Local advice to travelers coming to San Diego, CA on vacation or holiday

SAN DIEGO TRAVEL GUIDE - LOCAL TIPS TRICKS AND SECRETS - COMIC-CON

I was born, raised and have spent the majority of my life in San Diego. I've decided to share some places and activities us locals enjoy and that you should experience when you come to San Diego. Of course I'm only one person and we all have various interests but some things about our city are universal. I'm not in the hospitality business so all this information is non bias, I don't get any part of any money you spend at these places.

Travelers Guide to understanding the geography of San Diego

Southern California is made up of many small cities that run into each other. We really don't think of places as "towns" except some of the out lying very small communities. So San Diego has "areas", not necessary official "cities". For instance "Hillcrest" (our gay friendly part of town) is a neighborhood with in San Diego City. While Del Mar (famous for the Del Mar horse race track and where we hold our county fair) is an actual city of it's own. Within San Diego City you'll find lots of neighborhoods or areas. Us locals abbreviate some of the beach areas, as: PB - Pacific Beach, OB - Ocean Beach, IB - Imperial Beach. For some reason nobody ever abbreviated Mission Beach, home of "Belmont Park" where you'll find the Giant Dipper one of the older roller coasters on the west coast. By the way Belmont Park is pay per ride so you can visit it for free.

Travelers Guide to San Diego Brief History

San Diego really grew up during World War II as a military installation. Much of the industry from that point up until the early 90's centered around military project development. That makes since as San Diego is home to the West coast navel fleet. You should definitely take time to go on the U.S.S Midway aircraft carrier tour while you're here. You should also visit the Reuben H. Fleet Science center, a tribute to the pioneer of San Diego aviation history and the home of the very first OMNIMAX dome theater which is located in Balboa Park, named after Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa. It will give you an eye into the military significance in San Diego. Other than military we have a large bio-medical development industry here and of course hospitality.

Accommodations; Picking a hotel to stay at in San Diego California.

Where's the best place to stay in San Diego?

There are lots of places to stay but as a tourist I would want to be one of three locations, either "Mission Valley" area where a large group of motels and hotels are known as "Hotel Circle" or in an area known as "The Gaslamp" in the downtown metro area or if beach activity will be a big part of your stay, one of the beach hotels (Bahia or Catamaran as you don't need a car if you stay at the beach) or rent a home on the beach.

Hotel Circle - is very centrally located, if you have a rental car this is a good home base it's 10 minutes to anyplace practically. There is also lite rail which we call the "Trolley" that can get you downtown from this area but it's a good 20 minute walk to that station located at "Fashion Valley Mall". Fashion Valley mall is by far the best and newest mall in San Diego. It's our high end mall with the more expensive stores. For bargain shopping on clothes go to any one of many "Ross" locations.

The Gaslamp - This is San Diego's largest shopping and entertainment district. In the 1980's it was full of homeless people, drunk sailors and porn shops. Today it's a model revitalization district to the rest of the county. We have a baseball stadium where you can see The Padres play during baseball season, several theaters to see a show, a comedy club, a sing along piano bar, a huge shopping center named after Alonzo Horton who by forced moved the city center to it's current location from "Old Town" where the Whaley family had established a the first city center. There are more restaurants than you can eat at during your trip here. Everything is a bit more pricey in the Gaslamp but us locals do go their all the time so by no means is it a tourist trap. It's quality. I highly suggest you dig deep into the reviews on Yelp for anyplace you plan to eat because not all are great, some do try and take advantage of tourists.

Beach Areas - We have lots of beaches, the two most famous are La Jolla mentioned in the beach boys song "Surfin USA" and Coronado, location of the famous Hotel Del Coronado. If you choose to stay at either location you will be isolated without transportation. If you're idea of a vacation is planting at a hotel pool then these are very nice places to do that and it won't matter much.

Travelers Guide to San Diego Places of interest

Julian - Is an old mining town located in the local San Diego mountains. It's a locals favorite for their famous Apple pies. In early Oct. they do an Apple festival worth checking out. Us locals aren't used to snow and so Julian gets snow in the winter and we like to come up for the "winter small town experience."

