New Media Development

This should go without saying but if you are registered in the United States to vote, you NEED to do this today. I don’t care if you vote for Obama or McCain. Just go out and exercise your civic duty to vote.

Now if you already did vote, make sure you get an “I Voted” sticker on the way out. Not only will it show people you are a cool frood but it will score you free stuff. Starbucks will give you a free cup of coffee with your sticker. Ben & Jerry’s will give you a free scoop of ice cream between 5-8pm with your sticker. Krispy Kreme will give you a free star shaped donught for mentioning you voted. Chick-fil-a is also offering free sandwiches at participating stores. Also, check your local merchants who may also be giving out free stuff.

All offers are reported in this AP article.

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MP3 players are not new to me at all. Even before the iPod came out, I bought an EMPEG in-dash MP3 player for my car in 1997. I mean, what geeky guy could pass up a Linux box installed in a Civic with 28 Gigs worth of music. At the point, I converted my entire CD collection to MP3, loaded up the Empeg, and took my music everywhere.

But as drive failures continued, Rio discontinued servicing and SONICBlue went bankrupt, I started to seek out an alternative in 2002. In walks the iPod. 15 Gig was less than the 28 I had and letting iTunes control my music after I had complete control over files and menus was not welcome. But at least it didn’t break down every 6 months or so. I then sold the Empeg to pay for a new head unit in the car and the iPod.

Fast forward to 2008 when the iPod finally failed from one too many drops. Normally I would just buy an 80 Gig Classic and go on but fate has intervened. I ended up winning an 80 Gig Zune through some luck which will replace the iPod.

Will it be better? How painful will it be to set up? How will it compare to the iTunes experience? Will it really matter seeing how I rarely use my iPods anymore? Well we will all find out in this week long series. The Zune arrived today and I will post over the course of the week my impressions compared to my other MP3 devices.

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I guess this week of blogging turned into the topic of change. How could you not touch on that topic when the leaves are changing, the wind is getting crisp, and the northern hemisphere is preparing for dormancy. In the southern hemisphere the winds are getting warmer and summer is right around the corner with all of it’s bathing suit splendor. This change is something I missed last year because of the location of my office.

You see, space is of a premium in our house and due to a lack of funds, the best place to build an office was in the basement. This is all fine and good because it keeps me focused on work and the office is well separated from the house. However, there are no windows and no natural light.

Some of you would, as I have, shout great! However, I miss being able to look up from my computer screen to see the leaves falling. Or to feel a wind on my shoulder from the open window. We take nature for granted living in this digital world. We try to recreate it in games, simulate it, and manipulate it into new worlds. But in the end, nature has the last laugh on us. We shun the outside world for the digital but without the natural balance, we are just as far out of touch with life as anyone who excesses on something.

Take a minute, get up from your computer, take a walk outside. Clear your head. Don’t take nature for granted for she has ways of reminding you when you least expect it.