I had forgotten how long it takes to load books from CD onto my Zune. Of the various MP3 players I have had, I would rate this one at the bottom. Not only are you forced to use their software exclusively, but it has to be one of the slowest rippers in existence. Personally, I like FreeRipPro for PCs and for pulling podcasts, iTunes is far and away more efficient – having the ability to do simultaneous downloads.
Why I am so tied up about this? My choices for travel laptop are either this old PC that no longer has a functioning battery, can load the zune, and has the software that I need. It weighs a ton. Or, I can take my MAC which has a functioning battery, almost all the software that I need, but can’t deal with a zune. It weighs a ton-.
I decided that this is a good time to get better with the MAC and so I elected to load enough books to fill the 30 gigs. Only problem, as it turned out is that the laptop’s hard drive was so full that I had to move files off. This would not have boded well for photos on the trip.
I am packed, starting at about 2200 at night. On the important to pack list are the Hanne Falkenberg kit, my Walk-in-the-Woods vest to complete and an almost completed pair of socks. I plan on using the sleeves for portable knitting and the sweater body for my -sit on deck and watch the water go by knitting.
Black Sea, watch out! I will be there on Monday. Voyages of Discovery in case you are interested.
