Have you heard of iRazoo? In my effort to find new ways to be compensated for wasting my time on the internet and providing a second or third or even thirtieth supplemental income I happened onto a web site called iRazoo, and as all things such as these I will pass on my findings to let you know if it is worth it or just a waste of time.
iRazoo is a new search engine web site that adds a twist of earning points with each search and letting its users provide feedback on the usefulness of the site through comments and a vote of yes or no to recommend a site also earning points. These points can then be traded in for toys or gift certificates. Seems simple enough but how does it deliver.
First off you will notice that as a search engine it is kind of weak. It will pull in sites for you but it is quite a mix with many entries seeming far off target. In fact they look like plants (paid advertisements) that have little to do with the subject at hand. That means that you will not be using this site as an alternative to do your regular searches. So the real use of this site is to gain points and earn stuff.
Points are relatively easy to earn, in fact it was so easy that they changed the rules within days of my joining. It seemed that some would just hit the site, grab points and move on without any seriousness in evaluating the recommended sites, so they added a timer which means you cannot vote for a site until 30 seconds have past. That is o.k. because the site comes up in a new tab, and while you are waiting for the 30 seconds to pass, you simply go back to the search page and click on another site to open up, and another one after that.
Update: They will only let you open one searched page tab at a time now so no multi-tasking means it will take 3X as long.
Three is the limit however as you can only earn points on three sites per search term used, and that is not a daily limit, that appears to be for all time. That means you have to get tricky if you want to search on a topic you are familiar with. For example, you might look for ‘Mini 500’, ‘helicopter’, ‘mini 500 helicopter’, ‘mini helicopter’, ‘500 mini’, ‘500 helicopter’… anyway you get the picture. Also each page can only be used once for points so you will have to choose carefully. Notice I did say page and not site so each page on the site can bring you points.
The three click limit is very…well limiting. Again, as a search engine iRazoo is less than stellar for those that know there are thousands and millions of web sites out there for just about any topic and to hold yourself to just the first three is rather silly.
The next limit that you will become familiar with is the daily earning limit which is currently set at 300 points per day. Because of the way the points are paid out, 8 here and 8 there, I don’t think I have hit an exact 300 yet. 300 divided by 8 gives you 37.5 so I always have a number that leaves me short and it doesn’t look like it will pay you partial points to fulfill your max. This just means it takes you longer to reach a prize level.
So what are the prize levels, or in other words, how long will it take to get something for nothing? First thing to remember is that there is very seldom a something for nothing; you are trading your time, interest, and feedback if nothing else. Even with the layered multi opened page approach I use it takes about 20 to 30 minutes to max out my points (your mileage may vary). In the iRazoo advertisements they say that you can earn a prize in as little as 10 days but that has to be 11 now since you can’t reach a full 300 point day to make the 3,000 point minimum prize level in 10 days.
So what do you get for your 3,000 points of effort? A $5 gift certificate to Amazon. Now you will have to run the numbers for yourself and decide if 5 hours worth of effort over an 11 day period is worth a $5 gift certificate but $1 per hour hardly seems worth the time, especially if the usefulness of the search engine just isn’t there.
If you wish to accumulate your points there are higher prizes to be had such as a Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3 40gb, or Xbox 360 60gb for 100,000 points. An unlocked 16gb iPhone can be had for 600,000 points (that’s 2,000 days or 5.479 years for those that are counting). Or you good just hold out for the $25 Apple iTunes music card for 18,250 points (about 61 days work).
Can you get more points and can you get there faster? Yes, sort of. Two ways are offered, one is that there will be banners appearing for which you can take up an offer or buy product and the sponsor will credit you with points, eventually, (allow 6 to 8 weeks…you know the drill) and in the mean time you have given you info out to yet another someone on the web and possibly some hard earned dollars for a product you might not really have wanted for which there are plenty of other sites to get rebates on your purchases. If you can’t tell, I don’t think I trust the banners.
The other way to get points on iRazoo is to put a link to iRazoo on your web page about iRazoo or tell a friend about iRazoo so that they can join iRazoo and take advantage of this thrilling iRazoo search engine web site by joining iRazoo themselves and earning their own iRazoo points and iRazoo rewards, and for each person that joins iRazoo based on your sponsorship and promotion of iRazoo you will receive 50 iRazoo points and the person referred will also receive 50 iRazoo points. So feel free to click on any of the hyper linked mentions of iRazoo and you can play iRazoo also. Did I mention that only half of your points used can come from iRazoo referrals’, yet another limit placed on your iRazoo efforts at iRazoo.
