Fate of the Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox USB2.0 MP3 Player:

IT DOES NOT WORK! crap!

I was trying to think when I picked up this little beauty. It was not long after I started to work here, so we are talking about after 2002. It must have been mid 2003. I would guess that I have used this thing everyday I am here, and some of the days are nearly 8 hours. I can tell you that without this little toy I would never had survived here and would never have been able to complete the TSCA 8e project.
I have run the batteries dry so many times, I can’t even hazard a guess. It certainly shows, as a full charge lasts only about 6 hours, where when new a full charge was good for about 20 hours.
It currently contains about 4000 tracks, my whole CD library plus some gems my friends have provided.
It has traveled more miles than a Grand Cannon Burro and suffered more abuse.
And now it is failing.

Yesterday it would not even turn on. Today it powers up, but fails to play properly. I either get sound on only one headphone or it sounds like I am in a deep well. The track-wheel is less responsive and kind of gummy as are the buttons. I also noticed that when I press the track advance (or back) button the volume is sometimes changed rather than the track. The volume buttons are unaffected.

OK – I think I can clean up the track-wheel and buttons. If I power down the device and use a non-polar solvent (like hexane) I should be able to clean it. The biggest issue is the failing headphones. I may be able to clean them with a solvent, but as the connection is internal, I can’t be certain. I may be able to change the equalizers and make it sound more “normal.”

All of these things I am going to try later (like after lunch), when I can get some solvent from the lab.

Please let t work. I can’t stand working here without music, and I am not sure this will solve my problem.

Can’t tell you the headaches in migrating my music to another platform…


Well I tried the solvent and now the dumb fu@king thing won’t even turn on.

I put it in the lab drying oven, but I don’t have regular access to that room, so I can’t just up and try it whenever I feel the urge. I am waiting to a co-worker to get done with a meeting to get back into the lab.

Fork
Fudge
Frock

I can’t take listening to Miss Congenial talk to her mother any longer.