2003-03-12 - 3:39 p.m.
Is it too much to ask? All I want is a good network connection here at work. One that doesn�t crap out every ten minutes. Sigh�I am almost done here. I just have to keep reminding myself that. In fact today is my last full day of work here at this shitty little library. Tomorrow is a full day of training in Hampton, and then Friday I took a half-day so that I could get to Lynchburg at a reasonable time (I have a buddy getting married). So now all I have to do is keep reminding myself that my time here is short, everything will be ok.
So after weeks and weeks of researching, deliberating, hemming and hawing, I think that I have finally made up my mind about a HARD CORE Mp3 player. (Remember that I cannot take my music collection with me to SF and I don�t have a laptop to transport my music�so I needed something hard-core!). I will be going with the Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox 3. It was a pretty tough decision really. In the end I was torn between the Ipod 20 gig and the Nomad Zen 20 gig. and the Nomad Jukebox 3. For those of you who are interested in why I chose to go with the Nomad Jukebox 3 as opposed to Ipod or the Zen here are my reasons.
1. The Ipod costs $500 and the Nomad (both of em)is $300
2. The Nomad has the ability to create playlists where as the Ipod does not. You have to create the play list for the Ipod on your computer first and then down load it to you Ipod�screw that.
3. The Jukebox 3 supports Firewire (just like the Ipod) while the Zen is USB 2.0 (this was actually a frustration for me. I was wanting the USB 2.0 interface)
4. The Nomad supports the WMA format�and for me, that is a nice feature cause the 350 CD�s that I have are already on my computer in that format, so I won�t have to spend all sorts of time converting the files over.
5. The Nomad is designed to be a music player�it does not have all this other fru fru crap on it like a contact list, calendar, and crap like the Ipod does. If I wanted a PDA I would buy a PDA. I want the ultimate portable MUSIC gizmo. I mean come on�what good is it if you can create playlists without your computer�Ipod needs to spend more time figuring out how to do that, and less time messing with non-music related applications.
6. The Nomad has FM radio capabilities.
7. The Nomad Jukebox 3 has a longer battery life (22hours as opposed to 8 hours). There also is the issue of replacing the batteries. After 1-2 years of use the lithium ion batteries wear out, and they are un-replaceable on the Zen and they are a costly replacement on the Ipod. The Jukebox 3 has VERY easily replaceable batteries (including a bay for an extra one hence the 22 hour continuos play).
8. The Nomad was designed for the PC, unlike the Ipod, which was made PC compatible as an after thought.
9. The Jukebox 3 can be connected to just about any stereo system. Once connected you can play from the Jukebox or record to it (automatically converting to Mp3). This means that I will no longer have to worry about my CD�s getting tore up, and in fact I could just put em all away (or sell em! Yeah as if). I can also connect the Jukebox to other Jukeboxes �trade� songs.
10. The sound quality of the Jukebox 3 is vastly superior to the Zen or the Ipod (or that is at least what all the audiophile sites claim�I am not sure I will really notice a difference).
11. The Jukebox 3 has a docking station that makes it easy to link it up to your stereo and or computer.
12. The Jukebox (like the Ipod) can act as a data transfer device. Ya know put computer files on it at point A and then down load them off at point B.
Now the Drawbacks to the Jukebox 3.
1. The durn thing is HUGE and HEAVY compared to the Zen and the Ipod. It is about the size of a CD player, and weighs about twice as much as one. Not the most portable thing in the world�but still�it ain�t that bad either.
2. The Jukebox 3 is Firewire/USB 1.1 and not USB 2.0(wouldn�t be wonderful if it supported all 3?). Now I am not sure that this is really a problem. It is just that everything that I have read is saying that USB 2.0 is what is sweeping the PC market and Firewire is going to be the red headed step child.
3. Um�so far�that�s it. I haven�t found out anything else really.
So this all leaves me with the next big question. What size should I get? I can pick up the 20 gig pretty easily. Or with a little more work and about $100 more I can get a 40-gig unit. OR if I am feeling really Frisky I could search out the elusive 60-gig unit. Granted I don�t have that much music�and I am not sure that I ever will�but damn�60-gig! That would be the equivalent of 1500 CD�s or 20,000 songs! I mean DAMN!!! How cool would that be?
I am thinking that I am going to be realistic here and go for the 20-gig unit. I mean I only have about 350 CD�s and the durn thing holds 500. Honestly I don�t think that I will be getting my hands on 150 CD�s worth of music while I am in San Francisco. And if I do�well I guess I just dump some of the stuff I own at home and don�t hardly listen to. Easy enough I guess.
So that leaves me with accessories. Headphones to be specific. Seems that all of these Digital Mp3 Players come with some of the shittiest headphones on the planet. So I am going to have to put my hands on some after market ones. Right now I am looking at a set of ear buds from Sony that have a noise canceling feature built in to them. This would be good for me, cause it means that I wouldn�t have to turn the thing up so loud just to hear the music over the (whatever�airplane, lawnmower, gunfire�I dunno). Problem is these headphones are about $130. Quite a bit more than I am really wanting to drop. Fortunately there is a few other options. In fact Sony has a set of ear buds just like the above ones that do not have the noise-canceling feature for about $75 less. All I have to do is find em I guess. Sure wish I could find a place where I could try em out first though. Oh well.
Have I bored you to death yet? Yeah I figure I would�oh well.
So Yall have gotten an a taste of what I have learned �so now tell me, what have you learned today?
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