Borrego Dessert - One of the things about San Diego that not a lot of other places offer is Beach, Mountains and Desert all within a hours drive. Borrego State Park is a desert perserve. If you like looking at desert and wildlife then there's plenty of it to see here. A day trip would consist of driving up to Julian via the route through the city of Poway, then taking banner grade down into the desert, taking S2 south through Borrego, then taking I-8 freeway back into San Diego, stopping at Veijas Indian Casino for lunch or dinner. Camping in the desert does offer spectacular night views of the sky as well and there are lots of sanctioned camp grounds to enjoy! Bring plenty of water in the summer when its hot.

Old Town - Old Town San Diego is the birthplace of San Diego. It's a fun place to visit, little bit touristy. A lot of the official Old Town restaurants are run by an East Coast Operator so the food isn't really too authentic by locals standards. Some of the others really skimp on food quality since most locals don't eat their and prices are higher. See Mexican Food below. The one restaurant that I like the most and is independent of the "old town" operator is called La Pinata on the edge of old town. That's the spot I'd take you too for the Old Town food Experience. While in Old town you should tour the Whaley House as it's history is fascinating. This part of town is accessible via the Trolley so if you're staying downtown you can hop on the Trolley and be there in 15 minutes.

Balboa Park / San Diego Zoo - Balboa Park is the Jewel of our city and a must see to any visitor. To learn more about the parks history click here. Also the San Diego Historical Society Museum is located in Balboa park and has many interesting photos of San Diego over the years. There are lots of great spots to picnic and relax on large grass fields. A great place to get a sandwich is on the west side of the park near 6th avenue.  "The Market Place Deli" is very close to the west side of the park (walking distance to the grass) and the yelp ratings speak for themselves.

Mission Bay / SeaWorld - In the late 1950's the city of San Diego started a project to dredge out swampy marshlands and create a recreational water ways surrounded by parks. One of the flagship parts of the project was to have a marine life park. In 1964, the very first (of at one time four, now three) SeaWorld Marine life park opened. SeaWorld has grown up a lot recently after going through several ownership changes during the recession. It now features a magnetic launch roller coaster and classic rides such as Shipwreck rapids water rafting ride, Sky buckets, the huge Blue Sky tower ride (visible from all of Mission bay, pacific beach, old town , Wild Arctic simulator ride, Journey to Atlantis Boat/Coaster ride a 4D theater and tons of animal exhibits and shows. In summer months they put on a fireworks show every night and it's easy to find many spots outside of the park to watch, Fiesta Island being one of the best. A side from Sea World, Mission Bay is a great place for picnic's and BBQs in the summer. You can rent wave runners, kayaks, go scuba diving, sail boats, paddle boats, bicycles and more. There are many many parks with playgrounds for little kids featuring picnic tables, BBQs, grass and shade structures. If you like to camp there is a campground right on the bay that can be a great family destination called Campland on the Bay.

Beaches - Our beach areas are diverse and each is different in many ways. Here's a list of each.


Torrey Pines State Beach - A very small beach famous for trails, the Torrey pine tree and tide pools.

Blacks Beach - Is San Diego's only clothing optional beach. It's not officially a nude beach and can be a busy place in the summer. Parents should be ready to explain if the take their family for a walk south of Torrey pines beach or North of La Jolla Shores.

La Jolla - Upscale area, affluent residents, mostly high end shopping but limited, home to some local favorite fine dining such as George's at the cove. Worth a day visit.

Pacific Beach - College aged mecca, lots of bars for younger adults, tons of younger people make this place home. This is the place a younger group of guys would go to meet girls. Most people who socialize in this area are 21 to 25, older than that and people tend to party in the gaslamp. Pacific beach is ideal for playing on the beach. This type of fun streaches all the way south to Mission Beach area. Garnet Avenue is a two mile long stretch of shopping, bars and nightclubs and the center of nightlife in Pacific Beach.

Mission Beach - Little bit dirtier than Pacific beach, less shopping, no nightclubs and a few bars. Most of the nightlife in this area centers around house parties and a few bars for younger adults. One stand out for those looking to party is The Wave House at Belmont Park which books DJs and offers a party atmosphere. However it's more of a daytime event.

