Bose Audio

Tonight, I give you reviews of two Bose products: the Companion 2 Series II desktop speakers, and the In-Ear Headphones. Both have their ups and downs, so let's get to it:

Companion 2 Series II Speakers:

This paired set of speakers is great for the desktop, not requiring even floor space for a subwoofer. Sound is very clear, with excellent bass response, given that there is no subwoofer. These clearly demonstrate to me what I saw on commercials as a kid when they advertised their clock radios; they can give rich, full sound out of small speakers.  They have a second line-in on the rear of the right speaker with RCA jacks, so you can add another sound source. There is also a headphone jack on the front of the right speaker. They're not cheap; we're talking $100, but they are fairly portable, and sound awesome.

In-Ear Headphones:

These took a bit of getting used to for me. I'm more of a drill-it-into-my-ear-canal headphone kinda guy, so it took me a day or so to let these sit in the ear like they're supposed to. The sound is awesome, with great bass response, though I find the noise-canceling feature to be negated by the fact that these don't go into the ear canal. Ambient sound goes right around them. Again, we're talking $100, though in this price range, I'd wager they might be unmatched. The sound is very deep and rich, and once I got used to them, they were very comfortable. They do come with a great lanyard that keeps the headphones around the neck; I LOVE this. I haven't tried the Shure headphones of the same price, so I can't give a comparison. I do think they'll take a hit when the new headphones are released from Apple, but we'll see. I do plan on picking those up, so I'll write a review when I do.

The Switch

So I landed an iPod Classic 120GB. No, I did not purchase it; I won it at a recent event. At any rate, I've decided to give it a go for a while against my Zune 80. I've been using it for a few days now, and I've got some thoughts on it:

Good:
1) I got the black one, and it's pretty slick looking. Years of design have leant the iPod a great, almost natural feel in the hand.

2) The screen is the same resolution as the Zune's, though smaller, so it has a higher pixel-density. This makes everything look gorgeous.

3) iTunes integration is a thing of beauty for me. But do I really need to touch on that?

Bad:
1) No WiFi. This may not seem like a big deal to those who have never had it, but it sucks. I really liked having Zune Marketplace available in the week that I was actively using it.

2) Channels and The Social. I know iTunes has Genius (which is pretty cool to create playlists), but to have a professional DJ create a list that changes and syncs every week is awesome. To have a list of similar listeners and friends that you can see what they're listening to is even more awesome.

3) No subscription. Zune Pass is awesome on more levels than one. WiFi Marketplace, Channels, and The Social are all fully accessible without even plugging in for one price! I really think Microsoft is doing the subscription thing the right way this time. Rhapsody, Napster, and others have all had only flagging success, but The Social takes things to a whole new level.

4) The interface. I really love the "Crossbar" interface the Zune has. It's just more intuitive, in my opinion.

And there are more differences, mostly minor, between the two that I'm not going to dig into. In the long run, I'm not sure which player I'll stick with. While I like the Zune a bit more, 10 GB of dedicated hard drive space for Windows just to use it sucks. It's very tempting to nuke that virtual machine and just use iTunes. Time will tell, as will I in a future blog post.

I can now actually say both players are really nice, and I personally think the Zune edges out the iPod due to it's integration of WiFi and the Zune Pass. That's pretty impressive for someone who's only been in an iPod-dominated marketplace for a few years. Will it kill the iPod? No. Being a little better than the iPod isn't good enough. You have to redefine the arena. And Apple already did that with the iPhone/touch. I hope Microsoft continues with the Zune as it is a great product, but I don't know if it'll garner the market traction before it gets the axe. The question is, how long will Microsoft give it, and how much market share is enough?

Post 50: Zune 3.0 and VMWare Fusion 2.0

50?! Has it really been that many posts? Wow... I've got a double-post tonight: new versions of VMWare Fusion and Zune launched Monday night and Tuesday morning, respectively!

VMWare Fusion 2.0:

As many of you know from reading my previous posts, I run Mac OS X Leopard (hacked to run on my PC laptop). I need Windows for one thing only: my Zune. I love my Zune 80, to the point that I have 10 GB allocated for my XP virtual machine JUST for Zune Desktop. Anyway, while waiting for Zune 3.0 (or Z3, from here on) to launch Monday night, VMWare updated Fusion to 2.0. What does this new version bring? I've noticed some performance upgrades, and it can mirror your user folders (desktop, music, movies, etc) in the Windows' My Documents folders. It also integrates further with Leopard. For example: I downloaded a WMV file with Safari, and it launched inside XP using Windows Media Player. I can also launch Mac Mail from within Internet Explorer if I click an email link. It's kinda nice. Now, Fusion still isn't anywhere near as fast as native Windows is, but for my use, it's fast enough. If I had more RAM or a faster processor, it'd be a whole lot faster, but Ruri (my laptop) has her limitations.

