Digital Recorder...

iPod attachment is top notch.

Allows you to have one device if you like to carry your music around.

Also allows for easy storage and management of your clips if you like to save them/if its required that you save them. Plug your iPod into any PC/MAC with iTunes and it loads them into the iTunes library. That could be cumbersome if you were connected your iPod to another computer with audio files on your iPod. But its just as easy to find the files that are loaded onto the computer, so if you'd want to delete them from iTunes and just store them electronically.

Its also good for charges. My iPod keeps a great charge and if it doesnt, just hook it up to the laptop during the game to get enough juice for the postgame.

It can be a good icebreaker on the high school beats too. Many times if I am talking to a kid, he/she is like, what is that and wondering why the hell i'm about to talk to them with an iPod in their face.

The other good possibility is perhaps you could get your company to comp your iPod...(wishful thinking)..

Another alternative I have found is using a newer Blackberry (Pearl or Curve) with a voice recorder. It doesnt dump files onto the PC, but they're very easily pulled off. Gives you an all-functioning device even more so than an iPod (Phone/Email/Web/Music/Recorder)

 

How can you have a silent sound? I know, I'm a jackass.

 

Well thanks everyone, I have a game tonight and figure I am just going to break this bad boy open. I DID have an Olympus as well. I would have had sex with it, but it died on me and I hear the sex wouldn't be all that great once its dead.

I also was wondering about silent sound....ha ha. Ill let you all know how it works out for me tonight.

 

I bring my own mini-stenographer with me on all interviews.

 

I used the ipod attachment last night, and the sound quality came out really well. I do have to say it was a little bulky and did make me feel slightly like a giant douche. Overall though it wasn't too bad. I clipped it to my notebook and just went with it. Plus it gave me something to listen too before the game and during halftime. I'm going to go out and by another Olympus though as well.

 

Agreed on the DS2. It's outstanding. Best recorder I've ever used. So easy to store on the hard drive and upload audio for the web, too, which I have to do most days.

 

I'm also a die-hard digital guy. The Olympus VN-4100 PC is the best I've found with great sound quality and loads of storage space. I also download files I want to keep on my computer but that is pretty rare. It has a X-high quality of recording, which works pretty well in the wind.
The best feature is the index marker, which allows you to mark quotes in an individual folder. It has saved me a lot of time, especially on deadline. I no longer have to sort through a folder or tape to find quotes for a story. It has also reduced the amount of time I spend transcribing quotes.
We can claim recorders but I also purchase a protection plan, which means I can get a new one with little or no hassle if it breaks. My old one did break but I had a new one the next day. Mind you, I've dropped this one a couple of times and it still works great.
I also know this thread has appeared before but it doesn't hurt to run it again. Especially with a small thing that has made my job a lot easier.