MP3 Review - Sansa Clip+

I am the proud owner of an MP3 player known as the Sansa Clip+. It is the 4gb size in blue and it has been a wonderful companion on my commutes, walks, and general waiting around times. I have listened to countless hours of music, podcasts and books on tape or rather audio books. It is fairly small, lightweight and has a battery that last long enough between charges not to be a hassle. I am still using the original headphones, which to me means that even though they are not perfect they don’t suck to the point I am willing to put forth the effort to find something else. They don’t shut out the roar of a jet engine on takeoff, and sometimes the wind whistles when there is a good breeze or you are riding a bike but that also lets in traffic noises that you need to hear and that is o.k. with me.

The Clip+ has a small window to navigate from (but at least it has a window) but it is all I need to get to whichever item I am trying to find. It has a simple straightforward interface which means it is very user friendly. That was very helpful for the first-timer that I was. I did not use the provided software or Windows Media Player for synching operations but instead just opened up Windows Explorer and used it like a thumb drive. I was not familiar with the other method and wasn’t ready to take the time to learn although I am sure I could figure it out now. The Explorer method of drag and drop is what I use on a daily working basis and still find it the easiest to operate.

The included FM radio works but I haven’t used it much as there are so many other things to listen to that don’t involve commercials. There is a recording function also which I have not used mainly because I got this unit for other reasons, primarily listening to books and it does that pretty well. There isn’t a bookmark function that I am aware of but it does save your place and starts up there again when you return. In all my uses I have not found a need for more than what this unit delivers…almost.

In fact I only have two things to squawk on with this little gadget in the 20 odd months I have owned it, one small and the other a bit bigger. First the small. I find myself spending too much time untangling the headphone cords. It doesn’t happen all the time (I am just noticing it more often lately) but when I want to put the thing in my pocket, unit headphones and all, I usual just kind of wrap it up and stick it in and carry on. This is fine until you pull it out to use it and find that the cords do not unfold as smoothly. It is a short cord so it doesn’t take long to unravel it but sometimes you are unplugging it to make it untangle faster. I have no idea if there is a better arrangement out there or not but 30 seconds is 30 seconds.

My only real desire that would make me want to get a different player is the ability to adjust the playback speed on the audio books and podcasts. I like to speed things up, sometimes quite a lot. This player will allow you to speed things up with a slow, normal, and fast setting but the fast setting is only about a 15% boost and it does not adjust the pitch so any voices will now have a slight chipmunk effect. The chipmunking is not bad, more annoying really, but 15% is slow on my scale. I searched long and hard for a player that could do better but found very little reference to playback speeds even from e-mailing the manufacturer. Apple has a speed adjustment on their players with a slow, normal and fast setting and they do have a pitch adjustment so that you don’t hear chipmunks. There fast setting is only 40% faster and while that is better in all respects I couldn’t justify paying 3 to 4 times as much and then being a slave to apples system. I still have some items in the Microsoft media player format.

Cost was a factor in picking the Sansa Clip+. I think I paid $40 for mine on sale. Sansa is also a good size company that deals in memory and other items so an MP3 player seemed to match their areas of expertise. And like I said, I could buy 3 of these and still be ahead of getting an Apple.

This brings me to one of the points that led me to the decision to stay on the cost effective end of the MP3 player spectrum. I have talked to several people and read many reports on line that lead me to believe that MP3 players are almost a disposable item in that many users have or have had more than one player over the years. Disposable is not my favorite term when describing something you are wanting to get lots of use out of.

So after all my fond use of a tool that has preformed fully for months without complaint, my Sansa Clip+ stopped dead cold in the middle of a podcasts playback on the way to work a couple of days ago. I was devastated and heartbroken. O.k. that is a little extreme but I was bummed.

I didn’t know why or what would make it stop like that. I had just recharged it over the weekend and knew it had a pretty full charge still. I had loaded it with some new items but kept it 500+ Mb below its capacity. I have heard that you never want to take any memory device to close to its full capacity. True with hard drives so why not small drives? No lights, no screen, no sound…so now what? Was the battery dead, shouldn’t be and as these are sealed units you couldn’t replace it even if you wanted too. Did I pick up a virus somewhere that killed my unit? The only thing I have plugged this into is an AC power adopter and my computer so I ran a full scan on the computer and found nothing.

