So Carrie got me this mp3/video player when she went shopping on Black Friday. On C-Net, it got a 2.3/10 in the review. If you watch the video review and combine that with the written one, you’ll find that their complaints fall into the following 4 areas:

- Navigation
- Headphone Jack Size
- Sound Quality
- Video Support

I’ll address them below, but it seems like they glossed over a few huge +’s.
- It can also be used as any other standard file storage device (it does, however, had a rather non-standard miniUSB connection on the player itself).
- It has an FM tuner. Seriously. That rocks.
- You can read text files right through the interface. I haven’t found it useful yet, but it might come in handy later. It’s nice to know that I can read some of my text file versions of books right from my mp3 player if I want to.
- It has an audio recorder. Invaluable for me, as melodies hit me at the most random times. Now I won’t miss out on a decent song just because I can’t get home fast enough to record it.

Navigation
It is true that, initially, the controls seem counterintuitive. You frequently need to hit “right” when you think you should hit “down”, “left” for “up”, etc. It’s also true that different menus appear depending on the playing/paused/stopped status of the song.

There is no doubt that every single user will hit the “down” button to go (surprise) down, when in the menu. When nothing happens, there’s a good chance they’ll try it again. When still nothing happens, there’s a good chance that they’ll hit another button and figure it out. Honestly, it’s not much different than learning any other operating system for any other gadget. It took me all of 10 minutes to learn how it works what to expect, and when to expect it. And, it’s not like I’m going to forget any time soon. The same could be said about an iPod (i.e. “spin clockwise” for “down”, “counter-clockwise” for “up”, etc.) or Windows (right-click on the desktop shows one menu, right-click on a folder shows a different one).

Headphone Jack Size
It’s a 2.5. Why they didn’t just make it a standard 3.5, we’ll never know. The headphones that come with it aren’t terrible (more on that in the next section), and they also give you a converter cable. Most folks keep their headphones plugged into their mp3 player at all times, so you’re not likely to loose them, making it irrelevant what size the headphone jack is. This issue is really only a problem if you, a) lose the headphones that came with it, or b) lose the converter cable and want to use your super-special headphones you already own.

Sound Quality
The C-Net review said that the music “sounded hollow and flat and was lacking bass.” They also said that they tried multiple headphones because they could only get mono sound. This is not a problem with my unit, so I can’t really speak to that. What I can say, is that it’s unclear if the hollow and flat sound is from the provided headphones or not, and what type of file they were listening to. Already, I’ve listened to many genres, including spoken word podcasts, and I’ve always been able to get good sound using the already available eq options. Rock works well for most of the stuff I listen to, and I think it sounds as good as any other mp3 player I’ve used.

Video Support
It’s true that it comes with a crappy little program to convert files to their own proprietary format, but, while it may not be much to look at, it’s easy to use. Honestly, within about 30 minutes, I had all I needed to save and convert any video I would ever want.

If you use a decent browser, you can find a plugin to download .flv videos. Then, you can convert them to a filetype that can then be converted using Coby’s software and you’re good to go. It may seem like a lot of steps, but it’s all free software that allows you to do (greyarea) illegal things with ease. If you’re not a one-eyed palsy-ridden retard, you should be able to figure it out.

Some of the things I found that suck that weren’t directly addressed were:
- If it powers off due to inactivity, and the mechanical power switch is “on”, it seems that the best way to turn it back on is to turn the mechanical power switch to “off” then back “on”. That kinda sucks.
- There doesn’t seem to be a great way to set any bookmarks for longer files other than stopping the file and powering off. Sometimes I like to listen to a bit of a podcast, go to music, and come back to the podcast, but I don’t wanna fast forward each time I do that. This also sucks.
- The cable on the headphones that are supplied is not long enough. It needs to run from my ears to my pocket. Come on, guys, it’s not like I have an abnormally long torso.
- I haven’t found the battery life to be amazing. Not bad, I can get through a day’s work (approx 9 hours), including a few videos here and there, which I’m sure suck down more battery, because the screen doesn’t time out during a video like it does during a song.

All in all, it’s not as bad as C-Net says it is. I think it was a really unfair review from some techies who get to play with the world’s most advanced gadgets for free, and they get paid for it. Yes, I’m jealous.

Posted on Nov 26.07 to Technology | No Comments »  

1. What is something you collect? Why?
I guess I kind of collect stuff from the concerts that I attend. Why? Because the concerts I attend are awesome.

2. If you could make one ice cream flavor, what would the ingredients be and what would be the name?
Meat and beer. It would be called Manata’s Getting Fatter.

