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Tired of Hearing The Same Songs Over and Over Again? Bring Your iPod With You on Your Next Car Trip and Never Be Subjected to Commercial Radio Again!

Have you ever been on a long car ride and hated every minute of it because you can't find anything you like on the radio? This happens to most of us and can turn even the most enjoyable road trip into an exercise in drudgery. Fortunately, with just one or two iPod car accessories, you can bring your favorite tunes along with you and never again have to settle for what's playing on the radio.

Make Every Car Ride a Joy Ride

At its most basic, there are two iPod car accessories you will need to listen to your music on the road: one to give you a way to hear the music, and one to keep the power on. Most of the time, the iPod car accessory will cover both needs, either in one unit or as a kit, but understanding these two requirements will help you select the best product or products for your needs.

Listening to your iPod in the car first requires a way to get the music from your iPod to your radio. There are several iPod car accessories that can do this for you. The most popular option is an FM transmitter that you plug into your iPod and set to broadcast on an unused station. All you have to then do is tune your radio to the channel your iPod is broadcasting to and you have instant music. The lack of wires running out of your iPod is part of the appeal of an FM transmitter.

Another option if your car radio has a cassette player is an adapter goes from your iPod to the cassette slot, just like the adapter many of us have used to connect up a portable CD player to the radio's cassette player. If you already have one of these lying around somewhere you won't even need to buy anything because it will plug into the headset plug of the iPod!

A third option is to have a permanent connection installed for your iPod. After-market radios usually have an accessory input where an iPod car accessory adapter can be plugged in, and a cable run out from behind the dashboard that you plug into your iPod. While this option will give the best sound quality of all the others, it will also be the most expensive because it will require professional installation. But if you spend a lot of time in your car, it will be worth it. Many car manufacturers are also now offering this kind of iPod connectivity as an option in their higher-end models.

iPod speakers are also an option for listening to your iPod in your car. They're not an ideal solution, since they can rattle around the car and fall off the seat or rear deck. If you already have a set of speakers that don't rely on AC power this can be a workable, if inelegant solution.

Keep the (Power) Lights On

Most of these iPod car accessories are either power-neutral (don't draw power from the iPod but don't provide power to it either) or draw power from the iPod. If all of your driving consists of commuting to the office and you charge your iPod between trips, this isn't so bad. But if you're driving long distance, you're going to need a way to keep the juice flowing to the iPod so you don't drain its battery and end up stuck listening to the radio again.

To keep your iPod playing, a car charger is a necessity. It's a simple cable that runs from your car's power adapter or cigarette lighter and keeps your iPod charged while it plays. The great thing is, you can listen to your iPod for your whole drive, then when you've arrived you can take your iPod out of the car and it's fully charged and ready to keep you entertained wherever you go next. Most, but certainly not all, connection kits include a charger.

Some of the permanent connections also include a power connection. If you're getting one installed in your car, make sure this is included or you'll still have to buy a power adapter. If it's a factory-installed connection, check your owner's manual to see if it provides power to your iPod. Generally, if the connection is made to the headset port, then you'll need a power adapter but if it's connected to the docking port, you won't.

Keep Your Eyes on the Road

Safety is an important issue to bring up when using iPod car accessories. Make sure you don't let your iPod distract you from your driving! Try to avoid changing volume or tracks while your car is moving. One of the great things about permanent connections is that many of them allow you to control your iPod using the controls of the radio itself. This is especially handy if your radio has wheel-mounted controls. If you're using a stand-alone adapter, try to position your iPod so you can see it without taking your eyes off the road. If you can't, just plug the iPod in, hit play, and forget about it. It's not worth dying just because you don't want to listen to one song.

About the Author
R James Cook is an iPod aficionado (some would say geek), and is especially enamored with the wild world of iPod accessories. He contributes regularly to the Bling iPod website. Visit http://www.BlingiPod.com for iPod accessory information, products, and reviews.

