If you are new to this site, I have a confession to make:

I really enjoyed the Microsoft Zune. A lot, actually. I liked it more than the iPod.

And you know what? I still do. For those who don’t even know what a Zune is, the Zune was Microsoft’s answer to the iPod and other MP3 players. It was (in my opinion) a beautiful device with a solid operating system behind it. My favorite part of the Zune was the Zune Pass, a $15/month unlimited access to any music in the Zune Marketplace, with a few exceptions (darn you, Evanescence!).

It broke my heart to sell it. But today, I still stand by my decision to go with the Zune over the iPod. Even though the Zune is now extinct, I think it was a superior device.

I made my own reasons for owning a device.

We’re suckers for a good marketing campaign, and if there is one thing that I will never fault Apple for, it is this: they know how to market the crap out of their stuff. They are good at creating needs where there were none before, and the public buys into it. Because of this, we all determine that we “need” an iPad even though 90% of us have no practical use for it besides playing games, and we tell ourselves that we “are supposed to have” iPhones because they are industry standards, even though any phone will do just fine.

Next time, try this: just take the time to figure out exactly what you want from a device before you start looking. Pretend you’re buying a house: what are your “must haves”? For me, access to as much affordable music as possible was an absolute must, and the Zune had it. I made full use of that $15 per month, and that was all I needed.

So why did I sell it?

I needed money, and I was looking to downgrade wherever I could. See, I had slipped into the same trap I’m talking about above (“Wow! The Zune can hold all these videos!”). But outside of watching a few episodes of Scrubs every now and then, I had no practical use for the video functionality. As a result, if I got rid of the videos, I had no use for so many gigabytes of space, since music doesn’t take up that much space. So I sold it.

Instead, I spent $40 on a Sansa Clip Plus, and bought an extra memory card to double its capacity. It holds music, is easy to manage, and plays incredibly well. Plus, it has a clip on it so that I can clip it to my shorts when I go running, and it maintains a tiny space without sacrificing a screen (like the iPod Shuffle has done). It satisfies all my needs (low budget, high capacity, high sound quality, screen).

Do I regret buying the Zune?

Not a chance. I got great use out of it for a few years and resold it to gain back some of that money. Some might argue that I was investing in a dying brand, but who really cares? If Apple is going to make you buy a new device every time they come out with something new, then what does it matter?

The point is: set your own priorities. Determine what’s important to you first before you make decisions. It is all too easy to follow what everybody else is doing, afraid that you’re going to be left behind. Relax – especially when it comes to “stuff”, keeping up with everybody is overrated. That’s how you wind up broke and unhappy.

Obviously, given the title of this blog, I’m a staunch defender of nerdity and all that nerdness has given the world. I want everyone to be a nerd, but if you think of the picture above as the only definition of nerd, than you are just not broadening your view far enough. This is my definition:

Nerd. n. Somebody who does thinks different from the mainstream (or the “Cooler People”).

Now I’m not referring to dressing different or getting tattoos or whatever “rebel” moves you’re thinking of. I’m talking about taking a different approach to life – one that you define. This is a life that is determined by the choices you make, not what some advertising agency wants you to think. It’s a life that is molded by your actions, not your purchases. Let’s dive in to why being a nerd is just flat-out awesome:

1. Nerds save more money.

There are Cooler People in this world that spend a couple hundred bucks on an iPod or a Zune with dozens of gigabytes’ worth of space on it for movies and music and games, load it up full of crap, and only use it to listen to the same 40 songs. I’m guilty of it at one point in my life. I’ve never been more liberated to have my Sansa Clip Plus, that holds plenty of music for me to listen to and only cost me $40.

Cooler People see a sale on HDTVs and run out and buy one, not realizing they could buy an off-brand online with free shipping (quality determined by the consumer reviews) and the same quality for hundreds of dollars less.

Cooler People go out to eat every night because it’s “fun”. Nerds cook delicious meals at home and save $20 a meal. And we love it.

2. Nerds make more money.

Cooler People graduate from college, go out to get a job, fail, go to graduate school, rack up more student loans, fight to get an entry-level job, work 40 hours a week, get 2 weeks of vacation a year, complain about their boss, struggle to pay their bills, hope they don’t get fired, and retire at 65.

Nerds look for ways to make more money and build their own business and lifestyle. We look for ways to leverage our skills into more income. Eventually, we build the business we want and have true happiness and a work/life balance that we are content with, all because we put the grunt work in at the beginning.

