How do noise-canceling headphones work?
I fly a lot for work and the airplane noise gives me headaches. Someone recommended Bose noise-canceling headphones but they're $300. How does noise canceling actually work — does it just muffle sound or is there some active technology? Are they worth $300 or are there cheaper alternatives? Do they work better than just stuffing earplugs in?
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It depends a lot on your connection speed. If you're still on dial-up, some of this just isn't going to work well no matter what. Broadband makes a night-and-day difference. Is DSL or cable available in your area yet?
5 Answers
It depends a lot on your connection speed. If you're still on dial-up, some of this just isn't going to work well no matter what. Broadband makes a night-and-day difference. Is DSL or cable available in your area yet?
I work in IT and see this question a lot. The short answer is yes, it's worth doing. The long answer depends on your specific setup. What operating system are you running? That makes a big difference in the approach.
Have you tried checking the manufacturer's website for updates? A lot of these issues get fixed in patches that most people don't know about. Also check your firewall settings — sometimes they block things they shouldn't.
I'd wait a few months before jumping on this. New technology always has bugs and the price drops fast. Remember how DVD players were $600 and now they're $40? Let the early adopters work out the kinks and pay full price.
Be REALLY careful what you download to fix this. Half the 'free fix-it' programs you find are spyware in disguise. Stick to known-good stuff like the tools from major sites, and always scan downloads with your antivirus before running them.
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