Gadget madness

iPod envy has driven me to new heights of gadget madness. Determined not to give in to hoards of targeted advertising, and equally determined not to be the fool easily separated from her money, I did the logical thing and purchased not one, not two but THREE audio alternatives. Oops.

RHAPSODY
First, Rhaspsody. For months I had a free trial to what I think is the best online music subscription service. When that expired I broke down and got the $9.99/month subscription. Its worth it. On-demand CD-quality streaming, burn tracks at $0.79 a pop, or listen to any of their pre-programmed radio stations (that let you SKIP SONGS.) Download a trial at Listen.com



iRIVER IMP-550
My next purchase was the iRiver IMP-550, an extraordinary CD/MP3 player. Which means it will play just about anything on a flat shiny disc. It was between this and the iPod, and at $149, I think this is the better deal. Besides, who has time to rip their entire CD collection? I can rip what I want then burn to a CD, and create playlists using the 550 itself, or Winamp (it supports Winamp playlists.) Or just play regular CDs. Too many additional features to list here.



XM
Music subscription service - check. MP3 player - check (well, sort of.) What's missing....oh right, satellite radio! XM, specifically. This purchase was Eric's idea, and while I was sort of opposed to it at first, when when tried it out...wow. We'll never need to listen to the radio in the car ever again. Or home for that matter. We went with the SkyFi with car and home kits.