The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => Science & Nature => Topic started by: jough on October 07, 2004, 11:27:15 pm
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Okay, so I'm looking at buying a new MP3 player because I do not like the one that I have (I would never have thought that the lack of an "on-the-go" playlist for a 1.5Gb player would have been a problem, but yes, it is very very difficult to queue up songs on my Rio Nitrus, so much so that I hardly ever use it).
Anyway, I've been looking at all the super-nifty windows-based players, but then something in my head said "Hey, there's a new iPod - maybe it's a viable contender." So I read up on it a bit and while the iPods aren't exactly feature-rich at least they sound good, do everything I want (i.e. PLAY MUSIC), and are so common that there's just a HUGE base of after-market gadgets and 3rd party mods to play with. Plus, the thing is just USEABLE.
But I've never seen one outside of the 1st generation, which was lacking when compared to other HD-based players of the time. So I'm wondering if anyone has a recent (3 or 4G) iPod and what their thoughts were on it. There's like 5 million of the things out there so I figure on a geek-based forum surely someone would own one.
I can also get a deal from a wholesaler for a new 4g 40Gb iPod from HP (with all the Windows-centric software) for $250 new, and that includes a 2-year warranty which includes accidental damage (i.e. I could spill coffee on it and they'd replace it). So I'm kinda thinking that's the way I'm going to go unless people who have owned them warn me against it.
I read the iPodLounge.com forum, but those people are *religious* and I am looking for a more partial view, especially from someone who both uses Windows and the iPod on it.
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I've had a 40GB 3G since June. I think it works really well, I'm very happy with it. I have only 4 real complaints and 3 of those were fixed with the release of the 4G. (Battery replacement is the 1 that isn't)
Pros
* Big. For most everybody a 20/40 GB will hold ever song you own even the shit you never listen to like TV show theme songs.
* Super-intuitive user interface. Especially now that they put "shuffle" on the main menu
* Silent HD. Unless you hold it right next to your ear, that is.
* Quick charge. It takes 3-4 hours for a full charge but after 1 hour it's 80% full, the rest is trickle.
* Easy synching, especially if you keep everything on there all the time.
* Regular and smart playlists are quick & easy if you use iTunes.
* Long car rides are much easier to deal with.
* It gets really fuck*ng loud. Steve Jobs is partially deaf so the max volume is considerably louder than other players.
Cons
* Battery life. Although I hear the 4G is closer to 12 hours.
* Can't replace the battery yourself by design. ipodlounge has a guide but it's still not user friendly.
* You pretty much have to switch to iTunes
* Highly scratchable screen as it's flush with the body. I highly recommend you get a case with screen protector from somebody like ISkin.com
* If you're anal: the silver back is always streaked and fingerprinted.
* Many accesories are iPod specific. Because they attach to the proprietary connector on the bottom of the unit.
* Ear buds suck. Use other headphones. Plus the white cord looks pretentious unless you're at Whole Foods, in which case everybody has one.
* No OggVorbis support. There may be a hack for this though.
That said I frickin' love mine. I was trying harder to come up with cons because of your phrasing. Any other questions?
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It basically looks like a great product. I got to play with one at Best Buy tonight - not that they have any on display at the store, but the guy working there said he had his new 4g 40Gb in the back room and he brought it out with a USB2 cable, installed iTunes on one of the floor models, and let me play with it for about a half an hour while we talked mp3.
Most of the cons you mentioned were things I've noticed or seen posted elsewhere (although I didn't consider that it didn't support Ogg - but I don't have any Ogg files anyway).
The accessories that only work with the iPod are no problem - that's pretty much true for any mp3 player or any electronic device. Hopefully they'll keep the universal dock connector the same for a few generations.
You don't really have to use iTunes ever. There's SO MUCH software available for the thing - I've already been playing with some of it even sans iPod.
Replacing the battery looks pretty simple. There's a company that sells the replacements for $40. No big deal. I expect that it'll hold most of its charge for 18-24 months anyway, and by that time it'll be time to buy a new mp3 player.
I do plan on getting a case for it at the same time I order it and will pretty much always leave it in the dock or the case (I'm looking for a case that I can slip it into and out of - there are some great ones for the 3G but only a handful for the 4G - so I'll probably get something crappy and sleeve-like at first and then move to something form-fitting with cutouts for the screen and click wheel (I will also be dismantleing mine immediately - warranty be damned - to remove the stupid click sound from the click wheel - does it REALLY have to make make both an electronic noise (from the built-in speaker) AND a physical noise?).
In any case, there seems no downside to getting the HP version (commonly called the hPod now) as HP's support is better and they give you more windows-centric software and instructions.
I'm pretty much decided about getting it now - I just wanted to check to see if someone here had a BAD EXPERIENCE with them that the Apple-zombies would never mention on iPodLounge.
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I've considered switching to ogg many times as it gives better quality/size and is totally open source and thus doesn't have mp3's licensing problems. But the lack of support for this free standard constantly amazes me.
The iTunes thing was more of a generic comment than directed at you. The average user would need to use either it (or MusicMatch but it hurt me just to type that). But you're right, there are many other "hacked" players that work with it.
I'd still go with a 3rd party to buy your case. Apple charges as much for plain nylon (which name w/ mine) as other companies charge for swankier "open face" ones. I have one of the ones where the buttons are totally exposed but recessed. I didn't like the feel of the ones that put a film over even the touch-sensitive areas. And as I said, get a screen protector if you don't get a sleeve.
In the 3G you can turn off the sound-effect click noise in the Settings menu. I turned it off after about 10 minutes, once I was used to the feel of the touch wheel.
I'm guessing you're aware of the iPod file system, right? How mp3's are synched and stored differently than other files to make it harder to mass move songs.
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* Big. For most everybody a 20/40 GB will hold ever song you own even the shit you never listen to like TV show theme songs.
Spoken like someone without THE THEME FROM THE ROCKFORD FILES
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* Big. For most everybody a 20/40 GB will hold ever song you own even the shit you never listen to like TV show theme songs.
Spoken like someone without THE THEME FROM THE ROCKFORD FILES
A dear friend swears by -- absolutely swears by -- the "Tic Tac Dough" theme. I can't totally claim he's wrong.
Me, I recently acquired an MP3 of the "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" theme, and it rocks my tiny, nostalgic world. Admittedly, this is probably singlehandedly responsible for my generation's perverse idea that a capella is not intrinsically worthless, but ah well.
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Well, I have 185Gb of mp3s now. So 20-40 Gb will only hold the stuff I really like. And not even all of it.
But 40Gb will hold me for even the longest road trip, I'm sure. Even at the ludicrously high bitrate I'm ripping at now I'll still be able to fit about 5-7000 songs on it.
Oh, and as far as headphones go, I don't even plan to open the packaging for the included earbuds.
Don't go knocking ear buds, though - my Sony 888s have held me in good stead for years, and I've heard good things about these isolating IN-ear canal phones that are supposed to be phenomenal. However, they go so far into your ear that I'm sure most people would be freaked out by them. They have the added "bonus" of shutting out all outside sound.
I'm well familiar with how the iPod handles files. It's crippling is so easy to circumvent and just use the thing properly that it's silly. There's even a way to catalogue the files in-player so you can just copy MP3s over to it in your own folder system and then have the player index itself (which is a feature of the iRiver and Rio Carbon as well).
Some funny man even found a way to put a stripped-down version of Linux on it. Good stuff.
Can't wait. I have to, though - I won't be able to justify the expense until the end of the month. :(
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I'm gonna go with the Jet Adio 40gb when I get round to it. I refuse to buy one that means I end up using DRM fomats. JetAudio supports mp3, ogg and wma, has the same storage space, and in my opinion looks and functions better than the iPod.
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Yikes. See I just use --alt preset standard so my files are roughly 192VBR. Plus I generally only rip the songs I actually like so that cuts down my folder size.
I can never get earbuds to actually stay in my ears. I haven't tried the in-ear phones but I always wear rubber ear plugs to concerts so I don't think the sensation would bother me. I haven't tried them because blocking all outside sounds at work would be a bad idea and I've heard the fidelity is too good for medium bitrate mp3's, which I still have a few of.
I used the Apple financing for mine. It's essentially an MBNA credit card with 0% for 60 days.
And V, thank you so much for getting freaking Rockapella stuck in my head. If you'll excuse me I'm going to fire up my iPod and listen to the Ramones cover of the Spider-Man theme to fix that.
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I need a new mp3 player, too, but I'm irrationally anti-proprietary, and using iTunes is not an option for me. Can anyone recommend a high capacity non-Apple player? What I have now is an Archos Jukebox Multimedia. We abused it by leaving it laying around for a year or more without using it and now the battery won't hold a charge.
UPDATE: Just noticed that slink did implicitly make such a recommendation.
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What I don't get is how many people buy an iPod then suddenly start going crazy in the iTunes music store. I can't fathom buying songs with DRM just becaues they go with my player.
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I don't understand how all the other online music stores can get away with their highway robbery when there's eMusic.
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And V, thank you so much for getting freaking Rockapella stuck in my head. If you'll excuse me I'm going to fire up my iPod and listen to the Ramones cover of the Spider-Man theme to fix that.