// posted by Streamyxch-5038 @ 6:18 PM 0 comments

When deciding on a bandwidth solution for your business's computer network architecture there are many options to choose from .... and even more factors to consider in the process. Be sure to assess both business and technology implications to arrive at the best choice.

First, the increased availability of metrics for SONET-based facilities through the use of APS and rings (folded on traditional such as BLSR) should be considered. A well designed SONET - based interconnect or network can achieve 99.999% availability. This is something typical electronic interfaces would be hard pressed to do without gobs of additional complexity and layers.

Next concatenated STS-1 provide great flexibility to data-enabled equipment, permitting network operators to run larger and larger virtual pipes into their gear. In a data-centric world such as POE, MPLS and ATM .... this is invaluable. Replicating such flexibility with copper-based solutions is a kludge, not plausible, or a near impossibility.

Remember too that SONET-based solutions are pretty much limited to mostly North-American eye balls. If you were to open the scope to include SDH-based solutions, your addressable options now become global as far as installation locales.

Another factor for consideration is that SONET ADM and next generation multi-service switches permit an extraordinary amount of flexibility with regard to MUX/drop options, and have several OSI layers of ability and configuration within the single platform. This heavy reduces the amount of boxes required to complete the same functionality, as well as simplifies the overall network topology.

Lastly, the cost per usable Mbps payload drops considerably as you move up the bandwidth ladder. For example, the costs of a DS-1 worth of bandwidth plummets as you move from an OC-3, to OC-12, to an OC-48, etc.

But keep in mind that the geography where your business is located will yield different solutions. For example, you may be able to work on OC-3 Sonnet rings with dual entry points to your install Premise. This solution is far more bullit proof than any other solution because it is connected to multiple CO's .... and there is a backup ring that travels in an opposite direction from the primary ring. Plus the provider may well do the build out at no NRC to a bsuiness customer. Also, you may be able to bury the MRC so that the loop cost essentialy goes away. This type of buildout would normally cost between 350K and 475K through Qwest, Verizon or sprint .... and also have a similar MRC associated with it.

Now although the option of Metro Ethernet in this case is cheap bandwidth .... there is still a single point of failure with this product. Thus Metro E may not be the best choice if your applications can not tolerate single point failures.

This is an example of how every company will have slightly different needs .... and a solution at this level should be evaluated carefully.

Many suppliers will offer various options, but increasingly businesses are coming over to Ethernet based solutions. Smaller locations can be connected using 10 or 100 mbps Ethernet, often for the same price as SDSL. For a hub you want Gig-E or 10 Gig-E, and with the ability to provide point to multipoint or even meshed configurations. In this case Ethernet has much more flexibility than point to point circuits.

Ethernet can and does come in many different flavours. Over SDH or SONET you get guaranteed throughput ..... and either "all you can eat" bandwidth or upgradable in T1/E1 increments (depending on platform it can be even smaller increments).

Many platforms also allow flexible usage also. Pay for what you need only, but still be allowed to burst high for periods of time. This is very handy for backing up those application servers to a disaster recovery site overnight.

Ethernet is also available over SDH/SONET. So if a T1 or E1 is more cost effective, you still get the low cost of the Ethernet port to plug your equipment in. Naturally too Ethernet supports IP. So you can buy your Ethernet at Layer 2 or 3 - depending on your own organizations requirements for security, ease of management, and so forth.

Of course OCx and STM-y still have their place in the world. But with interfaces now going up towards 100 G for Metro and Long Haul .... Ethernet will continue to scale in speed and grow in popularity. The attractiveness once driven primarily by cost effectiveness is fast adding performance as a factor.

So there you have it. Your primary options for high demand critical business applications should be SONET based OCx solutions .... and Ethernet based solutions. Remember to weigh both your specific business and technology implications in your decision. Whatever direction you go in ..... do your homework and choose wisely.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications....including DS3-Bandwidth.com and Business-VoIP-Solution.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation where you're always welcome to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, insights, and ramblings for the masses.

// posted by Streamyxch-5038 @ 12:36 PM 0 comments