I figured it was done, like those that I had read about, and I would need to start shopping for another one. I have had good luck with this one up until know so why not stay with Sansa unless of course I could find a new unit that had a better playback speed function. Sansa has a new Clip Zip player that other than a slightly bigger screen that has color appears to be a copy of the Clip+. I went on line to find a copy of the owner’s manual to see if it still had the playback speed function and it did. I was just about to say sign me up when I noticed mention of a reset function. Vaguely I recalled a similar function in my owner’s manual and went in search of it. Eureka a reset is done by holding down the power button for 20 seconds. I had tried that (along with all the other buttons and several combinations and groupings) but not for that long.

I went racing upstairs to find my Clip+ and try this last resort to restore functionality to my player. I pushed the power button for two seconds and lost count on my way to twenty and let go of the button to start again when the lights came back on. My player was working again. I didn’t need the whole reset. Why…I don’t know. The battery was showing a very low charge so I brought it back to the computer, plugged it in and everything appears to be working just fine. I am so glad. If you have read any of my past post you will know that it took me more than 6 months of shopping to settle on this MP3 player (and I am glad I did) but I didn’t want to be without a working MP3 player for 6 days. I understand now why those that have had them are so willing to have another or more than one, these things are great…when they are working.

I will still keep my eye out for a better audio book player but for now I am glad that I still have my Clip+. This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

On slow downloads and the reality of over sold expectations.

As I write this I am waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the last of a few files to download. I started the download sometime yesterday afternoon. It is now nearly 6:30 the next morning as the last file reports that there are 15 minutes remaining. The files are good size files I admit. There are about 50 files in all representing two classes, one on financial markets from Yale and one on Hebrew Scriptures in Judaism and Christianity from Harvard. Each file is in the 600 to 850 MB size range representing a 60 to 75 minute video lecture on the given topic. They come from the iTunes U store. There is a fascinating array of topics to be discovered there and so far if you stay on the Pod casts and iTunes U side of the iTunes store it has all been free, a price I readily relish in the internet age where far too many things have hyper inflated pricing under the label of being cutting edge technology. So why is my Qwest taking so stinking long to download a couple of school videos especially when they are bragging all the time about high speed internet and there wonderfully cheap pricing plan. By the way we have seen neither in our many months of belonging to them even after the changeover to CenturyLink. The bill remains high with extra charges that don’t make any sense and seem to reappear time and again even after request to have them removed. I am definitely going to have to find a better way. I know my computer is starting to show it’s age (and if you look in past entries you will see that it started showing its age shortly after we got it). It is very frustrating to be throwing good money after bad which makes a lot of decisions about upgrading versus buying new a dilemma as well. Who do you trust to deliver the goods on whichever path you proceed down? In these tight economic times, which decision will lead to the best value for the hard earned dollar? And if I get something new, will I ever be able to find a machine that can play the flight simulator programs with a fair bit of competence? Yahoo, the last file just finished, I am out of here, other errands to run, the job being one of them. Wish me luck. This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

A quick run over to TEDs

Being stuck home sick is certainly no fun. Being able to catch up on a few things at home, things that don't take too much effort, at least makes you feel like the down time hasn't been a complete waste of time. One of those things was going to iTunes and downloading some of the latest TED video's. I don't know how many of these I have watched now but I can't think of a single one that didn't have something interesting in it.

Of the latest group I downloaded there where two individual yet very related videos that I just happened to download and watch in the same session. These two videos sum up rather well the two points of view that are competing for attention in the world today. Watch and think about which side you align with.

This will take a little time so make sure you have a few minutes to watch or at least download for later viewing. You can find TED 'Ideas worth spreading' from the link.

Then search for Paul Gilding 'The Earth is full', and watch it first, play time is 16:47 though that might include an advert at the end.

