Searching for an MP3 player for podcasts

I'm having trouble finding a good MP3 player. (My kids think I'm a geek, and this may prove them right.) My problem is that I cannot find an MP3 player that is designed for podcast listeners. I find listening to music on an MP3 player to be boring; I like to be stimulated by NPR and BBC news stories and features. My favorite podcasts are:

Digital Planet (BBC)
Peter Day's World of Business
NPR Most Emailed Stories
Car Talk
This American Life
RTHK Naked Cantonese

Podcast listeners need different features from music listeners. Here are some of my desired features:

1) Dedicated volume controls. No brainer.

2) A screen to be able to read summaries and information about the podcast (more important for podcasts than for music or audiobooks)

This leads to another issue: why does the iTunes software show more information about podcasts than is available on other players? Even when I look at podcasts with PC programs like Media Monkey, I cannot see as much program information as is available in iTunes? The best example is NPR's Most Emailed stories: in iTunes and on the iPod, you can see a summary of each of the 6 stories on the daily podcast. This is not visible in other programs, such as in Windows Explorer (it is not in the "Comment" or "Description" fields). Is it some proprietary Apple format?

3) The ability to fast forward (for those boring parts of NPR podcasts, or commercial messages), and rewind (when you missed something or someone interrupted you). This may seem basic, but... When I fast-forward on my Zen Neeon2 , I invariably (but unpredictably, in terms of timing) jump to the end of the file. I've I have just been told by the Creative Media tech support in Hong Kong that the reason I cannot reliably fast forward within podcasts is that they are recorded in mono. They converted my NPR Car Talk podcast to stereo, and now I can fast-forward reliably through the entire podcast. But who wants to convert their podcasts before listening to them?! All NPR and BBC podcasts I have checked use mono.

In case you do not believe me that there really are MP3 players that cannot fast-forward, here is an email from Creative Labs in reply to my query:

Dear Joseph,

Thank you for replying to Creative Customer Support.

Having read through your mail, I do understand that you have an issue

with Fast Forwarding using Creative Zen Neeon 2.

To assist you further, you might wish to know that you will only be able

to do a short burst for the fast forwarding. It will not be able to

press and hold on for too long when doing fast forwarding.

In case if you need any clarification, please do not hesitate to contact

us. [No, this is all too clear!]

This might be a quirk of Creative Media players, except that I had the same problem with my iRiver Clix player (before I dropped it and it broke). I could work around it with the iRiver because it allows you to change the speed of the fastforwarding, so I could fast forward at 12X and usually get to about where I wanted to go, but the Zen Neeon 2 does not have a "fast" fast-forward.

Actually, I should add 3b) variable speed fast-forwarding. The speed of fast-forwarding should increase after you hold the button down about 10 or 15 seconds.

4) Bookmarks, so you can find your place, and should stay "parked"in the file you are listening to when you sync (the iRiver Click, for example, has a bookmark but you need to remember what file you were listening to before sync'ing, because sync'ing with its"MyPodder" software brings you to the root of its menu). Automatic bookmarks that remember 3 or 4 files, set automatically when you turn the player off or change file, would be ideal.

5) The "delete file" capability (not possible in iPods); I don't know how others use podcasts, but I like to be able to delete the podcast as soon as I'm done listening to it, to eliminate maintenance later.

6) FM tuner; useful for listening to local programs when I'm traveling.

7) Being able to copy files conveniently (e.g. by drag and drop) is a big advantage; being forced to use proprietary software (e.g. iTunes for the Apple products) is annoying. The Creative Zen Media Explorer allows this, but it renames the file when it gets copied to the MP3 player by adding 000_ to the front of the file name. This is unnecessary and annoying for podcasts. Another reason relying on iTunes is irritating is that iTunes will stop downloading any podcast that you do not listen to regularly--there is no way to override this. There are some podcasts that I like to listen to in batches, or do not keep up with when I am busy but catch up on during slow weeks. iTunes thinks it knows my habits better than I do, so stops downloading podcasts I have not listened to.

Nice features to have (but not essential):
a) automatic rewind (when you pause or stop, re-starting automatically rewinds a few seconds to make it easier to understand and avoid missing information if you paused in mid-speech.

b) equalizer setting for voice.

