So I couldn’t find a decent notebook case that wasn’t gigantic {what’s the point in getting a small notebook and having a huge case?!?} The one sony that I would consider {PCGA-MBC13} was just too much money in my mind for something thats not leather.
I found a guy who makes custom cases and has done TRs in the past. He had three designs, none of which are remotely similar, but the one I got is exactly what I was looking for.
The case has the main compartment {for the notebook}, a front flap with a smaller compartment, and a detachable bottom compartment for the power cord. I love the fact that the bottom part is removable because I don’t always need to carry the power cord.
I pulled the case out of the packaging and I was overwhelmed with the smell. It must have been the nicest smelling leather i’ve ever seen. No joke. I paid extra for Cow instead of Lamb {I think those were the options}. The Lamb is softer but the Cow is more duarble…I needed durability. The leather felt great, smooth and soft, yet strong.
It is easy to remove the bottom compartment and the zipper goes around the entire case and then half around again to make sure it doesn’t fall off by mistake. Very nice design. The main flap has the words “Sony Vaio” indented…another nice touch. The flap is held closed by a magnetic clip similar to a womans pocketbook. A full leather shoulder stap is included. What was also included {although I didn’t know about it} was a 10ft retractable phone cable. Not that I will use it, but it was a very nice thought.
Overall the best ~$70 I’ve ever spent. 5 out of 5 stars!
If you want the case or to see one of the other designs contact:
AIM: maxflyjohn
or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
the jogdial is connect to usb ,right? then the sound came out from the audio jack at the end of that remote. so it is similar to a soundcard ,isn’t?
ummmm.. let say if i plug that into my desktop(not sony) will it still works?
[quote author=“invisiblefly”]the jogdial is connect to usb ,right? then the sound came out from the audio jack at the end of that remote. so it is similar to a soundcard ,isn’t?
ummmm.. let say if i plug that into my desktop(not sony) will it still works?
Yes the sound goes throught the USB…but it’s not a soundcard.
I doubt this works on other machines besides Sony stuff.
Correct me if I’m wrong but it sounds like a sound card to me. If the sound goes through the USB then it’s bypassing the sound card that is in the laptop completely. I imagine hence you could plug it into a system with no sound card and still get sound. Do you remember those USB speakers that MS once made? Worked without a soundcard in the computer, same idea here really.
That’s a nice case but the best 70 dollars you’ve ever spent? Your obviously not taking your 70 dollars to the right places
[quote author=“FastLaneJB”]Correct me if I’m wrong but it sounds like a sound card to me. If the sound goes through the USB then it’s bypassing the sound card that is in the laptop completely. I imagine hence you could plug it into a system with no sound card and still get sound. Do you remember those USB speakers that MS once made? Worked without a soundcard in the computer, same idea here really.
That’s a nice case but the best 70 dollars you’ve ever spent? Your obviously not taking your 70 dollars to the right places
The sound does go through the USB but I don’t think it processes it…again I might be wrong, but if the computer didn’t have a sound card I don’t think it would work.
It was the best $70 I could spend for a case on my notebook, all the other cases I looked at were a waste or way too much money. I actually double checked, the case ended up being about $10 cheaper then originally quoted, so it was more like $55-60 shipped…even better!
Just did a simple test and it is not a sound card, it is just a sound converter…
As most of you know USB speaker do not need a sound card…if you want to listen to CD Audio you must have a CD-Rom with digital audio support and it must be enabled…otherwise you won’t hear anything.
Well, I plugged in the headphones and disabled digital audio support and I still heard the CD.
I am 99% sure that the internal sound card is working and the remote is using the software to bypass the speakers and output to the headphones…it’s a pass through, not an encoder.
If it was an encoder, I would not have heard anything when I disabled Digital audio support.
Most USB audio devices are not sound cards. They’re more like dumb sound devices that only have electronics that convert digital sound to analog sound (or digital to SPDIF in some products). The host CPU actually does all of the work and and “virtualizes” a sound card. This virtualized sound card is separate from the regular sound card of the system.
Xitel sells a lot these kinds of devices. In fact, Sony has some as well (which I have) that are used to connect to MD players.
On the PCGA-JR1, did it come with any drivers and programs? And if so I take it they can run in the English OS?
Thanks,
Pete
I had the English and Jap drivers. The English wouldn’t install on my machine, the Jap would. As I said there is some Jap writing on both the LCD and the program but its usually Jap/English so there isn’t anything I couldn’t figure out. I think only 1 or 2 things were Jap only but easy to figure out.
OK well I see what your saying, it’s a sound convertor but then is that not what a soundcard is too? I know the CPU plays a large part for these USB devices which is the drivers. So a lot more of what a soundcard does is done from the driver.
What I’m saying is that with this driver and the USB device, where does the soundcard come into the equation? Can you send sound to a soundcard to be processed and then returned back down the PCI bus to send it to the USB device? I’m sure some high end cards with DSP’s have features like this but an AC97 codec soundcard which is what I imagine the TR is using (Haven’t got mine yet)
Erik, when you turned off analog audio you did it in Device Manager for the Combi drive and not just in your audio app? I’m surprised you’d get any sound from a CD at all with digital turned off. I actually work on desktops and most modern desktops don’t have analog cables wired up at all. Is there an analog cable from the Combi to the mobo of the TR? I wouldn’t have thought there would be.
It’s obviously not too important, just curious now is all.
Yes, a sound card has a digital-to-analog part just like a USB sound device. The difference is that a USB sound device doesn’t have an analog-to-digital or digital-to-digital part in hardware. Instead of dedicated hardware, the CPU handles all of the processing chores…much like a DSP. Because most modern CPUs are fast enough, it shouldn’t put too big of a dent on performance.
You could send sound to the sound card for processing and then return it to the PCI bus but I don’t know why anyone would do that. That introduces unnecessary bus contention on the already crowded PCI bus.
I suspect this JR1 device does not use the built-in soundcard but rather is a traditional USB audio device.
The TR definitely does not have an analog cable for CD audio. I’ve been inside and haven’t seen it.
OK, I think we were getting at the same point Groovy, just from different angles. From what I gather your saying the USB device Erik has would work without a soundcard at all in the system as it’s completely bypassed. That’s all I was trying to get at. Sure it’s not a full soundcard, it’s got no lines in, doesn’t have a DSP, etc. But just it would output sound on a system with no sound card at all.