Ocean Beach - Very locals area, strong liberal community spirit reminiscent of the 60's hippie movement, Ocean Beach has a small strip of shops, most famous is the head shop "The Black". This area reminds me of the vibe you get at Haight & Ashbury St. in San Francisco but with beach bums thrown in! The OB hostel is a popular spot for younger travelers during the summer.

Coronado - Upscale shopping, affluent area, home of Hotel Del, very isolated from everything else as it's on a peninsula connected by a bridge to the city. Locals refer to it as Coronado Island even though it's not an island.

Imperial Beach - Not thought of as a tourist area at all, it's mostly a more economic option for beach living, it's an older community and with a distance far from the city center and close to the international border it's not a place most go unless you live near there. One attraction Imperial Beach has that might be fun, especially for international travelers is one of the last standing "Drive In" theaters in San Diego. Yes, you park your car and watch a movie outside.. It's a fun thing for families or those who want some privacy at the movies.

North of San Diego are:

Del Mar - Horse track
Leucadia
Encinitas
La Costa - La Costa Resort and Spa
Carlsbad
Oceanside - Military town home to Camp Pendleton Marine Base

TIP: If you lose any jewelry (wedding rings) at the beach or bay San Diego Metal Detectors 619-438-0806 offers daily rentals or lost item location services.

Travelers Guide to finding Great Food in San Diego

We have every ethnicity of food represented in San Diego. We have several celebrity chefs with restaurants here too. For a great treat check out Sprinkles cupcake shop owned by Candance Nelson from the TV show Cupcake Wars on the Food Network.

If you're in Gaslamp and want a relatively economic sit down meal try The Spaghetti Factory. The food is not gourmet but it's not bad either. On the opposite end of price scale are major Steak houses from Donovan's to  Mortons. For the best crab cakes The Oceanaire Room is a local Seafood favorite in the Gaslamp.

Mexican food is a staple meal for most San Diegan's so it would be a shame if you didn't eat at a good taco shop while you're here, especially if you're a brit. Roberto's is a San Diego born taco shop chain that exploded and now stretches all the way to Las Vegas. Mexican food is great in San Diego but not in the gaslamp, places such as "Funky Garcia's" serve very bad Mexican food and charge too much for a margarita.  Find one of these "Robertos, Alberto's, Cotija's, Los Primos or Vaharta's Express on Genesse Ave. taco shop and order "Carne Asada" Burrito or "Carne Asada" Fries (Carne Asada is marinaded steak if you prefer chicken order Polo Asada). Another favorite are the beef  "Rolled Tacos" calling them that is a San Diego thing as other places would call them Tequitoes. These taco shops are usually open 24 hours and it's the traditional food us locals use to soak up alcohol. Don't worry if you don't like hot spicy food because most taco shop's food is not spicy until you pick your hot sauce and pour it on yourself.

TJ - Tijuana, Baja Mexico - If you want to see Mexico be warned that visiting TJ or Tijuana can be a risky proposition. Use google translate to  Read the news from Tijuana before you cross the border. You'll need a passport to get back as well. A lot of San Diegan's don't go there anymore because of safety concerns. If you go, you'll standout as one of only a few tourists. Don't get me wrong, if you're up for adventure and are street smart then it might be fun. If you're a touristy looking family you could be a target for robbery, kidnapping or police harassment. You have good odds that nothing bad will happen if you choose to visit but you need to be aware that you should be aware of your surroundings and the risk. TJ does not represent all of Mexico and the country has much to offer the tourist further down Baja and central mainland.

Safety in San Diego, California - San Diego is a relatively safe city. As with any major city crime happens but in general tourists are not targeted for pick pocketing or scams like in other parts of the world. We don't have high murder rates like Detroit or anything like that. Two area's closest to tourist areas that you really have no reason to go to are "Barrio Logan" which is the area just south of downtown/ gaslamp at the base of the Coronado bridge on the 5 freeway or just east of downtown on the far side of the 5 freeway.



