The first thoughts after seeing the new commercials for the iPod nano was that it looked extremely similar to the Zune 4gb/8gb/16gb that has been out since before Christmas 2007.  The Zune Scene forums does a really nice comparison.  First similarity in form factor is they do have the same overall dimensions.  The only really noticeable difference is the nano has a 2.0″ screen while the Zune has a 1.8″ screen.  The resolutions are the same at 320 x 240 so there should not be too much of a difference in quality.  The new nano has an accelerometer which allows it to sense orientation and play movies in the landscape mode.  This is something that the Zune has done from the start with all videos defaulting to landscape without an accelerometer to know its orientation.  It allows the width of the screen to be used while watching videos.  Although at 2.0″ inches it is still a bit small to really watch videos on.  It just allows the nano to have a more “normal” form factor instead of the previous “fat” one that was  wider than tall.

Although, I am bias to the Zune as I have hands on experience with the 8gb and 30gb I feel it is a better product technology wise as it has wifi and an fm radio built in.  This allows flagging and purchase of songs heard on the radio over a wifi connection along with syncing to a music collection.  Microsoft has also upgraded all previous Zune’s to the newest firmware, which is a huge plus for my 30gb Zune.  I do feel Apple used the Zune 4gb/8gb/16gb as a model for the 4th generation nano based on the landscape video viewing mode and similar form factor.  What are your takes?

Google announced today on CNN that they will be giving away $10 million to an idea that will change the world to celebrate their 10th anniversary.  The project is called Project10 to the 100, another play on numbers as Google’s name is.

The project’s slogan is “May Those Who Help The Most Win” and the basic idea is to come up with a new innovative idea that will change the world for the better.  They referenced Google News being created by a Google engineer after the September 11th attacks and the Hippo Water Roller, which has improved water transportation in countries like Africa that do not have a running water supply.  Their opening video explains it all.

I’m turning the wheels in my brain trying to think of an idea.  Anyone want to work together?  Good luck to all!

Today, I decided to update my iGoogle start page to include a Google Gadget for a “To Do” or “Task List.” I occasionally use the “Task List” with Microsoft Outlook, but I would rather have the ability to log in from anywhere in the world to see my list.

This was not as simple as I thought due to the nature of corporate proxies blocking various content.  I still don’t quite understand the nature for blocking certain sites.  I generally feel as a professional that we should be allowed to use any tool that helps us get our jobs done.

I use two different corporate networks during the day.  The first one shown below is how my iGoogle page looks from Company 1.  The problem here is Google Gadget images are routed through an anonymizer proxy that is blocked.  This makes the majority of the Gadget’s with images almost completely useless.  At least Company 1 does not block Gmail and Calender.

Company 2 looks much better as they do not block the anonymizer proxy that displays pictures for Google Gadgets.  However, they do block Google Calender, Gmail and Woot!.  They do not block the anoynmizer that displays the Woot! images for the Google Gadget, but I can not click on the link to follow it over to their site.

As far as the “To Do” lists go, I added the top 5 lists that came up in the search.  After playing around with them, I prefer using the list that was developed by Google.  It’s simple easy to use interface that does the trick.  The list from Lab Pixies doesn’t work well on Company 1’s network and only allows 7 items on the fancy yellow pad.  The third most popular list allows drag and drop sorting of items, but puts long list items in a scroll box.  The 4th one is just a sticky notepad, which I might keep for quick notes.  The final one called MyListy is the most fancy with a myriad of features that work quite nicely.  However, I just want to keep things simple and do not need a tabbed “To Do” list so the Google one wins for now!

I always thought this was a good marketing choice.  I would love to haul an alpaca around in a Honda Fit.

From the 2008 Honda Fit site:

However, the 2009 Honda Fit site no longer shows the alpaca in the fit.  What happened here?  Animal rights activists?  Too much attention?  Post if you know the answer.

I’m in no way an expert on this subject, but I recently spent some time at various dealerships talking the talk and attempting to negotiate. My favorite site by far for car research is Edmunds.com and one of my favorite articles about the business is Confessions of a Car Salesmen in which a reporter went behind the scenes to give the inside scoop.