Look, blame the friend of mine who gave me a mix with Rockapella on it. (This is a mix so fantastically random and infectious that I'm tempted to burn copies of it to send as pack-ins with my actual mix.)
also, I have gone through the last four or five days with "the WARRANT! the WARRANT!" popping into my head at random times, so my suffering should be shared by all.
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Oh, it's easy. eMusic hardly has any new music that most people want.
If they had more they'd sell more.
For instance, I wanted the new Prince album. It was only available via various DRM download sites, so I didn't buy it online.
I've lately been buying new CDs for about $9.99, ripping them to a very high bitrate, and selling the discs for $5-6. The local M&P knows that I do this and give me a little more money back on new releases if I bring them back a day or so later. So my "downloads" end up costing me $3-4 per album.
I always rip the entire album whenever I have a CD since my rips are meant to REPLACE the album for me. At 256-320kbps the rips are practically lossless.
I am planning to buy an iPod and I plan to never ever use AAC unless they have free downloads of something.
The only proprietary "locked" format I'm considering is Audible.com audio books, but I already have a utility to strip them of their DRM-ness and just work as regular mp3s.
I also have already looked at iTunes, found it HORRIBLE and inadequate, and have uninstalled it already. I will never use iTunes with my iPod.
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If you're going for replacement then why don't you use some kind of lossless codec like Monkeys Audio?
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If you're going for replacement then why don't you use some kind of lossless codec like Monkeys Audio?
is that playable by portable mp3 players?
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Portability and ease of transfer is important to me. So for a lossless codec it'd have to be fairly small in file size.
Right now my albums are about 70-100Mb apiece (depending on the album length) and sound identical to the original CD. You can even compare wave tables and spectrographs for each format and you wouldn't know which was which.
At about 1/5th of the file size of CDs. Seems a decent tradeoff. It's about the same amount of compression as Atrac, but I don't have to use a proprietary codec (and say what you want about mp3 licencing fees, but I've never spent a dime on an mp3 encoder or decoder and DAPs cost about the same no matter what formats they support.
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If you're going for replacement then why don't you use some kind of lossless codec like Monkeys Audio?
is that playable by portable mp3 players?
Some but not the iPod. It's popular in audiophile circles (coughhydrogenaudiocough) to rip once to Monkeys for permanent storage (often on a whole other hard drive) then downconvert those files into moderate mp3's for things like iPods.
I just go straight to the recommended mp3 type and save the CDs for backups and for lending. When making mix CDs I also rip directly from the original CD whenever possible to avoid generational issues.
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I'm looking to be CD-less by the end of the year. I'm selling or giving away all of my discs, and not really buying more except to rip them and re-sell.
Of course, the RIAA would say that once I sell the CD I should delete the mp3s, but I say they can go fuck themselves. Sell me what I want and I'll buy it. My time spent buying, ripping, and reselling a CD is worth more than $9.99.
Who asked for DRM? And who are the morons that are obviously buying (er, renting, leasing, etc.) music this way?
Why in the world would a consumer want to lease a music format that limits what they can do with that music, and who wants to have to ask permission to listen to music on a portable, in their car, on another PC, etc.?
I mean, I can't imagine that EVERY iTunes/BuyMusic/Napster/Walmart Music/Etc. purchaser is a complete idiot, but they're either ig'nant or stupid. I don't know which is worse.
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A few things:
Naught but good things to say about the iPod personally.
My coworker had a problem with his iPod. He sent it to Apple, bitching that they were going to try to screw him. He got a brand new iPod. He had to pay $20 shipping. This is not a success story, but it's good enough.
If you're buying a new iPod, I can't recommend this case (http://www.contourdesign.com/showcase/index.htm) enough. JL got it for me. You can use the buttons while it's in the case. It's rubberized on the sides, very protective, and not too big.
I buy DRM music from Apple. I don't mean to, but it's so easy. I'm here at my laptop all day with iTunes staring at me. It's unnerving. It's also so easy to listen to it on the iPod that I don't notice it's crippled. And when I want to give my DRM'd music to a friend or listen to it on an unsanctioned player, I just burn it to a CD (and sometimes rip it again). No big deal.
Audible.com - This is a wonderful service. For $15/month, I get two books of any length. One month I got the Old Testament and the New Testament for fifteen bucks. It'll take forever to listen to all that audio, but that still rules. They have a large (enough) selection of unabridged books, which is all I buy. Also, they keep track of what you've bought and you can erase it from your hard drive and redownload it later (which iTunes will not allow you to do. Do NOT buy books from iTunes.). Their books are DRM'd, but you can burn them to CD with no problem. (One small problem. Once you've burned a book to a set of CDs, you have to redownload it to burn it to a second set.) The audio quality is generally great, and I couldn't be happier with this crap. I got most of the Dark Tower books from Audible.com, all unabridged. Super mega.
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Who asked for DRM? And who are the morons that are obviously buying (er, renting, leasing, etc.) music this way?
Why in the world would a consumer want to lease a music format that limits what they can do with that music, and who wants to have to ask permission to listen to music on a portable, in their car, on another PC, etc.?
I mean, I can't imagine that EVERY iTunes/BuyMusic/Napster/Walmart Music/Etc. purchaser is a complete idiot, but they're either ig'nant or stupid. I don't know which is worse.
From what I've read on Wired/ZDNet/etc the goal here is to retrain consumers to think of music as something they have a license to which just happens to come on a concrete medium. Not something that we in any way own. Movies too. We're just renting it long-term.
I was skeptical about this plan 2 years ago but it seems to be working quite efficiently. Plus they don't mind people going Pedro's route of burning/reripping because of the generational loss which can be quite pronounced.
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I don't see myself ever renting music, especially not when it's so easy to get unhindered mp3s/ogg/flac/whatever.
I posted something before about not being able to buy legal mp3s online, and that's still true except for eMusic, which has a bunch of artists I like, but it only took me 150 songs to get everything that they had that I wanted, and 2/3 of that 150 were in the form of free trials.
So they got me for 1 month. Woo-hoo.
But I wanted to download the new Prince album, and the only store that had it was BuyMusic (I believe iTunes has it now - but it was a BuyMusic exclusive for awhile).
I thought about getting it from BuyMusic, so I went to their site and was turned away because I was using Firefox instead of IE.
So I figured up my Gnutella client and downloaded a 256kbps mp3 copy of each song on the album in about five minutes. It sounds great.
I've since acquired the CD (they were giving them to everyone who went to see Prince live) but my point was that I was UNABLE to buy the music digitally online.
The RIAA and its member companies are so clueless about the marketplace. People aren't going to stop wanting something just because you don't want them to want it. Most people are idiots and won't care or even understand the DRM issues with their music. At least, not until they try to copy their music to the 6th PC and find that they have to re-buy all of their music again. Won't that be fun?
I can hardly wait. It's like with Pan & Scan "full screen" versions of DVDs. In a few years everyone will have a widescreen television and these people will be complaining about the black bars on the SIDES of their image. Ha ha.
Sometimes ignorance IS painful.
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also, I have gone through the last four or five days with "the WARRANT! the WARRANT!" popping into my head at random times, so my suffering should be shared by all.
Better
(http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:vOgVDmdQYKAJ:www.vgmuseum.com/scans/scans3/Carmen%2520Sandiego.jpg)
than
(http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:luDcZCq-bNQJ:www.hardrock.com.pl/main2/service/warrant/002.jpg)
?
YOU MAKE THE CALL
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Point, point, point. Of course, now "Cherry Pie" is all up in the brainstem, and God only knows when it'll dislodge. "Thanks," Zartan!
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Zartan, your graphical post put a smile on my face ten miles wide.
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God dammit! Now I have Polka Your Eyes Out (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000I01H/ref=m_art_li_11/102-9051416-6236160?v=glance&s=music) stuck in my head. Thanks a lot, people.
Also, are 4G iPods even really available yet? Last I heard they were on backorder pretty much everywhere.
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Nah, they're readily available. Especially since I got an iPod from HP, who have really stepped up manufacturing on them since they introduced them last week.
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I'm gonna go with the Jet Adio 40gb when I get round to it. I refuse to buy one that means I end up using DRM fomats. JetAudio supports mp3, ogg and wma, has the same storage space, and in my opinion looks and functions better than the iPod.
Did you ever end up buying this? I'm in the market for an MP3 player now and have been having the hardest time deciding.
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Anyway, I ended up going with the 4G 20gig iPod. So far, I love it. But the earbuds hurt my ears. I have some decent studio headphones that I use at home, they aren't too huge but a bit of a pain to lug around. I also have some sony over the ear headphones that make my big head look bigger, but they will probably have to do for now. Any recommendations for some relatively inexpensive (under $50 or so--but of course, the less expensive the better) earbuds? I want to go out and get some tonight so I can have better ones for tomorrow's train commute. Thanks!
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Earbuds are the devil's tool. I've never found a set that will stay in. Sadly, I know more than a couple people who hate them but won't switch because they want the white-cord status symbol.
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Oh, on the earbuds front, my brother reckons the things to get are these Bang and Olufssen ones that are hooked round your ear, but the buds only sit over your erm, earhole. So they are really comfortable. And small.
