Cheesy Quintessence

Are people really clueless? Is there some reason why the use of prerecorded audio files to serve as information feeds has been named “Podcasting”? As we all know, there are thousands of portable audio players on the market. Apple’s iPod isn’t the only way to listen to digital audio on the go, and it is even in many ways not the best; other players have superior battery life, voice recording, and so forth.

But let’s ignore competitors’ players and pretend that the iPod is the only portable music player in existence. The name “Podcasting” is still inherently idiotic because “Podcasts” can be listened to on your computer. In fact, I’d probably listen to them more on my computer than not so I’d not have to hook up my portable audio player and transfer the data.

Now that “Podcasting” has caught on, Apple is of course going to attempt to take credit for this poorly named innovation. To quote the latest Apple update email I received:

There’s a reason it’s called “podcasting.”
iPod gives you the ultimate control over podcasts, letting you listen to them anytime, anywhere.

Yes, today is the launch of Apple’s new color iPod, along with firmware updates to have a special menu item for “Podcasts.” But is that the reason why “Podcasts,” which have been around for months, are called “Podcasts”? No, it’s not, Apple.

I convinced my mother to get me a digital camera of my own so I could carry it around and take cool pictures. I got a Canon PowerShot A510 for about $170. It’s supposed to be the best entry-level camera on the market today, as it’s loaded with features and takes great photos. I took a few photos to test it out, and, even in this incredibly low-light house, it did a great job. I’m happy.

My photo gallery should see some more population now.

Radio is pitiful, so today I picked up the RCA MM600A cassette adapter so I could listen to my iPod’s music while driving. For $15.49 (before tax), the sound quality seems to be very satisfying.

I could have spent twice as much for a little FM transmitter, only to get inferior sound quality and potential hassles due to FM interference. But really, why anybody would choose to use an FM transmitter when these are available? While an FM transmitter might be more versatile, it seems like people have a lot of trouble, even when using a supplied car adapter to give it all the power it can get.

Last Sunday, I got the new headphones I ordered, Sennheiser PX-100. These portable headphones are top rated everywhere, and are only $50 at list price. Since I bought from Amazon.com, I got over 20% off. They sound absolutely wonderful. Easily the best sounding headphones I’ve ever owned. Now I can finally enjoy my music without an equalizer.

My free iPod arrived today, two days sooner than FedEx projected. I went to Round Rock to pick it up today. Like everybody else who gets a free iPod, I took several pictures of it as I slowly opened it. The clear plastic wrapping the iPod to protect it reading, “Don’t steal music,” was amusing. What surprised me about the packaging was that there was thin plastic film stuck to the click wheel to protect it, but no protection dedicated to the screen… I really care less about scratches on the click wheel than scratches on the screen! In fact, the screen is so scratchable that it already has a few light scratches from being set down on a very soft cloth that came with a moderately expensive pair of sunglasses. I cut one of my PDA ScreenGuardz to cover the iPod screen with.

I’ve gotten it set up and copied all my music to it. I must say, I’m a bit disappointed at its flexibility of playback. The “On-the-Go” playlist functionality isn’t very flexible. Play modes include an amazing selection of shuffle and repeat, which are even buried very deep in the menu. But what irritates me is the absence of a custom EQ. They have many presets, but none of them do what I want, and the one that comes closest causes much distortion.

The largest of my gripes could be fixed with a firmware update. I’m hoping other people will want some of these features, especially the custom EQ, so that Apple might be convinced to add them.

Overall, I really don’t see why everybody loves the iPod so much. Not that it’s a bad player, but the only thing it has over other players on the market is its small size. And even then, its hardware isn’t perfect, being excessively easy to scratch. I was right all along: massively overpriced at $300. But mine was free, so I’ll take it!