I'm feeling so overwhelmed. Glug.
I'm tired of doing stuff around here, and realizing yet again that women are doing all the heavy departmental lifting while men go drink together and decide that things are great.
In other news, I was pretty close to convincing myself to get an ipad sort of thing yesterday, and then I asked one of my friends/colleagues, and he was all excited and showed me his. And somehow, it just seemed so overwhelming that I didn't want one anymore. I think I imagine that I really want to have something that will play audio books, and it seems so complicated to get through the bazillion fancy pop culture stuffs to get to what I might actually want. (You're beginning to understand why I'm a late adopter of many things, right?)
I'm closer to thinking of a new computer, though. I have to drive to another city to see an Acer computer.
Yes, one of the crappy things about living in a smaller community is that if you want something that isn't at, say, the most massively popular chain, you have to go elsewhere. And often elsewhere is another state.
Here's what I use--Creative Zen. Cheap, small, durable (I've had mine for maybe four or five years, and I even dropped it in the toilet once, and it made a full recovery from its electronic stroke after drying out for a week), fairly straightforward. Connects to the PC with a USB cable and has software that pretty much follows Windows Explorer to make transferring files easy. I download audiobooks free from my local public library all the time and have enjoyed countless hours of books while doing chores and driving (I have little device that sends out an FM signal so I can pick it up on the car radio).
ReplyDeletehttp://us.store.creative.com/Creative-ZEN-MX-SE-MP3-Player/M/B00314DC3E.htm
Bardiac, while I can't help you with an audio book reader thingie particularly, I can ask Absurdist Lover about a good computer for you if you remind me about the range of applications. He's a computer guy and is really pretty good at helping people get what they need. In a perfect universe, he'd be able to survive on just doing that as his business.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you want me to consult with him. (He probably also knows good websites so you can view what would be best, though of course that's not the same as actually seeing it in front of you.)
If you're coming my way, I can help.. I'm good at shopping for computers and I know where all the computer stores are :).... let me know...
ReplyDeletefeel your pain, and i'm glad a lot of your readers know more about this stuff. i'm still in trauma from the recent demise of my main computer. despite heavy lobbying from my mac friends, i went with another PC because i really really need this one program that is not mac-friendly. then my husband freaked me out by "upgrading" my OS without permission, so i couldn't find things like the favorites button. i-thingies and e-readers are clearly way out of my league.
ReplyDeleteI don't see much appeal in the iPad or any of the tablets. Touchscreens don't rock this touch-typist's boat!
ReplyDeleteI would help you with your tech shopping if I could, though. I second the recommendation of the Creative Zen as an excellent audiobook vehicle. Autistic youngest uses one and loves it!