There may be more features I would like, but have not thought of. I'll probably add to this list the next time I buy a new MP3 player and have more complaints. It is not easy getting all the features right, but I'm surprised podcast listening geeks have so little influence on the market. I would have thought the engineers designing these players would understand us!

Irrational bureaucracy

I can’t stop AT&T from sending me bills for $0 that cost them $0.90 to mail to me. And I’m not even an AT&T customer.

Here is how this happened. Before the days of cell phones (AKA mobile phones), we needed to use calling cards to make long distance phone calls. We had an AT&T card, as well as a Sprint card, but once AT&T gave us a cheap plan call the “Military Plan,” we only used the AT&T card, and the Sprint card expired.

Then we got a small SIM card (a computer chip) that we put in our Hong Kong phone, and voila, we could use our cell phones in the US. It is a “Pay As You Go plan” that does not have monthly charges; you just pay for each call at $0.10 per minute. It used to be Cingular, but not that is, coincidentally, part of AT&T. So, for about two years, from 2004-2006, we did not use the AT&T calling card.

Then, I once needed to use the calling card to call the US from Europe, and I discovered the card did not work. I tried to call AT&T to find out what the problem was, but got the “helpline” runaround, so gave up in frustration.

Months later, I tried again, and this time I spoke to a person (how thrilling!). I told her my card did not work, and wondered why. When I mentioned that I was not in the military, but that I had been put on the “Military Plan” because it was the best plan for our family (and this was well before 9-11, after which the military became more prominent and were viewed as “heroes” apart from ordinary people like us), she said that I was not eligible for the Military Plan, and that she would terminate my card. I had expected her to suggest some other plan, or some other solution, but no, she just said goodbye and hung up! OK, I figured it was not a big deal, as we really don’t need a calling card anyway.

But the bills kept coming. Every month, I get a bill for the monthly “Military Plan” charge of $1. The line below the charge says “Other charges and credits” and it shows a credit of $1, canceling out the charges. After all the detailed instructions on how to pay, the bill says in bold: “Do Not Pay.”

I went to an AT&T store in Indiana to try to get the bills stopped. The very nice woman behind the desk told me that while I could pay my AT&T bill there, they were not really the same company: they were AT&T Mobile, and my bill was from another company that happened to have the same name of AT&T. I pretended I understood.

Originally, this bill was automatically paid by my credit card (which was in turn automatically paid by my bank). Since I wanted to make sure I was not being charged anything, and would not be charged in the future, I called the credit card company to make sure AT&T does not have the authority to charge me anything anymore. Credit card companies are worried about fraud, so I find that they are a lot more responsive than phone companies. They told me that AT&T has long not been on my list of authorized auto-payers.

So there we are. AT&T still thinks I’m their customer. They send me a monthly bill, at the cost of $0.90 per month, and at the bottom it tells me “Do Not Pay.” Despite numerous attempts to get off their mailing list, they still spend money sending me a useless bill.

Do you think we should sell our AT&T stock?

Valentine's Day

“Don’t you think it’s the cheapening and commodification of something rare that we would all like to celebrate in private and at our own time?”

Jeffrey Eugenides, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the novel Middlesex, and editor of the new anthology My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead: Great Love Stories, from Chekhov to Munro on why he and his wife have an antipathy for Valentine’s Day.

Hear him say it himself on NPR's ATC

Why I'll never be a good journalist

BBC Radio had a story about a week ago that was very clever, but wrong. It noted that the central government in Beijing has decided to end the "Golden Week" holiday over Labor Day, leaving only one day off for May 1st and adding other traditional "Confucian" holidays like Qing Ming and Dragon Boat day (Duanwu Jie). The correspondent noted that Marx is out, and Confucianism is in, as China plunges further into capitalism. Great hook: Marxism is fading, China is becoming capitalist and returning to its traditions. The problem is, the Labour Day Golden Week has only been a holiday since the 1990s, when the government got the idea of having a long holiday in order to increase travel and spending. The Labor Day Golden Week was not a Communist holiday, but was created to boost consumer spending. They are abandoning the Golden Week because they have been too successful; travel is impossible at that time, and most venues are overrun with tourists. By spacing out the holidays, they will spread out the travelers (in time). So this change is not from some socialist holiday to a capitalist/Confucian holiday (which is itself an odd juxtaposition, since Confucius was contemptuous of business), but from a consumerist holiday to an advanced consumerist holiday. But that story would not have had a hook. The correspondent must have known this, but he knew how to present his story so it would get on the news.