3. What can’t you go a day without?
See above.

4. What position do you sleep in? *back, right side, left side, stomch…ETC*
My right side, usually.

5. What is your typical morning routine before work/school?
Shit, shower, dress, brew coffee, dress kids, drive kids to daycare, drink coffee, drink Monster energy drink, arrive at work.

Posted on Nov 23.07 to Life | No Comments »  

I hope I do actually write more here than the occasional Friday Five.
Anyway…

1. What is one food (or meal) you used to hate but now love?
Asparagus. I still fucking HATE beets though.

2. If you had to give up one of your favorite foods (or meals) for good, what would it be, and why?
Chinese Food. All of it. God, I love it so much, but I’m such a porker that I should commit to getting rid of that poison for good in an effort to eat healthier (as I take another swig of Miller High Life Light).

3. Which food seems like it should be healthy and isn’t, and do you eat it? Why?
Marshmallows. They’re basically puffed sugar. I really haven’t eaten a lot of them lately, but the girls got some as a treat. The little flavored ones are amazing!

4. If you were an item of food, personified, what would you be and why?
Anthropomorphic food rocks. When I was a kid, I was into Food Fighters, which rocked ass! I guess I’d be some kind of cookie. Seriously, check that link out…doesn’t Chip the Ripper look like a badass?

5. You’ve seen tomatoes and pies used for this purpose… now think of a more inventive item of food one could throw at someone. What is it and why would throwing it at someone be hilarious?
What’s wrong with hard boiled eggs? Seriously? You could chip someone’s tooth on one of those. Now that’s funny.

Posted on Nov 17.07 to Life | No Comments »  

The mediocrity continues.

Apparently, the best way to record a solo is to forget that you are recording.
I thought about redoing it, but it’s not half bad as it is.

I know there is some popping in this mp3, and I think it’s because Good-Old Windows Defender was trolling my harddrive while it was compressing.

Here is “Wicked Mind”

Also, this is where the magic happens:

Posted on Nov 16.07 to Music | No Comments »  

Just playing around in the new GIMP distro.

There is also this version, which contains all of the starred reviews from the music critics.

Posted on Nov 09.07 to Music | No Comments »  

Huh, someone picked up the reigns of the Friday Five. Cool. Anyway, just for shits and giggles, here is this weeks entry:

1. What’s something that’s hanging from your ceiling?
A light. In my kitchen. It hangs too low. My brother and Dad hit their head on it pretty frequently. I don’t because I’m hardly 4 feet tall, but Lord, oh Lord, it is hilarious when it happens to them.

2. What’s something that’s hanging on your wall?
Ahh, a good question for this week. On Sunday, I hung up some new pictures in the Office/Studio which really look cool. I got them out of a book a purchased several years ago at Sam’s Club. They are close-ups of some really cool instruments, you should come over and check them out.

3. What’s something that’s hanging in your closet?
A rack/spindle of about 30 neckties that I haven’t worn in a while. I don’t have to wear them to work anymore, so it’s basically just weddings and funerals.

4. What’s hanging from your rear-view mirror? (for those without cars, what’s something hanging from the rear-view mirror of a car you’ve recently ridden in?)
Nothing. I have that shit.

5. What have you been hanging onto for too long?
A pair of size 38 jeans. I keep saying that I’ll eventually loose enough weight to fit back into them, but they’ll probably have decomposed due to age by the time that happens.

Posted on Nov 09.07 to Life | No Comments »  

With a special thanks to the lackluster comments I received on my last original track, I’ve given it another shot. I’ve been humming this chorus in my head all day, so I decided to do something with it. The link in this post is the result. I think if you keep an open mind on this one, you may actually enjoy it. It is a bit longer than my last track, and I honestly didn’t mean for it to be that way. Try to reserve your judgment until the end because it finishes pretty strong, I think. If you must, just start listening to it after the first verse and chorus, at around 1:39.

Expect more incomplete (and therefore repeated lyrics).

Ok, let the mocking begin.

Here is “Blind”

Posted on Nov 08.07 to Music | 4 Comments »  

I wrote the basics for this song many moons ago. The Dalt never really liked it, but I was convinced that it could be a decent rock track. So, since I’ve organized all of my recording equipment again, and I promised myself I’d start writing and playing again, I gave this one a shot. Yes, the verses are identical, I didn’t spend a lot of time on lyrics, and honestly, I don’t really know what they mean, but they sound just pretentious and trite enough to be on the radio. Also, I ripped off the bridge from a different one of my songs…such is life.

But I was pretty pleased with it overall, I especially like the piano and bass.

Here is “Dance With Me”

Posted on Nov 07.07 to Music | 4 Comments »