TechToyz: The Intersection of Technology and Life

Bacon Brothers at CES

The Bacon Brothers, Kevin and Michael, were in the XM radio booth at CES. XM seemed to take a more low-key approach to entertainment this year. I think the crowds around their booth the last couple of years irritated the companies around them.

The Bacon Brothers did an acoustic set that was outstanding. They sounded great, answered some questions and signed autographs. I have a couple of their songs on my iPod that I bought from Apple's iTunes Store. When I get back, I'm going to grab their new CD. It sounds like it will be a very good CD.

iPod Shuffle

My new Ipod Shuffle had it's maiden voyage today. The setup last night was the usual painless install. I bought the 512MB version. I usually subscribe to the "bigger is better" theory, but the 512MB model was available sooner and should be plenty of space for my needs. I'll be using it for my bike riding and when I go to the gym. It is MUCH smaller and lighter than my 1st Gen iPod. I hope it proves to be just as durable.

I do need to reconfigure the Shuffle settings. I'm sort of a control freak. (yeah, a big surprise for those that know me :) ) I don't like the random play or shuffle. I want the books, songs and podcasts to play in the order I want them to play. A quick look at the instructions (RTFM) showed me how to remedy the configuration.

Now, when is that new iPod mini coming out?!

Podcasting

Podcasting is all the rage now. A great place to find information is at ipodder.org. I end up listening to podcasts on my iPod instead of music most of the time. Some of my fav podcasts are:

• Adam Curry's Daily Source Code
• Engadget
• Geek News Central
• Coverville
• Leo Laporte has several, but this one has the most content.
• Dawn and Drew (This is not usually office friendly)
• iPodlounge (I wish this one was more frequent)

iPodlounge Podcast

I spent my time today at the YMCA listening to the first Podcast from iPodlounge. Jeremy Horwitz did a great job of discussing several products, including the iPod photo and several speaker systems. I listen to a bunch of different Podcasts each week. The audio quality on this one was close to the best that I've heard. Unless I misunderstood Jeremy, it sounded like he was using an iPod and a Griffen iTalk. That is a simple solution that sure sounded great.