3. Nerds are healthier.

Remember that cooking thing I was talking about? Cooler People hate cooking. They look at it as a chore and they’re “just not good at cooking”. They buy heavily-processed food in packages with splashy colors and buzzwords like “organic”, “natural”, and “NO FAT!” Nerds buy produce and staples and they create meals that Cooler People would kill for. We feed our bodies with fuel that makes us feel better and live longer.

Cooler People spend $50/month to go to the gym 2-3 days a week. They have detailed workout plans and logs and use the elliptical machines with their iPods. Nerds park far from the doors in parking lots so they can walk more. Nerds take the steps once in a while. Nerds get out and play and get natural exercise. We have fun with our workouts.

4. Nerds can make new uses for stuff, lengthening shelf life.

Yesterday, I was in the pool with my family. My brothers and I had been swimming around, having fun. Then my oldest brother grabbed one of the inner tubes and threw it at me. This turned into a 3-man game of human ring toss. Cooler People would have laid around on the inner tube or went out and bought some cool floating game or basketball set. They would have bought and set up a big volleyball net. Nerds can find creative ways to breathe new life into stuff, like our computers, for example.

5. Nerds have cooler stuff because they create it for cheap.

Want a cool home theater where you can access your movie library from anywhere in the house? A Cooler Person might pay thousands to buy a specially-made system. A nerd throws a giant hard drive into an old computer and sets it up to stream to any computer or game console in the house for under $100. Cooler People buy Tivo subscriptions or expensive DVRs. Nerds can spend a few bucks and set up a DVR through their computers and record high-definition television over-the-air.

6. Nerds get good-looking women.

In October, I get to marry a hottie. Need I say more? (And you lady-nerds out there can get some good-looking dudes, too!)

7. Nerds are more relaxed.

Cooler People let the problems of their lives dictate how they spend their time. They react to things that happen to them. They panic. Nerds have a game plan. We have emergency funds for financial disasters instead of high-interest credit cards. We make to-do lists every week so that we know things are getting done. We prioritize the things that matter, so life is a joy instead of a complicated mess.

8. Nerds are respected.

People ridicule Microsoft, but Bill Gates is revered. The scientists that design the latest gadgets and gizmos are nerds. The animators that created Toy Story 3 (one of the finest pieces of filmmaking in the last 10 years) are nerds. The people that work hard and make the most of the opportunities given to them are nerds.

9. Nerds have changed.

There was a time when Louis Skulnick was the poster boy for nerds. The Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons was a classic nerd. But now, the nerd is something different. The nerd is a creator, not a consumer. The nerd grabs life by the horns and forces it to be what her or she wants it to be. Instead of being a Cooler Person and taking on massive amounts of debt to live a lifestyle that other people tell you to live, buck the trends and start learning how to really live life the way you truly want to live it. That’s when you unlock the awesomeness that is being a nerd.

(If you can’t see the “play” button, click the title of the post!)

In today’s podcast, I talk about selling my beloved Zune for a simpler MP3 player and the value of cutting back and simplifying your life. I also give more shout-outs to listeners. If you’re a listener, you should probably listen. Drop some feedback in the comments!

(As always, if you can’t see the “play” button at the top of this post, click the post title and it should show up.)

Is there anything more frustrating than the local radio? Never is this more evident than at Christmastime. In Milwaukee, the only two Christmas songs available are that “Canon In D” thing with the boys’ choir, and “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by freaking Mariah Carey. Yes sir, nothing gets me in the spirit like Mariah Carey. Ugh.

I love Christmas music, but this was killing me. Even better, at nighttime when they might play a few different ones, we have an annoying DJ named Delilah who intersperses each song with over-the-top mushiness and “inspirational” messages. Pandora came to the rescue, and here I am, still using it more and more.

Pandora Radio is a little web application where you tell the service an artist you like and it plays music by that artist and others like it. You can give the ol’ thumbs-up or thumbs-down to songs, and it will adjust your playlist accordingly. The more you rate, the better it gets at picking music you’ll like. You can even add more artists to a radio station for variety and even better chances of getting music you like. For music lovers like me, this service is a Godsend, as it is free and easy to use, and it helps me discover new music. But why else is it so great?

A big variety in types of stations you can create.