This page will be updated with more info as I have time to post but this should give you plenty to do.

Excited about PRweb results for your press release; Not so fast

PRweb.com vs. PRnewswire - Here's the PRweb experience.

So I wanted to share my experience with a recent PRweb press release I did. I paid for the premium package and for the editorial service in which PRweb writes the press release.

At first I had some trouble getting the order all the way through their shopping cart process. Mainly because even if you pay for them to write your release their system expects you to Upload" a release and pick the release date. After making a phone call I was told to just upload a blank document. Once that was done it was assigned to a writer who contacted me.

Now I wasn't looking to publish a form letter business press release. I know that to get published you have to give an news publisher something they can drop in that is informative, news worthy, ready to go and that does not sound like an advertisement.  After expressing this and giving some detailed direction I got the PRweb written release. It was very much a form letter "business" release. Disappointed, I ended up writing the headline and meat of the release myself. Granted it's hard for a freelance writer to know all the details of your business so I ended up using the PRweb writers version as a guide or skeleton that cost me $350. Next time I think I'll use an outside freelance writer or just do it myself and pay the $99 for them to proof read it.

So the release is good, ready to go and it's off. Remember my goal is to get published, not so much SEO for my website. I realize that a visible website could help me but getting my message out to the AP wire was my highest priority.

At first I was excited, the results appeared to be really good on day one. Impressions (which I take to be someone looking at PRweb's press release list for the day) was 80,000. That's a nice big number. Reads (which means someone clicked on the headline to read the story) 450. Interactions: 16. Using google analytics I got 35 visits to my website from the release.  Ok but what about actual pick ups by the media?

In PRweb's dashboard they have a google search button that basically puts the majority of your headline in quotes in google search bar. So within 3 hours it appeared that some major TV stations had put up my release on their website. Great! By the end of the day about 8 tv stations had "picked up" the release. The next day PRweb has a list of publications that have "picked up" your story. It was a long list. Great!

But not so fast!!!!!!!!!!!!! So what I discovered is that if I went directly to these publisher websites and searched for my news story it was nowhere to be found, nor did it come up using the search bar in the website. That was the case on all the TV stations and major news publications. Why? Well it appears that PRweb pays to have your release published on the particular TV stations website but it's not part of the actual content being published by the organization. I later noticed all the "picked up" as PRweb calls it, had a little gray "advertisement" label on these sites. It also appears this is an advertisement network as they look identical. So this is all great if your goal is SEO as these back links are from major websites but it's misleading in my opinion to say you got "picked up" by these news outlets... because you DID NOT get picked up, it was paid placement.

I soon  received an email from PRweb letting me know my press release only stays on these "picked up" sites for 30 days and I should start thinking about my next press release. Sadly, this shows us exactly what PRwebs main purpose is and what service they excel at, SEO. They have a complex web of associates that are paid to "publish" your article for Google's sake. After coming to this conclusion it makes since why they have an annual package to constantly publish. You can pay google adwords to be at the top or PRweb but you're going to pay someone or pay in your own time.

Unfortunately, for those looking to get in a newspaper, on TV or a magazine; the initial results that PRweb sells you just aren't true. It's a fake out. In the long run, the online visability PRweb.com provides may lead to actually getting published but only time will tell.

I am fully aware that releasing the information is just one step in the process of public relations and that more leg work is needed. I also acknowledge that PRweb did in fact boost my websites position on Google. But buyer beware with regard to "getting picked up" as defined by PRweb.

Direct TV box fails!!! America's Got Talent

For some reason my Direct TV box can't handle shows that air two episodes in the same week! On America's got Talent, bachelor pad, etc. You get some, not others. LAME!!!

Two Green Lynx Spiders spotted in San Diego California

Green Lynx Spider

Peucetia viridans

They were spotted on the same day miles apart from each other. As a native of San Diego I can say that I've never seen them here before.

Installing .cab files on Windows Mobile 7.5

I have a client that just got the new HTC phone running Windows Mobile 7.5  So he wants to view his security cameras on this new phone.