10. Do your research. Try to know what car you want or narrow it down to a car make/model before negotiating on price. The best and easiest time to walk away is right after a test drive before they get you back inside.

9. On the other hand, try not to let them know that you really want a specific car. If they sense this, they will probably not be able to go any lower on the price.

8. Don’t offer a trade. If you must trade, tell them this after the price of the car has been negotiated.

7. Don’t give them the keys to your trade in at first. One dealership decided to hold onto my keys to make it harder to leave.

6. Run invoice and true market value reports from Edmunds.com and other sites. This should be used as a baseline for negotiating. This should also be done for your trade in if applicable.

5. If the model/options you want are rare, do not negotiate on a car that a dealership could potentially find for a deposit (one that is not in their possession on the lot). There’s a chance that they are just trying to get you to agree on a price, go look at other dealerships and eventually come back to them. At this point they will finally admit they couldn’t find the specific car you wanted or the price is no longer valid. It’s a tactic just to get you back in the door.

4. Stay calm. They like to make you sit and wait. It gets your nerves up and causes irrational/quick decisions.

3. The “e-price” on Autotrader.com or dealer specific sites is almost always the price without freight or destination charges. Try to negotiate on the true price of the car. A couple dealers were really reluctant to tell me this and tried to add it on after the first round of negotiating. I do not understand how this is legal as the charges are almost always included in the MSRP on the sticker. It is like they are saying the (insert_some_important_part_here) is not included in the MSRP, we have to add that in at the end.

2. Never be afraid to walk away. It is easier to think logically later on.

1. Negotiate on the total price of the car, not how much payments will be! It’s harder to comprehend the total price than an easy per month payment. It is good to have calculated a few numbers and know how much the car is going to cost with interest, tax, title, etc. That is why I created this Multiple Car Cost Calculation Spreadsheet.

On another note, I do have to give CarMax some credit as they have developed a unique “low pressure” model for car shopping. No price negotiating allowed and very little pressure to actually buy a car. Every salesmen was nice and allowed me to test drive car after car. They even let me drive a Shelby Mustang GT 500 Convertible for an experience of a lifetime! The dealership is still not a 100% “no pressure” model as they follow you around the car lot as you’re looking.  They will also attempt to sell you more expensive cars or a new car if they have a dealers license for those at the specific location. Not being able to negotiate might leave you feeling like a better deal could be had elsewhere. The rules above do not really apply to this dealership.

In response to the article on newsweek.com, which can be found at http://www.newsweek.com/id/147648

I would prefer to ride a train to travel short distances if it was faster than driving and financially beneficial. I agree with the article and am glad that train ridership is on the rise, but for me to make the switch from driving a car it needs to be more reasonably priced. Let’s take an example using a popular travel destination for my area.

A train trip from Baltimore, Maryland to Atlantic City, New Jersey would cost me $305 for 2 people round trip. The times specified are fine and I would only have to change trains one time each way. The travel times for this trip are about 3 hours each way for either riding a train or driving a car. The problem is it will not cost me anywhere near $305 to drive. It’s about 300 miles round trip, and at the government mileage rate of 58.5 cents a mile (which I feel is high for a car that gets good MPG) would come out to $175.50. This rate accounts for mileage, fuel, depreciation on the car, etc. If I’d want to look at my immediate out of pocket expenses then it would be even less to drive! Think 306miles/30MPG = 10.2 gallons * $4/gallon = $40.80! The only way it might make sense to take a train if I was traveling alone. The price just about needs to be cut in half to $150 for two round trip ($75/person) from Baltimore to Atlantic City to really attract my attention and change my method of travel for this weekend getaway.

Welcome to dmurry.com! I have finally registered my own domain name. This is something I have wanted to do ever since I started getting into designing web pages for other people. The problem was I could never justify the cost, nor think of a good name to use. After many years of debate and the cost of hosting/domain names coming down considerably, I decided just to register one that would be a blog focused on my hobbies, news, and career. Enjoy!