I shall try and find a link for them.
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Are they something like these (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start?CategoryName=acc_Headphones_h%2eear&Dept=acc_Headphones)? A coworker had these and liked them but the behind-the-ear part broke.
I have a previous version of these (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start?CategoryName=acc_Headphones_w%2eear&Dept=acc_Headphones) that I like for work. Since they're only connected by a cable instead I can take just one side off if somebody starts talking to me. Plus I need to be able to hear the phone ring &c so noise-blocking is a negative in this case so I definitely want a pair that just have the spongy stuff instead of in-ear or over-ear.
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Kind of.
http://www.bang-olufsen.com/sw1612.asp
The rounded bits bend or something, or stretch, and the long bit is telescopic so that it will fit properly over your ear. I will probably pick up a pair of these as they are only about £20, and they do look better than the over the ear but round the back of the neck type I had, which hurt after a while.
I have a really nice pair of Behringer studio ones for, well, studio use, and they are the best sound quality next to speakers.
I also want to pick up a pair of surround headphones at some point for films and gaming. Some day I might get into surround music, but I'd have to get a totally different setup studio wise, and that's just, not in consideration at the moment.
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God, I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't tolerate earbuds. My new Rio (yes, I know, ghetto, but it works fine for what I need it to do, which is to play MP3s) came with a set, to my chagrin; a few futile attempts to listen to music for more than ten minutes without terminal ear discomfort convinced me to go buy a pair of lightweight over-the-ear headphones.
I'm honestly surprised that (or if -- I really don't know) someone didn't sell white headphones of various sorts designed for the iPod user who hates earbuds like cavemen fear fire. It seems fairly logical.
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I'm honestly surprised that (or if -- I really don't know) someone didn't sell white headphones of various sorts designed for the iPod user who hates earbuds like cavemen fear fire. It seems fairly logical.
Even if I did go for an iPod, I'd want silver, grey or black headphones over white any day. But then I guess that's a small part of why I don't want an iPod.
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I'm honestly surprised that (or if -- I really don't know) someone didn't sell white headphones of various sorts designed for the iPod user who hates earbuds like cavemen fear fire. It seems fairly logical.
One company does. Apparently these (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=M9394G/A) are basicly the in-ear monitors that bands have been using lately. Apple also sells the exactly headphones that slink linked to above.
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I got a set of canal phones for my iPod (Sony MDR-EX71) and I'll never go back to regular headphones or standard earbuds.
These go somewhat inside your ear, and it takes a few hours of listening to get used to, but I can hear detail in my music (yes, even in mp3s) that I could never hear before. It's like discovering your old music again.
I thought the iPod sounded like shit until I got these earphones. Do yourself a favour - toss the white crappy (and far too large for most ears) earbuds.
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I got a set of canal phones for my iPod (Sony MDR-EX71) and I'll never go back to regular headphones or standard earbuds.
These go somewhat inside your ear, and it takes a few hours of listening to get used to, but I can hear detail in my music (yes, even in mp3s) that I could never hear before. It's like discovering your old music again.
I've seriously considered these. I always wear earplugs at concerts so the sensation shouldn't bother me but I'm worried that thse headphones would be too good and would keep me from hearing traffic while walking or coworkers while at my desk. Although I never have the volume above 20% so that should help.
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I got a set of canal phones for my iPod (Sony MDR-EX71) and I'll never go back to regular headphones or standard earbuds.
My boss got me a set of ear bangers from Shure for Christmas. They're incredible, but they do take some getting used to.
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I got a set of canal phones for my iPod (Sony MDR-EX71) and I'll never go back to regular headphones or standard earbuds.
My boss got me a set of ear bangers from Shure for Christmas. They're incredible, but they do take some getting used to.
Yeah, they're probably a lot nicer than mine, and there are these etonyics (or something like that) that are supposed to be the BEST - but there's no way I'm paying $400 for a set of headphones whose cord is likely to get snagged on a closing subway door.
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I got a set of canal phones for my iPod (Sony MDR-EX71) and I'll never go back to regular headphones or standard earbuds.
These go somewhat inside your ear, and it takes a few hours of listening to get used to, but I can hear detail in my music (yes, even in mp3s) that I could never hear before. It's like discovering your old music again.
I thought the iPod sounded like shit until I got these earphones. Do yourself a favour - toss the white crappy (and far too large for most ears) earbuds.
According to Amazon those Sonys aren't available for pickup in my area. I'll have to check Best Buy and a few other places. Tomorrow I think I'll just use those over the ear ones that make my head look even bigger (my ex-girlfriend laughed everytime I wore them). I think I just have weird ears, because if anything besides soft foam ear plugs has to be in there intense pain results. Well, maybe not intense but its pretty bad, especially when I remove the earbuds.
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Have you checked out the new iPod Shuffle (http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/)? Size of a pack of Wrigley's.
While you're there, look at the Mac Mini. Is it wrong to have a fetish for Mac design?
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Have you checked out the new iPod Shuffle (http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/)? Size of a pack of Wrigley's.
While you're there, look at the Mac Mini. Is it wrong to have a fetish for Mac design?
Wow, that shuffle is pretty cool. Eventually I'd like a smaller mp3 player to take running and biking and stuff. 4GB is ideal, but I ain't paying $249 for it. 512MB or 1GB are good for running and the gym, but not for longer excursions.
I heard about the Mac Mini. Only $499, right? And it's only wrong if the fetish is somehow harmful to your relationships.
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Doesn't the iPod Shuffle sound like a dance?
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Doesn't the iPod Shuffle sound like a dance?
It sounds like some kind of a line dance for super-yuppie rednecks. It's the craze that swept the nation, and burned itself out in two days like a vomitous flu.
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The iPod shuffle is what happens when very smart people try to come up with marketing for an ill-conceived product.
Think about it: they want to make it small and cheap but displays are expensive and take up a lot of real estate on the product.
Hmm... what can we do?
Oh, I know! We'll not have a display and just make it shuffle all the time!
fuck*ng geniuses. The sad part is that people will actually buy one even though there are better and smaller players out there that are also cheaper and have a display.
Edit:
How to turn your iPod into an iPod shuffle (http://www.weblogsinc.com/common/images/4586149847314683.JPG?0.5287424078369891)
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Yeah, I don't really understand the iPod Shuffle, but I guess that's because it's for people who don't just dump their entire music collections, only their favorites. So it's more of me, not them.
And yeah, I'm really happy about the Mini. Finally, I can actually suggest to familiar relations that they get a Mac, without having to worry about them spending too much.
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Indeed. I had to buy a case/belt clip for my iPod with a screen because I frequently hear a song and go, "what the hell is this?"
So the iPod shuffle for me is the walk-the-dog iPod, the one that has all the recent songs I want to play into the ground. Its light; you dont have to worry about scratching the screen. And Im sure Ill have a breathless defense of the inevitable iPod-the-size-of-an-ant-thorax, which will let me play highlights of the chorus of my favorite song. Fifteen seconds in your pocket!
Uh, the whole reason I got a big-ass iPod is that I hate, hate, hate making mix tapes/CDs/playlists for myself because I get sick of the songs after 2 listens. I see no reason to spend $150 to go back to this system.
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Just got a 40GB iPod for my birthday. I have charged it up, but have yet to start using it. I'm scared of it, because I know it's going to take over my life as surely as that pod I found in my mailbox last November.
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First of all, happy birthday.
Secondly, congrats on your new iPod. I love mine, although I do wish it were half the size, weight, and twice the capacity. But whatever. It'll look quaint in five years. Right now it works for me.
And what's the good news about the iPod mini? I must have missed that. Did they lower the price now that the Shuffle is out?
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And what's the good news about the iPod mini? I must have missed that. Did they lower the price now that the Shuffle is out?
Nope. He was refering to the Mac Mini which only costs $499
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Oh yeah, $499 with no monitor, keyboard, or penis.
I can get a whole PC system for around that price with a larger hard drive and faster processor.
Apple really missed the mark this year with unsexy and poorly-thought-out devices.
I was thinking of maybe getting a Mac desktop but fuck it. Apple can't even touch the PC's ubiquity and quality for the price.
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Oh yeah, $499 with no monitor, keyboard, or penis.
I can get a whole PC system for around that price with a larger hard drive and faster processor.
Apple really missed the mark this year with unsexy and poorly-thought-out devices.
I was thinking of maybe getting a Mac desktop but fuck it. Apple can't even touch the PC's ubiquity and quality for the price.
have they finally ported OSX to x86?
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Just out of curiosity, I priced-out a Mini with some of the "optional accessories" that I already have for my PC:
512MB DDR333 SDRAM - 1 DIMM
80GB Ultra ATA drive
SuperDrive
Internal Bluetooth + AirPort Extreme Card
Wireless Keyboard & penis Set
56K v.92 Modem
Mac OS X - U.S. English
APP for Mac mini - Enrollment Kit
1.42GHz PowerPC G4
Estimated Ship:
Deliver by Jan 22nd
Free Shipping
Subtotal $1,151.00
Oh yeah, that price does not include a monitor yet.