Manufacturer of the DVR, had an app on their website for Windows Mobile. It's a .cab file. Everything related to installing .cab files is for older versions of Windows Mobile. Sync Center and WMSS Do not apply to the latest version, 7.5 to the best of my searching only interfaces with ZUNE and there is no way to install .cab files through Zune.

Crazy that 8 years ago I had to tell Apple clients that they needed to by a PC to see their cameras.. now they need an iphone, ipad or android.

Review of Flir Extech thermal imaging camera ebay i5 i7

So you want to buy a used FLIR TIR thermal imaging camera. You find one on Ebay. If you're paying attention you notice that some i5 units say 80 x 80 resolution and some say 100 x 100. On the i7 you notice some are 120 x 120 and others 140 x 140 resolution. I think FLIR could have changed the model numbers to differentiate these critical differences but they didn't. The FLIR rep confirmed that the way to identify the older generation vs. the new generation i5 & i7 cameras is by color. If it's blue and gray or orange and green its the older lower resolution models. The black version of the i5 and i7 sports the higher 100x100 and 140x140 imagers. So know what you're bidding on! I see so many people bid up the old units to only a few hundred less than a brand new in the box current higher resolution model. Don't be that guy, the one selling your low res as a " buy it now"  for less than you paid and leaving the resolution off the description looking for a sucker!

Google's Gmail becoming useless for critical business communication

Anyone else realize that some of their Gmail emails are going into the SPAM box of other Gmail user accounts? you might not! The day I posted something on craigslist my account got flagged by Google as a SPAMMER account. Quite the contrary, I never send any unsolicited mail to anyone. Unfortunately Gmail is an unsupported free service and once this happens you cannot remove the flag. So I created a second account and went through all the hassle of that process.

Well I just found out my wife's Gmail account (never having craigslist exposure) was sent to someone's SPAM box. That account rarely gets used. That means EVERYONE is at risk of lost communication as a GMAIL user. As of today I am ditching Gmail because everyone client communication for me turns into $$$ or lost $$$ if I don't get their email (has happened) or they don't get my email (has happened).

Bye Bye Gmail. 

Dj lighting - Scanner comparasion Martin SCX vs. Eliminator

I just wanted to say that "you get what you pay for" . Again!

So I own a pair of Eliminator E139 barrel roller DMX controlled lights. I also just got a pair of Martin SCX500 scanners. The Eliminators are 250Watt bulbs and Martin are 150watt. The Martins look 3 times brighter than the eliminator. The optical path on the Martin is simple and efficient. The eliminator is not designed as well.
The Martin uses a front side coated mirror as the eliminator uses regular rear coated mirror.  The Martin uses a bulb that has the reflector integrated as one piece. Where the Eliminator has a separate reflector and bulb that has to be aligned right or the light will not be focused properly. The Martin does nice smooth sweeping motion as slow speeds where the eliminator is gittery.

So when buying equipment always remember that you get what you pay for! In all fairness Martin has be developing high end stage lighting since they began and has always chased the industry leaders in concert lighting (High End & Vari light) but has always dominated the lower end DJ and night club market. In this case their experience in getting maximum light out of a fixture is apparent!!  I'd like some 250 watt discharge models someday!

Amazon.com : Amazon associates program a fraud?

[ How to set up new Amazon associates store: tricks and tips, get huge sales, make $100,000 dollars in one season! NOT!]

Have you had items you sold through Amazon associates disappear off your reports and not get compensated for the sale? have you noticed or been paying attention?

That's exactly what happened to me in the holiday season of 2011. I just wonder how many other people are busting their hump promoting Amazon.com brand and getting screwed!!?

Here's my story.