Although I haven’t been on iRazoo very long, maybe a month or so, (it has been a busy month) and I certainly haven’t been on it every day, I am up to 2,418 points and am working on my first Amazon gift card. Why, I don’t know. I just want to see if it works for one thing and the pursuit of something for nothing still intrigues me. I also can’t tell you how quickly they pay out or how true to their word they are because I haven’t hit that spot yet either. They do have a promo going where you can win a search and win $5 Amazon gift certificate but I haven’t won one yet, and I’m not holding my breath.
One more suggestion for those willing to try, leave your radio or TV on in the back ground so when you are drawing a blank on what to do for the next search word just use the first word or phrase you hear coming out of the radio or TV. Do this carefully though, for it might be a word from a commercial that you really aren’t too anxious to learn more about.
Now that I have taken the ground work for you, it is up to you to decide if it is worth it for you. If I get one gift card I will be happy but I will also move on to hopefully bigger and better things. And as I continue to look for them I will continue to share my findings with you.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
13 November 2009
30 September 2009
Out of commission from a little bug
I have been away for a little bit, sorry about that. I think I came down with the Farr West Nile Malaria Hepatitis Swine Flu C. O.K. maybe not, but I have had a whopper of a head cold that has lasted two plus weeks.
I don’t exactly enjoy getting sick. I don’t imagine there are many that do. Sometimes it is o.k. because it is your body’s way of telling you to take it easy, slow down, and catch your breath. You take a day or two off, relax and you are ready to get after it again.
This was not one of those sick days. This was one of those shut down days. There is no energy, there is no focus, there is no brain power, and there is no joy. When these kind hit, I literally shut down. I don’t bother to do much more than watch T.V. and sleep and occasionally eat. That’s it. I might want to do more but I just can’t. Reading is reduced to looking at the pictures in a magazine with the occasional effort to read the caption but seldom the text that goes with it. How can I? I have tried in the past to read a book only to notice that I am still on the same page after 35 minutes and still don’t know what I have just read.
So rest I needed, and rest I did…for three days at least. Then I started to get a little antsy even though there was never enough energy in me to do anything about it.
If anyone needed an incentive to get better just turn on daytime T.V., if that doesn’t do the trick, then your brain is still in a mushy like state and you should seek further professional help.
So I did. I went to the local health store after the 6th or 7th day to see if they could help figure out a solution, besides anything over three days from work requires a note from your doctor (how does that help me feel like a grown up?). Well, with lucky timing and a long weekend I was able to forgo the doctor’s note but I went to see him anyway because I just wasn’t kicking this thing.
The visit was its typical short quick shot visit. He asked me if my symptoms included coughing, headache, nausea, lack of energy, etc., etc., etc., I said yes and he said you have what everyone has, it is viral so there isn’t much you can do more than what you are doing. He gave me a Z-pack to cover possible bacterial infection, told me to get some Mucinex DM, don’t overdo and continue to get lots of rest. That was it, three minutes tops. I forgot to ask him about my very red and irritated eye so went back in to ask him about it after getting the prescription filled. He said he had noticed it but didn’t think it was too bad and that it should clear up on its own but if it didn’t then come back for more fun and excitement.
I still wonder why I bother with it sometimes except that with all the other things going around I guess I needed the assurance that it wasn’t one of those. Also, if the only way to get rid of it is to get official drugs then you have to go through official channels. I think there might be easier and much less expensive ways to treat yourself for a severe head cold, but then what would we have to complain about. Besides, we only see and think about the tiny co-payment for our treatment and drugs and seldom think about the actual charges for services rendered. It is easier to swallow the medicine in small doses.
So after the visit to the pharmacy for the Z-pack and unwilling to pay their price for the Mucinex DM I headed to the local Wal-Mart to find the Mucinex cheaper and restock up on the 12 hour Sudafed. The only reason I will submit to buying Mucinex is it is the only cough suppressant/expectorant that is in a 12 hour time release formula. Why 12 hour time release? Like the 12 hour Sudafed, it is the only way for me to take medicine before going to bed and have it last through the night. This is worth a lot to a person that is looking for an uninterrupted night of rest without having to wake up every four hours to take another dose of whatever and then try to return to sleep afterward.
By the way, I would buy the generic brands whenever possible and for the Sudafed I can find substitutes but not for the Mucinex. I can get the same medicine in cough syrup but not with the extended time release. The generics are cheaper, sometimes much cheaper and I have had pretty good luck with them so far.
Now comes the sad part. For many years now, you have been unable to buy Sudafed or anything containing Sudafed on your own. You now have to get a card from the shelf and take it up to the pharmacist and request the medicine. They then take your id, and record all your personal information into a government run data base that makes sure you don’t buy too much because that would indicate that you are a drug fiend and are probably running a meth lab. By the way, you are allowed to buy up to 9 grams or Sudafed a month and since I was purchasing a whopping 120 milligrams I was safe to buy my package.
