Runner's Heights: Not the Apple of My Eye

I have to admit that the best way to develop a tempo/canter in running is to work with your favourite music. It's important that it is music that you like so that you can groove with it and your intuition tends to kick in when you are in the groove. At least, that's what I believe and neither do I have a degree in psychoanalysis nor did I spend a weekend in Austria walking the cobblestones that Freud might have stepped on. But the point that I am trying to make here is that I have become used to having an mp3 player for my runs -- better put -- I am quite dependent on it now. So, I have been trying out the Sony S2 Sports Digital Music Player (phew, that's a long name). If you must know the actual product name of this Sony Walkman, it goes by NWS203F BLACK. It's a sleek, slick 1GB player and had plenty of room for my favourite music. I have barely upto half-a-gig and I am wondering what else I am going to add to my Walkman repertory. But the best part of it was that I was able to import all my albums from my itunes library.

I am trying to phase my ipods out because I strongly believe that Apple should conform to and collaborate with the established standards of interfaces in the industry. I had an ipod Nano that required a special cable just to charge the device, not a standard USB A or B interface. I would be running circles around Apple or one of its dealers (who are few-and-far between even in Los Angeles) for a cable for an older Nano. I am might get some condescending looks from the young-uns at the Apple store because I hadn't upgraded to a 16 GB ipod and that I was a troglodyte for using a product that Apple stopped supporting, maybe a month after it released the product. And that's another thing -- I suspect that Apple thinks that backward compatibility is a reactionary idea that's only fit for retrogrades.

Here's a link to the article, Is Apple the New Microsoft?

So, I am rambling on and completely forgot about the Sony Walkman. I got it at Fries on sale for $50 which was a fair price, in my opinion. Here's my final verdict -- buy this product if you are intending to put a small, choice collection of your songs.

Pros:
- lightweight
- ergonomic; comes with a carrying case and strap
- quick charging
- software is easy to use


Cons:
- headphone quality is sub-standard