Zune vs. iTunes

Simply put, the Zune music software is far superior to iTunes.

The problem was, Apple flooded the mp3 player market a few years ago with the iPod. I myself never cared for the iPod. Because of this, everybody is stuck using iTunes to organize their music. Problem is, iTunes sucks. Why would I want iTunes to make a separate copy of every song I have in my library, and turn it into an inferior AAC file? I don't. I don't buy single songs, and I don't do playlists. I buy full albums and listen to full albums. And if I'm gonna spend the money, I certainly don't want to download the album in a stripped down AAC version file. I prefer to buy CD's, rip them onto my computer in .wma lossless format, full CD quality. I want to take all my music with me, so I put them on my Zune and take them with me, all 50G of my music right there in my pocket, in full CD quality. I don't waste time with cheap "standard issue" headphones, I pay good money for a nice pair of inner ear, noise isolating earbuds. Through these earphones, I can clearly hear the difference in sound quality.

Now, the Zune software is only compatible with one digital music player, the Microsoft Zune. I prefer the interface much more over the iPod, personal preference. I paid only $250 for my 80 gig Zune, and love it. (As a special promotion, I even got my favorite Brand New lyric engraved on the back, for free).

The controls and interface within the Zune software is very easy to navigate and use, much more so than iTunes, and it doesn't try to control my whole computer like iTunes wants to. The "now playing" screen is amazing, with multiple animations. The newest version, pictures of the band fade in and out, with text overlaid with info about the song, the album, the band, etc. It even shows up with the number of plays that particular song has had by all registered Zune users. The Zune network is a community of music lovers, all connected by the music they love.

Now for purchasing music. iTunes has one option, you pay $.99 per song, or however much for the album. You may do the same through Zune, but they also offer a subscription model. For $15 a month, you can download as much music as you want, and have the media usage rights as long as you subscribe. For people who listen to a wide array of music, this is perfect. Also, the software is compatible with more audio file types, so it will gather and play all your music, whether its wma, mp3, wav, or AAC, as well as multiple picture and video formats. It gives more freedom than iTunes does, and it doesn't make a separate copy, like iTunes does.

Microsoft is much further along in the software functionality and features. In the most recent iTunes update, many of the "new features" were features that Zune has had for 2 years. But iTunes isn't "catching up," microsoft is pushing its Zune music software much further than any other music organizing software on the market, and they continue to be on the edge of development. Zune users are very happy, and very satisfied, with very few complaints, (the software runs a little slow if you have an old computer). I hear many complaints about iTunes, and even with a great system and the newest update, my iTunes still runs fritzy and slow. I am forced to put up with iTunes to sync my iPhone. It is a great phone, I love it, I always say it was the best purchase I ever made. However, when it comes to music, I still us my Zune, and always will. Nobody is even close.

November

Again, the month of November was primarily spend hunting for jobs. After the economy crashed, it became much harder to find employment. I have been working on getting a job at DirectPointe, for a couple different positions. Right before thanksgiving, I had an interview as a Network Operations Specialist. It went well, and I was invited back for a second interview, but because of the holiday, it hasn't happened yet. I am confident, and Clayton says I have a good chance.

The weekend of the 8th I drove up to Idaho for 2 weddings. My cousin Ace got married in Mud Lake, and my buddy Dave was married in Idaho Falls. Also, I stayed with some close friends in Rexburg. It was a little hectic juggling my schedule, but it was a great weekend. Spent time with my cousins, which was great, it had been a while. I fell in love with girl that was waiting tables at Applebees. She was cute, and she was wearing a Peyton Manning jersey, which was almost everything I've ever wanted in a girl. Problem is, I didn't even talk to her, cause I'm a big giant puss. So that's that. Anyway, the trip was fun, good to see family.

My birthday was pretty low key this year. No big party or anything. I went out to Tucanos for lunch with my roommates, then just kinda relaxed the rest of the day, watched a movie. I didn't ask for any gifts, because my parents have given me lots of money in the last couple months to help me weather the storm until I get a job and can pay my own bills again. It was still a pretty good birthday, and I still got gifts.

For thanksgiving, I wasn't going to be able to go home, because I couldn't afford it, and wasn't sure if I would have a job by then and have to work. But on the wednesday of, my brother told me he would pay for my gas to get home if I would watch his kids for a couple days while I was there. I accepted, packed my car and was on my way. I drove all the way home, good weather the whole way, and got there around midnight. I stayed at my brother Tyler's house for the weekend. Thanksgiving was great, the whole family was together. I had a great time. I babysat my nephews Alex(3) and Aiden(1o months) all day Saturday. It was enjoyable, harder than I thought it would be. I was up a couple times in the night with Aiden, but not for too long. I planned on leaving pretty early to drive back, but didn't hit the road until about 9:30am. Not 6 miles down the freeway I blew a tire. So I lost about and hour and a half while Walmart put a new tire on. They're the only tire place open on Sunday. So then I had to drive fast the rest of the day (not like I wouldn't have before). I made it back to Provo around 11:30, and went to sleep, I was exhausted, and sore. It was a really great trip though. I love spending time with family and friends. I got to play football, eat turkey, and go to a concert. Good weekend. Long drive though.

October

So the whole month of October was spent job hunting. I applied at many different places, but didn't hear back from them right away. The first bite I got was with a company that specializes in installing window coverings and treatments in hotels. It paid well, lots of travel, good company. I interviewed with them and worked one day, but then I heard back from all the other places and had 5 other interviews set up, so I put that job on hold. My dad tried to get me a job at a semiconductor place in Orem, great pay, great schedule, great company. I interviewed with them and it was very promising, but then all of a sudden it went cold, and they didn't hire me. I had all but signed a the papers at Sundance as a lift operator, but I think they wanted more references. They didn't hire me. Everything else went cold as well, except a for a possible job at DirectPointe.

Besides the job hunt, not too much else happened in October.