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Me and Zune

I am sooo behind in posting. Any moment now I’ll post a few thoughts on horror films, a genre I used to say I disliked. But an honest evaluation of what I like to watch, and write, tells me otherwise, especially given some of the great examples I’ve seen recently. More later.

For now, some minor notes. First, I finally caved and bought a Zune. I searched high and low (i.e., went to a local Fry’s) and found an 80GB model. Since the 120 can’t handle all of my library, and I felt even the 16GB was a little too restrictive, I hunted down a deal on an 80GB, and voila, there is was. As an added bonus, the 80GB came with deluxe headphones, which are now a $40 option. So I got the player at a discounted price, plus an upgraded set of headphones. Score for me!

I opted for Zune over, say, iPod because of the desktop software. For me, a player is a player, so it came down to how the desktop software handled my library and how I could access new music. iTunes has become such a beast, and frankly boring. I was attracted to the notion of subscription music via the Zune Marketplace, and so far that’s proving interesting. If I want to “own” a song I can still purchase it, either via the Marketplace or Amazon or wherever. And for my $15 a month I can download and preview literally millions of songs. If I want, I can opt to keep up to 10 a month, meaning my subscription is essentially $5 a month. Such a deal!

This is especially so since I seldom listen to the radio (well, except for Jack FM; how can I resist?) and so am completely out of touch with what’s new in the music world. The Zune Marketplace comes complete with “channels” that I can subscribe to, sampling music according to a variety of musical tastes. If I find someone I like, I can explore from there. It’s like my own little radio station that I control.

My only complaint is that on my machine, the desktop software can sometimes be a massive resource hog, even slowing itself down. Which is strange. It’s kind of a buzz kill but not (yet) a deal breaker.

As for player itself, it’s great. I don’t miss the EQ function, and much prefer to Zune pad to the iPod click-wheel. When I’ve got everything in place I’ll play with the wi-fi features to allow wireless syncing and playback through my stereo and TV. Good times ahead!

Of course, this may all go to hell in a hand basket given that Zune sales fell 54% last year. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the ride.

In further news, I’m bidding adieu to AT&T and my faithful 8525 Windows Mobile phone. I’ve opted for T-Mobile so I can own a G1 because it, the Android operating system, and I are just that geeky. A friend who works at Apple owns one just so he can sneer at all the iPhone owners. I played with his phone for over an hour and was just thoroughly geeked out about it. Oh, and it’s a decent phone, too. I love the notification bar, the text messaging, the available applications, etc.

I’m not sure how I’ll handle my task list, and I’m hoping Evernote gets their G1 client out soon, but aside from that I’m set. My Gmail contacts will sync automatically, along with my Google calendar (both of which already automatically sync with my desktop Outlook). So my transition to the G1 should be (relatively) painless.

So now I’ll return to work, listening to Ba Cissoko’s cover of “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” and return in a bit with my thoughts on horror.

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