Zune 3.0
I waited a week in high anticipation for Z3, and I was rewarded justly. The launch wasn't the smoothest thing ever; I was unable to purchase a Zune Pass until Tuesday afternoon due to Zune.net lot linking all of its pages properly. It was no MobileMe though. By Tuesday evening, most of the wrinkles were ironed out. Let's start with the Zune Desktop. What's new? Picks is Zune's answer the Genius in the new iTunes. It basically does the same thing as Genius in regards to finding new music. The Mix view of Now Playing is really cool; it lays out a stack of artists and albums that are like what you're listening to that you can visually click through. Channels are new too. With a Zune Pass, it'll download dynamic playlists and songs on a recurring basis for you. I have electronica, rock, and soundtracks channels set up for me. On to the Zune Player! Biggest new thing? WiFi Marketplace. You can now search, browse, purchase, and download music right from the player through WiFi, much like iPod touch or iPhone. Buy from FM is really cool too. The Zune has a built-in FM radio that can pick up track, album, and artist metadata from supported stations. You can queue up the song you're listening to to be purchased and downloaded when you're in WiFi coverage! I love it! Games are also new, but there are only 2 right now. While fun, they don't really blow me away. Also, support for Audible audiobooks has been added, though you have to download those with the Audible application, not Zune Marketplace. There's a few other little things too like the addition of a clock to the home screen, but nothing else big. Oh! Channels and Friends favorites can be updated over WiFi too! With a Zune Pass, this means I can browse and download unlimited songs over WiFi, not to mention have my Channels update without docking too! I wish podcasts could be, but hopefully they'll toss that into 3.5. It should be noted that Z3 is able to installed on ALL Zunes, even the first gen ones. I think that's huge, and it shows awesome support for early adopters. I know it's a pipe dream, but I really wish they'd roll out a Zune Desktop for Mac. You also still can't add art to video files still. See my last post for my tip on doing that. It's literally the only thing keeping Windows floating around on my laptop.

I also moved all of my media to my external hard drive Monday night, freeing up about 80 GB on my laptop to expand my XP virtual machine and improve overall performance. After the move, I formatted the laptop and reinstalled Leopard with a vanilla (as "unhacked" as possible) install to clear up some compatibility issues I was running into. It was a busy night! lol

Quick Zune Tips

So Zune 3.0 is coming out next week. Not only does this mean new Zunes, but it also means a software update for existing hardware out there. I thought I'd toss out a couple cool tips as we near the launch of Z3:

1) Adding Poster/Case Art to Videos: If you're like me, you've loaded up your Zune movies. Coming to Zune from an iPod touch, I really despised the fact that Zune Desktop doesn't allow you to modify the video file to add "album art". Ironically enough, iTunes is my work around. To do this, you'll need to add the video file to your iTunes library. This is easy enough if you aren't converting to WMV. I convert my files to MP4s or M4Vs with Quicktime, so it's compatible with both iTunes and Zune. Anyway, once imported, you can right click the file in iTunes and go to "Get Info". Go to Album Artwork and past in your artwork. As long as Zune Desktop is monitoring the folder the video file is in, it'll reflect the album artwork. From there, I right click the file in Zune Desktop, click "Edit", and input the type, release date, and summary info. It makes for a much nicer (and more "official") experience when using your Zune.

2) DVD Quality to TV: This tip actually made me feel stupid when I figured it out. Be warned, it'll make purchased videos take up more space! In Zune Desktop, go to Settings. Click on Device, and Conversion Settings. Under Video, click "Optimize video for TV output". This is turned off by default, and you'll notice a huge bump in quality when viewing your purchased videos on your TV.

And there you have it. A couple quick tips for working with video on your Zune. Perhaps 3.0 will allow you to natively add album art to videos, negating tip #1. We'll see Tuesday! If you have any other Zune tips, drop me a comment!

Podcasts

In my job, I spend literally hours on end each day in the car. I long ago bored of listening to just music, and the radio in my car doesn't work, so I can't listen to talk radio. When I had my iPod touch, I listened to audiobooks. When I gave that up, I was using my Sansa Connect, which couldn't listen to audiobooks. Upon getting my Zune 80 a few months ago, I decided to give podcasts a go. The Zune software made it easy to find, add, and manage podcasts, and I found a couple that sounded good. I started with the Tech Guy netcast, with Leo Laporte, and the ForceCast. I was hooked. I currently listen to 21 podcasts! And yes, I spend enough time in the car to keep current on all of them.

So what is a podcast? Think of it as a recorded talk radio show centered around a specific genre. The shortest ones I listen to are 15 minutes long, while the longest can be upwards of two and a half hours. Mine primarily center around technology (go figure) and Star Wars (I am a dork, after all). I also have several horse-related shows in there too. But you can find podcasts ranging from childcare, to cooking, to security, and everything in between. I just came across a hospital one and a philosophy podcast. It's awesome, and a great way to stay current with news and knowledge. And you're not limited to audio; there are plenty of video podcasts out there too. I subscribe to several G4TV podcasts that highlight shows that I don't get to watch (since I don't get G4). Podcasts auto-update, so you get new stuff every time you sync. They require no maintenance beyond adding, and perhaps removing, the podcast.

Podcasts (or netcasts, as they're called on the TWiT network) have really made my commute an enjoyable part of my job. I actually look forward to longer rides now, just so I can listen to more podcasts. If you've never listened to a podcast, give it a go. Jump into iTunes (or whatever you media management software) and find the podcast section. Add a couple, and give it a week to see how it all works. They require no maintenance beyond adding, and perhaps removing, the podcast.

If you listen to podcasts, which ones are your favorite?