I know there are many who extol the virtues of Apple's flagship over and over again.  I am not one of those, but not because the iPod isn't a great product (it obviously reinvented the music player market and put Apple at the top of its game).  Even someone who hasn't had the pleasure of using one can see that.  But I'm kind of about being down on the man (or at least not being down with one man to rule them all), and let's be honest, as much as Apple wishes it was the anti-man, when it comes to music, Apple is the man.

 

Enter Sandisk, and their wonderful Sansa line of mp3 players.  I've had the pleasure of owning the mid-sized Fuze (a reference to the melding of their smaller Clip and its big brother the View), for a while now and I have to say, I love it.  It sounds great (even better with non-OEM earphones - a pitfall of any mp3 player), looks great, has a simple and intuitive interface, and holds gobs of music.  I purchased the largest capacity Fuze, which has 8 gigs of onboard memory.  But here's the kicker, and what makes the Fuze truly great: it has an available micro SDHC slot, which allows you to expand the memory!  I added an 8 gig card, giving me a total of 16 gigs. Add the newly released Sandisk 16 gig micro SDHC card, and you could go as high as 24 gigs of memory! 

I average anywhere from 20-25 hours of music play on one charge, depending on the bit rate at which you encode, or about 5 hours of video if you so desire (although the screen's a bit small for video playback).  Oh, and you don't have to install iTunes to make it work, either.

The 8 Gb Fuze clocks in at a very reasonable $90-$100, and you can buy it online at Amazon or at your local electronics store if you prefer.  

At a time of great reflection, I'm reminded that it's often the simple things in life that bring true happiness. Case in point: the Pulltap's corkscrew from Pulltex. If you've ever worked in a fine restaurant (or dined at one), you'll notice that the servers aren't sheathing 3 lb. mechanical corkscrews that look like they could Transform and Auto-bot all over your Pinot Grigio. Do us a favor: if you own one of those monsters, throw it away.

The Pulltap's Corkscrew is a gold standard in design and function. A practiced user can open a bottle in seconds without butchering the bottle's cork or wrapper. The key is in the patented hinged double lever which helps you pull the cork without cracking/breaking it. A Teflon coated worm makes for easy insertion/removal, and the attached serrated knife lets you slice a quick ring around the foil top for a professional presentation.

We've had our current Pulltap's for about 5 years. I expect it to last another 25. That is unless someone steals it. They have a way of disappearing at parties...  (We're currently on our third.)

Fortunately, you can get yours from Target or Amazon for under $10, or wherever the finest of bar tools are sold. Pick one up today and you won't look back. Best of all, you won't look like a rookie using the wrong tool for the job.

[See the Pulltap's in action after the jump]