I was feeling a little bit better at the time and thankfully there was no line in the middle of the day so the purchase was not too hard to make, but I have gone in looking for my medication when my head was plugged solid, my nose was running nonstop, and I was coughing up a lung only to find that I still had to pick up the little card and then go to the back of the line and stand for 30 minutes waiting to again hand over my id and go through the background check to see if I was allowed to buy my lousy little pills.
It is interesting to note a few things such as the fact that the original 4 hour pill took two tablets and was 30 milligrams per dose. A couple of years ago I found myself overseas and coming down with this miserable cold but without any of the medicine I usual bring along for just such an occasion. I went to the local pharmacy at the end of the day after our meetings got out in search of some Drixoral (another 12 hour cold medicine that is no longer available) but could not find any. The druggist asked what my symptoms were and offered Sudafed. Limited choice, foreign language and much in need I accepted this as the only remedy available this trip. Besides I was desperate and if I couldn’t find a 12 hour solution to see me through the night then this would be the next best thing.
I took the medicine and it did do the trick. As my head cleared I read the ingredients and noticed that this regular strength Sudafed was 60 milligrams per dose. No wonder it worked. I even shared it with a couple of co-workers that had got some of the same cold. It worked so well for them that they went back for a couple of boxes to take home with them. I kind of wish I had also. Here was grown up medicine, sold by a grown up to a grown up with grown up intentions of how to use it in mind. No hand holding, no back ground checks, no mother may I’s, just a way to treat the same old cold in the same old way with the same old medicine without any fuss or holler. What a novel approach.
The other thing I found interesting about all this is that once the real Sudafed went behind the counter a pseudo Sudafed appeared to take its place on the shelves. It only takes one tablet instead of two and it seems to work fine for the milder cases I occasionally get. But when the really heavy stuff hits then I want the real stuff and now that I know that there is another size regular dose I am not nearly as afraid of overdosing when I really need the help to get over the hump. I don’t take two regular 12 hour together, but I have taken more normal 12 hour dose and then when I have needed it I have taken a pseudo Sudafed as a booster.
I now feel I need to add the disclaimer that I am not advising or recommending this for anyone or anybody, and there is the fact that I am not a doctor nor have I pretended to be one for many, many years now. This is just what I did while practicing to be an adult. It seemed to work for me.
Anyway, after the first week of playing with this, I decided to go back to work. If you are only going to be miserable at home you might as well be miserable at work. I still wasn’t functioning at my best but that is o.k. when you are at work. Just kidding, but it does help with recovery if you can at least attempt to be productive in a laid back if not totally unenthusiastic way.
I did try to be responsible and stayed clear of others, covering my mouth when coughing, washing down my workstation and phone, and washing my hands frequently with Germ-X. No one else at work caught this that I know of so I must have been doing something right.
I did talk to a friend though that said he has had his version of this head cold for the past month. I really didn’t need to hear that. Besides, I think I have turned the corner now. I am feeling much better, can think enough to type a few words and as long as I take it somewhat easy and make sure to get enough rest I am sure I am on the mend. There are two signs that I am over the worst, my appetite for junk food comes back strong, and I have a desire to go out for a bike ride. Both are there. I haven’t gone on the bike ride yet because I don’t want to overdo but I sure have hit the junk food again. I did feel like a bike ride early last Saturday but I didn’t quite make it out. Just as well seeing how after the thought hit me I laid down for a second and awoke two and half hours later. Did I mention how my energy levels were just gone during this whole thing?
As hard as this has been and as long as this has dragged out I am still very grateful that this is all that it was and this is all the longer it has taken. I have had this before many times, and will surely have it again but through it all I know that it will pass and I will mend. I might get worn down from it and I might be disappointed and frustrated from the lack of ability to function as normal but it will pass and I will return.
There are others that I know that are facing a much longer recovery path. I have some very special friends that have had to face illnesses that do not go away on their own, and are not easily cured with a prescription or two. The illnesses that they are living with do not go away in one week or two or sometimes even in a month or year and sometimes longer than that. Some have been dealing with their illness for so long that they can’t remember any more what it was like to be normal. My hat goes off to each and every one of you. You are the ones that make my little periodic bouts with colds become trivial and all my complaining just a whining refrain. You are the ones that teach me what it could really be like.
And you also teach me how to handle it with the master’s touch. It isn’t always easy but somehow you manage to carry on knowing that there are good days and bad, high points and low points, but through it all you carry on. You are the ones that can somehow manage to receive and extend the love all around you in spite of all that you must face. That is the strength and courage that will carry you through anything life throws at you and you will not back down. You stand tall with those around you and carry on.
