Did anyone else see The Screen Savers last week where Patrick installed the Neo in his truck? I caught a rerun of it today. I got annoyed when he practically called it new. I almost threw up when he said it was the only thing out there short of building your own. What an ass.

http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/products/story/0,24330,2136540,00.html

I'm sure they know about the empeg and don't consider it simply because it's EOL. But had I been watching the same thing, I would have had exactly the same reaction.

Well, at the end of the segment he said that he will not be keeping it suggesting that SSI had provided it for review. That guy is a tool. I don't think he knows anything outside what is given to him. Remember that leather tool skirt thing he wore?

Ziff davis / cnet (or whatever they call it now) is computer news for for novices. It would be neat to have some kind of computer news show or magazine that was aimed at people that know something about computers but I suppose they are trying to appeal to the largest audiance.

Like I've said before, I can't figure out the aim of that show.

At one moment they're showing you how to change a file association.

The next they're teaching Perl scripts.

What the hell?

Who gives a crap about the aim? I watch it for the tech-savvy girls.

Right on. That's about the only reason I've ever watched it. The only other reason I can think of is the comedic value. It's just hilariously entertaining sometimes.

Actually, I'm still just happy that ZDTV has made it this far. When they started, I thought "Wow, they've got some cheezy hosts on their show - but it's incredible computers have become mainstream enough to warrant their own full-time cable channel!"

I think they're trying to offer a little something for everyone who likes computers. I sit down and watch it, and half the stuff is B.S. I learned 10 years ago, but then they'll have the occasional newsclip or review of something really interesting.

I actually wrote a reply letter to one of ZD's columnists about 6 months ago, who wrote an editorial in PC Magazine praising the new MP3 car players like the Kenwood "music keg" as teriffic concepts, and the future of car stereo.

I pointed out both the Dension and the Neo players, complete with URL's of where to buy them - and argued that either was much cheaper and less proprietary than Kenwood's overpriced offering. His only response was that he'd seen the Neo before, but thought it was sub-standard "hobbyist/hacker" material. Basically, unsuitable for the average car owner wanting to play MP3s.

The more I think about it, I think he's right. I love my Rio MKIIa player, but the more I work with it - the more I realize that even it isn't up to the quality standards people expect of multi-hunded dollar car stereos. Sure, sound quality is excellent and the feature-set is unbeatable. I'm talking more about the look and feel, button design, etc.

Let's face it folks, people would be screaming and moaning if their Sony, Pioneer, Kenwood, or Clarion stereo had issues like buttons getting stuck, or knobs being hard to turn, just because the faceplate was screwed on too tightly or a little bit off-center. The mere fact that it's a "pull-out" stereo design is dated and obsolete. There is no "slick looking" docking shell to slide it into when you use it with a home stereo. The list goes on... It really is more of a "hacker" and "niche enthusiast" item.

? Personally, i love the way my empeg looks. it might not have a shiny metallic faceplate, but its got one helluva display.

The pull-out design is dated and obsolete???? To me it's one of the player's best features...when was the last time you had your vehicle broken into? My personal break-in count is three. However, my player is safe at home, not sitting in some pawn shop.

BTW: Ever since I opened up that big obsolete hole in my dash, my car hasn't been touched, funny how that works out eh?

My count is 3 also - all in a row. Apparently my 40x4 JVC tape deck was a hot item back then - they still didn't get it out. But I lost a window, of course. And a whole bunch of burned CDs (direct copies of my originals). Hehe. I did was Tony (tfabris) did with his Honda. Factory plate covering the space. Nothing to see (or steal); move along.

And, kingtj, as for how the player looks - I drive a black car with a with a gray/black dash setup. It fits nicely into my car. And with the smoke lens, it might as well have come with the car.

I wouldn't want a non pullout version because how would you get the music on it other than from cd's or maybe wireless. plus this way you can connect it to a home stereo or use the player in multiple cars.

Personally, I hate the design of 99% of the aftermarket stereos on the market. It's all just flash for the sake of flash. While the empeg isn't perfectly designed (and I'm talking basically just about the fascia, etc. here), I like it more than pretty much everything on the market. And I have the feeling that if I saw everything, which I haven't now, it would be my top pick. I just wish that I could see the top left of the screen. (Oh, well. I said it wasn't perfect.)