Whether you are an in-state or out-of-state Penn Stater, most of us are away from home for an extended period of time. This means we are away from home-cooked meals, normal weather patterns and friends and family — including our pets! If you are in some serious need of puppy love, and if you’re looking for a way to get involved in the State College community while you’re at it, get involved with Centre County PAWS.
“Centre County PAWS is committed finding forever homes for cats and dogs, educating citizens on responsible pet ownership, providing spay/neuter assistance and ending pet overpopulation,” says Linette Courtney, the president of PAWS. To help PAWS achieve its goals, Courtney says there two main ways that students can become involved: adopting and volunteering.
If you wish to adopt a dog or cat, there is an application process to make sure “the pet’s needs are met by the owner and the owner’s needs are met by the pet,” she says. If you’re not quite ready to take on the responsibility of caring for a pet during college, volunteering with PAWS is another option. Interested volunteers can fill out an application for the designated area they wish to work in, and then they will be trained before working.
“We would like to go out of business,” Courtney says, “but until all our pets have a home, we continue with what we do!”
“Since beginning my internship and volunteering at PAWS, I have felt humbled by the amount of people who truly care about animals,” says Lauren Burrell, an intern for the organization and a sophomore advertising major. “There are so many volunteers at PAWS who give a large amount of their time to the animals when they already have a very busy schedule.”
Burrell says the best part of working at PAWS is all of the “success stories you hear about every day. The dogs and cats who never thought they would get a second chance now have a loving home.
“No dog or cat deserves to go through suffering and, by volunteering, I know I am helping the animals get that much closer to the family they deserve,” she says.
Interested in volunteering or adopting? Go to the PAWS website to get more information!
Photo by Jill Podhor
Between me and my husband we’ve owned more MP3 players over the years than I can count, including Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few years I’ve settled down to one line of players. Why? Because I was happy to discover how well-designed and fun to use the underappreciated (and widely mocked) Zunes are.
Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass’ favor.
Zune and iPod: Most people compare the Zune to the Touch, but after seeing how slim and surprisingly small and light it is, I consider it to be a rather unique hybrid that combines qualities of both the Touch and the Nano. It’s very colorful and lovely OLED screen is slightly smaller than the touch screen, but the player itself feels quite a bit smaller and lighter. It weighs about 2/3 as much, and is noticeably smaller in width and height, while being just a hair thicker.
If you’re still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Best Buy and ask to plug them into a Zune then an iPod and see which one sounds better to you, and which interface makes you smile more. Then you’ll know which is right for you.
Zune and iPod: Most people compare the Zune to the Touch, but after seeing how slim and surprisingly small and light it is, I consider it to be a rather unique hybrid that combines qualities of both the Touch and the Nano. It’s very colorful and lovely OLED screen is slightly smaller than the touch screen, but the player itself feels quite a bit smaller and lighter. It weighs about 2/3 as much, and is noticeably smaller in width and height, while being just a hair thicker.
This is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like ‘Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of “neighbors” will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “Social” is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.
I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)
The new Zune browser is surprisingly good, but not as good as the iPod’s. It works well, but isn’t as fast as Safari, and has a clunkier interface. If you occasionally plan on using the web browser that’s not an issue, but if you’re planning to browse the web alot from your PMP then the iPod’s larger screen and better browser may be important.
The Zune concentrates on being a Portable Media Player. Not a web browser. Not a game machine. Maybe in the future it’ll do even better in those areas, but for now it’s a fantastic way to organize and listen to your music and videos, and is without peer in that regard. The iPod’s strengths are its web browsing and apps. If those sound more compelling, perhaps it is your best choice.
Sorry for the huge review, but I’m really loving the new Zune, and hope this, as well as the excellent reviews some other people have written, will help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.