I have seen it in many of my friends through the years and always hope that I can be counted as friend when they are in need. They have been all ages from toddler to wobbler and each has provided me with lessons I needed to learn. I have gained much by my association with them and I hope that they have also found favor in knowing me. Some have kept diaries of their travails on blogs and I have wanted to site them often but hesitate without their consent.
But I know that they are not the only ones, so I open this up to any and all that want to share your stories with us. Just add comments and web links to this article and let others know what you have faced and how you have coped. This will help inspire us all. And it will introduce a new world of friends, ones that you can share your story with and ones that will in turn share their prayers with you. May your righteous desires be fulfilled as God looks after your needs as I know he has looked after mine.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
I don’t exactly enjoy getting sick. I don’t imagine there are many that do. Sometimes it is o.k. because it is your body’s way of telling you to take it easy, slow down, and catch your breath. You take a day or two off, relax and you are ready to get after it again.
This was not one of those sick days. This was one of those shut down days. There is no energy, there is no focus, there is no brain power, and there is no joy. When these kind hit, I literally shut down. I don’t bother to do much more than watch T.V. and sleep and occasionally eat. That’s it. I might want to do more but I just can’t. Reading is reduced to looking at the pictures in a magazine with the occasional effort to read the caption but seldom the text that goes with it. How can I? I have tried in the past to read a book only to notice that I am still on the same page after 35 minutes and still don’t know what I have just read.
So rest I needed, and rest I did…for three days at least. Then I started to get a little antsy even though there was never enough energy in me to do anything about it.
If anyone needed an incentive to get better just turn on daytime T.V., if that doesn’t do the trick, then your brain is still in a mushy like state and you should seek further professional help.
So I did. I went to the local health store after the 6th or 7th day to see if they could help figure out a solution, besides anything over three days from work requires a note from your doctor (how does that help me feel like a grown up?). Well, with lucky timing and a long weekend I was able to forgo the doctor’s note but I went to see him anyway because I just wasn’t kicking this thing.
The visit was its typical short quick shot visit. He asked me if my symptoms included coughing, headache, nausea, lack of energy, etc., etc., etc., I said yes and he said you have what everyone has, it is viral so there isn’t much you can do more than what you are doing. He gave me a Z-pack to cover possible bacterial infection, told me to get some Mucinex DM, don’t overdo and continue to get lots of rest. That was it, three minutes tops. I forgot to ask him about my very red and irritated eye so went back in to ask him about it after getting the prescription filled. He said he had noticed it but didn’t think it was too bad and that it should clear up on its own but if it didn’t then come back for more fun and excitement.
I still wonder why I bother with it sometimes except that with all the other things going around I guess I needed the assurance that it wasn’t one of those. Also, if the only way to get rid of it is to get official drugs then you have to go through official channels. I think there might be easier and much less expensive ways to treat yourself for a severe head cold, but then what would we have to complain about. Besides, we only see and think about the tiny co-payment for our treatment and drugs and seldom think about the actual charges for services rendered. It is easier to swallow the medicine in small doses.
So after the visit to the pharmacy for the Z-pack and unwilling to pay their price for the Mucinex DM I headed to the local Wal-Mart to find the Mucinex cheaper and restock up on the 12 hour Sudafed. The only reason I will submit to buying Mucinex is it is the only cough suppressant/expectorant that is in a 12 hour time release formula. Why 12 hour time release? Like the 12 hour Sudafed, it is the only way for me to take medicine before going to bed and have it last through the night. This is worth a lot to a person that is looking for an uninterrupted night of rest without having to wake up every four hours to take another dose of whatever and then try to return to sleep afterward.
By the way, I would buy the generic brands whenever possible and for the Sudafed I can find substitutes but not for the Mucinex. I can get the same medicine in cough syrup but not with the extended time release. The generics are cheaper, sometimes much cheaper and I have had pretty good luck with them so far.
Now comes the sad part. For many years now, you have been unable to buy Sudafed or anything containing Sudafed on your own. You now have to get a card from the shelf and take it up to the pharmacist and request the medicine. They then take your id, and record all your personal information into a government run data base that makes sure you don’t buy too much because that would indicate that you are a drug fiend and are probably running a meth lab. By the way, you are allowed to buy up to 9 grams or Sudafed a month and since I was purchasing a whopping 120 milligrams I was safe to buy my package.
I was feeling a little bit better at the time and thankfully there was no line in the middle of the day so the purchase was not too hard to make, but I have gone in looking for my medication when my head was plugged solid, my nose was running nonstop, and I was coughing up a lung only to find that I still had to pick up the little card and then go to the back of the line and stand for 30 minutes waiting to again hand over my id and go through the background check to see if I was allowed to buy my lousy little pills.