You can make as many stations as you want in Pandora. So I can make a country station if I want by just adding a few country artists I like. As you can see above, I added a Rockapella station to listen to a cappella covers of songs any time I want (I never said I was cool). What about Christmastime? Pandora had a couple Christmas stations created, and you can create stations with your favorite artists singing holiday songs, too. Bye-bye, Mariah, hello Straight No Chaser!

No commercials.

My biggest beef with local radio is the commercials. First, they take commercial breaks like every five minutes. We have a station here called FM 106.1, which is an all-country station, and they actually advertise the “No-Talk Triple-Play” where they play, wait for it… THREE whole songs in a row! WOW. And I think there’s something written in the laws of radio that every station has to take commercial breaks at the exact same time. It bothers me. A lot. If I’m in the car for 10 minutes, I don’t want to listen to commercials for 8 of those minutes.

It’s still radio.

Yes, I love my Zune with all my heart. But what about the days when I just want to sit back and let somebody else pick the music for me? That’s why Pandora comes in handy. When I’m in the car, some days I’ll just plug the adapter into my Blackberry and let Pandora entertain me. Most are hits, there are a few misses occasionally, but it’s nice to have a variety without dealing with all the crap of local radio. I even get (a limited number of) skips (per hour) that I can use for songs that drive me nuts.

No annoying DJs.

Is there anything more pointless than the radio DJ anymore? I understand if you are on talk radio. For example, I’m a huge fan of Dave Ramsey’s radio show. But in those situations, I want to hear the guy talk, not play music. Delilah kills me. At Christmastime, I was listening to a local station during the day while I ran some errands, and they decided to spend 10 minutes in an interview with Ray Romano. *siiiiiiiiggghhhhhh*… With Pandora, it’s computer-generated and analyzed. I don’t have to listen to anybody explain any garbage to me about anything. I don’t have to listen to people winning money and big giveaways. I just get the music.

You can take it pretty much anywhere.

If you’ve got a pair of headphones, you can listen to Pandora anytime. First, it runs in a web browser, so if you are near a computer, just plug the ol’ headphones in and start listening. Or, if you’re at home, crank up the speakers! As you can see above, it’s available on almost any type of smartphone. I use the Blackberry app myself, and I love it. Plug that bad boy into the cassette adapter or FM transmitter, and it feels like you’re just listening to regular radio. [Bonus feature: when you get a call or a text, it pauses the station for you to take care of it, and then unpauses when you’re done automatically. Cool!]

Have other needs? Well, some boombox-type devices support Pandora music, and Pioneer has announced plans to bring Pandora to more cars in 2010. In addition, I have recently discovered Jamcast, which streams your audio to different supported devices, including my XBox 360 (see link for full list of supported devices, including PS3 and various DVD players), so that I can play Pandora on my computer and listen to it in my living room on my TV. Slick!

It’s FREE.

Yup. There’s no better argument than this one. It doesn’t cost a dime. You can pay for it if you’d like, and Pandora One offers some nice features, too. But if you want to stick with free, there’s nothing stopping you. The limitations aren’t ridiculous like some services out there, and you can still enjoy it fully.

Yeah, Pandora isn’t big news to anybody who’s been online for the past few years. But if you’re not all that tech-savvy, this can be a great new discovery for you. Check it out today!

No, this isn’t going to be another debate on why I like my Zune better than the iPod. Today, we’re all together: we are owners of portable media players. And it’s not just limited to us: there are those who were more economical and chose simpler, non-brand-name media players, and even some that use their mobile phones, such as their Blackberry or Droid, to carry around music and video.

In any case, the main reason we got these things was music. We love us some music, right? Heck, even the option to carry around some video is pretty cool too (if we can). But our little media players can do us one better, and I learned it while I was sitting at a desk.

Recently, I took upon a rather boring desk job to pay a few bills (one being this giant party I’m throwing next October). This job basically entails staring at a computer screen and answering customer service emails for 8 hours a day, second shift. It ain’t glamorous, I’ll tell you that right now. But while there, I realized that I needed brain stimulation if I wanted any chance of surviving this job.

As I’ve stated before, I’ve got a Microsoft Zune. While putzing around on the Zune Marketplace, I started perusing the podcasts. I’d always thought about grabbing a podcast – after all, they seem to be pretty popular, but I never really knew anybody that listened to them. I figured this would be a good chance to try a few out.

Holy cow. I should be kicking myself for not trying this years ago.

