The Treonaut Lifestyle!

I'm a loon...and if you are reading this, chances are, that you are one too.

For those of a certain age, memories surface of our fathers wrestling with yards of 8mm & Super8mm film.  There was the triumphant delivery of new, matching kitchen appliances in Harvest Gold or (dare I say it?) Avocado.  Mom was wowed by tinted glass in the new car, and Dad by his all-in-one turntable/AM-FM/8-Track stereo.  These moments were sure to cause a roll of the eyes, and self-pride that we could still love our parents when they acted in such a dorky manner.

Well, who's the dork now, Treonaut? Hmmmmm???

We celebrate the newest release of an "OS"...what's that about? We vigorously debate the hierarchy of colors such as metallic blue, silver and cobalt.  We collect silicon playmates the way that Hugh Hefner collects...uh...silicone playmates.  Damn, and I used to think my Pioneer Supertuner (with bass-boost) was killer tech. 

So, what's my point?  Simply this, Treonauts aren't just about the way that these devices allow us to consolidate or replace the types of devices we usually carry with us during the week.  It's not even about the unbelievable, exponential increase in their features/capabilities; although, that is where most of the contributions on the web seem to focus.  No, the reason that these little buggers have so thoroughly embedded themselves into the fabric of our lives, is the way we can and do use them to enhance some aspect of our everyday lives.  To prove my point, I will provide two personal examples of my own, from this past week.

First:

I, being past a certain age, still have a lot of LP's (somebody call the Old Age Home!).  I have not taken them out in years, although I have an excellent turntable and home theater system.  The reason is that most are out of print, and I am reluctant to expose them to harm.  I recently got two pieces of software to record the LP's into my PC, and then 'clean' the sound.

1. Polderbit S-Recorder

Polderbits makes it very easy to bring an analog music source into the PC, with a simple interface. Before recording, you simply choose your source, and the recording quality you want from a series of picklists with presets.  After recording of a track/album is complete, it auto launches the Editor, which allows you to have a hard start/finish, or fade in/fade out.  Very simple stuff to use.

2. GoldWave Digital Audio Editor 

GoldWave is about the easiest Audio Editor I have found. That is really important, because even with the wealth of wizards and presets they have, each recording will require a unique bit of editing to get the sound just the way you want it. GoldWave will let you process the changes to your recording, and then preview before saving. Like S-Recorder, it is simple, effective, and designed for the average person (if the average person has a PC, and gets a kick out of transferring analog music to digital).

Wonderful stuff!  Obviously, CD's come to mind, and I have added a few hundred tracks to my iTunes library this way.  However, I have also begun to bring the tunes into my Treo via PocketTunes.  This is a joy to my old ears, and plays beautifully into my son's new interest in all kinds of music.  He is only 8, and will certainly become enamored of music that I hate sometime in the future (something in the DNA, I suppose).  But, in the meantime, I have the opportunity to expose him to a base of classical/ classic & modern soundtracks/ rock/ pop/ etc. 

With CardExport, I just drag copies of the MP3's off of my Treo onto his PC.  He is then free to create his own songlists on his MP3 player.  Of course, this might cause me to wonder how the heck an 8-year old got all this stuff: MP3player, PC, GameBoy, GameCube, color TV, mini home-theater.  But, I won't think too hard about it; otherwise, I'll end up having a long conversation with John Powers.

Second:

Aside from being an advocate of the Treo Lifestyle, I am also a lifelong insomniac.  It is during the wee small hours, lying in bed, trying to wind down, that my Treo and I truly develop our relationship (no rude comments, please!).  In the past I depended upon AvantGo for late-night reading material.  With my Treo 600, I use a combination of web, eMail and PocketTunes in place of warm milk.

Last night, I Googled the movie: "The Thing" because I was thinking about the Howard Hawks original and John Carpenter's gory remake.  If that sounds strange, consider that I am a diehard movie buff and that insomniacs are notoriously silly people.

Anyway, one of the hits referred to the movies' source: John W.  Campbell's novella: "Who Goes There?"  When I checked it out, it turned out to be the full novella online (The novella can be found here.  It is complete, broken down by chapters, and is free. For reading that night, I just used Blazer.).  Although I am a self-proclaimed SciFi fan, I have never gotten around to reading this landmark story.  Guess how I put myself to sleep?  Yup...I read the story & listened to my tunes, while lying sooooo comfy in bed.  When I was done, I was happily spooked by the story, nicely drowsy, and minutes after putting my Treo on my nightstand, was deeply asleep.

Ahhh, I sing the Treo Lifestyle!  The beauty of our devices is not just their primary functions, but their latent ability to enhance other experiences, and to leverage different aspects of our lives into new ways.  How do you leverage your Treo?

This post kindly contributed by Peter Arts.