It is interesting to note a few things such as the fact that the original 4 hour pill took two tablets and was 30 milligrams per dose. A couple of years ago I found myself overseas and coming down with this miserable cold but without any of the medicine I usual bring along for just such an occasion. I went to the local pharmacy at the end of the day after our meetings got out in search of some Drixoral (another 12 hour cold medicine that is no longer available) but could not find any. The druggist asked what my symptoms were and offered Sudafed. Limited choice, foreign language and much in need I accepted this as the only remedy available this trip. Besides I was desperate and if I couldn’t find a 12 hour solution to see me through the night then this would be the next best thing.
I took the medicine and it did do the trick. As my head cleared I read the ingredients and noticed that this regular strength Sudafed was 60 milligrams per dose. No wonder it worked. I even shared it with a couple of co-workers that had got some of the same cold. It worked so well for them that they went back for a couple of boxes to take home with them. I kind of wish I had also. Here was grown up medicine, sold by a grown up to a grown up with grown up intentions of how to use it in mind. No hand holding, no back ground checks, no mother may I’s, just a way to treat the same old cold in the same old way with the same old medicine without any fuss or holler. What a novel approach.
The other thing I found interesting about all this is that once the real Sudafed went behind the counter a pseudo Sudafed appeared to take its place on the shelves. It only takes one tablet instead of two and it seems to work fine for the milder cases I occasionally get. But when the really heavy stuff hits then I want the real stuff and now that I know that there is another size regular dose I am not nearly as afraid of overdosing when I really need the help to get over the hump. I don’t take two regular 12 hour together, but I have taken more normal 12 hour dose and then when I have needed it I have taken a pseudo Sudafed as a booster.
I now feel I need to add the disclaimer that I am not advising or recommending this for anyone or anybody, and there is the fact that I am not a doctor nor have I pretended to be one for many, many years now. This is just what I did while practicing to be an adult. It seemed to work for me.
Anyway, after the first week of playing with this, I decided to go back to work. If you are only going to be miserable at home you might as well be miserable at work. I still wasn’t functioning at my best but that is o.k. when you are at work. Just kidding, but it does help with recovery if you can at least attempt to be productive in a laid back if not totally unenthusiastic way.
I did try to be responsible and stayed clear of others, covering my mouth when coughing, washing down my workstation and phone, and washing my hands frequently with Germ-X. No one else at work caught this that I know of so I must have been doing something right.
I did talk to a friend though that said he has had his version of this head cold for the past month. I really didn’t need to hear that. Besides, I think I have turned the corner now. I am feeling much better, can think enough to type a few words and as long as I take it somewhat easy and make sure to get enough rest I am sure I am on the mend. There are two signs that I am over the worst, my appetite for junk food comes back strong, and I have a desire to go out for a bike ride. Both are there. I haven’t gone on the bike ride yet because I don’t want to overdo but I sure have hit the junk food again. I did feel like a bike ride early last Saturday but I didn’t quite make it out. Just as well seeing how after the thought hit me I laid down for a second and awoke two and half hours later. Did I mention how my energy levels were just gone during this whole thing?
As hard as this has been and as long as this has dragged out I am still very grateful that this is all that it was and this is all the longer it has taken. I have had this before many times, and will surely have it again but through it all I know that it will pass and I will mend. I might get worn down from it and I might be disappointed and frustrated from the lack of ability to function as normal but it will pass and I will return.
There are others that I know that are facing a much longer recovery path. I have some very special friends that have had to face illnesses that do not go away on their own, and are not easily cured with a prescription or two. The illnesses that they are living with do not go away in one week or two or sometimes even in a month or year and sometimes longer than that. Some have been dealing with their illness for so long that they can’t remember any more what it was like to be normal. My hat goes off to each and every one of you. You are the ones that make my little periodic bouts with colds become trivial and all my complaining just a whining refrain. You are the ones that teach me what it could really be like.
And you also teach me how to handle it with the master’s touch. It isn’t always easy but somehow you manage to carry on knowing that there are good days and bad, high points and low points, but through it all you carry on. You are the ones that can somehow manage to receive and extend the love all around you in spite of all that you must face. That is the strength and courage that will carry you through anything life throws at you and you will not back down. You stand tall with those around you and carry on.
I have seen it in many of my friends through the years and always hope that I can be counted as friend when they are in need. They have been all ages from toddler to wobbler and each has provided me with lessons I needed to learn. I have gained much by my association with them and I hope that they have also found favor in knowing me. Some have kept diaries of their travails on blogs and I have wanted to site them often but hesitate without their consent.