Podcasts: Knowledge, Entertainment, and The Rejuvenated Love for Radio

Think about all the time you spend doing mindless activities: driving a car, sitting at work (for some of us), cleaning the house, working out, etc. There are about a billion different times of day when we could be putting our brain to good use. Enter the podcast. Here are a few cool reasons to start loading up:

• Constantly new content: Most podcasts update at least once a week, if not more often. That’s a steady stream of new stuff to listen to, all the time!
• Automatic updating: Adding new ones is as simple as plugging in your media player (and in some cases, you don’t even have to do that). Just subscribe and forget about it!
• Something for all interests: You’d be surprised at just how many genres you can take advantage of and enjoy.
• Any podcast feed can be used: If you can find it online, you can add it to your subscriptions, regardless of what you are using.
• They’re free: Even if you just want to listen to them on your computer, you can load up on podcasts to your heart’s content.

A podcast, for those of you who have gotten this far and still don’t know what they are, is essentially a radio show. For some podcasters out there, it’s adapted from their actual radio show. For others, it’s like their blog on steroids – interviews, audio clips, and special content can be found on their podcasts. What kinds of stuff can you find out there? Anything.

The Practical Nerd’s Favorite Podcasts

After some trial and error, I’ve hammered down the podcasts I look forward to listening to every day (links go to the RSS feed address to add to your podcasting software):

• Bob and Brian On Demand – This is the morning radio show from 102.9 THE HOG, based out of Milwaukee. Sure, there’s some definite Midwest charm in here, but there are plenty of hilarious news bits and sports coverage with Steve Czaban to keep anyone happy. Best feature: any of their "listeners write in" stories, including Father Knows Least (funny/horrifying experiences with your dad), Smashed In The Face (your story of getting hit in the face), and Holiday Horror Stories (bad experiences with holidays). Best of all, they’re not tasteless shock jocks, either!
• Radiolab – Easily the best of the bunch. Radiolab is an NPR radio show from WNYC. They generally run an hour long, but they contain some of the most thought-provoking and beautiful stories out there. It’s a science show about human behavior and other stuff about nature, but done with sound effects, music, and storytelling that sucks you in completely. What a wonderful program – one of the few places you can find science-related content that is unbiased, entertaining, and completely accessible for everyone. After one day of listening to the three podcasts I had downloaded, I went back and downloaded their entire archive of over 60 shows.
• The Dave Ramsey Show Podcast – Dave is the author of The Total Money Makeover, which is highly-regarded as one of the best personal finance books around. Dave opens up every show by saying that this is "where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off mortgage has replaced the BMW as the status symbol of choice". He takes callers, emails, and tweets, giving solid and real-world financial advice to his listeners. He has a no-nonsense approach that I totally respect, and his main goal is getting you out of debt. Great program.
• ESPN Football Today – Some things just need to be entertaining. Jeremy Green takes you inside football every weekday for analysis and opinion. It’s like having ESPN in your ears.

There are tons more out there, from comedy to Christian, food to music. Go search around, either in your iTunes, Zune Marketplace, or even Google. You’ll find some good stuff.

Okay, so how do I get this stuff?

One way is through your media software. The iTunes Store and the Zune Marketplace both have dedicated sections to podcasts. If you don’t use either of those, there is another very popular option: Juice.

Juice is a cross-platform podcast subscriber that organizes your podcasts and syncs them up with your media player of choice (or, if you want, you can just play them through the software).

Podcasts give your brain a little food to work with. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. After all, learning is an ongoing process throughout your life. Why not give it a try? Do you have any favorite podcasts you want to recommend? Let’s hear about it in the comments!

A note before we get started with this post: Not every commenter on the Zune/iPod post was disrespectful. There were several commenters who were iPod fans that clearly read my side of the story, and added their two cents thoroughly and respectfully. Thanks to those of you who did!

Where this all starts…

Last week, on a whim, I wrote a 1:00am post entitled, Why Apple’s Success Makes No Sense to Me, and Why the Zune Breaks My Heart. It was a little opinion piece defending my position that the Microsoft Zune is the best music experience you can get from a portable player, and that the iPod/iPhone was more focused on applications instead – the “jack of all trades, master of none” argument.

Little did I know the can of worms I would open!

As I was sawing wood (sleeping to those of you who don’t get that), my article was linked to on a website called MacSurfer, where the Apple fans of the world congregate and read articles about iPods. As a result, well over 500 visitors came through last Saturday, and many of them had choice words for me, a Zune fan.

