Top 10 reasons why I love my Zune

I'm the perfect subject for the marketing campaigns that give away free stuff. I'm a creature of habit, so I don't usually branch out and buy something new unless I can try it first. A few months ago, I got a free shower moisturizer with shea butter. I wouldn't have bought it before, but I do now, because it smells so good. Similarly, I got a free razor and am now stuck buying new blades. I don't like change, but when I'm forced to adapt, I find that there's some great stuff out there. So I got a new Zune a little while ago, and though I had two iPods, and am not really a gadget kind of a girl, I fell in love. So here we go, top ten reasons why I love my Zune.

1. It can sync with other Zunes so I can trade songs with my friends and family. Except my brother is the only person I know with a Zune (he lives in the States and they came out there first) and he likes scratchy violin music.

2. It gleefully lives up to the Microsoft stereotype of ripping of the design and technology of another company...and making it better. The Zune looks so much like the iPod, it's not even funny. It has many of the same features: the scrolly thing, the locking whatsit, the playing thingamajig. But that's Microsoft for you.

3. It doesn't mock my taste in music. I've always felt like my hipster iPods have judged me when I've loaded them up with musicals and soundtracks.

4. It came with these awesome headphones that kind of squeezes in and blocks out background noise. Hey, I might not become deaf at 35.

5. Two words: Star. Trek. I've never been able to watch videos before. And at 8 gigs, it's the perfect size for a Star Trek episode. The screen is small but sharp. Now I can take Patrick Stewart with me whenever I want!

6. It comes with a built in FM radio. So when I get sick of listening to the same stuff again and again, I can turn on 93.5 for some hip hop...okay, that's a lie. I listen to retro and soft rock. My taste in music on the radio is just as bad as my taste in music on an MP3 player. But I can hope, can't I?

7. It's sooooo cute.

8. It has this whole social online thingie that I don't entirely understand. Basically, I can show my playlists and other people can see it and send me messages. Maybe that would be good for picking up, but as I've said before, the only men who share my taste in music are gay.

9. I love my iPods, but everyone has them. They're ubiquitous. And I'm not a sheep. My Zune headphone wires are black, not white. Viva la individualite!

10. It can connect to the wireless internet. Apparently. I haven't tried it yet. I can barely put on my podcasts.