But I know that they are not the only ones, so I open this up to any and all that want to share your stories with us. Just add comments and web links to this article and let others know what you have faced and how you have coped. This will help inspire us all. And it will introduce a new world of friends, ones that you can share your story with and ones that will in turn share their prayers with you. May your righteous desires be fulfilled as God looks after your needs as I know he has looked after mine.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
07 September 2009
Still looking for my MP3 player
Every so often I throw caution to the wind and decide to look for a fairly decent MP3 player, and every so often I give up in frustration because what I want is not out there.
I went looking again this last week.
I still don't have one.
All I want is a simple player that is big enough to handle my files (not even all of them as I have many). Music playback is basic and I tend to think that all players should succeed at this to some degree or another but then quality comes into play and from what I have read and researched so far, headphones make a huge difference with some users spend up to three times as much for aftermarket headsets as they do the player they use them on. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
If it had the ability to play movies that would be great, a bonus even. My expectations on this front are rather low however. Screens are small, resolution is limited and you just aren't going to get that theater experience in a noisy or crowded environment. Also, again from my research, there are many users that are having trouble loading, formatting, configuring or just plain making movies compatible to their players so some don't even bother with them. That is a shame.
I hear a lot of people use theirs for tuning into podcast and downloading TV shows and such. This sounds fabulous if it works as advertised but again I see compatibility issues arising so I don't want to get my hopes up to high.
These are all pretty common functions for which most users get MP3 players for. I however want something more. I want to listen to audio books with an MP3 player. In order to do audiobooks well an MP3 player must do three things, be compatible with various audiobook formats, do bookmarking and have variable playback speed.
There are many different audiobook services and formats. Not all formats are supported by all players. Some are very selective on what they will and will not play. Check this out before buying a player or signing up for a service. My intention is to hit the library and check out CD books (don't read that out loud it sounds bad) then download convert them to MP3 files which should work on about any player. I do belong to overdrive but haven't gone beyond downloading and listening to the books from my computer.
Bookmarking allows you to stop, do or listen to something else then comeback and start up where you left off without having to spend a lot of time searching all over for your place. Depending on how the books files are set up you can waste a lot of time looking for where you were rather than listening to your book.
I am a big fan of books on tape. Of course books on tape became books on CD and now books on MP3. It is a great way to get some 'reading' in while doing other task like driving to work, doing chores around the house, or going for a walk. I also find that I am able to get through more material this way than if I try and find a quiet moment or two to sit down and physically pick up some print. My eyes aren't what they used to be and so my reading speeds have slowed somewhat, and this is where my other desire comes in.
Through the miracle of technology, I have a cassette player I found at Radio Shack some years ago that has the ability to speed up the playback while adjusting the pitch so that you can listen to a recording at twice its normal speed and it still sounds like a normal voice. Some cassette players that did this would only go 15% faster and then sounded like the chipmunks where talking to you. Even Windows Media Player after about version 9 has a speed playback function built in that works pretty well and has helped me cover many a book at half the time it might have. Windows Media Player can playback up to 200% speed with it sounding pretty even and smooth. Speeds faster than that start dropping or clipping sections, though you would think that with the speed of today's computers they could fix that, kind of like getting higher frames per second playback on video. Some audio I really would like to go faster than 200% while there is some audio that I have to work to keep up with at 140-150%. The faster you go the more focused you get. Sometimes you really have to pay attention and that helps.
I really like speed-ed up playback. Some readers are just slow and need to be pumped up. Some files you want to cover more than once because there is so much to absorb and repetition is a great way to improve retention (think textbooks). Some sections really drag or get repetitive and could use some form of speed reading technique. For example, you don't read the lineage section of who begat who the same way that you read the Lord's prayer.
I have about worn my cassette player out and that is why I have been looking for a replacement. Might as well go modern and get and MP3 player. Lighter, carries more data, easier on batteries, plugs into stereos easier and should just be an all around better solution to the problem at hand. It sounds like MP3 players were made with me in mind.
Except they weren't.
I am having the hardest time finding finding any mention of this feature on all but the smallest handful of players and even then I have to dig into the fine print to find it. Most players do not have variable speed playback. They just don't.
I have been to hundreds of web sites and read thousands of comments only to find a few select references on out dated posts. I have been to manufactures web sites and submitted questions directly when the helps and site searches produced nothing only to be told by their reps that none of their players offered that ability.
Apple Ipods do have this capability for files in their audiobook section but they only have three selections, slow, normal and fast. Fast from what I can gather is 140% which is better than nothing but not what I was hoping for. If I went with Apple, I would pay too much, wouldn't be able to play WMA windows media formatted items, and would pretty much be locked into the Apple market. They maybe the standard but they haven't convinced me their better.