Most comments made me laugh. Some made me simply shake my head. I think it’s time we all learn how to discuss an issue with respect to all parties involved. The media has shown us the wrong way all too often in today’s politics. The internet has made it possible for us to talk to each other in ways we would never communicate face-to-face. Our attitudes are shifting, and it’s a problem. Using some of the comments as illustrations, let’s take a look at the right way, and the wrong way, to debate:

1. Before you say something, recognize the magnitude of the issue

Let’s take a step back: a blogger who averages 75 hits a day on a good day made comments on a portable media player. He was not insulting your choice of media player, he was simply explaining his.

I’m a nobody right now in the wide world of the internet. I plan to be somebody, and I am taking steps to do so, but by and large, I hold very little authority in the grand scheme. I didn’t write the post for MacSurfer. In fact, I didn’t even know the site existed! I didn’t market the blog post at all before things started going haywire. In other words, they came to me. All I was doing was expressing an opinion.

And also, think about the topic: portable media players. That’s it. We’re not talking about universal health care, legalizing marijuana, public education, or censorship in the media. We are talking about gadgets that play music and video. This is not earth-shattering stuff. This is not stuff that will cause your children great pain when they grow up. This is a recreational topic. If you are dealing with a topic that really doesn’t affect your life, take a deep breath before entering your response. It’s not that big of a deal!

My favorite comment about the post was from my cousin, Ethan, which he posted on Facebook:

2. Resorting to personal insults make you look small

"Tech nerds are not, and never have been, the target market for the post-Macintosh (1984+) Apple. Apple software and hardware just works. Actual people like that. Crawl back into your parent’s basement and keep running Windoze on your self-constructed PC.”

“Dear Nerds, Keep using Microsoft programs and products. They are perfect. For you at least. And you can score with a girl too! Because PCs with Windows installed are so crappy that no normal person can figure out how to fix them when something goes wrong (type one of hundreds of problems you encountered with your pc), there must be tons of chicks just waiting for someone to fix that pc for them. If you don’t like Apple, Mac or whatever, just don’t use it. Stop writing bullshit and annoying people.”

First, a word of warning to all of you who comment on The Practical Nerd: if you want to offend me, calling me a “nerd” won’t do anything. That’s a compliment to me. And if you find my writing “annoying”, then don’t read it. There’s a lot of other stuff to read online.

We are not on the playground in elementary school anymore. So many people online today think that they will look like a big shot if they personally insult somebody they’ve never met. In fact, the only thing these people know about me is that I like my Zune. Apparently that is grounds for calling me names, “yelling” at me, and making various insults about my manhood.

Stick to the topic at hand. Don’t get distracted by your personal feelings for somebody. If you want to win an argument, state your case and stick to the facts. Diving head-first into opinions, especially these kinds, won’t help you win anything. In fact, you’ll just wind up looking stupider.

3. Respond only to the points the other person is making

“But, but there is TODAY such a pass on the Iphone: Spotify. So where is REALLY the problem for Apple ? But on my Iphone i Can also have Access to more than 6 millions of music, i can download plenty of really good games, i Can read Ebook, i Can use Genius (far better than Smart DJ), I can use a lot of GPS, I can go on the internet with a far better navigator. It isn’t only a music player, it’s a computer in the pocket… And this computer in the pocket is at the same price than your Zune. So, the conclusion is easy…”

The Apple App Store is a smart piece of business. I never denied that. But my argument was about the music. Responding to my post by saying “iPods are better because of the App Store” misses the entire point I was making. I didn’t ignore the App Store. But that wasn’t part of the discussion.

This is also not the only comment to mention Spotify. I won’t argue it: Spotify looks like a fantastic service. But it’s not available in the United States. At all. Period. To be honest, from the people I’ve talked to, it doesn’t look like it will be any time soon, if at all. I mentioned this in a couple of my replies in the comments section, and guess what? More people kept repeating how great Spotify is.

At least this makes me feel cool: I have a good number of international readers!

Anyway, if you’re trying to make a point, make sure it’s relevant to the argument at hand. You should be countering the arguments that were made by the other party. If you don’t, it shows that you are ignoring what they are trying to say. And guess what? They’ll ignore your argument then, too.

4. Have something to say, or keep your mouth shut

"Zune is Dead."

“this is your 3rd zoon you say? lolz. bang the drum and wave that penance.”

You might as well stick your tongue out or shoot spitballs at me in retaliation, because that’s how mature you look when you argue like this. In real life, it’s like repeating what the other person is saying, just in a funny voice. Knock it off.

