Thursday, August 24, 2006

i figured out one thing

i post here a lot more when i'm writing. i don't know why that surprises me, but it does. i thought once i got the first draft done, i'd be here every second. of course right now when i am online i'm usually over at clarity of night for the short story contest. we've gotten some good entries. i'm glad jason is judging and not me. it will be tough.




i'm not a gadget person, but i just got something for my ipod i think i'm going to use a lot.
the sonic impact i-fusion. it's a dock with speakers, but what is really cool about it is that it's in a hardshell case. unzip it and the speakers are in the lid. ipod compartment between the speakers. the whole thing is about the size of...well, a little clipper box. as in dog clippers? lithium ion battery.

sound?

i'm really surprised it sounds as good as it does. of course you start with an mp3 -- something that is already of diminished quality. then you add tiny speakers. now you're two steps down. so no, it can't sound GREAT, but not bad. one thing that bugs me that i think i'll get used to is some pretty acute separation. some people will probably like that. everything is pretty clear and defined. highs, lows, with vocals maybe too much in front. very clean sound -- which isn't always how something was meant to sound. i think they probably really worked on that aspect of it. to make sure you weren't getting a soup-can sound. but anyhoo, i will now have music when i travel. woot!!!

that really grounds me to have music in my room.

if you're interested in an i-fusion, you can order it for less through circuit city. 129.00. every store i visited had it priced at 149.00 or more. oh yeah, i did a lot of comparison shopping in that price range and below.

11 comments:

Sandra Ruttan said...

It surprises me you post more when you're writing. I post more when I'm procrastinating!

Cool gadgets! Know what Kevin did today? Took my ipod and headphones to work. "It's all for you, everything's for you." That's what he whines. But then he just steals it, and still complains. Men.

Jaye Wells said...

I'm so behind I don't even have an iPod.

Anonymous said...

sandra, i think it's procrastination on my part too!

ah, so that's how these guys end up with so many toys.

jaye, i would never have gotten an ipod if it hadn't come with my computer. i would have thought my discman was fine. and sometimes i do still think that, because i always bring CDs when i travel so i'll have them for the rental car. too much stuff. i haven't made a total transition. but now even rental cars are ipod ready -- or there another gadget you can get to use the ipod in any car.

mai wen said...

I love my iPod, especially how much it saves room not to buy CDs anymore and you have all your music right there! But of course I have a laptop and all those mp3s slow it down... I need to invest in a desktop for my mp3 and my digital pictures, my laptop just lags with all that on it!

I love listening to music when I write, really quietly in the background. Sometimes I get a song that really fits what I'm writing and I just put it on repeat while I'm writing and it just really gets me in the mood for the story.

Music's great, enjoy your new iPod gadget!!

Anonymous said...

mai,
my laptop is slow too. i wonder if that's my problem -- too many mp3s and photos. hmmm. i don't listen to music much when i'm writing, but now that i have a new battery i plan to try it more. i think the right music could really enhance a scene. and i like your idea of turning it down really low.

thanks for stopping by!

Tami Klockau said...

I have time where music helps me write and I have other times that it's completely distracting. I never know what kind of day it's going to be until I turn the music on and I thing "ahh, this is nice" or "holy crap, turn it off!"

I've actually been looking for speakers in the low price range that sound decent for my ipod. Does it fit all Ipod sizes Anne? I have an OLD 3rd generation ipod (from 2 1/2 years ago.)

I find when i'm procrastinating, I can't stop searching blogs and webpages...such a bad habit.

anne frasier said...

tami, it does fit all ipods. it comes with several adaptor sleeves that make it dock securely. i think mine is 3rd generation too. i think there are probably cheaper speakers that are just as good if you are only using them at home. JBL makes some that seemed fairly decent. and there are even cheaper travel ones, but they didn't have the case or rechargeable battery. and some really cheap ones will actually drain the ipod battery while it plays.

another one i liked was the Altec Lansing IM (in motion?)

very small and compact and it sounded fairly decent too.

Anonymous said...

I so want one of these... and cordless no less. Thx for the tip.

anne frasier said...

nienke, i'll have an even better report after i travel with it -- which i'll be doing in a couple of weeks.
i think it will really add to my trip.

Anne McAllister said...

Last weekend at the rehearsal dinner for my son's wedding, the matron of honor brought exactly your setup, Anne, and played music in the background for our "dinner on the lawn" which was under a tent marquee and served about 60 people (it wasn't really a rehearsal, no one rehearsed, we just ate -- and all the out of town wedding guests were invited). Anyway, it did a spectacular job of providing nice background bluegrass music and made the whole evening even better. I'm sold!

anne frasier said...

anne: oh, wow!! that's cool. i'm glad to hear you could hear it outside. that was really the only complaint i read online -- some people said it just wasn't loud enough. i don't think that will be a problem for me.