{"id":30,"date":"2008-04-02T23:13:22","date_gmt":"2008-04-03T04:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.redrecondite.com\/blog\/?p=30"},"modified":"2013-04-30T17:00:52","modified_gmt":"2013-04-30T22:00:52","slug":"ipod-shuffle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redrecondite.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/02\/ipod-shuffle\/","title":{"rendered":"iPod Shuffle"},"content":{"rendered":"

TiVo<\/a> recently announced the discontinuation of their TiVo Rewards program<\/a>. I had amassed 10,000 of these mystical TiVo Rewards points while participating in some odd rituals that I do not understand and cannot adequately explain. Clearly, I had some spending to do.<\/p>\n

10,000 feels like a large enough number, and with the diminishing dollar (USD) it must surely be a small fortune or two! Alas. I had a choice between several cheesy trinkets (TiVo Antenna Headbands<\/a>! TiVo Coasters<\/a>! TiVo Plush Dolls<\/a>! TiVo Hooded Baby Bath Towel and Wash Mitten<\/a>!) and exactly one iPod Shuffle<\/a> (1 GB). While I like cheesy trinkets as much as the next guy who poses an Orc on his stove<\/a>, the flammability of the TiVo Plush Dolls was almost certain. I had to go with the Shuffle.<\/p>\n

I had no intentions of using the iPod Shuffle, you see. I’ve owned a 30 GB Zune<\/a> for about seven months now, and I haven’t been unhappy with it. Sure, it really is a little white brick, but its a cute little white brick that plays hours of music and video.<\/p>\n

Shortly after vowing to save it for a forgotten birthday or impromptu Christmas gift, I opened the package and loaded on some Guano Apes<\/a> and Flyleaf<\/a>. I started listening to it ‘for fun’. I brought it into work. I used it in the kitchen. And I would use it in a boat. And I would use it with a goat… And I will use it in the rain. And in the dark. And on a train. And in a car. And in a tree. It is so good, so good, you see!<\/p>\n

I haven’t used my Zune since.<\/p>\n

How is this possible? How can a small and stupid iPod without a screen compete with a Zune that stores every song in my collection? I’m not entirely sure.<\/p>\n

Pro<\/strong>: The Shuffle is small. Really small. Tiny, even. Before I tried the Shuffle, I truly didn’t mind that my Zune was a brick. I just sat it on my desk at work, and I just accepted that my headphones would occasionally disconnect when the cord got hooked on my chair. The Shuffle stays clipped to my clothing, so the cord doesn’t hook on anything.<\/p>\n

Con<\/strong>: I tend to lean against walls and desks, which has increased the Shuffle volume to deafening levels. I should really learn how to use the Hold function.<\/p>\n

Pro<\/strong>: I’m not tied to my desk with the Shuffle, I can just get up and walk away while listening to music. With the Zune I had to take off my headphones, which takes just a little more effort.<\/p>\n

Con<\/strong>: I look like an iPod douche bag while walking around work with white ear buds firmly in place.<\/p>\n

Pro<\/strong>: When I attach the Shuffle to my front pocket, I feel like I’m Captain Picard when I press Pause or Play. I almost mutter “Beam me up.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Con<\/strong>: I don’t like Star Trek. That much.<\/p>\n

Pro<\/strong>: The Shuffle is small enough you can wrap the cord around your ears and clip it behind your head.<\/p>\n

Con<\/strong>: This is what it looks like:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Con<\/strong>: The Shuffle will blink Green and Orange in obtuse combinations to notify you of its state. I thought you were good when it came to user interfaces, Apple?<\/p>\n

Con<\/strong>: There seems to be a significant static hum if the Shuffle volume is very low.<\/p>\n

Con<\/strong>: It is not possible to listen to the Shuffle and charge it at the same time, because the headphone jack is also the power port.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong>: I am truly surprised and impressed by the iPod Shuffle. I can’t say that it is worth $50 (USD) to everyone, but I can heartily recommend it if you have 10,000 TiVo Rewards Points burning a firewall in your hard drive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TiVo recently announced the discontinuation of their TiVo Rewards program. I had amassed 10,000 of these mystical TiVo Rewards points while participating in some odd rituals that I do not understand and cannot adequately explain. Clearly, I had some spending to do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-impression","category-tech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrecondite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrecondite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrecondite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrecondite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrecondite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrecondite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrecondite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions\/147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrecondite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrecondite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrecondite.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}