhTec's small MicroServers, the MicroServer Sr playing full resolution 720p videos. The MicroClient Sr is a very low-cost, ultra-energy efficient, computing device which features integrated MPEG2, MPEG4 and H.264 decoding. Until recently, the only way to get full advantage of this decoding capability was to run Microsoft Windows and use the appropriate drivers. While this is a good option, the cost of Microsoft Windows is about the same as the cost of the MicroClient Sr.
Recently a new version of Puppy Linux was released that included Linux drivers. At CES, we were using MCPup301 to run high resolution video on the MicroClient Sr. The MicroClient Sr. is an ideal platform to create a media client connected to a dedicated VGA monitor. The MicroClient Sr is available from NorhTec for $200.00. MCPup301 can be booted from CF, hard disk or even a USB thumb drive. It is possible to play movies from USB dongle or stream from a network attached storage or any computer connected on the network.
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The new nOrh FR models are absolutely amazing. I am currently listening to last.fm these days. Last.fm is one of the coolest websites there for music lovers. Years ago, I used to listen to an alternative radio station in Washington, DC. I had to listen through a lot of terrible music to get to something I liked. The problem was, once I heard something I liked, I didn't know who the artist was. last.fm allows you to subscribe to generic channels of music – such as alternative or rock. You can also pick an artist. last.fm will then start playing music which other people who listen to the same artist like. The last.fm application will then display information about the artist, the CD and give you an option to buy online. It is amazing how complete the library of music is. I started listening by putting in the Neville Brothers and then the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Last.fm started playing appropriate music right away. A friend wanted to listen to Nigeria music so they typed in Tu Face and for the next several hours, she was able to listen to Nigerian music. I downloaded a last.fm client for Linux as well as for my Nokia phone. There are many clients that will play last.fm and at least one application, Lastripper, will save the songs as they are played.
I have my computer hooked up to a SE9 and a pair of FR7 speakers. The sound is astonishing. I can use Lastripper to create a batch of MP3s that I can then play back on my MP3 player or play back on my computer.
It is possible to run Puppy Linux or MCPUP (see above) with the MicroClient Sr to listen to last.fm. Here are some instructions on setting up last.fm on Puppy Linux.
We have a new 15 watt per channel tube amp coming out very soon. This will replace the SE 9. I can't really comment yet whether or not the new unit will do justice to the history made by the SE 9 or not. I have used my SE 9 for years without a single problem. The sound is very high-end. Now that I am using the nOrh FR 7.0s, I don't need any more power. The new amplifier will be 15 watts. Yuth has heard the unit but I haven't. He tells me the sound is great. I will only know once I hear it.
Our SE 9 supplier ran out of parts and doesn't want to restock new cases unless we have a larger order. We hope that some dealer or group will get together and put together an order for 20 or more SE 9s. If this happens, we can keep the SE 9 going. I don't think there is a better sounding amplifier for the money anywhere in the world. I also have the SE 18 and the SE 18 is even a step up from the SE 9. The SE 18 is still around.
Please pass this newsletter on to friends and family. Thanks.
Anyone wanting to reach me, please write to me at mbarnes at norhtec dot com. This is the best way to reach me. You can message me at NorhLoudspeaker on Skype as well.
Sincerely,
Michael C. Barnes
nOrh Loudspeaker Company, Ltd.
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