In conclusion…

There is a way to “agree to disagree”, particularly when you are debating about opinions. I didn’t change anybody’s mind, and nobody changed my mind. In this world, you can exchange ideas and points of view and still be honest and respectful about it. Here are two of my favorite comments that make good points while still being respectful to me:

"First, I am a long time Apple user (1979 – Apple ][+) but I have used most micro OS’s from TRS to Commodore to Apple // to Apple /// to Lisa to Mac (OS1 to 9 & OSX 10.2 to 10.4) to CP/M to MS-DOS to Windows 1, 2, 3, 95 & XP plus some UNIX and Linux (not in order of usage).
.
You think apps are not so important while music is so so important. Your opinion. For me, music is nice, but I don’t go through so much music myself. To each their own, and what turns me on about technology is what the technology can do for me. I use what works, and Apple product most of the time works better for me than what Microsoft product does. I use what works best and I have a pile of Dell’s, have built my own PC boxes and have helped others with theirs. I use a Mac as my personal system for email and web browsing for the safety of not being infected by all the Windows malware out there.
.
I don’t have a cell phone at present, have only an iPod shuffle (1st gen) that I use periodically. Being in Canada, a Zune HD is reportedly not going to be available, and if true, is just not an option. The radio HD part is US only so the rest of the world loses out on access, which limits the appeal and market share of the product, while Apple makes a product that can be used almost anywhere in the world. The iPhone is a world phone, the Touch can be used anywhere, the Nano with the FM radio can be used anywhere, the list goes on for almost all Apple product.
.
So, while the Zune has gotten better from its first incarnation, I don’t hold out much hope for you for its future. MS discontinues products that don’t work out in its global domination drive, sometimes replacing them with a new model that instantly obsoletes the previous models, ala the first Zunes, the original XBox, etc. Apple on the other hand has brought the first iPhones and iPod Touches up to date as much as the hardware will allow with OS updates. Other iPods have been firmware updated to allow for bug fixes and feature enhancements. MS with their Windows CE/Mobile is just not that upgradable and other than a desktop PC, most Microsoft product is ultimately not upgradable and is instantly obsolete when a new version of the product appears.
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For me for the most part, I like Apple and how they handle their product upgrades and upgradability. Your mileage may vary of course. Good luck with your Zune."

“Actually, Sony makes a rather brilliant MP3 player and even includes an excellent set of noise canceling headphones. that far outmatch both MSFT and APPL. Frankly, even the Zune HD is overloaded with features. Audiophiles want true uncompressed music delivered as purely and as distortion free as possible. I don’t think they need a game or a web browser to go a long with their favorite musician.
But, since most of America’s youth suffer from ADD and have a lousy ear for sound, then overloaded players like the Zune, Archos, and iPod will easily get their business. Nice read though."

Thanks to everybody who commented – I’m glad I hit a nerve! Do you have any tips for debating points with others? Share them in our new and improved comments section!

Okay, the headline is a little misleading. The folks at Apple are downright brilliant in their business approach. I mean, I saw all that they announced at their “Rock ‘n Roll News Conference” or whatever they called it, and it had little substance. But the flash that came with it drove people insane. More people in this world watch with baited breath all the live blogs about Apple’s “announcements”, and they blindly ignore press conferences from our President or current events from around the world that will actually be relevant in their lives.

So, yeah, Apple’s got a good marketing department (except they need to find a new format for commercials – yes, I get it, if I get a Mac, I’ll be as cool as the nerdy kid from Dodgeball and Accepted. Sign me up. I use a PC so I must be a fat, nerdy guy, right?). So why do I say I don’t understand it?

If you boil down Apple’s products, from a pure technological standpoint, it’s a mixed bag. They have certainly done some innovative things with the iPhone and the iPod Touch. There’s no denying that. It’s simply amazing that there are so many apps that you can purchase, and Apple is making a killing on it. But at what expense?

