It’s been a while since I’ve had a portable MP3 player….too long. Rather than bearing with the burden for years and years before I die due to lack of soothing tunes, I decided to satisfy that need. The object of my aural delight is a 2GB Creative Zen.

To all of you technophiles out there, “no, it’s not a Zune or an iPod”. I can’t justify spending over $100 bucks on a device, especially if it has software dependencies. I respect the options out there, particularly the proper potential of Wi-Fi synchronization in the Zune. If I were going to switch to a main player, it would probably be the Zune. That is, of course, if I didn’t get an option to pick up an iPhone first.  There’s no contest there.

But anyways, here’s a quick rundown…nothing to earth shattering.

What do I like:

• Physical Size (near credit-card HxW and just large enough for 3/8in plug deep)
• Expandable Storage using Secure Digital Cards
• Drivers compatible with all Windows installs so far (no pc software needed)
• Great WAV Recording Filtering for Clarity and Good Stream Rates
• Loads of standard video support (Even my weirdly formatted videos look great)
• Nice 2.5″ Display
• FM Radio Displat
• Simple Menu Interfaces
• Photo Support (fantastic images)
• Price ($80 new)

What don’t I like:

• No “Play by Folder” Options (I’m an addict)
• No support for Ogg Vorbis formats
• No Soft key buttons (Starting/Stopping recordings is a pain)
• Apparently they don’t use iCal format for calendar
• Integrated Battery (It may be a must for size, but I don’t have to like it)
• Poor earbuds included

But it’s a great product over all. I’ve been more inclined to record meetings now that I have it on my body so I can review discussions after the fact. And the WAV sampling is great, so fair quality speech at the 10 foot range is coming out at about 15 minutes per 2.5 megs. Not to mention everyone who has seen it has asked what it is; it’s very sleek.

If you’re looking for something fairly inexpensive but still sexy I’d advise you to check out the Creative Zen.

Important Note: I have a hard time talking about portable players without saying this but all the MP3′s on my Zen are legal.  I know just about everyone might have carryover stuff that may be of questionable legal background from your childhood (when you had no money and didn’t know any better), but it’s no excuse to keep taking money from people who earn it. 99 cents a song isn’t bad. And if you play 100+ hours of that video game, isn’t it worth $40-50?

I also like to take issue with the anachronism that is the modern day music conglomorate and DRM licensing. If I can purchase a player that can just let me use my music the way I need to use it. When I buy it, I should be able to put it on any device that I need without paying more royalties. I’m not advocating sharing and reselling, but the rights of use are there when it comes to entertainment.

Consumers Unite! Please buy your music, software, and movies and buy players that let you use them the way you want. It’s irresponsible to steal from artists and developers, but it’s not time to give money to these companies by locking into a software use nightmare or DRM fiascos.  Buy and use freely, respect and enjoy.

Went out with friends tonight to see Wall-e (it’s faster to spell this way, please just roll with it . By and large, HA, I found this movie to be delightful. Actually, adorable is probably the better term. The two girls 3 girls in our party were constantly “aww-ing” and I did my best to keep mine hidden behind my popcorn container. This was not an easy task, however, as I’m quite a sucker for heart-twanging romance and adorable characters.

One nice feature was the opening cartoon about a magician and his rabbit(I don’t speak Romanian, I assume it says ‘this is a legal showing of this feature, all proceeds go to Pixar’). The rabbit, a good challenger for the adorable characters in the main feature, was probably the most enjoyably cute animal creature I’ve seen since Yakky Doodle. His quest for gestational satisfaction leads him and his magician friend into a particularly clever battle that is both visually and creatively appealing. My only qualm was one or more groin injury jokes, something I’ve always considered in poor taste, but it was quickly over and the good far outweighed the bad. Very clever, and my congratulations are bestowed on the design team.

As for the main feature: very fun. It’s a wonderful romance story between two people who happen to be robots and happen to change the path of humanity. While the beginning was almost entirely given away by the trailer, it develops into a simple but enjoyable plot that would engage most movie-goers. The voice acting was great, proving once again that less really can be more, and I think we all agreed that the emotional connection that you get with the characters is the product of some amazing work at Pixar. I can’t remember the last time I felt so connected to a robot (no…that can’t be right).

