The Sun-Times Hammers the Zune
The Sun-Times’ Andy Ihnatko broke out the big lumber for his review of the Zune...
...the overall experience is about as pleasant as having an airbag deploy in your face… The Zune is a square wheel, a product that’s so absurd and so obviously immune to success that it evokes something akin to a sense of pity… why (for the love of God) doesn’t it support podcasts? That’s pure insanity… You’ll find that the Zune Planet orbits the music industry’s Bizarro World, where users aren’t allowed to do anything that isn’t in the industry’s direct interests… The Zune is a complete, humiliating failure. Toshiba’s Gigabeat player, for example, is far more versatile, it has none of the Zune’s limitations, and Amazon sells the 30-gig model for 40 bucks less… Throw in the Zune’s tail-wagging relationship with music publishers, and it almost becomes important that you encourage people not to buy one… Result: The Zune will be dead and gone within six months. Good riddance.
How to receive a clearer iPod FM transmitter signal
“So I don’t have the money for a fancy kit to add iPod audio to my car stereo. I bought an iTrip, but living close to a major city (and driving through it often) makes it really difficult to use. You might find a station that is relatively clear, but seconds later, it’s bombarded with competing signal. Solution: Remove your car’s antenna.”
this works fabulously. i did it on my 2000 beetle. the elements (and apparently bad design) rotted the rubbery outer coating and rusted the inner metal core of the antenna. i took it off to repair or replace it, because it kept banging the back window of my car, and found that my fm-transmitted Sirius radio signal sounded substantially better, with no interference whatsoever. I found the outcome counter-intuitive.
read more | digg story
View archives for November 2006.