Next search for Peter Diamandis 'Abundance is are future', with a play time of 16:14.

If you want to go one step further the moderator brought them both out together for a little follow on discussion. It is a wonderful little debate with a bit of humor thrown in for good measure.

I would have added links to each site but links have a way of becoming obsolete almost as fast as they are loaded. The web site should stay constant however and they have a pretty good search function. You can also find them on iTunes store under pod casts again with a little searching.

If you have not explored or discovered TED yet you might want to plan for a little more time. There is a lot there for the curious to take in. Enjoy.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

Super Bowl prediction for 2012

I know it is after the fact but I predict that the Green Bay Packers will lose their first game after the announcement that Madonna will be the half time show at the Super Bowl and will mar an otherwise unblemished record. They will continue to be so disappointed in the NFL's selection of half time entertainment that they will be unable to complete a proper trouncing of all future competitors. This will enable them to pull out of the final rounds of play without having to be exposed to the already overexposed baggy old noise maker. I'm just saying.

It's all in the game.

I have finally gotten past my emotional frustrations and attachments to this year’s political shenanigans. My hopes have been dashed and disappointments have weighed heavy but are starting to fade. Those of you who were pulling for Obama 4 years ago know what I am talking about. All that talk of hope and change we have been fed turns out to be nothing more than the same old smoke and mirrors we have seen over and over again for years and years. 2012 is shaping up to be nothing less…or more for that matter.

The Republicans have assembled the same old mix of challengers (as is usually produced by the challengers), none of which can deliver the whole package that everyone would love to see. All have some fine qualities and bring some valid ideas to the table but they all come up short in other areas leaving much to be desired. It would be nice to have the ability to create a composite candidate that represented the best of all the rest. I am certain there are those that have tried to pull this off by presenting themselves as such but because it was not the person they really were they quickly faded out in superficiality. Looking for the candidates that stand on their own character without pandering to the polls and swaying their positions based on the desire of their financial supporters, is like searching for a soda that doesn’t use high fructose corn syrup. The cost of searching, finding and obtaining just doesn’t seem worth the effort.

The other thing that continues to amaze me in these races is the ability to call the game early. How many of you have gone to a basketball game and with the jump ball to start the game the announcer comes on and says first one to score a basket wins? Or who has tuned into the Boston Marathon just to see the start of the race and see who makes it to the end of the block first figuring surely they have it all sown up?

Surprise, this one is going past the first point scored but in my opinion, big fat hairy deal. The game will still be called before half time. A few states will get their 15 minutes of fame and then fade into obscurity with 38 of the other states that don’t garner a passing fancy. Nothing meaningful is coming of it and sadly doesn’t seem to matter. The talking points are the same old rhetoric and the solutions, or rather the appearance of solutions, are the same as well. I am getting tired of it all and have started to tune out which I am sensing is the same for many of the others out there. Besides, there is a football game coming up.

Some points to be made out of all this. Like a marathon race or a NASCAR race all the camera time and attention is given to those in front. If you are not in front then your only chance of catching some attention is when the guys in front come around to pass you or you are involved in a horrible crash and then you get the same amount of attention that is given to all wrecks (woo, glad that wasn’t me, check out the replay, alright commercial, time for a potty break). You might have some good ideas Rick and Ron but you are way behind at the moment and that means you will have to quadruple your efforts just to catch back up to the leaders and be considered as a candidate at this point. Most do not have the energy or stamina to accomplish this as you can see by the number of candidates that have dropped out already. Some never even made it to Iowa. Some are too dumb to realize just what it takes to create inertia.

The sad thing is the media in general and the public at large generates this inability to focus on anything beyond A vs. B. The reality of the matter is that the average person out there is way more interested in choices C,D,E,F,G,H… and has been for quite some time. Look at the channels on cable and the fact that there are more viewers collectively following them than the big three networks. The internet is full of niche players that cater to the interest of individuals. Their audience isn’t meant to be everyone, it is only meant to be those who enjoy a like view. Until the mainstream realizes this and figures out a way to serve the many individuals, we will remain stuck with the bland clichés that sway many but serve no one.