 Amazon screwed me out of $650 worth of commissions. Why? Because my parents and sister ordered xmas presents and sent them to my parents address. I had an Amazon associates account registared to that address when I lived with my parents in 1997. Jump to 2011, because I once lived there they said all the orders that went to that address were "personal" and that the associates program was not a discount program. I said that they were not my orders, not ordered on my credit card and didn't go to my address. They then told me I set up this elaborate scheme to have other people buy things for me to get a 5% discount. I couldn't believe that they would say that and essentially tell me I was a liar and scamming them. I told them I would never waste all that time, ask other people to pay with their credit card to get a lousy 5% discount!!! They said yes I did.  I  told them that next holiday season I would not be pushing their brand. I sold $5,000 worth of goods for them and they ruined the relationship FOREVER for $150. There policies are open ended and their customer service is short sighted. People are far better off setting up their own portal vs. relying on Amazon. Also, they pay 60 days after the sale. Because their reports are so ambiguous it's hard to identify the dropped items. SHADY ASS COMPANY. Stay away from Amazon associates, for the effort, time and money you associates are putting in you are being poorly compensated for your effort. Start your own thing.. being an associate with an Amazon store is hardly being in business for yourself.


When my family found out I did not get paid by Amazon.com they were pissed! They said that they went out of their way to order almost all their Christmas gifts on Amazon and could have just went to the mall. Guess who won't be buying on Amazon next Christmas.


P.S. Amazon, if you were smart you would give associates the 5% on person sales just like if you work at Mc Donalds you get a discounted lunch. It's totally feasible to set a threshold of minimum outside sales to receive a discount on personal orders. 

Why Craigslist!? Why do you block multi-posts in different cities?

Why do you consider the same post in a different city 2000 miles away a duplicate post? It's not like someone in Nashville is going see the same post in Los Angeles. You don't offer a nationwide search so why block multiple city posts?  I like to sell things in multiple cities and you make me have to slightly modify my message so that your filter doesn't block the post. Please limit this blocking feature to single a geographic area like a major city or county.  Thank you.

Google Adwords - No real fraud protection at all.. Use at your own risk as long as your budget will allow!

Google doesn't protect small and large advertisers from fake or fraudulent clicks!

So I've explored Google Adwords recently with a few businesses I'm promoting. I watch the clicks very closely as the bid amounts are in the $12 to $15 per click range.  My beef with Google is that it says that they will credit you for double clicks and fraudulent clicks that are not real potential customers. I've found that Google does not protect you and will not credit you even though their marketing material suggests that they will! Specifically I had two clicks totally $28 from the same source. The two clicks were one minute a part and using Google's very own Analytics system I could tell that this particular person did not spend more than 10 seconds on the site. Basically this was a meaningless click that cost $28.

So under the "double click" policy of Google I contacted them to alert them of this situation. They requested the server log of the activity. Luckly for me I have a hosting service that makes those available to me in raw form. I'm not sure if you were using a Wordpress hosted site if you could get that data. So after reviewing the raw data log I confirmed what Analytics had shown that it was the same IP address and within 1 minute with zero activity beyond the click.

Here is Google's response to the actual raw data proof of the situation.

"Greetings, Steve,

Thank you for contacting Google.  Per our conversation regarding the
clicks on March 9 in your AdWords account, I had forwarded the issue to a
specialist team.

Our team received your report regarding suspicious clicks on your AdWords
ads. Thank you for your patience while we researched this issue.

After thoroughly reviewing your account, we did not find any evidence
suggesting that invalid clicks have been charged to your account. The
clicks your ads received appear to fit a pattern of normal user behavior.

If the click activity that doesn't fit your usual patterns, please keep

the following factors in mind:

- Return visits: Individual users may legitimately click on your ad more
than one time when comparison shopping or returning to your site for more
information.

- Shared IPs: Multiple clicks from a single source may be due to an
Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigning identical IP addresses to
multiple users. Certain ISPs, such as AOL, distribute a relatively small
number of shared, rotating IP addresses to a large number of users. As a
result, multiple visitors may access your site from identical IP
addresses, giving the impression of repeated clicks from a single visitor.

The security of AdWords advertisers is a top priority for Google. Please

be assured that we will continue to monitor all clicks on your ads to

prevent abuse. For more information about the steps we take to combat
invalid click activity, please visit
http://www.google.com/ads/adtrafficquality/."

If you read that response you should be quick to realize that under almost all circumstances and even with a server log which many Google customers may not even have access to, Google calls it "normal use". 

If that's not a red flag for your marketing budget than be prepared to pay for useless clicks under the Google business model. If you're in high cost keywords than that will add up to thousands of dollars. 