Meanwhile, you can go to any Best Buy and get a system with more oomph that'll run Linux for less than that, monitor included.
So as far as I see, the only reason the Mini is so cheap is because they gutted it. If you want to actually be able to use it you'll have to pay about the same as you would for a high-end PC.
This is a bargain how?
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have they finally ported OSX to x86?
The difference in front-ends between the latest KDE and OSX are not compelling enough to someone who knows how to use a PC to warrant the expense and annoyance of proprietary hardware.
I'd still like to have a Mac test machine, but for the same price as a Mini with a monitor and wireless internet I could just get a 17" G5 with a faster processor and better video card.
I'm not bashing Macs in general - I'm saying that the Mini isn't a value because the low price tag just obscures its lack of features and sub-par hardware. When you add these "optional accessories" (another term for "things you absolutely need to use the Mini") the price is about the same as the higher-end product.
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I'm not bashing Macs in general - I'm saying that the Mini isn't a value because the low price tag just obscures its lack of features and sub-par hardware. When you add these "optional accessories" (another term for "things you absolutely need to use the Mini") the price is about the same as the higher-end product.
yet you compare it to products that can not do something that it can do.
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What do you think the Mac Mini can do that a G5 or PC system cannot do?
I mean, if you're going to talk about *specific versions* of software then there are FAR more pieces of useful software that will not run on a Mac than there are useful Mac programmes that will not run on a PC.
I'm comparing functionality, not specific software titles. And besides, I can run most OS X apps on my Linux box. So software isn't even an issue.
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When I was into Macs, I thought PCs were a pain in the ass. Now I'm kind of stuck with PCs, and I've gotten used to them. But in general, I'd say for the 5-10% of people who use Macs, there must be some sort of reason for it. High-end graphic design, maybe?
I know I really liked playing Marathon when I had mine.
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Personally, I just think that Apple has put a lot of thought into their designs, both physical and interface-wise. The ease of use, for me, massively trumps anything with PCs. Also, everyone I know on a PC has gotten assfucked by viruses and spyware, etc. Most of these people are idiots, in terms of watching what they download, etc., but I just don't want to have to worry that some bug in Internet Explorer allows someone to destroy my computer through a JPG.
Also, I do a lot of graphic design (the t-shirts will be ready for sellin' by the end of the week!), and even if PCs can now match Macs for design, they're just so par for the design course that you might as well go with a PowerBook.
I'm happy the Mini came out because I'm the only person in my fathers family who knows how to turn on a computer, so every time someone gets infected with something, I'm the person they call. Now, hopefully, I can just point them to the Mini.
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My Mom always asked me to fix her Mac (usually it was more like pointing her to the internet) so now I'm sort of happy to be on a PC and be able to say "I dunno, ask my brother".
You know, if you put that avatar on a shirt, I'd probably buy it. It's just strange enough for me.
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What do you think the Mac Mini can do that a G5 or PC system cannot do?
i'm sorry, i must have misread what you posted, as i was under the impression you were comparing the mini to PC, not to G5 platform macs.
I mean, if you're going to talk about *specific versions* of software then there are FAR more pieces of useful software that will not run on a Mac than there are useful Mac programmes that will not run on a PC.
no, i was speaking of the Operating System OS X.
I'm comparing functionality, not specific software titles. And besides, I can run most OS X apps on my Linux box. So software isn't even an issue.
Sorry again, i thought you were comparing mini price to PC price, must have misread again.
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What do you think the Mac Mini can do that a G5 or PC system cannot do?
It can sit there and look so fuck*ng sexy like no PC ever could.
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What do you think the Mac Mini can do that a G5 or PC system cannot do?
It can sit there and look so fuck*ng sexy like no PC ever could.
What about Alienware or Casemods?
Oh wait. You said "sexy" not "nerdy." Nevermind then.
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It can sit there and look so fuck*ng sexy like no PC ever could.
What are you talkin', my PC is sexy as fuck.
That's cause I've taped fake nude photos of the Olsen Twins all over it.
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I have a pretty vase on my desk, but I wouldn't expect to get much work done with it.
The Mac Mini is just a little box. How pretty is it, really?
The iMac was great looking. The G5 looks like an overly thick LCD monitor. It's pretty cool, but not as cool as a good tablet PC (it's actually cheaper than a similarly equipped tablet PC).
The Mini obviously isn't meant for anyone who has to get a lot of work done. But then again, I'm not looking for an everyday-use PC - just something to use to test software, and I'd probably use it to sync my iPod.
Of course the Mac designs are better than most PC makers designs, but if the PC is less functional what good is it?
See, the adage is that form follows function, not the other way around.
If you want a pretty shoebox on your desk then by all means get a Mini.
And again, Mac OS X is unix-based, with some proprietary components and a custom front-end. I've used OS X and it's fine for most things, although the lack of quick-to-access features (courtesy of one fewer penis buttons) is a real hassle - although I've been told that you can get a two button penis and map the little curlyque mac key (I'm sure this has a name of which I'm unaware) to that second button - but again, the pretty colours of OS X isn't compelling enough to switch from Linux (for stability and performance) or Windows (for software ubiquity).
With a dual-boot system I can get the best of both worlds. If I could boot OS X to my PC I may use it to burn DVDs or something (Roxio suxx teh c0q) but for everyday use? Heck, I'd miss the missing featueres in the OS X version of Photoshop alone, which ironically started out as Mac-only software.
Anyway, I guess we should leave religion alone. My god can kick your god's ASS any day of the week.
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I don't own anything by apple besides my iPod and those shitty earbuds. But looks-wise, no one touches them. Not enough reason to buy one, just pointing it out.
In a year or so I will be in the market for a laptop, and I'd love to get an apple, but I understand they are quite a bit more, and price will be a huge consideration then.
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And again, Mac OS X is unix-based
[...]
If I could boot OS X to my PC I may use it to burn DVDs or something (Roxio suxx teh c0q)
Huh. I did not know that. Just the other day I saw a car with a Unix joke bumper sticker* pull into the Apple building next door and thought it was weird that they'd so openly support a rival OS. But it makes sense now.
Why not use Nero? I've been using version 5.x for about 4 years and it is awesome. Especially with a high-end drive like Plextor or Lite-On
*I think it was $HOME = dev/null/
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Nerd fight! Go get the Sheriff!
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I have a pretty vase on my desk, but I wouldn't expect to get much work done with it.
...
See, the adage is that form follows function, not the other way around.
Yes but if I had a choice between working in my little dungeon here or working at the coffee shop where I'm surrounded by attractive people reading interesting looking books, guess where I'd go. Beauty makes you feel better. Feeling good helps you get work donw.
The Mac Mini is just a little box. How pretty is it, really?
As pretty as poop. Good point.
I've used OS X and it's fine for most things, although the lack of quick-to-access features (courtesy of one fewer penis buttons) is a real hassle - although I've been told that you can get a two button penis and map the little curlyque mac key (I'm sure this has a name of which I'm unaware) to that second button
Just to clear this up: Macs come with one button mainly due to Steve Jobs' hubris. To get contextual menus as you have in windows, you hold the control key and click the penis button. It's not hard. You get used to it. AHA! But you don't want to get used to it. Okay, plug in your USB two button penis. It works immediately, and the second penis button does the little control clicking trick to do what you want it to right away. No problem.
- but again, the pretty colours of OS X isn't compelling enough to switch from Linux (for stability and performance) or Windows (for software ubiquity).
It's been a while since I've used Linux, so my impressions may be outdated. My impressions are that it's slow as fuck. Any time you try to do the smallest GUI trick, it lags behind. It's also ugly. No matter how many high res icons they put in Gnome/KDE, it's still just not quite right. It's stable, but the UI is ugly and has poor performance.
As for the software ubiquity of Windows: You have a multi-PC setup. You would probably need to use the same programs on a new computer that you have on the PC's. This kind of locks you in if you're using Windows. For instance, I run MS-Money on my PC. There are plenty of great money management programs for the Mac, but my wife uses our gaming machine at home to balance our checkbooks, so we went with Windows on that one. This is a problem. But there is no software I can think of in Windows that doesn't have a Mac equivalent. Okay games. If you like to play videogames, the Mac is not your friend. That's why I have a windows machine. It's a toy. Also the Mac can run X11 programs. So most of your Linux stuff will run here.
With a dual-boot system I can get
...a headache. Come on. You know dual booting is a pain in the ass. How much time did I lose in college to dual booting. Fuck dual booting! It is an evil disguised as an annoyance.
the best of both worlds. If I could boot OS X to my PC I may use it to burn DVDs or something (Roxio suxx teh c0q) but for everyday use? Heck, I'd miss the missing featueres in the OS X version of Photoshop alone, which ironically started out as Mac-only software.
Really? Photoshop on the Mac lacks Windows features? That sucks.
Anyway, I guess we should leave religion alone. My god can kick your god's ASS any day of the week.
Too late, the Roman soldiers beat your god to it.
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my wife uses our gaming machine at home to balance our checkbooks
I love the Dunstons, I really do.
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I'm happy the Mini came out because I'm the only person in my fathers family who knows how to turn on a computer, so every time someone gets infected with something, I'm the person they call. Now, hopefully, I can just point them to the Mini.