The environmental message was obviously strong as the story moved on. While it became a little obvious at times I think it was very appropriate for younger kids without becoming too overpowering. When I came back I started reading some of the reviews with a particular interest in the ‘Christian family’ perspective. While I liked the positive sentiments (especially the fact that there were NO un-family-friendly moments AT ALL), I found that most complaints about this movie drift toward some kind of secret or lobbyist-driven environmental smackdown. But it appears that most, if not all, of these reviews come from clearly pre-viewing biased individuals.

I think this message of environmental responsibility was awe-inspiring for kids, who need to get motivated, and probably nothing more than a peanut m’n'm in the brain candy department for adults. I’m glad it’s out there and presented positively and I hope it does encourage someone to reduce waste, but I won’t hold my breath if that’s okay with you.  (Also, it’s cool to be green right now….however it’s not a mark of the secret ruling class. Please bring yourself back into reality and accept that ‘the man’ isn’t trying to control your brain to make you recycle against your will.)

Another point I have to make is about the morbidly obese population of people who all look the same: implausible but a reasonable caricature. It’s obvious that this was a shock portrayal and that by making a population full of fat people, you’d be setting yourself up for great jokes (like banana bombs from the top of a high tower in Worms). It is still unimpressive, just as in Idiocracy, how the portrayal of future generations falls flat in realism just to make a single, over-simplified point. Call me hard to please (‘You’re hard to please!’), but I think that there could have been a little more depth to that plot-point to make it tastier for the thinking-man. I mean, the kids weren’t paying attention to that plot anyways, right?

I mean, do you seriously think that these people wouldn’t ever get bored sitting at their computer screens? At what point does Che Guevera (I know it’s a ridiculous point) grow up to be complacent in a hover chair? Does accidentally breaking the TRANSLUCENT video screens really cause a eureka moment in a fat person’s life. I don’t think so. Everything is cooler on television, if anything they’ll start complaining about how there aren’t enough cool explosions in real life.

Possibly the most interesting message, and one I believe was missed by some, was the significance of the corporation’s actions in the film. It’s another dark-side tarring view of corporate control, but it’s interesting to see what lengths they’ve gone to in the story line. While it, again, mirrors the advertisement-crazed, thought-blinding control of Brawndo, this movie actually shows the corporate head of BnL in a ‘presidential’ role. While it doesn’t really focus in too closely, it’s clearly a parody to some degree. This makes a significant note about the encroachment of corporate entities in areas of public sector power. Is it earth-shatterning? No, it’s Disney…just be cool, okay?

The main proof I have of it being Disney: the happy ending. So here’s my thinking, and I was alone in this, wouldn’t it have been better if he never remembered? What if she found the boot again and kept it with her as a reminder of how he cared enough about her to sacrifice everything. Yeah, heartwrenching, I know. But imagine the power of that moment. As I discussed (basically was taught) with an old friend, most other countries hate the happy endings that we American’s need in every story. Feel good, yes, but at the cost of realism and power? I know. It’s unrealistic to ask for, but I gues I’ll take the cute happy ending with me for now as I know it’ll still give me those warm fuzzies as i go to bed tonight.

Aside from that, the major plausibility flaws include: size issues between the initial spaceship landing and the larger spaceship, plant flourishing inside an closed refridgerator, artificial intelligence available through a malfunction or sheer will (see the end), gravity control on spaceship, buttons are predominant way of computers communicating in the future despite obvious inefficiency,  return of species on the planet like birds at the end. Other things are suspect, such as the force of a fire extinguisher (even in the future) being able to so drastically being able to create such a significant effect on a creature of Wall-e’s mass,  failure of Wall-e to melt on takeoff while on the outside of the spaceship, communication in space, and the ability of morbidly obese people to procreate easily. This is just more proof that I am a fun-hater, right?

Despite what appears, now, to be a callous review, I did really enjoy this. It’s probably the first of many movies that I’ve seen in theatres that I wouldn’t mind owning some day. Go see it, you’ll enjoy it. And leave a comment, fool. I want to hear how far off I was. I’m not saying I won’t ignore you, I’m just saying I wouldn’t mind hearing it.