MP3
 

are you expecting audiophile quality from your iPod?

BTW, have you tried other encoding mechanisms besides MP3/128kpbs?

MP3
 

If your ipod already sound slike shit, you're definitely not doing something right, especially if you're using the Shure e3c's. I encode with Apple lossless and, while it's not perfect, it's WAY better than MP3.

Your update
 

You guys are going to make me read a manual some day.
I am currently at 320 kbps 48000 khz. Honestly, the bass is crap.
On certain discs anyway. No, I am not looking for audiophile - they're headphones for god's sake. But still, my stupid Panasonic portable CD player sounds better. Of course, I knew this coming in, and I asked for it anyway. All of the reviews I read before I made my decision said - it scratches easily, the headphones are crap and it doesn't sound great. All are true.

Also, some discs are much louder than others. What the hell. I am hesitant to use the "make everything same volume" setting as that usually means it compresses the dynamic range. I may have to try it though.

I guess you pay for convenience and prettiness. Seriously, I'm going to invent another way.

My former next door neighbor claims to have been one of the lead engineers on the IPOD project. Next time I see him, I'm going to have some suggestions.

eta we just bought some more DVD audio discs. The Seal is amazing in 5.1

"Wireless" speakers and music
 

So, I really want to use the multizone capabilities of my receiver in order to put some music to other rooms in my house.

Running wire is hairy; I can either go external, which would involve drilling through concrete block in multiple places. The DirecTV guy said that it was a bear when he did it. For me to do it, it would involve a hammer drill I don't have, a bunch of drill bits I don't have, a lot of work, some creative wire fishing since I am on the second floor and the outside is unaccessible by ladder and concerns about leaks and moisture.

I could go internal, where I would mostly run the wire behind and through cabinets and some access panels, through closets, etc. I think that this will work, but it's also going to be a pain in the ass, and there will still be a stretch between the home theater and the first area where it is easy to hide where I will have to either punch into drywall and patch or remove base moulding and hide the (several) wires behind there. So this isn't really that great of an option either.

Are there any kind of wireless piggyback systems that sound good? Ideally, I'd like to buy one base unit, which would take a pre-amp signal directly at the receiver, broadcast it to those reciver units I select, which would then connect to and power ormal speakers. I am not extremely concerned about sound quality, but I want real speakers with real dimension in the extra rooms, and this seems a relatively seemless way of doing so. Are there any products that could do what I want? Anything close?

I have also considered some kind of more traditional (well, as in the technology of the last five years) setup to wirelessly stream music, like from an Airport or similar, but I really want to be able to pipe everything moving through the receiver (TV, in particular) to all the rooms. Are there other options I'm missing?

"Wireless" speakers and music
 

Is it cinder block? It's really not too hard to drill through. They're mostly hollow, and the cement is fairly porous. If you get a masonry bit, you could probably do it without the hammer too much. Just donn't go through the ends or the middle.

"Wireless" speakers and music
 

It is the solid kind. I think that the material is different from cinder block, but I'm not sure. It took the DirecTV about 20 minutes with a high-RPM rotary drill with a massive titanium tipped bit that he said cost him $100 or so. And he was pushing hard. It also seems like a recipe for getting all kinds of moisture into my walls.

I'm totally getting a new phone, dude.
 

Classic Mac 2D scroller game "Dark Castle" coming to mobile phone near you.

Okay, then, a phone near me. "Dark Castle" was DA BOMB.

The Top 100 Gadgets of All Time.

I don't imagine the comparative rankings mean anything in particular --- ranking the Newton over the sextant might strike some as controversial in the long view.

Did I mention I like guns?
 

They missed some mighty important ones in there.

Like pistols (to say nothing of hand grenades). All things medical (try the stethoscope for one). Some very simple mechanical things, like the adjustable wrench. And all things musical. I think the thumb piano ought to be on the list.

Did I mention I like guns?
 

Like the pop-up porno ad.

Did I mention I like guns?
 

Not a single RT approved gadget in the bunch.

From Nokia
 

What's the deal with these things anyway? Sure, it'd be nice to have a thing that did everything, but I guess you have to choose what thing you want as priority. This things is supposed to be a cell phone with games, but it looks like a gameboy with a phone built in. And I can't see too many guys walking around with this. Over the age of 12 I mean.
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Co...ed.hmedium.jpg

Nokia's N-Gage QD is a cell phone and Web browser in addition to a gaming device, one of a new breed of all-in-one players.

Video games and gaming machines are big business and better than ever. According to Port Washington, N.Y.-based marketing consulting firm NPD Group, for 2004 annual retail sales of video games, which includes portable and console hardware, software and accessories, were $9.9 billion. Even though this reflected a 1 percent decline from 2003, it was the first year that portable-software sales exceeded the $1 billion mark, and total software sales hit $6.2 billion, an increase of 8 percent.

Cool
 

Too bad. I would have bought one.

Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo's new 901i series. These wireless hot rods are capable of four-way videoconferencing and high-speed mobile Internet surfing (up to 384 kilobytes per second). The 901is can send e-mail with attachments as large as 500 kilobytes. They can act as TV remote controls and have 3-D screens with up to 262,144 colors.

Each model has at least a two-megapixel camera and miniature "3-D sound" speakers. One even has a biometric fingerprint sensor to ensure that no one can use the phone but its owner, and three of the five models come with a nifty function called FeliCa, which enables the 901i to serve as a digital wallet. You download cash into the phone's guts, then simply swipe it over a FeliCa reader at the local mini-mart.

There are a few reasons why we don't have phones like the 901i here in the U.S.A. For one, a mobile device is only as advanced as the network it runs on, and our networks are a mess.

No shit.

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Co..._f.vmedium.jpg

From Nokia
 

That color is from the light: the QD is actually a carbon-fiber-like grey.

ipod in car
 

yesterday i bought the rig to play the ipod through a cassette player- then I got out to my (new) car and found out I don't have a cassette player.

the Apple store pushed the "play through the radio" rig- which i guess is my only option. Anyone have this? can it do it w/o losing quality and having frequent drops?