I feel the same way. I'm not pumped about the Mac Mini, personally. But I can't wait to recommend it to others. My friends and family can be divided into two groups: 1) Those smart enough to install and maintain a firewall router 2) Those whose computers have become useless due to spyware, adware, malware. I picked up the latest copy of PC World, and practically the whole magazine was about how to fight this stuff (that and firefox, they love firefox). Ridiculous. So GO, ye vulnerable. Buy an Apple computer. Leave me alone.
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Well, my HP laptop that I'm using now is great looking. Lots of soothing blue lights. Even Mac people comment on how cool my PC looks (and I can understand that if you want a black PC the Mac's choice of "glossy white or nothing!" is a bit annoying).
Of course, I love my little iPod. But I don't really need to redecorate my entire life to match it.
Any recent Linux build will be just as fast, if not faster, than OS X. That ain't no kind of comparison.
I find most software for the Mac to be simplistic at times. Sure, it's uncluttered, and you can usually dig down into menus and such to get to the more advanced features, and sure, most people won't need to have that much control most of the time, but dang, it sure makes it seem weak. I guess I'd get used to it, but I'm already used to Windows and Linux - why suffer through a new OS?
So if I get a Mac it will be as a toy - something to test web designs on (hitherto I pretty much just ignore the Mac but code to web standards - so I know my sites will at least look good in Mozilla, Firefox, Safari, and Opera, for the most part) but it would be nice to have a Mac on hand, and I must admit that Garage Band and some of the other iLife apps are easier to use and a lot cheaper than their PC-based competitors.
The real problem, of course, is that computers are still pretty primative even at their best and that each major platform has its own major flaws.
Yes, Windows is a big slow bloated piece of crap, but damn, it's everywhere, and it's easy to go anywhere in the world and plug in a USB hard drive and just start working. And honestly, Windows hasn't crashed for me in months. My applications just *work*, and I get a lot done.
Would I get more done with a Mac? I'd really like to take the Pepsi challenge, but I just can't justify the expense for something I'd use for an hour a week to surf my own web sites.
I may just eBay an old iMac for a couple hundred bucks. At least it's really nice looking, like a 1930s lamp with a screen attached to it, and I'm sure it'll surf the web and maybe even run the latest Mac OS.
But the current offerings - eyuch. There's really no market for the Mini excepf for a Mac enthusiast who has to have every Mac they put out. They're marketing it as a box to switch PC users over to the Mac, but when people notice that it doesn't have features that even low-end PCs have they won't think "Oh, I should've bought a higher-end Mac" - they'll think "Mac sucks. I can't do anything. I'm going back to Windows."
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I was very close to trying to set up a G5 to run Pro Tools. Everyone who is anyone using Pro Tools seems to do so with a Mac, (OK, it may still be true that TDM is better on a mac) but apparently LE is more stable on XP, so I figure I'll stick with the cheaper option.
Oh, and thus being able to have an up to date gaming machine too.
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How did I ever live without this magical device?
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How did I ever live without this magical device?
It's sweet, isn't it?
The wonder of the 40Gb iPod didn't really hit me until I was on the train one day and just had a weird whim for Weezer's "Hash Pipe." Damned if it wasn't on my iPod.
It's gotten to the point where I can't even remember what's on it. I'll just hunt around. I'm approaching the 300Gb mark for music, so 40Gb doesn't even come close to holding my entire collection, but it's enough to hold pretty much every song I really LIKE, and it holds about 350 albums which is plenty for even the longest trip.
It's just nice to have all of the Beatles, Pixies, Jane's Addicion, Velvet Underground, Weezer, Beck, REM, The Smiths, Parliament, Sonny Rollins, Clash, Dead Kennedys, U2, etc., plus another couple hundred albums and another few hundred straggler tracks available at the click of a button, and at the spin of a little wheel.
And the click wheel is awesome. It's just a pleasure to use, even if I wish its sensitivity was adjustable.
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And the click wheel is awesome. It's just a pleasure to use, even if I wish its sensitivity was adjustable.
Mine has the touch wheel but I agree. It's supposed to jump down the list if you move your finger faster but sometimes this is unpredictable.
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Yes, it does do this, but the difference in speed between jumping down *faster* and just zipping you all the way to the bottom of the list is ever so slight. I'm pretty good at zipping right to M now but if I want to go from M to S - forget it - I have to move slowly through all of them.
But I mean, having so much music on the thing that it takes ten seconds to queue up any song isn't that much of a problem. I don't see this being solved until it accepts voice commands "Play Abba's "Dancing Queen".
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What program do you use for ripping mp3's from CD?
~Paul
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What program do you use for ripping mp3's from CD?
I use Audiograbber (http://www.audiograbber.com-us.net/) to rip and LAME (http://mitiok.cjb.net/) with the --alt present standard argument to encode.
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CJ'd...
And I screwed up the url anyway.
My advice is to make sure it's set on true stereo not joint stereo, which does horrific things to panning, including removing whole layers of songs in worst case scenario. But then I lived with an electrical engineer who knew scary amounts about that kind of thing.
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I use audiograbber and LAME, too, but -alt-standard-preset only applies to very old versions of lame. The new ones ignore that flag and in fact use what used to be the alternate settings as the default now.
I generally rip at 192kbsp CBR, stereo, high quality (it takes longer, but not much longer, and then I have the mp3s to listen to for years - what's two minutes of extra rip time for a lifetime of listening? - especially since it makes a HUGE difference).
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I use audiograbber and LAME, too, but -alt-standard-preset only applies to very old versions of lame. The new ones ignore that flag and in fact use what used to be the alternate settings as the default now.
I still use the older version because according to Hydrogen Audio it's still superior to the newer builds. Plus I've just never bothered upgrading.
The one advantage the newer builds have is that since aps is now built in one can use LAME from within AG instead of launching it as a separate app with aps as the argument.
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Are any of you proud and (relatively) new iPod owners having problems with battery life--already?
I am. And it's only been about 3 and 1/2 months since I received it brand shiny new in the mail.
After I had it on for just under four hours last night at work, it looked like the battery was on the verge of dying. It wasn't on shuffle, I wasn't changing songs all the time (only after an album ended, typically), and it was fully charged before I started using it.
Any advice?
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Are any of you proud and (relatively) new iPod owners having problems with battery life--already?
I am. And it's only been about 3 and 1/2 months since I received it brand shiny new in the mail.
After I had it on for just under four hours last night at work, it looked like the battery was on the verge of dying. It wasn't on shuffle, I wasn't changing songs all the time (only after an album ended, typically), and it was fully charged before I started using it.
Any advice?
Yikes. Mine's decreased slightly but nothing that drastic. The only thing I can think of is to check ipodlounge and see what they have to say.
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if you got the warranty i think they'll replace your battery for free. if you got it off ebay or something, though, you'll have to pay a fee to have apple do it - and as far as i know, this is really the only way to fix the problem.
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I'd check IpodLounge.com for suggestions on 3rd party battery replacement if you're not under warranty. Apple charges $99, whereas I've seen 3rd party places charge only $40.
I get about 14 hours with my 4G Clickwheel 40Gb iPod purchased last November. I use it about six to eight hours a day and charge it every other day.
I shuffle all the time and have the backlight set to 10 seconds, and I tend to adjust the volume often or turn the wheel slightly to better read the track info if I'm listening to an album I don't know well.
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I think I'll just email Apple. I should be under warranty it sounds like, and they consider a battery to be defective if it's under 50% power. I bet it takes them forever to get it done though.
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Do you have an extended AppleCare warranty or the standard warranty?
I know the AppleCare SLA is a week turnaround. And they want you to wipe the iPod clean and re-format before sending back. I'd recommend a destructive re-image - there are programmes like CleanSweep that will fill the disc with all zeroes and all ones a few times to make your data reasonably destroyed.
I don't know about anyone else, but I prefer to send in electronics for service without the hard drive, because if I need to get rid of a drive I like to not only erase it completely but also to physically destroy the drive plates, and then melt the crunched plates and throw them in a dumpster somewhere where they'll just end up in a landfill.
But your data may not be that sensitive.
I got my iPod from HP because of their superiour warranty - also, I got the accidental damage plan so even if I drop it and break the screen I'm covered.
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Have any of you iPod owners here in N. America travelled internationally with it? I'm going to Germany Thursday. It looks like I'll just need a plug adapter for the charger, and not a converter, but I just wanted to make sure.
The only thing about my iPod that I anticipate being frustrated with on the trip is the battery life. I'm guessing it won't last the whole flight (or maybe even a train ride I'll be taking).
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Have any of you iPod owners here in N. America travelled internationally with it? I'm going to Germany Thursday. It looks like I'll just need a plug adapter for the charger, and not a converter, but I just wanted to make sure.
The only thing about my iPod that I anticipate being frustrated with on the trip is the battery life. I'm guessing it won't last the whole flight (or maybe even a train ride I'll be taking).
Apparently the little cube charger they give you is already a converter (it goes from wall current to firewire) so all you need is new set of prongs to fit into that thing. See here (http://www.ipodlounge.com/index.php/faqs/answers/can-i-recharge-my-ipod-while-i-travel-overseas-without-a-voltage-converterd/).
