We’ll See Who Has The Last Laugh

I went to see how many points I had earned on my ATM card (I guess cause it has a Mastercard portion that I hardly ever use) and I saw I had over 30k points. That sounded like a lot, so I decided to shop the catalog. My eye was caught by a deal for $50 off a Domestic Ticket for 20k points. Wow that sounds perfect for visiting my family over Thanksgiving!

This reward is good for $50 off the total purchase price of any airline ticket. To ensure that all your travel needs are met, please call the Redemption Center when you’re ready to redeem this reward. A $30 per ticket fee will apply for this item.

WTF?!?! Why is there a fee for 60% of the reward?! I checked out the gift cards next. For an Amazon gift certificate of $50 (with a $5 fee…) it cost 25,000 points. For a generic $50 gift card from the bank, it cost 22,500 (still a $5 redemption fee…). And yet for a $50 gift card for Macy’s, it only cost 20,000 points. WTF?! Macy’s offers a better deal than the bank itself? I did a quick analysis of possible choices:

Macy’s $75 gift card here I come.

Went With Zune

It was a close decision, but I decided to order the Microsoft Zune Third Generation (8GB). I think the Zune Marketplace finally convinced me to pick the Zune, especially with the upgrade to Zune 3.0 earlier today. Articles like this one are also encouraging, and I like having the hardware and software so tightly integrated. So in the end the desire to take full advantage of Zune Marketplace convinced me to go with the new Zune.

There’s only the blue one available now, so I snagged that one. I strongly considered the 16 GB one, but I realize that I probably won’t be watching that much video and so may not benefit as much from the increased storage space. I ordered several film covers to protect the Zune, but I was not that impressed with the cases that are available. Since I cheaped out on shipping, it will probably be at least a week before I get my new toy. I’m pretty excited, though, especially since most of the purchase was funded through the sale of my previous iPod to DM.

More MP3 Ponderings

I went to a Best Buy to look at a bunch of MP3 players and see what features I liked. I decided that while I did like video, I probably won’t watch enough of it on a player to justify getting a really large screen. As sexy as something like a iPod Touch is, they are still too big and I would probably not take something like that with me very often. With that in mind, I decided that 8 GB is probably enough space. Now I am in between:

• Sony Walkman NWZ-S718F ($169.99): OMG the famed Walkman brand! All of the Walkman players were at the top of Consumer Reports’ ratings, and when I was handling the various MP3 players, I kept gravitating towards the Walkmans. I think the interface is not as slick, but everything I have read about this player has been very positive. I am strongly considering buying this and going with a subscription service like Napster. It also has an FM tuner for when I feel like being a sheep and being told what music is good.
• Zune 8GB ($149 supposedly): In terms of hardware, it is similar to the Walkman, but probably slightly inferior. I do like the UI and squircle, but probably not enough to buy the Zune over the Walkman. The one thing that is still seducing me about the Zune is the promise of amazing Zune 3.0 software. A Zune Pass is not the cheapest service around, but the WiFi aspects are kinda neat (though I don’t know anyone who has a Zune).

Right now I think I will probably end up getting the Walkman unless someone convinces me otherwise. The Zune sounds nice, but I might wait till the next iteration before considering it. I do like Microsoft’s ideas for having the Zune become a hub of music-sharing-awesomeness, but I suspect all I really want (for now) is a really good MP3 player.

Now that I have done more research, I think Apple really needs to step up its game with regards to iTunes software. While their designs are ever so slick, I think other companies are starting to catch up in terms of hardware. While I hear iTunes is great on Macs, my experiences with iTunes on Windows have been largely negative.

Much Worse Than We Feared

So the LHC fired and the world didn’t end. In fact, it seemed a day like any other. Or so we thought… When I went to track the status of my order (The World Ends With You) on USPS, I was shocked and dismayed to find the following report:

Processed, September 08, 2008, 7:37 pm, LONG BEACH, CA 90809
Acceptance, September 08, 2008, 11:28 am, LONG BEACH, CA 90803
Processed, January 01, 2002, 11:11 am, PITTSBURGH, PA 15290

Noooooo!!! The LHC sent my package BACK IN TIME!!! So while it made it to the correct space, it was delivered to the wrong year!!! Damnit, I should have known better than to order a DS game with that name so close to the firing of the LHC!

Zune or iPod?

Bunky recently bought a G3 Nano… only to learn that G4 was just announced. It even comes in the purple color she likes, whereas she had to go with pink for the one she bought. Upon hearing about this, I started thinking about if I should sell my old iPod and get a new music player.

I love how I can search my own site for old posts (especially for specs). Anyway, I have a 60 GB G5 iPod that I got about 2 years ago. At first I used it all the time, especially the video functionality. However, a decrease in American shows (due to strike) to watch and my absolute hatred of iTunes on Windows really caused the iPod to lose favor with me. Plus, I never used anywhere near the full amount of space and I found the non-flash iPod to be a bit clunky. The screens on these players are too small to really watch anything subbed, so that kinda eliminates anime.

I wonder how much I can get for it; it works great and is practically new because I am one of those losers who puts the protective stickers on the player before I put it in a protective hard case. I suspect I could get between $80-$150 for the player with the case and everything thrown in. I might possibly still have the box, although I probably threw it out in the last closet cleaning (which would be a shame, because I don’t know where the crappy iPod headphones are).

Anyway, now that the flash players are getting to 8 GB and above, I think that is enough to hold a decent playlist and a few movies or shows. The newest iPod Nano didn’t seem that much better than the old one, aside from the shape. My hatred of the iTunes software and my interest in the built-in FM tuner have led me to consider the Zune now. However, the breakdown on paper makes it seem like the iPod might still be a better value.

I like that the Zune offers a music subscription service. I’ve always enjoyed these more, since I don’t feel the pressure to be a cheapskate with songs every month. However, my rational side knows I don’t spend $15/month on songs normally, so in many ways the subscription service is actually more expensive. However, I know from experience that I try new music and find more unique songs when I have a subscription than when I buy a la carte.

Resist the Urge

While writing an analysis of a case study about Dell manufacturing problems and a complexity/cost analysis, had the idea to include the phrase “comparing apples to oranges.” Then I realized that it was the perfect opportunity to include an Apple pun. Finally I realized the instructor probably wouldn’t appreciate it, so I left it out. Besides, Dell doesn’t make Apples anyway.