kurtis... could you put the reviewers names up in the review threads when you post them? it looks like you're taking credit for their work :-P

pfft... i think you know i haven't written EVERY SINGLE review / article for TTL, and I'm the one posting them all here, lol. putting the author is just more work for me :-P At some point it'll probably be an automated process and we can have more information in it. for now, it's fine :)

and are you trying to imply that you want to filter out the reviews you read here? i think that warrants an embarrassing new custom user title, yes? :lol:

mmm i know but random people that check out the site might not :-P

and sure why the hell not? it could be my birthday from TTL...

oh please...like kurtis would ever touch an iPod gadget.

i'd touch it... with an iron fist of smashing fury!



ooooh burn.

what you got against iPod's?

Their not bad, the sound quality is better than most MP3 players out there, and for the money they're a pretty good deal, in my opinion. Their battery life is pretty good too. The only thing that could be an issue would be if you dropped it, since those micro-drives are kind of delicate.

Seriously, you don't like them Kurtis? I am just curious why?

1) overpriced
- for the same price you can get a better player with more featues
2) trendwhore device
- EVERYBODY has one... it's quite annoying.
3) sub-par feature set / proprietary interface
- you're limited in how you can download files/songs to the player. it is my understanding that you have no choice but to use iTunes, and there is also copyright protection etc.

I'd rather have a JetAudio, iRiver, RIO or Creative...

then again, i've got a jetaudio M3 20GB just sitting in a drawer somewhere. who needs that much freakin' music? not me. i've used the thing maybe five times after i finished the review, a couple of those times were to answer reader questions...

I should get my Creative Zen Touch fixed... those hour and a half bus trips to work, and the return trips, are hell without music.. I bought a crappy sony CD walkman but it just doesn't quite cut it... CD swapping sucks ass and I'd rather not have to cart CDs around...

Many people use MP3 players a lot more than Kurtis and I do... and I mean a lot. At the university Kurtis and I attend, you could probably count 20 teens, at any given time, walking, sitting or simply existing alone with that bone-white box poking out of their pocket and its tentacles embedded deep into their ears. These tentacles seem to be jammed so far into their brain that they are interfering with some nerve-center, forcing their eyes closed. Ears clogged and eyes closed. Whether they are sitting by themselves on a wooden bench or moving from place to place in a large crowd, they have effectively cut off any form of social interaction. Aside, of course, from the brush of a fellow passer-by, which they still somehow manage to avoid through some sort of telepathy (but even that would seem too much like social interaction for these poor, tortured souls). Only with an iPod could someone be so isolated in a place filled with thousands and thousands of people - many of them using the same anti-social tool.

Now I’m no party animal, and Kurtis sure as hell is no friend to that of mere humans, but even we can not comprehend why so many people are so afraid to make eye contact or have what we call a “conversation” every once and a while. As social beings, humans frequently enjoy interacting with other people, but it seems like this tool, no… this iPod, this fad, is opening up another door for teenagers and young adults, another door that beckons “You already have your cable TV, your computers and your beloved cellular phones. Just plug these in and you’ll never have to face reality again!”

Except for the reality TV shows of course.

So that is my little rant for today. I think it was the coffee. And yes I know I mentioned TV, computers and cell phones as fiends similar to the MP3 player. “But Brian,” you ask, “don’t you use these devices as well? Isn’t that a bit hypocritical of you to say such a thing?”

For one, I hate TV. There are only a few shows that I will watch, allowing myself to suffer through the commercials. I’ll be damned if I watch TV out of boredom. Not only do I have too much work to do, but the average TV show just makes me cringe.

Two, my reference to cell phones doesn’t apply to everyone… mainly the teenyboppers that feel the need to spend hours on end chatting it up over electronic signals instead of doing something useful or productive. I know what ‘Lisa said about Jerry who heard it from Frank who told Monica’s friend Jesse’ may seem important, but it’s not. *giggle giggle teehee*

Three, there is computer usage and then there is computer usage. What Kurtis and I do, as well as our staff (I think), use a computer to supplement their daily lives. Well, maybe not Kurtis. But most of the time I am on a computer, it isn’t for happy fun time or to keep me from going outside on a nice day, it is for work. I haven’t touched a computer game in months, except for helping Kurtis with a Battlefield 2 benchmark the other day. I am talking about those who only use a computer to talk to their bested buddies on AIM, play every Flash game possible and author their blogs seven times a day to post their current mood and what music they are listening to on their god-forsaken iPod.

And finally, this is my coffee and headache induced rant which has meaning in my mind but may be full of holes. If you take it personally, you probably shouldn’t have as I most likely won’t even spend the time to back up anything I just said. Well, I think I’m done here. Hope you enjoyed the show!

stay away from the clock towers, brian. it's a good thing you guys aren't in school at austin lest brian be exterminating the non-believers with his carbine.

lol...