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Apparently the little cube charger they give you is already a converter (it goes from wall current to firewire) so all you need is new set of prongs to fit into that thing. See here (http://www.ipodlounge.com/index.php/faqs/answers/can-i-recharge-my-ipod-while-i-travel-overseas-without-a-voltage-converterd/).
Thanks for the confirmation. I checked out the ipod lounge but didn't find much. I didn't have time to look through a lot of it though.
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Yeah, I just charge mine through the USB port on my laptop, and get an international charger for it. That way I can power my iPod and Palm PDA at the same time.
But if you want to power it through the wall, see the Apple store for the fastest and easiest way to order an international charger with a number of changeable plugs.
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It's an old thread and I'm always the one to resurrect it, but I am anyway because recently I learned that the rules of Forum etiquette demand that I do so instead of starting a new thread. Also because this thread has been a great resource to me for iPod related issues, and with Christmas coming up, some new members may like to post with questions and review old information.
It's almost been a year since I purchased mine, and I was contacted by Apple recently with an offer to extend the care package for another year. It's $59, and I'm thinking it might be a good deal because I've heard that if you use it a lot, the iPod's battery is expected to stop holding charge within two years anyway, and sending it in the Apple to replace it costs $100. I've seen third-party batteries for as little as $30, but you have to replace it yourself. Do you guys think the extended care package is a happy medium?
I guess I could buy a new one when it dies, but who knows where I'll be financially at the time, and I don't want to live without one for too long. Has anyone's battery died yet, and what did you do? Buy a new one or replace the batter, and if the latter, how? (And if the former, did you stay with iPod or get something else?)
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I got mine in June '04 and the battery is down to 50% capacity. I'm just living with it right now as the car charges it while I drive and if I listen at work I can plug it into the wall. I guess if I was out about the town more often I'd care more.
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I guess it's worth $59 if it covers you for two more years, since you're almost certainly going to want a battery replacement in that timeframe (even if you sell it, you'll get more for it with a new battery).
I had my 4G 40Gb iPod for about a year and sold it for $28 less than I paid for it and bought a Nano. I'll probably sell the nano next year and get the next one, since iPods depreciate about as much as cars do, which is to say, not much.
So for me, it's not worth the extended warranty, as I'll never have one long enough to take advantage of it. I also keep my iPods in a case all the time and am pretty careful about not breaking or scratching them.
Man, I loves me the Nano, though. No more lag between songs, no three seconds to turn on, it's lighter, the battery lasts a long time, the small size is great. I don't think I could go back to a hard drive based player again. But I hope they increase the flash capacity soon, although having said that, the 4Gb is actually pretty ample as I tend to listen to the same songs/albums over and over again for a while anyway, and if I want variety, I can just sync it with my PC and get all sorts of new stuff, loaded by any kind of criteria thanks to Smart Playlists in iTunes, which I'm just starting to use more and more.
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no three seconds to turn on,
Three whole seconds??? My god! How could you possibly have stood such an inconvenience! I mean, having to wait three whole seconds before you could engage in such a vital activity as listening to pop music... Wow. I don't know how you survived as long as you did.
And the weight. Lord knows it must have been a burden to carry around both of those ounces. Shaving another 3 grams off your load is bound to make a huge difference in the bulk we carry around.
God forbid I'd ever be separated from my Duran Duran for a single minute!
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It looks like the large-capacity flash iPods are a little ways off. Samsung developed flash memory that will go up to 32"GB" and of course Apple was all over that shit. But last I heard South Korea was investigating the exlusive deal between the two companies. So it looks like 30GB iPods with no moving parts are going to be a little ways off still.
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It extends it for another year, making it two years total. But I guess I will probably want to replace it within that timeframe from what I've heard.
That Nano is so sexy! And when you say no lag between songs, do you mean to say that there is no gap between the tracks, or that the lag you get every few or several songs or so is gone?
When are these super flash drives supposed to come out (from Samsung)?
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With the hard-drive-based iPods there's a gap every few tracks as the hard drive spins up, but that's not really irksome.
What's annoying is if you're looking at which track is playing (say, while you're shuffling 6,700 tracks) and keep skipping to the next one. Skip past five or six tracks (the amount that will fit in its RAM buffer) and then wait, sometimes for 5-10 seconds, as it loads the next few shuffled tracks into its buffer. Then you skip past THEM, and again - wait. Then sometimes, just for kicks, it locks up and you have to do a soft reset on it (hold up and the center button together for a few seconds). Then wait up to a minute while it "reboots."
Ugh. So frustrating. And sometimes it would lock up so badly that the only thing I could do was put it away and not listen to music for the rest of my walk. This would happen of course when I was at the farthest point from home.
And dude, it's not a matter of a few grams - it's the difference between having to keep hiking your pantaloons back up because the brick in your pocket is of too much gravity, and putting the thing in your shirt pocket and then sometimes forgetting that it's in there because it's so light. The difference in size and weight is most evident when you're holding them in your hands and can feel the difference.
And I'm one of those jaded fucks who thinks that the Nano could stand to be a little shorter in length. NOT SMALL ENOUGH, STEVIE.
Did anyone else see that SNL bit from a few weeks ago where Jobs kept introducing smaller iPods? I can post the clip somewhere if you want to see it. Funny stuff (albeit ripping off that iPod Flea commercial that was going around the internet over the summer).
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When are these super flash drives supposed to come out (from Samsung)?
Samsung announced the existence of the new NAND chips about 3 months ago. They managed to make chips of 16Gb (gigabits) each and are able to group them together to max capacity of 32GB (gigabytes), IIRC.
Then S. Korea started investigating Samsung for business practices (I believe they've since had to pay fines there and in the US) part of which was selling flash to Apple at half market value. I can only assume that this will push back development of 10+GB flash iPods.
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My new I-Pod is frikkin' awesome, but I do have a complaint. I wish when you went to shuffle mode it wouldn't start from scratch everytime. It should pick up from where you left off the last time you were on shuffle. For that matter, any song you play at any other time should also be added to the already played list when you are in the shuffle mode. This wouldn't be such a problem except my I-Pod seems to have developed it's own list of favorites. There are literally thousands of songs it has yet to play even once, yet it has played 'Cities on Flame with Rock 'n Roll' 9 times now. I like that song, but not that much. It also reallly likes 'It's a Long Way to the Top if You Want To Rock and Roll' a whole bunch (6 plays). Wait, I just realized that there may be a theme developing here. Hold on, let me check something...
Very interesting, 'Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo' 4 plays, 'Rock Candy' 3 plays, 'Rock and a Hard Place' 2 plays, Rock and Roll Pussy 2 plays, 'Rock and Roll Music' (Chuck Berry) 2 plays, 'Rock and Roll Music' (The Beatles) 2 plays, 'Rock the Nation' 1 play, 'So You Want to be a Rock and Roll Star' 1 play, THE ENTIRE ROCK ACTION ALBUM!!! I don't know what to make of this data.
~Paul
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I have no hard data to back this up but I think it might use the date as the seed for the shuffle. Because I've noticed that it will take a song I haven't heard in 3 months then play it every day for like 2 weeks. And it seems to do this with a group of songs for a week or two then suddenly start doing it with another group of songs.
To combat this I've started waiting a couple days before I sync it so that it has a chance to play 2 or 3 hundred songs without any repeats.
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Paul, do you have a new iPod that plays video? If so, there's a setting to actually make the shuffle *less* random so that it'll skip lower rated songs or at least put them lower down on the list.
On my nano it will pick up from wherever you left off while you were shuffling if you turn off the iPod. Yours probably does that too as long as you don't leave shuffle mode. I do agree that it should return where you left off in the shuffle until you somehow forced it to start over and shuffle again - that would be neat.
Otherwise, isn't it awesome? I know that everyone will have some minor quibbles and there are some things that could be better (like not returning to the now playing screen after ten seconds if I'm trying to read the lyrics) but all in all I love my iPod.
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The iPod is a wonderful thing. I've filled 38 of the 40 GB, so now I'm starting to enter Sophie's Choice territory with adding new music to it.
I can have most of my record collection in my car and on my computer. Life is good.
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Also Paul, those play counts might not be accurate. The iPod only remembers the most recently time a song was played. So if you were to listen to Hurt 5 times today then sync the playcount in iTunes will only go up by one.
Also, iTunes has a "how random is the shuffle" slider, does anybody know if this setting translates over to (3G) iPods? Maybe I need to run the updater again.
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Also Paul, those play counts might not be accurate. The iPod only remembers the most recently time a song was played. So if you were to listen to Hurt 5 times today then sync the playcount in iTunes will only go up by one.
Huh. Not with my nano - I think with the 4Gs they started keeping an extra DB field on the iPod itself, which was a counter for how many times a track was played since the last sync, because I can listen to a song 10 times on my PC, listen to it five times on the iPod and 5 times on the PC, and when I sync again it sets the playcount to 20.
Also, iTunes has a "how random is the shuffle" slider, does anybody know if this setting translates over to (3G) iPods? Maybe I need to run the updater again.
