Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Obama's "ZuneGate"

Posted by kdawson on from the et-tu-barack dept.

theodp writes "Barack Obama supporters were left shaking their heads after a report surfaced that the president-elect was using a Zune at the gym instead of an iPod. So why would Mac-user Obama be Zune-ing out? Could be one of those special-edition preloaded Zunes that Microsoft bestowed on Democratic National Convention attendees, suggests TechFlash, nixing the idea that the soon-to-be Leader of the Free World would waste time loading Parallels or Boot Camp in OS X just to use a Zune."

4 of 608 comments (clear)

  1. Re:so? by tao · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Samsung YP-U[123] (BTW, don't import one from the US; the US firmware has no support for Ogg Vorbis) devices seems to be quite easy to get hold of all over Europe; I bet you can find that one in Italy as well. But I'd recommend trying to find a Cowon iAudio instead (possibly by ordering it online). Less bugs in the Ogg Vorbis support plus support for Ogg FLAC.

  2. Re:Zune sighted in real world! by Lennie · · Score: 4, Informative

    F*ck your right, I think we all missed that one.

    An other observation: it seems he got it for free, so this one had never seen the inside of a store.

    Conclusion: no1 buys these things.

    --
    New things are always on the horizon
  3. Re:Why not use a phone by ozphx · · Score: 4, Informative

    Because I'd like to avoid shooting my mobile's battery to hell through constant use for music.

    Considering the battery is there for running a moderate output transmitter, its not surprising that playing music pretty much has bugger all effect on battery life if you are involved in a call a day. (My W350's battery is barely scratched by playing music as opposed to normal standby).

    Because despite the propaganda from various cell phones makers, there's more and more evidence coming out that tends to show it's not very healthy to carry one over you for long stretches of time.

    If you read the GSM spec, you'll find when your phone is idle its transmitter is switched off. It listens to the closest towers, and when it notices its switched area (as in group of towers) it wakes up, notifys the BSC and goes back to sleep. Considering then its mainly a non-transmitting device like an iPod - I doubt the health issues are from anything but hippies. (I mean come on, its got a tiny battery - just how much energy can it deliver to your balls without flattening it? :P)

    Because I'll never again bind myself with another 12/24/36 months contract to have the latest 'ooh, shiny' and I much prefer buying a cheap phone with no strings attached which will last me at least a couple of years. That way I can change provider whenever I feel like it.

    Me too. Thats why I bought outright every phone I have owned.

    --
    3laws: No freebies, no backsies, GTFO.
  4. Re:so? by Ambiguous+Puzuma · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you don't mind a small "REFURB" engraved in the case, consider something like a refurbished Sandisk Sansa C2xx or E2xx, likely among the cheapest Rockbox compatible players out there. Regardless of what an mp3 player is designed for, if it can run Rockbox (and is not an Archos) it will play Ogg Vorbis and mp3 files, as well as a number of other file formats. Woot features players like this often enough that it has become a sort of running joke; if you're patient you might get a good deal there. I got my refurbished 2GB Sansa C250 at Woot for $15 + $5 shipping, then added a 2GB MicroSD card I had picked up elsewhere for around $5.

    Rockbox, on any supported player, allows far more customization than the built-in software. You can even write your own programs (plugins) to run on it, or modify the Rockbox software itself, if you're so inclined. Rockbox is open source.