I’ve been an iPod user for years. After chucking my old 64MB (yes, that’s 64 megabytes) Rio 600, which was, at the time, quite the spiffy gadget and considered cutting-edge technology in a time when most people used discmans for their portable music, I moved onto my beloved 4th generation 20 GB iPod. It served me well for a year, until I decided to upgrade to the new 5th generation iPod video (in the 30 GB capacity). And since 2004, that same iPod has been with me almost 24/7. It’s seen me through the rest of my university career and the beginning of my professional career. It’s an inanimate object, but it could very well be my baby… my baby that happens to carry within it the soundtrack to my life.

Recently, I came across promotion for the Microsoft Zune, the newest generation that would also be the first Zune product to be released in Canada. Even though I think of myself as more of an “iPod person” than not, although I would not necessarily care to admit that because I would like to believe I am a consumer who hasn’t been completely brainwashed by Apple’s brilliant marketing ploys, but who am I kidding? I am a fan of Steve Jobs’ little music player.

But that wasn’t to say I wasn’t intrigued by the Zune the minute I read about it and saw pictures of the device. Wireless synching? A customizable and, may I add, one sexy user-interface? The integration of the social aspect of music listening? And a radio too? These features were enough for me to at least think about moving on from my iPod in favour of the Zune. Lucky for me, I was chosen by Matchstick Marketing’s new Zune Influencer program and so I was sent my very own 8 GB Microsoft Zune to “share and show off,” in the hopes that people realize there’s actually another option for mp3 players than just the iPod. Gasp.

Podcasts are a godsend for commuters. Or, for those of us who like to fall asleep while listening to something. There’s tons of entertaining and engaging podcasts to be found on iTunes or Podcast Alley. Everything from language learning podcasts to comedy podcasts to religious sermon podcasts and everything in-between, there is a plethora of podcasts to discover. Below are some of the ones I listen to on a regular basis and recommend checking out. I’m also always on the search for interesting, new podcasts to subscribe to so if you have any suggestions, please leave a comment.

The popularity of social networking websites, in particular Facebook.com, has picked up much steam recently. I must admit, I was an early Facebook adopter and enthusiast. I’ve witnessed the website evolve from a very simple archetype with only one tiny profile pic for each person who had a college/university verified email to a site open to anyone and everyone, with unlimited photo storage and the recent addition of various “applications”. It went from a very organic feel to one that resembles “that other social networking site” with tons of, dare I say it, tacky flashiness and conspicuous add-ons. I suppose my enthusiasm for Facebook has significantly diminished as of late, not only as a result of graduating but also the huge changes in format. But that is a rant onto itself. The reason for this entry is about something I came across on the site that I have to shake my head and marvel at the complete irony of some Facebook users’ mindset.

The iSee video case is by Contour Designs, who also make the well-regarded Contour Showcase. I’ve had a Contour Showcase for my 4th generation iPod and it was a great case in terms of protection, but added a helluva lot more bulk to the otherwise slim iPod. The Contour Showcase for the 5th generation iPod is currently not yet available for distribution, and although I was pleased with the case, I decided to get the other case available from Contour Designs — the iSee. Previous iSees sort of sucked, because you had to push the iPod through the top, thereby causing more scratches on the iPod (though they later added some film, to wrap the iPod in, with the packaging). However, these new iSee cases are two piece shells that snapped together, like the Agent 18 cases.

I bought the Brando Workshop Ultra Clear Screen protector for my iPod last week. Thought I’d do a little review of it, perhaps it will be helpful to some of you looking for a little extra scratch protection. So I bought it from Brando Workshop. Total came to $12 USD, there was free shipping for it. I bought it last Wednesday and it came today, so it took a little over a week (from Hong Kong to Ontario, Canada).

I chose this one because I read excellent reviews for their PDA protecters, so I figured this would be a good way to go. And since I really don’t want to use the water application that the InvisibleShield requires, it was down to this or Martin Fields Overlays which I also heard good things about. Since Brando and Martin Fields had similar products but Martin Fields came to about $15.98 USD and Brando was just $12 USD, I thought I’d save a couple bucks since I’m just using this to protect the iPod from scratches.