• Apple seems to forget the initial purpose of the technology. The iPhone is not an iPod, nor is it a computer. At its core, it’s a phone. The main reason people rely on this thing is because it’s a cell phone. It replaces whatever cell phone they are using. As such, it needs to have the functions of a cell phone. Cell phones today can handle MMS (that means “texting” pictures and videos to other phones). Why did it take Apple until version 3.0 to include this? They basically said, “We’re releasing a phone that doesn’t have all the functionality that your current phone has, but we’re going to add a bunch of other stuff you never knew you needed instead!”
• The price points are obnoxious. Mac laptops top $1,000 on the low end. My favorite argument from Apple fanboys is that they are cheaper in the long run. Yet, most people don’t buy new computers because their old ones all of a sudden stop working. They buy new computers because technology advances and they want the newest and latest functionalities. So they will get rid of their Macbooks for new Macbooks. On top of that, iPhones are priced at levels formerly reserved for business phones, and the monthly fees are astronomical. I grow very weary of listening to people complain about the tanking economy and how many people are running around with no money, because they are willingly choosing to pay exorbitant prices for these things. [Note: this is not a defense of Windows. I have the same gripes about their software, too.]
• In some ways, their business model is outdated. I just got done reading an article about Netflix in this month’s issue of Wired. The beauty of what Netflix is trying to accomplish is providing all-you-can-eat content and entertainment at a flat rate. Microsoft has done the same for music with the Zune (see below). Now, the iTunes Store was revolutionary at the time – a la carte downloading of your favorite music legally. But without a subscription option, they are losing their grip on music.

Now, on to the Microsoft Zune. The company recently announced their newest release, the Zune HD. This is such a beautiful, worthwhile device that is lost on so many techie nerds that are writing reviews condemning Microsoft for what they consider to be a “too little, too late” product. Their biggest gripe? The lack of an app store. Yes, every reviewer in the world seems to feel that everything needs an app store because Apple has one. And you know what? Palm did that with their Palm Pre, and all I saw was articles about how they didn’t have as many apps as Apple’s does. So why bother? Are we keeping up with the Joneses here?

And those reviewers are missing the point: the Microsoft Zune is, at its core, a media player. You can add other functionality if you want, but the device is designed clearly for music lovers. I’m a music junkie – I love finding new music to rock out to. I find the local radio extremely limiting. When I decided I was getting an mp3 player, I narrowed it down to an iPod or a Zune. Do you know why I picked the Zune? The Zune Pass.

The Zune Pass is one of the giant elephants in Apple’s rooms that nobody seems to notice. For $14.99 a month, I get – quite literally – unlimited music. There isn’t an artist I can’t find in the Zune Marketplace, either. I’ve had my hard drive crash several times, and I haven’t missed a beat on my music, because it’s easy enough for me to repopulate my library with unlimited music at a few clicks of my mouse.

And the Zune HD, along with the accompanying update to the Zune desktop software, has taken the awesomeness of unlimited music to new levels. First, they added a “Quickplay” feature, which to me has been long overdue. I’m a big fan of throwing my Zune on random when in the car, and I often find myself hitting “next” over and over again until I get to something I recently downloaded. Now, I can use the “Quickplay” feature to listen to recent music, and I can manually “pin” albums to the “Quickplay” playlist, too.

In addition, my new favorite feature is the Smart DJ, which works like Pandora, and it is the true benefit to having a Zune Pass. If you’ve ever used Pandora, you know that you can enter in your favorite artist and it will put together a “radio station” that you would probably like, based on your musical stylings. The Smart DJ lets you do the same thing, but integrates the station with your current collection, along with the entire Zune Marketplace library. With a Zune Pass, you can listen to whatever you want, whenever you want in the Zune Marketplace anyway. This was a development that just makes sense.

They’ve also added high-definition radio capabilities to their built-in FM radio. Oh, and if you hear a song on the radio that you like, you can flag it on your Zune and download it when you hop on a wireless connection. You know what Apple announced as their latest iTunes development? Liner notes. They thought it would be cool to have “bonus features” on their albums like liner notes and other stuff like that. Yup, the iTunes store has all the innovation of vinyl records.

As criticisms mount about no “Zunephones” or app stores, Microsoft has quietly and deliberately perfected the music experience of having an mp3 player, while Apple continues to push farther and farther from what got it there in the first place: music.

I’m a Zune fanboy. I bang the drum and wave the pennants. You know why? Because the Zune caters to the need I want it for the most – my love for music. That’s why you get an mp3 player. So, as a Practical Nerd, I want to encourage you to go get a Zune for your music needs. I don’t want you to do it to “stick it to Apple”. I don’t want you to do it in hopes that you will drive up sales of the Zune. I want you to do it because I honestly believe that, as a music lover, you won’t get a more pleasant, complete, or innovative experience.

Enjoy your weekend.