I'm pretty sure the non-random shuffle doesn't do squat for anything but the nano and the 5G (video iPod). At least, it didn't do anything for my previous 4G iPod.
I don't think Apple really concerns themselves with updating the firmware for an iPod that is no longer in production or no longer the newest, even. For instance, the nano *could* play video, since it has the same dang chip that's in the 5G "video iPod" but do they update the firmware? No, because that may cannibalize some market away from the "big" iPod (although honestly who the hell wants to watch video on a screen that small? - but still, it would be nice to have the option).
Someone figured out how to play videos on the nano by putting Linux on it, but part of the joie d'iPod is the interface.
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They've updated the 3G's at least 3 times since the 4G came out. Once to change the battery display to 4G-style, once to remove a flickering glitch caused by the previous update, and once to add support for the iTunes podcast screen/add "Shuffle Songs" to the main menu.
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So what you're saying is that my Cities on Flame count might actually be higher than I think. It's high enough, It made the playlist again today btw.
~Paul
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I think it just means your iPod likes Blue Oyster Cult. Just be thankful that it has good taste! ;D
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If you uncheck a song on the library you "sync" your i-pod to, will it remove it from the i-pod when you sync?
~Paul
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If you uncheck a song on the library you "sync" your i-pod to, will it remove it from the i-pod when you sync?
It can. If you go to Edit -> Preferences -> iPod there's a checkbox to sync only checked songs.
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It can. If you go to Edit -> Preferences -> iPod there's a checkbox to sync only checked songs.
I guess what i'm asking, and I don't know if you answered it or not is... If the song is already on the i-pod and you uncheck it on the synced library does it remove it from the i-pod?
~Paul
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It will remove it from the iPod if you have "only sync checked songs" checked in the iPod options - otherwise it won't.
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I can't tell you how frighteningly accurate some of this (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/columns/puritan-blister/06-02-10.shtml) is.
~Paul
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I know this isn't exactly an iPod support forum, but I'm having trouble with my 20GB Click Wheel, so I need to ask: has anyone ever had his/her iPod showing this "folder with exclamation mark" icon, and nothing else?
I went through all kinds of troubleshooting pages on the Apple website, but to no avail...
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I know this isn't exactly an iPod support forum, but I'm having trouble with my 20GB Click Wheel, so I need to ask: has anyone ever had his/her iPod showing this "folder with exclamation mark" icon, and nothing else?
I went through all kinds of troubleshooting pages on the Apple website, but to no avail...
Hate to break the bad news but if the troubleshooting isn't working, the hard drive is broken or corrupt. I'm pretty sure it's a normal thing, the same thing happened to my 20GB click wheel last year, and I tried everything trying to sort it out. To no avail. As long as you have warranty, arrange for it to be picked up by Apple and they'll send you a replacement for free.
Bloody iPods.
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Do you live anywhere near an Apple store? Word is a lot of times their support desk can fix errors like this free and in like 10 minutes. Because while the errors appear to be horrifically major they are often just a loose wire or something.
There also always ilounge.com (which was called ipodlounge.com before Apple's lawyers get all snippy).
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Hate to break the bad news but if the troubleshooting isn't working, the hard drive is broken or corrupt. I'm pretty sure it's a normal thing, the same thing happened to my 20GB click wheel last year, and I tried everything trying to sort it out. To no avail. As long as you have warranty, arrange for it to be picked up by Apple and they'll send you a replacement for free.
Bloody iPods.
Thanks Judy (or DickSlap? How do you prefer to be addressed?), but here's the weird thing: if I plug the iPod on my computer everything seems to work fine. It shows up in iTunes, it lets me load songs into it, use it in disk mode, copy files to and from it. I ran the latest update, even restored it back to factory settings and so on. It's only when I unplug it that it starts misbehaving.
Unfortunately, I bought it from a friend, who in turn had it brought to him by another friend who travelled abroad (iPods are REALLY expensive here in Brazil, you know), so, no warranties for me...
Well, it seems like, if anything, I'll still have a cute little 20GB hard drive I can use to move porn work around...
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Thanks Judy (or DickSlap? How do you prefer to be addressed?), but here's the weird thing: if I plug the iPod on my computer everything seems to work fine. It shows up in iTunes, it lets me load songs into it, use it in disk mode, copy files to and from it. I ran the latest update, even restored it back to factory settings and so on. It's only when I unplug it that it starts misbehaving.
Unfortunately, I bought it from a friend, who in turn had it brought to him by another friend who travelled abroad (iPods are REALLY expensive here in Brazil, you know), so, no warranties for me...
Well, it seems like, if anything, I'll still have a cute little 20GB hard drive I can use to move porn work around...
I prefer DickSlap. Judy makes me sound like some old woman.
Ah, that's interesting, because my iPod did not work with the PC at all, and would not even let itself be recognised. I'd go with CortJstr, if you can find an Apple store that'd probably sort everything out, and they hopefully won't check your warranty. Or you could seek more professional advice. Sorry I can't help further.
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I don't know if there are Apple stores in Brasil, but your last resort is always to force a reset. I forget how to do it, though - it involves plugging it into a power source, holding two buttons together for a few seconds, etc. It's not difficult but you have to do it exactly right.
Check out iLounge - there are people there who have had every model of iPod ever made and have had every kind of problem you can have with an iPod.
FWIW I sold my 40Gb hard-drive based iPod and got a 4Gb flash-memory Nano. I haven't had one problem with it (other than a few scratches before I bought a case - to my credit, when I bought the nano it had only been out for a week and no cases were available for it yet).
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I don't know if there are Apple stores in Brasil, but your last resort is always to force a reset. I forget how to do it, though - it involves plugging it into a power source, holding two buttons together for a few seconds, etc. It's not difficult but you have to do it exactly right.
For a Touch Wheel version you plug it in (preferrably to the wall) then hold Menu and Play/Pause for 5 seconds. I believe the same is true with Click Wheels.
Just as an aside, if you use Windows it's always preferrable to charge an iPod by plugging it into the wall instead of charging via USB or Firewire. Windows has a tendency to never let the hard drive spin down for the entire time it's plugged in which can drastically reduce the lifespan of the device. Some posters on iLounge insist that you even get a larger charge via plugging into the wall regardless of Win/Mac usage but I don't know how extensively that was tested.
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I tried holding menu+the select button like Apple says, but not while plugged to the wall. Will do it when I get home tonight.
Thanks everyone!
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I also have already looked at iTunes, found it HORRIBLE and inadequate, and have uninstalled it already. I will never use iTunes with my iPod.
thanks to Smart Playlists in iTunes, which I'm just starting to use more and more.
Isn't growth a wonderful thing?
I got one of those 60GB video Ipods. It's pretty neat. Anyone know any good places where I can get media that actually showcases the video capability? All I have so far is the Foo Fighters videos.
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To my credit, I was referring then to the iTunes music store, and not the iTunes library/application, which has gotten a lot better since the awful crash prone monstrosity that shipped with my first iPod. So yes, growth - but growth from Apple, who improved their software.
I actually still don't use iTunes, to be honest - I just don't feel comfortable posting which pirateware that I do use.
I get my videos from Mininova.org. Just search for "iPod" and you'll find movies, tv shows, and music videos, all formatted for your tiny low-res iPod's screen!
(I'm kind of a snob as I watch movies on my Palm T|X which is twice the resolution of the iPod on a screen that is 60% larger that costs $100 less and also is a computer, ebook reader, email client, web surfer, date book, games machine, and also plays mp3s.
I love my Palm T|X. It's replaced my laptop. My iPod is nice for when I go for a walk or something and don't mind carrying something small and easy to manipulate with one hand while it's still in my pocket. </aside>)
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(I'm kind of a snob as I watch movies on my Palm T|X which is twice the resolution of the iPod on a screen that is 60% larger that costs $100 less and also is a computer, ebook reader, email client, web surfer, date book, games machine, and also plays mp3s.
I hope you realize I will hold you fully responsible if I now go and spend all my savings on a Palm TX. Damn youse. :P
Seriously though, I guess you have to buy memory cards for that thing also, right?
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You don't HAVE to, but yeah, I have a 2Gb SD card in mine that lets me carry around 5 movies, or 10 episodes of 24, or 3 movies, an episode of 24, and two episodes of The Boondocks, or... well, you get the idea.
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I get my videos from Mininova.org. Just search for "iPod" and you'll find movies, tv shows, and music videos, all formatted for your tiny low-res iPod's screen!
Thanks for this.
(I'm kind of a snob . . .)
Yeah?
Also, anybody use allofmp3.com? (http://www.allofmp3.com) I'm wondering if it's too good to be true.
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Dude, there's a search box above.
Yeah, as mentioned in this and other threads, AllOfMP3.com is awesome. I have nothing but nice things to say about their service.
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Also, anybody use allofmp3.com? (http://www.allofmp3.com) I'm wondering if it's too good to be true.
I do, it's not. They have basically everything, and most things you can get encoded how you want - I've never had a problem with sound quality or availability, there's no DRM, and per-CD prices are about $1.00. The only downside is the dubious legality, but apparently (for now, at least), it's totally on the level. And if it ever isn't on the level, your MP3s are un-DRMed, so who cares.
