So, yeah, I'm terrible at keeping up with between-session conversations and all the piles of possible channels/servers in Discord - especially when work gives me some time to think, but not Discord access. I believe a question was posed about thoughts on the state and future of the Adventures in Rokugan game, though, so here goes... In general, I'm enjoying the time and look forward to it more than feel burdened by it. The start time is a little earlier than ideal, but I don't mind making it work on Saturdays. So, net positive overall. I'm a touch "meh" on the mechanics of AiR. I like the familiarity of D&D, but the Rokugan-specific stuff doesn't feel very rewarding. Granted, this may just be my pick of a shadow acolyte, but I feel like I'm getting more functional mileage out of the sharpshooter feat than all of the special class abilities and level-ups haven't been particularly exciting. I've been tempted to multi-class into something els
iPod. Thriving ecosystem of accessories. Zero hassle to use. Some current models have battery life in the 20-hour range. Yes, it's the easy answer, but it's the easy answer for a reason.
ReplyDeleteAny particular variety stand out? In my brief searching, the on 'drawback' I see regularly listed is that it's limited to iTunes in some way - that right? How restrictive is that?
ReplyDeleteYeah, you have to use iTunes to manage your library and sync to the iPod. (Well, there are other ways to do it--the Linux folk have ways of their own, for example--but the easy-peasy way means giving yourself over to Apple for the computer side too.) Some people have very strong anti-iTunes feelings, but I'm pretty happy with it. It does a good job of keeping my files sorted so that I don't have to, syncing things automatically so that I don't have to, automatically building playlists (Genius and Smart Playlists are awesome) so that I don't have to, automatically syncing the photos, videos, and podcasts that I want it to... Yes, you're getting locked in, but it's a very comfortable and well-designed sort of captivity. :-) It's lovely that it Just Works. As far as standout models, it really depends on what you want. If you need serious capacity (for a huge music library, or video, or carrying lots of photos with you) then you might want to look at the Classic. If you don't need more than a few days' worth of music on you, or you want *really* small, the new Nanos are nice. If you want something with wifi on it and the ability to get stuff from the new App Store, the Touch may be what you're looking for. And, FWIW, my wife loves her iPhone (perfect for a busy mom on the go, which, admittedly, you probably aren't..... I'm just sayin'....).
ReplyDeleteI still only really have a cell phone because work provides one so I'm reachable. >.> So, I'm not looking to spring for an iPhone or the like. And I don't have anti-Apple/iTune feelings necessarily, I was just worried there might be some lacking functionality. If iTunes does everything I'm likely to need (and it sounds like it does), then I'm fine with that. After a little more poking around, I think I'm looking at an iPod Nano. Even the 8gb current version isn't likely to be crammed full by me in the next few weeks, so it's probably perfectly fine for my needs. Thanks for the advice. *lesigh* I suppose it was only a matter of time. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'd probably recommend an iPod as well... the iPod itself is pretty solid and functional. I have an older 4GB one and it's got plenty of space for me. That said, I was lucky enough to win mine and not sure I would have ever bought one for myself. Why? Expensive. You are really paying for the Apple brand there, IMO. Given the actual cost of the components (seen cheap mp3 players?), Apple is making some good money there. However, mine has never failed me really, and although I take care of my electronics, it has fallen a few times - so it is resilient. I don't consider myself an iTunes hater. In fact I was very satisfied with it for quite a long time, and it is very convenient. But the program is bloated, takes up way too much memory, is updated constantly (which it nags you about)... and when it finally decided to explode on me I couldn't take it anymore. I uninstalled it and found free utilities to sync my songs up. Since I never bought anything off of iTunes anyway (songs there are rather expensive too) it was easy to switch. All that said, my final advice is to get an iPod if you can afford one, and use iTunes if you find it's an acceptable program to use.
ReplyDeleteHmm. Warnings noted. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't really have a big drive to get one, but an iPod was given to me, and who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? (whee for old fashioned analogies!) mine's a classic, mainly because the little ones (nanos) were so expensive, especially when you looked at cost vs. storage space (and I'm a Scrooge about money that way...) I'm really glad we invested in the hard plastic case, since I've dinged it up a bit. Getting a wall charger, car charger, and the car adapter (my car doesn't have an mp3 port of any kind) were also good choices. [fwiw, we got the kind of car adapter that broadcasts to a radio frequency rather than uses my tape dock. This has worked very well for me - ymmv.] I do a lot of road tripping around the state - the iPod has been great for that. It's also nice when I'm at work, or in my workshop. I didn't think I wanted one, but now that I have it, I don't want to go back to not having it. I can't tell you if other gadgets would be better, but Mike's right - the iPod is really easy to use.
ReplyDelete1. CD player with car cigarette adapter 2. Your CDs (burned or otherwise)
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, that would be cheaper, though a lot more space is required to carry a variety of music. As there's to be three of us in a not-too-big vehicle and I'm coming back on a plane, I want to keep my baggage to a minimum. I also want to say that might be too limiting while sitting in the back, but in thinking about that I find myself wondering if the car has a back seat lighter port. Still, I think I'm going to bite the bullet and spring for a more dedicated solution.
ReplyDeleteZUNE! ZUNE! ZUNE! Forget the dynasty that is iTunes! Do not give in to Apple's choke hold on our music! (Ok, I am apparently the "people with very strong anti-iTunes feelings" that mike mentioned... but I have had iTunes reformat all of my music once too many times.) Jen and I picked up a 120Gb Zune a few months ago, and we love it! It has almost every accessory available for it that ipods do, and is not just useful for music, but also movies (which with the addition of dvd-ripper software, can be yours for the price of renting them, and can be played back on your tv later.) Also, it plays mp3's, no annoying reformatting. Price-wise, we paid $229 for a 120 gig model, and a little more for the extra cables through amazon. Price-wise, it's comparable to the ipod touch, but better, I think. Of course, you should tak ethis with a grain of salt... I am really not that familiar with everything the ipod has to offer. Either route though, it's better than playing cd's in the car (or at least, it saves making a million mix-disks...) Jen and I will be down there this weekend, if you'd like to check it out...
ReplyDeleteSorry, forgot to add that you can store pictures on it, and that Zune software has the same convenient music purchasing as itunes (although the force you to use "Microsoft Points", which I firmly believe are the currency of the apocalypse.)
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