Gram Rabbit at Red Fox Tavern on Friday

Gram Rabbit at Red Fox Tavern on Friday

Commercial for Microsoft Zune

Little Brown Wonder

I have had my brown Zune over a month now. After hearing mostly negative from many of my tech icons including Leo LaPorte, the Buzz Out Loud gang, and Todd Cochrane I am more then a little disappointed in the initial reviews. Here are a few of my early thoughts.

my likes:
larger screen-it stretches the video to fit the wider screen which can look a little weird sometimes
better sound-to these old ears, it sounds better then both my iPod's
fm radio-not a fan but nice to have, plus its enhanced
WIFI- the possibilities are mind boggling. squirt me!
Zune Pass-what a time saver. I was able to find 99% of the new indie music I wanted to review for $15 with Zune Pass

my dislikes:
janky album art-I have failed to master the art of getting a clean looking JPG from my collection and the Marketplace album art looks just as bad
slow video conversion-even my own wmv files have to go thru this to get installed on the Zune. At the moment I am taking the mp4's I have converted for my iPod's and converting it again for the Zune
no podcast integration-hello, Microsoft... anybody there? This is a no brainer
WIFI- I'm so lonely... squirt me

There you have it. Check back for more Zune reviews. CJ
Zune tag: Indie Grandpa

Zune back in the running...my bad

As reported two days ago, Zune will not add DRM to all media downloaded to it. As I understand, it will only add protection to the songs that you share with other Zune users using the wireless networking. Sorry for any confusion. So Zune is back on my shopping list.

The wireless networking connects two Zunes together, enabling the sharing of full-length sample tracks of select songs, recordings, playlists and pictures with others. Tracks received from another users can be played for up to three days or three plays, whichever comes first, after which it will need to be purchased via the Zune Marketplace store—their official name for the store - Wikipedia -


YouTube: Zune on Ellen

Mugshot: What I'm listening to right now

Mugshot: Indie Grandpa

new Sansa e280 MP3 Player 8GB

Sansa e280 MP3 Player 8GB
SDMX4-8192 Price: $249.99
Shipping in first half of Sept ‘06
Features:
World’s first 8GB Flash MP3 player, the largest capacity in the market. Sleek, thin design with large 1.8” TFT color screen for easy viewing. Strong alloy metal back casing provides excellent durability and scratch resistance. Simple to use, backlit controls for fast device interface navigation

User replaceable and rechargeable Lithium Ion battery for up to 20 hours of battery life. Includes the Sansa Media Converter to support all picture and video formats. Features microSD™ expansion slot for additional memory capacity. Supports SanDisk TrustedFlash and Gruvi content cards. Digital FM tuner, on-the-fly FM recording, and voice recording. Supports Subscription Music Stores

Minimum System Requirements:
Windows XP
Windows Media Player 10+
CD-ROM drive
USB 2.0 port required for hi-speed transfer

Package Contents:
Sansa e200 Series Player
Travel pouch and lanyard
Stereo headphones
Lithium Ion rechargeable battery
USB cable
Quick Start Guide, CD with User Guide, & additional flyer inserts

review:
The world's highest-capacity flash-memory MP3 player — for now
By WILSON ROTHMAN
One reason that the iPod is so successful is peer pressure: kids, embarrassed by clunky old CD players, joined the White Earbud Brigade to fit in. Now that so many kids have iPod nanos, the self-styled outsiders who may have previously chosen Apple for niche appeal are looking for an alternative MP3 player. SanDisk made news recently by introducing the highest-capacity flash player — the Sansa e280, with 8GB of internal storage. It's small enough, powerful enough and different enough to be the un-iPod of choice.

Lozen at The Alibi Wednesday

Lozen
Originally uploaded by HumCity.
who: Lozen
description: Humboldt Free Radio presents Lozen (two-piece sludge metal from Tacoma)
when: September 13 at 10:30pm doors / 11:15pm music
cost: $3 cover 21+
location: The Alibi , 744 9th , Arcata

Lady of the Highway: Beauty Won't Save Us This Year

I blogged about this at last.fm few weeks back. I'm just curious what were your favorite songs? Mine are:  Coming Apart, Oybat, Fine Dancer, and Duet.

Lady of the Highway 
last.fm tag: alt-country 

 If your at eMusic pick up the Our Lady of the Highway free mp3's of the whole album! I have had it in rotation for about a week and can't stop listening to a couple of the tracks. Let me know how you liked it. - HumCity at last.fm, Aug 20, 2006 -

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Jobloft: a job board for young people

Jobloft is a specialized job board for young people looking for employment in the retail, food, and hospitality industries, created by four young entrepreneurs straight out of Ryerson College.

Only for Canada at the moment but look out, there may be a new monster in town. Listen to the podcast at Inside the Net.