I use musicmp3.ru more though - it's half the price, with about half the selection, and no custom encoding. 192kbps MP3 is OK with me though, so I always look here first, then allofmp3 second.
Also, what Jough said.
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Apologies, I'm somewhat new here. Also, as has been pointed out somewhere, this new board has a shitload of buttons. Sorry again.
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My car stereo just died, so I got a new one. A fairly low-end model, but for $100 these days you can get a deck that plays regular CDs, discs with MP3, and throws in a place you can plug in your iPod or other MP3 player. The latter two are big reasons why I chose this particular model.
I had it installed today. And the douchebags didn't install the so-called "iPlug." You have to plug it in the back of the stereo, then run a little cable out to the front, to which you can attach your MP3 playin' doo-hickey. But there it is in the box, rather than attached to the fuck*ng deck like it's supposed to be.
SCREW YOU, MAN
entering enemy mode...
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and throws in a place you can plug in your iPod or other MP3 player.
OMG I SO need this. Thank you for having a disaster that you had to post about before I spent money on some other solution to my problem!
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I got the fancier kind that actually has dock connector. So it charges the iPod and shows the song title right in the display. I can even change playlists right from the deck. But if I had it to do again I'd go the cheaper route where the stereo just has a line-in plug in the front. It's not really that much more convenient to have the song in the stereo than just looking in the cup holder and seeing the artist and album also. Plus this way I'm locked into iPod only.
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My car has an ass-old radio/cassette player, and I've been thinking of replacing it with a CD player that plays mp3s and stuff. However I've now decided to just buy a good portable mp3 player (probably an iPod) because then I can just plug it in with this (http://play.com/play247.asp?pa=search&searchtype=allproducts&searchstring=cassette+adapter&page=search&Go.x=0&Go.y=0). Nice!
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So does the FM transmitter you can connect to the I-pod to make it play out a nearby radio suck? Seems like that is a pretty easy solution too.
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I got one of those transmitters dealies. It's ok, I guess. A little bit of a pain in the ass because it is on this sort of tenuous articulated arm that plugs into the power-port (being as how the port is set back in the dash so far). Then you have to jam the IPod into it, and that connection is a bit sketchy too. It works, but I'm sure it'll be broken soon.
It's roughly this one (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7453917&type=product&id=1125238744117). It's got some sort of shim that goes behind the ipod to make it more steady in the charger part, but of course none of them fit the video iPod quite right.
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The little transmitter things, especially from Griffin Technologies, work VERY well unless you live in a major metropolitan area, as I do - then they suck teh coq.
A line-in on your car head-unit is the best option, and a cassette adapter is the second best - but who has a cassette adapter in a new car stereo anymore? Everything's CD now.
A lot of car stereos also will play MP3 CDs, so you can bring a couple hundred songs with you on a single disc at least.
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but who has a cassette adapter in a new car stereo anymore? Everything's CD now.
I do. But I stopped using it. I like my in ear headphones too much.
~Paul
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my I-Pod seems to have developed it's own list of favorites. There are literally thousands of songs it has yet to play even once, yet it has played 'Cities on Flame with Rock 'n Roll' 9 times now. I like that song, but not that much.
I guess I shouldn't have complained, because my i-pod now has a new favorite song, it's Childern of the World by the Bee Gees. I like the Bee Gees, but this is a very silly song.
~Paul
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I do. But I stopped using it. I like my in ear headphones too much.
Um, Paul, are you saying that you wear in-ear headphones when you're driving? Because while I applaud living life on the edge, I'd hate to run a test to find out how long it took to realize someone on the forum was dead.
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Um, Paul, are you saying that you wear in-ear headphones when you're driving? Because while I applaud living life on the edge, I'd hate to run a test to find out how long it took to realize someone on the forum was dead.
I've got that covered (http://touamb.com/index.php/topic,2546.msg56002.html#msg56002)
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Not to be too much of a dick, but driving with headphones on is decidedly not a good idea.
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Yeah, not only is driving with headphones on kinda stupid, as you won't be able to hear traffic, horns, trains, etc., but also it is illegal in pretty much every state in the union (except maybe Texas, where just about everything is legal). Since just about everything is illegal in Utah, I wouldn't be surprised if you got pulled over. Of course, since you won't be able to hear the siren, you'll probably end up serving some jail time for fleeing from the police.
It's not just stupid and dangerous for YOU, but if you hit and kill someone else it could ruin their whole day as well.
Jesus Tapdancing Christ, Paul.
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In VA it's actually only illegal to drive with a pair of headphones on. If you wear just one that's kosher. I'm guessing this is true in most states as otherwise hands-free cell phone accessories wouldn't be allowed.
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In VA it's actually only illegal to drive with a pair of headphones on. If you wear just one that's kosher. I'm guessing this is true in most states as otherwise hands-free cell phone accessories wouldn't be allowed.
As they fuck*ng well ought not to be. Jesus I wish people would focus on the driving.
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Yeah, not only is driving with headphones on kinda stupid, as you won't be able to hear traffic, horns, trains, etc.,
Do they let deaf people drive in your state? I never had to take a hearing test before I got my license.
Do they cite people for driving with the radio turned up loud? How about for having an animated conversation?
I drive with one earphone in pretty much constanty, because my car doesn't have a radio and it's the only way I can listen to books. I can hear traffic. I can hear horns and sirens. I'm not sure how much difference it would make if I couldn't, but whatever.
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Do they let deaf people drive in your state? I never had to take a hearing test before I got my license.
Do they cite people for driving with the radio turned up loud? How about for having an animated conversation?
I drive with one earphone in pretty much constanty, because my car doesn't have a radio and it's the only way I can listen to books. I can hear traffic. I can hear horns and sirens. I'm not sure how much difference it would make if I couldn't, but whatever.
One headphone? Cool. As long as you can hear other things going on, I got no problem with that. Animated conversation? They ought to cite people. Keep your eyes forward, and focus on the driving. Music too loud? Same thing. Automobiles are extremely dangerous. Quite frankly, they ought to make licenses much harder to get. They ought to cost hundreds of dollars every year, and that money ought to fund the shit out of public transportation. 90% of drivers ought not to be on the road.
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Fuck You (http://www.paulmcrae.com/images/Miscellany/Misc/DSCN11301-E-1024.jpg)
~Paul
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Fuck you too Paul. I hope that when you die in your fiery auto-wreck it's only because you crashed into a pole and not into a Pole or a Czech or something.
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Yes paul, please do not crash into 1/4th of me.
Or any other fraction. BE SAFE.
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Fuck you too Paul. I hope that when you die in your fiery auto-wreck it's only because you crashed into a pole and not into a Pole or a Czech or something.
The question is, will he get a photograph of it with his last dying breath?
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Paul's such a motherfuck*ng badass.
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Of course he'll get a picture.
I'm just saying I think hurtling around in multi-thousand pound blocks of iron is perhaps serious enough to require the operator to get the most out of their faculties and senses. It's nice to be able to pick up the subleties of the bicyclist's dying gurgles, whimpers, and cries as you drive over them.
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Since just about everything is illegal in Utah, I wouldn't be surprised if you got pulled over. Of course, since you won't be able to hear the siren, you'll probably end up serving some jail time for fleeing from the police.
I wouldn't be surprised if there was no law to regulate that, because the state legislature has a strong libertarian faction. This year a bill that would make not wearing a seatbelt an offense for which a cop can pull someone over was defeated. Again. They just, this year, passed a hate crime bill, after significantly weakening it. And the bill that bans smoking in bars and clubs was narrowly defeated last year. I don't know what happened with it this year.
But then we have all these fucked up liquor laws (which the Governor has flirted with changing).
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I hope that when you die in your fiery auto-wreck it's only because you crashed into a pole
Because I couldn't hear the pole?
~Paul
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Fuck you too Paul. I hope that when you die in your fiery auto-wreck it's only because you crashed into a pole and not into a Pole or a Czech or something.
What if I take out a busload of Mormons?
~Paul
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What if I take out a busload of Mormons?
~Paul
A full busload? Are you driving this?
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a274/Nabubrush/m1a1-tank.jpg)
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It's probably got about as much firepower.
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Everything I've heard about the FM transmitters is that they ain't so good. Jough's statement that they're better or worse depending on how many FM stations are around you is probably accurate.
My wife and I switched cars, putting me in a car with a tape deck and no CD player. So I started recording CDs to cassette. Then the home stereo with the CD player + tape deck died--can't play fuck*ng CDs (the second time this stereo has broken in the same fashion).
So I got one of the cassette adapters that Tangle referred to, and started using my MP3 player as my car stereo. Sure enough, within a month, the cassette player in the car craps out, so I can't listen to MP3s or even the few tapes I made before the home stereo died.
This led to my new car stereo purchase, but that's having its own problems, and I'm quite sure it will catch on fire or something the day it goes out of warranty. Apparently I'm just not supposed to listen to music in this car.
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This led to my new car stereo purchase, but that's having its own problems, and I'm quite sure it will catch on fire or something the day it goes out of warranty. Apparently I'm just not supposed to listen to music in this car.
Hire you a mariachi band to sit in the back seat all day, Carlos.