In the movie Minority Report, Tom Cruise is a crime fighter in the near future.  One of the gadgets at his disposal is a device that allows him to wave his hands around, and by doing so, move sounds and videos on a screen.  This may seem far from being a reality in our day and age, but Beamz Interactive have created a similar device, only its focus is on music.  Meet Beamz: Play the Light. 

Beamz is focused on triggering pre-composed loops (or pieces) of music.  How are the loops triggered, you may ask?  Lasers.  Yep.  Beamz has six lasers mounted between two arms, and when the user places his or her hand between any of the beams, viola, music is created.  Beamz plugs directly into your PC, and comes with two CD’s of musical content.  The software allows you to choose which beam does what, or you can choose from preprogrammed templates.  For example, the Classical Template brings up strings, horns, timpani drums and other orchestral instruments.  Then, when I wave my hands through the beams, it detects which instrument I trigger, and what length of note corresponds to my hand passing through.  It makes me feel a little bit like Tom Cruise, in a good way.

The kind of people who would enjoy Beamz are people who like music, gadgets, and want something fun for their living room.  It is great for musicians and non musicians alike. Also, no musical experience is necessary – you cant play a wrong note no matter what you do.  As a musician, however, I would love to see Beamz release a midi controller version.  Something that, when connected to a computer, could trigger homemade loops and samples.  It would be simple really, since Beamz is already a USB device.  Nonetheless, Beamz is a fun, interactive way of sharing the joy of music with those around you, and I know some of you will think of fun games to play with this trendy device.

• You can get more info and get your own Beamz by Clicking Here.

It’s 1990 and I’m driving on some dull trip with my parents. They’re listening to some awful music on the car stereo. It’d be an otherwise horrible trip, but lucky for me I’ve got my brand new walkman, with a copy of Vanilla Ice’s “To the Extreme” blaring through the headphones. My mom told me that I had to keep the volume pretty low, but in order to hear it over the car stereo I’ve got the volume cranked to the very end. My mom says she can hear the music coming out of my headphones, but I don’t care. My choices are listen at a safe level or hear the music.

It’s 2002 and I’m working on an essay, listening to music through my headphones. A few years of loud concerts and biology lessons have taught me that subjecting my ears to loud music, but I don’t care. I’m having a good time with the volume as is.

It’s 2006 and I just got an iPod with video. It’s a good way to kill time on the train, but something of a disappointing movie watching experience. Having a home theater system at home has spoiled my enjoyment of a movie without surround sound.

It’s 2008 and I’m pleased to announce that Amazing Tech Products Inc. has a solution to all these problems. The Purebuds are a set of earbuds that use reverse sound technology to bounce the sound away from your ear drums, rather than directly at those sensitive little buggers. This leads to a softer sound experience without compromising sound quality.

I’ll admit I was a little skeptical when I was first introduced to Purebuds. “Sure,” I said “They’re better for your ears. But how do they sound? Are we giving up volume in exchange for safety.”

Well, I’ve been trying out my pair, and I’m pleased to say that they sound great. I have a small collection of expensive headphones and ear buds that I use on a regular basis, and I can say without reservation that they stack up to most of them as they sound as good or better than all of my earbuds. They pack a lot of punch into a resonably small frame, and don’t seem to be as prone to distortion as my other earbuds.

I do a lot of walking, and I like to have some music with me when I go, like my own personal soundtrack. A neat little byproduct of the reverse sound technology is that it lets in more outside sound. While this makes them less than desirable for louder environments, it lets you be more aware of your surroundings.

The Purebuds also come with three tips, each one promising a different “audio ambiance effect.” While I found that the “Full Range” and “Bass Boost” worked as advertised, I had a difficult time keeping the “Surround Sound” tips in my ears long enough to get a feel for how well the worked. I have oddly shaped ears, so your milage may vary.

All and all, I’m pretty psyched to be reporting on these headphones. The fact that they are a product Amazing Tech Products Inc is releasing does make me a bit biased, but I was excited enough about the headphones to volunteer to write it up on the blog. Regardless of who makes them, these are a solid product that I enjoy using.

• You can learn more about the Purebuds, watch a video demo, and get your own pair by Clicking Here
• You can get your Purebuds via Amazon.com by Clicking Here