My House Is Not A Home

I think that my home is a good representation of myself, although I'm not sure if that's a good thing.

I've noticed over the years that when I move into an apartment, I tend to leave my walls bare, buy cheap furniture, and do very little nesting. Some of my friends thought that was odd, and I never understood why until a few years ago. Most people want to settle and make a place their own. My MO is to move around after a few years, so my dwellings reflect that tendency. Why spend time and money on a place if I'm just going up and leave in a few years?

Many probably think my transient lifestyle doesn't make sense, but it's always worked for me. Until now. While I enjoy moving from place to place, I've also had the need to eventually settle down, and I'm starting to think that time is near.

The crazy thing is, I don't think my end destination is where I'm currently located, so my apartment will remain unvarnished for now.

My New Toy: Roku XDS vs. Apple TV

'Tis the season for frivolous spending, and right now I'm trying to decide on which unneeded hi-def media player to buy. So far the two contenders are the Roku XDS player or the new second-gen Apple TV. On paper, it looks like the Roku player should win hands down, but as always it's hard to say no to Steve Jobs.

Over the last couple of months I've tried to ween myself from Apple and it's flashy yet expensive products. I went with the Android based HTC Aria over the iPhone 4, and I keep choosing PCs over the sleek and stylish Macs. Unfortunately, I'm always drawn to the darkside that is Apple (while I like my Aria, I should have bought the iPhone 4), which is why I'm kicking around the idea of buying the Apple TV.

Today, the Roku XDS seems like a better buy. It can stream Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon VOD, and other specialty channels. For me, the biggest draws are Hulu Plus and Amazon VOD because I'm looking for a way to watch and archive TV shows/movies I watch in a legal way (i.e. no torrents). I don't know if I'd actually use Hulu Plus because in the long run paying $9/month to watch a current season of shows would probably cost more than buying the episodes via Amazon. It also has a USB port so I can play video files I have on my hard drive but only if they're MP4.

On the other hand, Apple TV could do what I'm looking for from Roku assuming I don't need Hulu Plus. From what I've read, you can still stream content you've purchased via iTunes on the Apple TV if you have network sharing activated. So, you can still buy shows and movies on iTunes (like you can do on Amazon), and stream them over the air instead of having a cloud of media like Roku.

Really, which one to go with depends on whether or not I'm planning on buying other Apple products. If I end up with an iPhone 4, iPod Touch, or iPad then it would be better to have an Apple TV because of the ability to integrate with said products. I've thought about buying an iPod Touch since it's a better media player than my Aria, but I don't need a ton of features for on-the-go playing, and my phone is adequate. The only upside of having an iOS 4 device if the ability to have a mobile version of Hulu Plus and the iTunes store.

The thing is, I don't NEED either device. I have a Blu-Ray player that already has Netflix Instant and allows me to play video files (more than just MP4), and if I'm not going to sign up for Hulu Plus then there really isn't a point in buying either. Too bad I have this need to buy unnecessary electronics.