So why is the media so quick to focus on just this or that? I am guessing that cost might be one thing since it cost money to cover everything and they don’t think they can generate enough interest to justify worthwhile coverage of back of the pack.

Also, they have a distinct bias (no matter what they claim or choose to believe). Owners and operators of the media have pushed their points of view since their respective mediums were first invented. Don’t expect anything different at this point in the game. They all do. And we tend to tune into those that most closely align with our points of view or at least give us the most entertaining stirring of emotions.

The media also has the self perception of (and reality to some extend) of being influence peddlers. In other words, they say stuff, people listen and they think and feel and do based on what they are told. This is called power and the media likes to use this power to persuade their audiences in the direction they would like them to go. Sadly, reality suggests that it works. Therefore they frame the debates and topics of discussion only upon those areas they deem serving their purpose. “But Ed, I have seen polls that state that America is interested in this or that, and that our most pressing problems are this or that. How can you say the media is driving the agenda when they are just reporting what the polls show America is wanting?” Take any news story that you are familiar with and have some real knowledge about and then look at how it is covered and not just by one source but by several. Then tell me those slight differences in wording, sentence structure and turning of a phrase don’t hint at bias. Even the headline that tops many articles gives clues to the desired reader’s response. Some headlines are completely out of sync with the article, and are totally misleading but then there are many that don’t read beyond the headline.

Only two areas escape this treatment, one being the generic story report that is copied and pasted as is into several outlets (look at Google news feeds and read a story covered by many sources and you will notice that the articles referenced are all exactly the same, word for word), while the other is the only slightly interesting local interest story that is churned out by the local reporter because ‘we have to have so much of this kind of thing in our paper and I was the one that got stuck with it’ piece. The really juicy stuff, the stuff that gets you noticed, praised and awarded, requires an injection of something more. You are writing to please your audience, and your audience is always prioritized by the desires of the boss and owner coming first, the writer coming next, and the reader/viewer in the end. Just be aware of this next time you feel yourself jumping on the bandwagon. It might be time to take a break from it all, change channel or pick up a good book.

The next point I still find amusing is that the challengers may load the gate with a dozen horses for the race and quickly boil things down to one prime challenger but the incumbent party is pretty much stuck with no choice. They have to dance with their leftover. Oh sure, they might pretend at some point to offer up another choice or two but that would be like admitting making a mistake and that won’t do for the guys on top so they must continue to show (and sometimes “show” is all it is) support for their candidate. Mediocrity thrives on just this kind of practice. Kinda sad really.

Do you realize that there are probably another half dozen parties out there besides the Republicans and Democrats and we seldom if ever hear about any of them? They don’t even make first cut and because someone is deciding that there is no chance or probability for them to win, we lose the opportunity to choose for ourselves and learn of them and from them and sure enough their probability of winning becomes nil. A self fulfilling prophecy?

Last point of things to notice this go around is that everyone loves a bandwagon. There is nothing more fun that to jump on a bandwagon, but you have to be very careful and choose the right bandwagon to jump on. If you choose the wrong bandwagon you might have to explain yourself or worse yet jump off one bandwagon and quickly jump on another. You can’t be “seen” as having picked the wrong bandwagon; it could harm a guy’s reputation. Rush has built his reputation around the fact that “I told you so”. He has had to be extra careful with his wording so that he will have just the right sound bites to fall back on when he needs help convincing you that he was right all along. And of course the Donald can do no wrong (just don’t look at his record too closely) so he is really going out on a limb this early in the race by declaring his support of Romney.

But it is all part of the fun of the game we call American politics and if you have gone through more than one race with an active interest or seen a couple of decades of elections come and go you will start to see that this really is a silly season. It is sad that we have to take any of it seriously because it is all so laughably absurd but there are serious outcomes and gravely serious consequences, and that forces us to participate. Once again I find myself wishing it didn’t really mean so much and because it does mean so much I am wishing we had better choices.

I wonder if we really do get what we deserve. That’s a scary thought.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.