Time Space Warp…
For years, I have been hooked on collecting photographs/images, music, videos, softwares off or on the net via from ftp’s, torrent’s such as napster, mule, kazaa, limewire, cd’s, etcetera… I have gained and lost a lot of data due to software and hardware crises which led me to purchase writable media such as CD’s, VCD’s, and DVD’s for backup purposes and what does it all result to…
A huge pile of semi organized cassettes, cartridges, discs all piled up in my room…
Was it nostalgia?
Obsessive compulsiveness?
A work of art?
Self-actualization?
Well, I guess it was just a growing pile of waste since I barely had the time to enjoy viewing them.
Nowadays, I could easily enjoy them by using portable media players mobile phones, laptops, since these gadgets are capable to harness what most of us value… people, events, places, life" itself, in the form of music, photos, videos. Come to think of it, it was just about a couple of decades ago when people were quite frugal on filming daily activities or even special occasions. Since film and video cameras, sound recorders and cassette tapes cost so much, people settled for a few photographs to capture the unfolding milestones and events of their lives. These days, the only limit is time.
A year ago, the time came when most of my clutter could all be compiled in one small gadget, my desktop computer. It has a 40 Gb hard drive and a cd/dvd-writer. Though 40Gb is quite large a space to keep media, it wouldn’t match the enormity of my music collection alone.
Its a good thing I got a hold of a gadget which suits my most of my daily music entertainment needs…. the iPod video…
For some it may be just a brick or paperweight that plays music, but for me it is a different type of gadget with only one major purpose…. data storage….
The iPod comes in different models and different looks and different sizes and features. What I have here with me is a 5th
generation 30Gb iPod video.
The iPod video’s use in general, in my opinion, is mainly
for data storage and data portability purposes. So basically, it need not be compared to other portable media players such
as Walkman’s and the like. With this I
get to bring my personal data and access it through most desktops around with
the use of it’s own USB data cable. What
I keep here besides my music and music videos are photos, worksheets,
programs, utility software, and essential documents. The good thing about this gadget is you are able to listen and view
music, videos and pictures simultaneously, with sound and video quality that is quite satisfactory.
This unit can play my mp3 music collection for almost a
day at half it’s volume. The battery
life really depends on the volume rate you set to play and how often you use the back-light lit up. The sound quality really depends on the
accessory attached to it. The default
earbud earphones sounds just fine at normal volume rate, but if you are the type who is into more bass,
purchasing a branded in-ear or headphones would recommended. It also comes with an LCD display which I guess was
not really meant to be stared at.
The gadget can also play avi., mp4, mpeg etc. type videos,
though the battery can only last so long, it really depends on the format you
use. As far as I have observed, it could
only handle a little more than 5 mp4 format music videos set at almost max
volume at 315 kbits of quality or so.
So the gadget is really not meant to be used as a media
playback device as far as it’s battery life is concerned. It is more of a self powered external hard drive. In fact, the unit actually does look like a laptop
hard drive with a smooth glossy finish and an attached viewable LCD display.
Nowadays, data storage is becoming a big necessity, especially for
those who are into collecting photographs, music, programs, videos/movies
etcetera. Having a portable data storage
makes it easier for us to share and gather more preferred data as we go along
our daily activities at work and at home.
For me, I have been an audiophile for years, owning quite a
number of “Walkman’s” since the 7th grade up until now, starting
from those cassette-type units, video 8, to CD-walkman’s, CD/VCD/mp3 players/recorders, and now
camera phones and multimedia players such as the iPod.
About two years ago, I donated my collection of boxes of cassette-tapes, VHS,
and CD’s and VCD’s to some friends, ever since I started collecting my favorite
music over the internet through file sharing services over the net. I also happen to rip some borrowed CD’s,
DVD’s, VCD’s of concerts and music videos to add to my collection. Since then, I had a growing number of mp3 and mp4 collection.
As I have mentioned earlier, I managed to collect most of my
digital format music over the internet using the websites such as Napster,
Audiogalaxy, and the like, though
they may not be around this date. For
about two or three years now, I have been downloading music videos of my
favorite music over the net via Limewire and YouTube.
Though downloading through YouTube seems quite safer when it comes to music and videos. With the use of a browser “Mozilla” (Mozilla
Browser 2.0.0.6 and above) and it’s featured Plug-in “UnPlug”, I am able to
download the videos displayed in the browser in flv. format. I then use a video converter “Total Video Converter”
(Standard Version 3.02) to convert these files to mp4 or mp3 formats at
settings depending on what gadgets I plan to play them on whether it be a
mp4/mp3 capable mobile phone or a portable multimedia device such as the
iPod. Since the mp4 video uses an mp3
sound layer, I get to collect both video (mpeg4) and music (mp3) files. I get the Mp3’s by ripping only the
sound layer from the Mp4 file and add it to my mp3 collection on the iPod with the help of a third party software "Floola" (ver.2.9.6) all of which I enjoy listening through the
fully accessorized iPod unit I am using.
As accessories, I have purchased the following: a silicon casing which I got for like 150 php., a
pair of generic earbud earphones for around 180 to 200 php, a cord organizer for 100 php., a
3-in-1 iPod travel charger for 250 php., a plug-in mini-speaker iSound for
around 750 php.
I modified my
silicon casing and combined it with some of the accessories I had mentioned earlier
to make it as portable as it can be.
I got myself an old bag strap, took one end, leaving one clip attached and a
strip of black strap approximately 2 to 3 inches enough to punch a hole into the
loose end and fit both my cord organizer and silicon casing and this is the
result…
Well ain’t that cool?! Now I can take my collection wherever I roam, whether it be at work or at home. I get to listen to my collection during office breaks, or after work at some hangout. Occasionally, I get to share my collection and enjoy is with some of my music loving friend’s.
I have saved a lot of space in my home and office’s desktop hard drives, and I got rid of the clutter in my locker in my room at home (less clutter, less stress) Now I can spend my time listening to my favorite music or watch my favorite music videos anytime, anywhere and RACCOON!!!