Two tickets or one?

When a promotion offers tickets to "subscribers", does that imply that each subscriber can get one ticket or two?

This all began when I signed up for tickets to a guided tour of art from the Centre Pompidou. I did not realize it was a contest until I got the message that said I would be contacted if I won. Wednesday Oct. 11, I got the following email:

Dear Joseph Bosco ,


Invitation to view masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou, Paris at first-hand

We are happy to let you know that you are eligible to join the exclusive guided tour of "Artists and Their Models - Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou, Paris" at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Tsimshatsui.

The exclusive guided tour of this historic art collection will be held on on October 17, 2006 (Tuesday) from 6:30pm to 7:30pm*.

We will meet you at the reception desk at 6:15pm. Please print out and present this e-mail notification to our colleague there. For enquiries, please contact our Customer Service Hotline at (852) 2680 88xx or e-mail to circulationsub@scmp.com.

Enjoy the tour, with our compliments!



Yours sincerely,

Circulation Department,
South China Morning Post Publishers Limited.


* Each e-mail notification is valid for one entry only. Late-comers will not be entertained.
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I forwarded this to my wife, who, being a lawyer, noted that it seemed only I was being invited. Since we had planned to go together, I wrote to circulationsub to find out.

Thank you for the notification. I wish to double-check that this is for two people, as I had signed up for. I wish to attend with my wife. Thanks.

JB
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the reply:

Subject: RE: Confirmation of invitation to "Artists and Their Models"
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 11:02:10 +0800
To: "Joseph Bosco"

Dear Mr. Bosco,

Thank you for supporting South China Morning Post.

We are terribly sorry that each subscriber eligible to one opening only as the tour is limited to 30 persons per session.

Please kindly input your details in the web link below and submit your information to us. E-mail notifications will be sent to successful applicants individually by October 10, 2006.

http://subscription.scmp.com/promotions then click “ Promotions “ on the left hand side. Or,
http://promotions.scmp.com/circulation/pompidou/pompidou_regform.asp



Best Regards,

Ms. Florence Chan [I've changed the name]
Customer Relationship Executive
South China Morning Post Publishers Limited

Tel : (852)2680-88XX
Fax: (852)2680-86XX

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This was confusing enough that I called back. She was not there, but I left a message stating that I could not re-enter the information on the web because I already had done so and had a ticket. Here is her emailed reply (I'll spare you the obnoxious self congratulatory footer on each of the following emails).

From: "Circulation Sub"
To: "Joseph Bosco"

Dear Mr. Bosco,

Thank you again for your call on 13 Oct 2006. Regarding to our return e-mail we apologize that only the subscriber (1 person)can go take this invitation for our Hong Kong Art Museum this time, Thank you so much!


Best Regards,

Ms. Florence Chan
Customer Relationship Executive
South China Morning Post Publishers Limited

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is my reply, which I cc'd to the head of PR:

To: "Circulation Sub"
From: "Joseph Bosco"
cc: [head of PR]
Subject: RE: Confirmation of invitation to "Artists and Their Models"
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 17:32

Sorry, but to be blunt, this is a very stupid policy. I have a subscription for my home, so I would think it would allow at least two people to participate. You spend all this effort and money to get good publicity, but in not allowing me to bring my wife, you leave me with a bad impression and a bitter taste. You can of course limit an offer as you wish, but it was not clear in the initial offer. I will not attend alone, so you can offer my ticket to someone else. Thanks.

Joseph Bosco
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This generated this reply:

Subject: RE: Confirmation of invitation to "Artists and Their Models"
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 17:41:38 +0800
From: "Circulation Sub"
To: "Joseph Bosco"

Dear Mr. Bosco,

Thank you so much for your e-mail dated 13 Oct 2006. We apologize for the inconvenient caused. For this art museum visit we are just inviting our subscriber only.

Thank you so much!


Best Regards,

Ms. Florence Chan
Customer Relationship Executive
South China Morning Post Publishers Limited

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At this point, I came to suspect there was something cultural going on. "Florence Chan" could obviously not understand where I was coming from. I was obviously being rude and unreasonable in her view. So I started asking students and colleagues.

