Back when I first started working at White Horse I decided to spend some time thinking about how I could wisely use my time during the hour-long, one-way commute on the MAX. I already had an iPod Mini, and listening to podcasts is ok, but its still easy to get distracted. I knew I could spend plenty of time reading books, but what happens when you're not in the mood to read? I had my old laptop which I could pull out and use to catch up on rss feeds and do some programming on. Yeah, I knew I would be alright.
About a week after starting the new gig I found myself reading an email from Xbox Live talking about the new "Halo 3 Edition" Zune. And then it hit me. I could go get a Zune and use it to watch webcasts and listen to podcasts while I commute. Then I could be super productive and wouldn't have to carry around some clunky old laptop. I would be watching MSDN webcasts to and from work everyday. Boy, was I going to get smart. This line of reasoning was not enough to convince my wife, Carrie, that I should get the Zune. However, after I made the purchase and keep telling her how beneficial it would be, she let up on me pretty quickly.
So now I've had the Zune for a couple months and have been dying to post some pictures of what it looks like. Here it is.
When I bought the Zune it cost me $250. It has a 30GB hard drive. At the time of purchase I could get a 30GB video iPod for the same price. I know I made the right choice. The Zune has a much larger screen then the video iPod. It gets radio stations. Mine came pre-loaded with Halo 3 movie trailers, music, artwork, and episodes of Red vs. Blue. Now I know the price of the Zune has dropped since then, and that's expected. Heck, look at the iPhone's price drop (suckas!). I also know the new iPod Touch has come out, as have the new iPods. Still, I prefer my Zune. I think I'm a convert for life. It's so easy to take a WMV file (which most of my home movies and MSDN webcasts are saved as) and load it up onto the Zune and then watch whenever I get some spare time. Pictures are a snap to put on here, as are audio files. The only thing missing is a Zune music store that can rival iTunes.
So in a nutshell, Zune 1.0 is pretty nice. It's got some quirks, but is really, really nice. Zune 2.0 should be totally rocking! A lot of folks compare the Zune to the Xbox, and after seeing the way the Xbox 360 has superseded the original Xbox and dominates the gaming market, I'm totally stoked to see what will happen with the new Zune. Did I mention that I love being able to listen to NPR during my commute on the train?