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How many iPods is too many?
You may think it's strange that I own eight iPods, but this MSNBC story tells me I'm not alone in thinking that there's no such thing as "too many iPods."As the story points out, different iPods are better suited for different purposes - much like shoes.My iPod (video) is more useful to me as a portable, digital photo album and video device, as well as for backup of my whole iTunes library, but less useful for every day music listening since it's bulkier than my iPod nano. While my iPod shuffle is better suited for the gym and my iPod photo is best for road trips since most of my car accessories work with it. What do I do with the rest of my iPods? I received my Crystalmini as a gift, and it only leaves the house for special occasions. My original 5GB iPod has a 20hr battery in it, but the scrollwheel is a bit wonky so it doesn't get much use. My 20GB 3rd Gen iPod never brought me much joy and it now used mostly as a portable hard drive. My other iPod shuffle is now on permanent loan to hubby. And honestly, other iPods come and go all the time. When a new iPod comes out, I buy it and try it out and yes - even take it apart. I have to. It's my job to know what's inside so I can better support them when my clients buy them.But enough about my own iPod menagerie... as iPods become more and more ubiquitous, I bet many of you have more than one and probably have even more of them in your future. So tell me, how many iPods do you currently have, and what are you using them for?
MSNBC: Mac Pro is the ultimate desktop
MSNBC's Gary Krakow got his journalistic hands on a Mac Pro, and it is safe to say that he was impressed. Why else would he proclaim it the 'ultimate desktop'? Krakow appreciates the use of real metal in the Mac Pro's case (though the case is largely unchanged from the PowerMac G5, metal and all) and the sexy design (if it ain't broke, I suppose) of the case both inside and out.After going over all the specs of the machine, and mentioning that if you get two optical drives you can either read from one and write to the other directly, or write to both at the same time (which is kinda cool) he falls head over heels for the Intel chips in this monster. Finally, he also does the obligatory, 'Go to Apple.com and configure the most expensive Mac Pro possible,' which comes to about $12,000.[via MacDailyNews]
MSNBC launches free mobile applet
MSNBC.com and Microsoft have teamed up to provide an Action Engine-powered standalone application for mobile devices that allows for quick access to news stories, videos, and photo slideshows without to need to launch a browser. Initially available as a download for a handful of Windows Mobile devices, with support for Java/BREW-enabled phones promised in the coming months, the free applet and corresponding service are ad-supported -- with the first ad spots purchased by, you guessed it, Microsoft. We took the video component through a quick run through on our PPC-6700 (shhh, don't tell Sprint!), and found the viewing experience to be quite pleasant over EV-DO, with smooth frame rates and tinny-but-acceptable audio throughout. That's not to say we'll give up streaming real MSNBC and other unedited content over Orb (again, shhh!), but this mobile app will at least retain a place on our storage card for quick access to headlines and "Today Show" clips.[Via Business Wire]
MSNBC declares DTV transition in 2006, not 2009
Please tell us this is a mistake or an outdated story that was accidentally republished. Actually, how can it be since MSNBC is a major news source? Seems that nobody told Gary Krakow that the DTV transition is February 17, 2009, so he's figuratively "breaking the law" by telling folks that all analog TV is shutting down on December 31, 2006. This came about on "Krakow's Corner" when a reader asked if he'll have to trash his TV set because of the switchover. Luckily, the rest of the answer is correct as Gary provides options to either purchase a DTV set or a converter box.The article mentions the 85-percent rule, meaning that the transition won't occur until 85% of households can receive a digital signal (not an HDTV-signal as stated). That's all moot now that we have the DTV legislation signed into law and folks are unlikely to read that far. Gary, we love your tech coverage and we're all for speeding up the DTV transition, but misinformation isn't the way to do it dude!