I don't trust Google and that my budget isn't being eaten up by some room of "clickers" or my competition!

After all Google has to make tons of cash to support that stock price for the street!

A better model for advertisers is a pay per click with a minimum interaction time on the site and true double click protection. It's easy to do but I suspect that Google is racking in a lot of money from illegitimate clicks so why would they want to change a thing.

Native Instruments NI S4 vs. Denon DN-MC6000

I do a lot of paid mobile DJ work so reliability and a backup plan is essential for me. I also DJ a clubs and special dance events from time to time.

I use a 6 year old Fujitsu laptop with 500GB harddrive, 4GB ram running Vista.

I went with the Denon DN-MC6000 and here's why:

1. I picked the MC6000 over the S4 because the MC6000 is an actual analog mixer and if my computer fails I can immediately jump to alternative sources, CDJs, Turntables or Ipods if I want. On the S4 it's dead in the water without a functioning computer. A rebooting computer in the middle of a packed dance floor is the worst thing that can happen to you, especially if you're getting paid good money to be there.

2. I picked the MC6000 over the S4 because a large number of people experience audio drop outs and crackling on the S4 unless they spend days extensively modifying settings and disabling wifi. I tested the S4 running Traktor Pro 2 on my computer and it could not handle it at all, simply not useable. As a matter of fact my friend who loaned the S4 to me had a 2 year old laptop that could not handle the S4 sound card so he bought a NEW LAPTOP and even the fastest laptop he could get STILL has audio issues. My understanding is the NI audio drivers not being compatible with other drivers on the system. As I looked at what I'd needed to upgrade to something reliable I was thinking I'd need to buy a mac book pro for $1,300 to run the S4 without audio issues and greater reliability. I was wrong!!! And good thing because buying an expensive laptop isn't really in the budget. When I hooked up the Denon MC6000 and installed the Denon ASIO drivers I was blown away. The controller was working on my 6 year old PC laptop with perfect audio and midi control!!! I was not impressed with NI's audio card products based on my own experience and lots of others on the forums, especially considering my old Numark controller's sound card worked great with no audio issues. It's important to understand that my laptop is fully functioning with WIFI running and NO ISSUES! This is key at private parties because I can download requested songs I don't have. The Denon product was true plug and play, took less than 10 minutes to be mixing on Traktor.

3. I bought the MC6000 over the S4 because the MC6000 has a 3 band EQ on the microphone inputs and ducking. This allows me to notch out feedback during presentations if someone walks too close to the speakers. (always happens)

4. The MC6000 has a smaller foot print and a solid all metal case as well as booth output with controls if needed. Using the standard 19" rackmount gives me unlimited mounting options when it comes to road cases. With the S4 you are limited to custom cases.

Performance:

Well I'm extremely excited about this controller. Mixing house music is easy and any controller can do it. What's harder is mixing hiphop or club tracks. I started on turntables in 87 so it's typical to scratch in the next track. With this controller you can scratch mix into the next track and it's very accurate on jog wheel release. It's even fun to adjust the slope of the crossfader and do some scratching... the jog wheels are so accurate you can get very very close to the sound of vinyl scratching. I don't know how the denon does it's touch sensitivity but it doesn't appear to be a mechanical switch like the S4.. If my hunch is true then their is no switch to wear out on the Denon.

The sound is great and the build is strong. I believe this is the best controller option for any DJ that needs high reliability, quality sound, and analog pass thru backup mixing. I like the option to go 100% digital mixing of 4 tracks/samplers or go analog mixer.

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Even though the traktor pro 2 CPU meter hits the red all the time there are no audio or midi drop outs on a 6 year old laptop using the Denon hardware! This fact gives me great confidence that I can buy a new high powered, quad core, laptop PC with a 17" screen for $700 range and it will work great vs. committing to a $1300 Macbook with a 13" screen. Don't get me wrong I would like to have Mac Book but that's almost double the cost for a lot less screen and hardware.

Hope this helps anyone who might be looking at these two options. I can see this unit becoming an industry standard.

Have fun!

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