Microsoft Zune has no speed control on current models and like Apple they are overpriced, and proprietary in nature preferring that you only play in their playground and spend money at their store. As I have said before, I really like Windows Media Player though it is buggy and I have had to learn some work around's when downloading CD's, I find myself having a hard time trusting anything with the Microsoft name on it due to past experience with less than trouble free software. Windows Media Center is a great disappointment and after three attempts at Flight Simulator and nothing closely resembling the demonstration models you think I would learn.
So with the two biggest names not even in the running there are many other names that stand out as having better products and hopefully the right extra feature but sadly no. There is mention that some older products singularly had this ability but short of picking one up used on E-bay they are not current and would not come with buyer protections like a warranty. This is a must. In my research I have noticed one common thread and that is that these tools are not all that dependable. Many users are well beyond their first player with many telling of their current player being the fourth or fifth one. Some have multiple players and use them for different things depending on their fancy (one for jogging, one for books, one for this music vs. that). There are also many, many reports of buying a player and not having it work right out of the box. This means returns and that means I need to make sure and buy from a reputable dealer.
Through all the searching I did come across one potential manufacturer that might give me what I need, Cowon. Cowon has a pretty function web site were you can download the manual and read up on the model you are looking at before you buy it. I have looked a three or four manuals now and they all indicate that they have variable speed playback. Not only variable speed playback for audio but for video as well, how cool is that? Some models indicate they will go to 150% while one indicates 200%. Not only that, but they have a status bar to show how far into the track you are and you can even use that bar to fast forward or return to a spot in the file you are listening to. It sounds like some one that designed their players actually uses them. Did I mention they have bookmarking?
So where do I get one? I don't know. For some reason, no one is carrying them anymore. I thought Walmart or Target or Costco or Best Buy did or would. Not even a mention of them in Overstock.com. No luck. My search on Amazon got confusing (it is hard to tell where their store ends and the sublet stores begin). Also the pricing for a player that doesn't have many outlets seems to be a little high to other comparable units.
I know I am getting picky but I am not going to spend Apple overpricing dollars on a company that seems to be loosing it's market presence and doesn't have the capability to service their products without the use of overnight shipping. With all the trouble I have read about from users that have had to have returns or have had to by replacements before a year is up, I am hesitant to lay out too much coin for an unproven product no matter how much I want one.
And I do want one.
I do want one but I can't prove that it will do for me what I want it to. I can't prove that it can't. These are the things that drive me nuts. Analysis paralysis. Risk/Reward. How bad do I want one? I let you know, but for now...
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
I went looking again this last week.
I still don't have one.
All I want is a simple player that is big enough to handle my files (not even all of them as I have many). Music playback is basic and I tend to think that all players should succeed at this to some degree or another but then quality comes into play and from what I have read and researched so far, headphones make a huge difference with some users spend up to three times as much for aftermarket headsets as they do the player they use them on. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
If it had the ability to play movies that would be great, a bonus even. My expectations on this front are rather low however. Screens are small, resolution is limited and you just aren't going to get that theater experience in a noisy or crowded environment. Also, again from my research, there are many users that are having trouble loading, formatting, configuring or just plain making movies compatible to their players so some don't even bother with them. That is a shame.
I hear a lot of people use theirs for tuning into podcast and downloading TV shows and such. This sounds fabulous if it works as advertised but again I see compatibility issues arising so I don't want to get my hopes up to high.
These are all pretty common functions for which most users get MP3 players for. I however want something more. I want to listen to audio books with an MP3 player. In order to do audiobooks well an MP3 player must do three things, be compatible with various audiobook formats, do bookmarking and have variable playback speed.
There are many different audiobook services and formats. Not all formats are supported by all players. Some are very selective on what they will and will not play. Check this out before buying a player or signing up for a service. My intention is to hit the library and check out CD books (don't read that out loud it sounds bad) then download convert them to MP3 files which should work on about any player. I do belong to overdrive but haven't gone beyond downloading and listening to the books from my computer.
Bookmarking allows you to stop, do or listen to something else then comeback and start up where you left off without having to spend a lot of time searching all over for your place. Depending on how the books files are set up you can waste a lot of time looking for where you were rather than listening to your book.
I am a big fan of books on tape. Of course books on tape became books on CD and now books on MP3. It is a great way to get some 'reading' in while doing other task like driving to work, doing chores around the house, or going for a walk. I also find that I am able to get through more material this way than if I try and find a quiet moment or two to sit down and physically pick up some print. My eyes aren't what they used to be and so my reading speeds have slowed somewhat, and this is where my other desire comes in.