It turns out that there seems to be a cultural difference in the concept of "subscriber." I've checked with several Hong Kong and Chinese students and colleagues, and I'm surprised to learn that they think the term subscriber (訂閲者) suggests one person, while my Western friends assume that a subscriber can be a household who would be entitled to two tickets. The Chinese term seems to be more individualized. Students may also accept that one ticket is normal because they are not married, so would not think to go with a partner. But even two students who are married could understand the logic of giving only one ticket. It seems more based on the idea of conjugal relationships. It is actually much less common in Hong Kong for married couples to do things together. Same sex friendship groups are of course also common in the US, but there is enough difference that my Hong Kong friends do not assume a promotion like this will provide two tickets, while American friends, like me, assume a promotion will provide two tickets. Surely my newspaper cannot expect me and my wife to each get separate copies of the newspaper. My students agreed, and yet, they somehow felt only one ticket was to be expected.

As it happens, I got an email from the SCMP "Director of Marketing and Communications" apologizing for the arrangements.

Subject: Our apologies
Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:49:18 +0800
From: "Jane Smith"
To: josephbosco@xxxx.edu.hk
cc: "Sally Lo"

Dear Dr. Bosco,
I’m writing in response to your email of October 16 outlining our somewhat unfriendly arrangements for guided tours of the Pompidou Exhibition. Thank you for drawing this to my attention - and I hope you will accept our belated invitation for your wife to join you on the guided tour tomorrow. Simply print and present our previous email to the HK Museum of Art reception desk at 6.15pm and the two of you will be admitted.

We apologize for the frustration and inconvenience we have caused. In future we will be clearer about entitlements for these subscriber events – and I hope we’ll have the opportunity to regain your confidence.
Yours sincerely,

Jane Smith [I've changed the name]
Director
Marketing and Communications
South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd
Tel: (852) 2250 xxxx
Fax: (852) 2565 xxxx

At first I thought that they agreed that they should give a pair of tickets to all winners, but the email can be read to mean that next time, they will make it clearer that only one ticket is being offered. It may be they are more upset at having upset me, but still plan to give only one ticket. Maybe for Hong Kong that is the correct strategy.

Global cowboy boots?

In November 2005, an exchange student from the US asked a funny question in my class. We were discussing an article that explained how Marlboro had to change Hong Kong smokers' image of the cowboy from a "cow herd" 牛郎 to the ranch and horse owner that Hong Kong consumers could aspire to. No one in Hong Kong would aspire to be the hired hand who had to take care of dumb cows. The student, out of the blue, asked, "Why do Hong Kong people wear cowboy boots?" It had nothing to do with our class discussion, but it turned out to be quite interesting, because the Hong Kong students denied that the boots were cowboy boots. They said that if they looked like cowboy boots, it was just because of fashion. It turns out that some Hong students think cowboy boots have to have spurs. Above you see an example of a pair of boots worn by a student. These are mostly canvas, are softer and floppier than American cowboy boots, and they have a zipper on the inside. The Hong Kong students were adamant that these are not cowboy boots, and seemed puzzled that anyone would connect them with American culture. The Americans were equally adamant that they were really cowboy boots. Certainly, from an American point of view, the design, the loops at the top (used in real boots to pull them on), and the shape and height all do look like cowboy boots. But, if Hong Kong consumers do not think of them as cowboy boots, make no connection with America, and buy them because they are fashionable, are they cowboy boots? These boots were popular in Italy in the winter of 2004-05, and spread to Hong Kong a year later. In February 2006, I saw them in the US as well, but they were new--and odd to American exchange students who had been studying in Hong Kong in the Fall of 2005.

wrinkles in globalization

Examples of persisting problems in globalization, or ways that the world is not still seamless, or flat (pace Thomas Friedman).

Example 1: A US$100 check mailed to me from a company in Singapore, issued by Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore), could not be cashed by Hang Seng Bank in Hong Kong (the fees would have been over HK$500 on what should have been a HK$778 check). My bank in the US could not cash a foreign check, nor could Merrill Lynch in HK. So I asked to the Singapore company to wire the amount to me. I only got HK$360! Hang Seng claims that is all that arrived, and that it was not their charges.

Example 2: Yale's "Recommendation Form" for graduate students does not have a box for "country" but has one for zip code; they assume all referees are based in the US.