Woot is being acquired by Amazon to become an independent subsidiary and operate autonomously (like other Amazon companies such as Zappos and Audible). To celebrate, today’s Woot is a latest generation Kindle (6″) for $149 plus Woot’s customary (and very, very slow) $5 shipping (they’re $189 if you buy them from Amazon). This is an example of a gadget I’d really like to have, have been close to giving in and buying in the past, am tempted to get for $150, but ultimately just can’t justify buying (especially since it’s really just a delivery vehicle for spending more money). If I had a lengthy (or even not so lengthy) daily commute on the train or traveled a lot for work, I’d have one already. But, as it is, the thing would just kind of sit around collecting dust once the initial “play” period was over. Kind of like getting a new phone. Much as I might lust over the Droid X (that isn’t even out yet), as long as I’m forced to carry the BlackBerry for work, there’s really no justification for getting another phone. Hell, I have another phone (someplace), and I just forward the calls.

I remember a while back, Maron was railing against the idea of the Kindle, because it didn’t give you that experience of having books on the shelf (that you’ll never read), or the tactile feeling of holding a book in your hands, or being able to scribble in the margins and underline passages. Which is, of course, a fair statement. But I could say the same thing about having an mp3 player. It’s nowhere near as good as having your album collection on the shelf and pulling out the jacket and holding it in your hands. Or maybe opening up that White Album or Moonfolower or whatever double-album cover, and having a couple of long-forgotten seeds roll out. And there’s nothing better than sitting in that sweet spot between your speakers and listening to your favorite albums (another lament of the digital music era – “tracks” taking the place of “albums.” It’s just a reflection of a decreasing attention span. Kids these days…).

But there are certainly lots of advantages to having your entire music collection in your pocket at all times, too. Like the Kindle, it may not be an equivalent experience to “the old fashioned way,” but, damn, it sure is nice to have the shit handy.

Well, I took tomorrow off, so today’s my Friday. Right now, I wish I’d taken today off, too.