Through the miracle of technology, I have a cassette player I found at Radio Shack some years ago that has the ability to speed up the playback while adjusting the pitch so that you can listen to a recording at twice its normal speed and it still sounds like a normal voice. Some cassette players that did this would only go 15% faster and then sounded like the chipmunks where talking to you. Even Windows Media Player after about version 9 has a speed playback function built in that works pretty well and has helped me cover many a book at half the time it might have. Windows Media Player can playback up to 200% speed with it sounding pretty even and smooth. Speeds faster than that start dropping or clipping sections, though you would think that with the speed of today's computers they could fix that, kind of like getting higher frames per second playback on video. Some audio I really would like to go faster than 200% while there is some audio that I have to work to keep up with at 140-150%. The faster you go the more focused you get. Sometimes you really have to pay attention and that helps.
I really like speed-ed up playback. Some readers are just slow and need to be pumped up. Some files you want to cover more than once because there is so much to absorb and repetition is a great way to improve retention (think textbooks). Some sections really drag or get repetitive and could use some form of speed reading technique. For example, you don't read the lineage section of who begat who the same way that you read the Lord's prayer.
I have about worn my cassette player out and that is why I have been looking for a replacement. Might as well go modern and get and MP3 player. Lighter, carries more data, easier on batteries, plugs into stereos easier and should just be an all around better solution to the problem at hand. It sounds like MP3 players were made with me in mind.
Except they weren't.
I am having the hardest time finding finding any mention of this feature on all but the smallest handful of players and even then I have to dig into the fine print to find it. Most players do not have variable speed playback. They just don't.
I have been to hundreds of web sites and read thousands of comments only to find a few select references on out dated posts. I have been to manufactures web sites and submitted questions directly when the helps and site searches produced nothing only to be told by their reps that none of their players offered that ability.
Apple Ipods do have this capability for files in their audiobook section but they only have three selections, slow, normal and fast. Fast from what I can gather is 140% which is better than nothing but not what I was hoping for. If I went with Apple, I would pay too much, wouldn't be able to play WMA windows media formatted items, and would pretty much be locked into the Apple market. They maybe the standard but they haven't convinced me their better.
Microsoft Zune has no speed control on current models and like Apple they are overpriced, and proprietary in nature preferring that you only play in their playground and spend money at their store. As I have said before, I really like Windows Media Player though it is buggy and I have had to learn some work around's when downloading CD's, I find myself having a hard time trusting anything with the Microsoft name on it due to past experience with less than trouble free software. Windows Media Center is a great disappointment and after three attempts at Flight Simulator and nothing closely resembling the demonstration models you think I would learn.
So with the two biggest names not even in the running there are many other names that stand out as having better products and hopefully the right extra feature but sadly no. There is mention that some older products singularly had this ability but short of picking one up used on E-bay they are not current and would not come with buyer protections like a warranty. This is a must. In my research I have noticed one common thread and that is that these tools are not all that dependable. Many users are well beyond their first player with many telling of their current player being the fourth or fifth one. Some have multiple players and use them for different things depending on their fancy (one for jogging, one for books, one for this music vs. that). There are also many, many reports of buying a player and not having it work right out of the box. This means returns and that means I need to make sure and buy from a reputable dealer.
Through all the searching I did come across one potential manufacturer that might give me what I need, Cowon. Cowon has a pretty function web site were you can download the manual and read up on the model you are looking at before you buy it. I have looked a three or four manuals now and they all indicate that they have variable speed playback. Not only variable speed playback for audio but for video as well, how cool is that? Some models indicate they will go to 150% while one indicates 200%. Not only that, but they have a status bar to show how far into the track you are and you can even use that bar to fast forward or return to a spot in the file you are listening to. It sounds like some one that designed their players actually uses them. Did I mention they have bookmarking?
So where do I get one? I don't know. For some reason, no one is carrying them anymore. I thought Walmart or Target or Costco or Best Buy did or would. Not even a mention of them in Overstock.com. No luck. My search on Amazon got confusing (it is hard to tell where their store ends and the sublet stores begin). Also the pricing for a player that doesn't have many outlets seems to be a little high to other comparable units.
I know I am getting picky but I am not going to spend Apple overpricing dollars on a company that seems to be loosing it's market presence and doesn't have the capability to service their products without the use of overnight shipping. With all the trouble I have read about from users that have had to have returns or have had to by replacements before a year is up, I am hesitant to lay out too much coin for an unproven product no matter how much I want one.
And I do want one.
I do want one but I can't prove that it will do for me what I want it to. I can't prove that it can't. These are the things that drive me nuts. Analysis paralysis. Risk/Reward. How bad do I want one? I let you know, but for now...
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
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