The thing i hate most is why do windoze users have to put up with that piece of crap Itunes program? geez talk about crappy! Hmm i wonder if it is just a way of torturing non-mac users with the worst software available?
I am glad the Anapod Explorer program is available so i could piss off that Itunes from my PC as fast as possible. you can copy move delete and do everything on an Ipod that you can do with Itunes all in a 900kb application... plus when you connect your Ipod to the PC it doesn't try and update your unit and delete the contents! And no i don't have shares in this program
Also typical Apple when it comes to transferring your music to your Ipod... Why on earth change the file names etc?? how stupid is that!!
I shoulda just bought an MP3 player at a cheaper price rather than this over priced piece of Apple shit
I've never been too bothered by the ipod or by people telling me who had one how great it was, or by the fancy advertisements.
My solution??? It starts with the little i as well.
iPAQ
Yep.
When I first saw these ipaqs for sale running windows media player I realised that this would be a great portable music device.
That was AGES before ipods were even around.
Last year I finally made the plunge and got an ipaq.
I loaded my music onto a nice 1GB SD card.
It plays nice. It plays loads of music. And I can use my own headphones.
I don't need any special software for it. I can play any mp3 or wma song I like. There's no DRM to worry about.
But it's what it can do OUTSIDE of playing music that makes my ipaq the coolest.
You see I got the now unavailable H6315 iPAQ.
It works as a PDA, giving me a calendar, address book, and all that other handy stuff.
I can read powerpoint files, read and create word files, excel spreadsheets.
I use it to get my work email without even touching a PC.
I can even IM with all my buddies around the world.
Oh, did I forget that I can also use it as a phone???
Did I forget that I can also play back widescreen video with this device??? I can actually store 4-5 full length movies on a single 1GB stick.
It even lets me play games like scrabble and monopoly if I am really bored...
Or just browse the web.
And it wakes me up every morning, tells me when I need to pay my bills, and keeps all my important info at hand.
Sure, its bigger than the nano, but the battery is replaceable, and my 4200mAh battery gives me all day playback for music and video.
Not to plug HP or anybody else affiliated with this device, but is there really anything out there that can do all of the above while still being a great music (and video) player??? I don't think so.
So, there's my two cents worth as far as ipods are and having a great portable music player.
I doubt anyone will get so far in this forum so as to read this post, but here is my brief history of my experience with digital music.
I started out with a Rio 600 for $160. Piece of junk and a rip-off. To hell with the restrictions of specific transfer software.
I soon found $100 first-gen MP3-CD player to be the solution to all my problems, still in the days of Napster. I still have this unit.
A 10 GB fat and inefficient D-Link HD-based player was next for $210. It's battery contacts broke repeatedly so I got a new enclosure and turned it into an external HD.
Then came the iRiver iHP-120 for $350. Sleek, long battery life, nice remote and better than the iPods of its day save ease of use.
Finally in 2006 I have broken down and purchased the $400 iPod Video and here is why: I am technically astute enough to be able to remove DRM from my iTunes Music Store Music. The tagging is impeccable and I love the sound quality of AAC. Also the vast selection of music is great. I don't enjoy the lack of hardware and software flexibility inherent in all Apple products. However, over the past years and throughout my history with digital music I have become quite hardware savvy. I wouldn't mind carefully opening my iPod to replace a battery. I can even watch movies on airplanes or in other cramped situations quite easily on my iPod.
Expensive iPods and overly intrusive DRM will be a thing of the past in the next decade. Already France has passed legislation to remove the restrictions of DRM. The record industry is swiftly losing money, but there will always be music. Thus the RIAA will not remain a powerful lobby group in the US. Hardware will cheapen to the point of insanity; I cannot imagine paying more than $40 for a flash based 64 MB MP3 player like my Rio of yesteryear.
In conclusion, above all I am simply ashamed I have already spent so much on hardware just to play music!
Well, I'll give you your choice for the H120, imo, the best Iriver player, even better than the H320 because it has optical out instead of the analogue line out. Anyways, the bloatware packed in and that is forced to be used on a device is just a con to me. AAC is not my favourite as opposed to Vorbis and Musepack, of course, one must have their Wavpack.
Arguably, nothing beats Apple products ease of use, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
Scratched nano?
Those who live by the bleeding edge, die by the bleeding edge! In case anyone really cares, go to appleinsider and look up my many posts on said subject matter. Bottom line? Sometimes, people can be INCREDIBLY STUPID! Hint, hint!
Who's that person behind the curtain? I guess nobody remembers the Reebok craze? Too young perhaps? Bottom line, 99+ percent of those who own iPods will never read this article, and guess what? They don't give a rat's ass!
So enough of my own screed and ad hominem attack, enough of my rude tude dude. Just call it PAYBACK!
It's NOT about thinking different, it IS about thinking critically!
Later,
Not 1337
So you don't care about the industry raping CDs with such limitations, you don't care that music will have its limits? You don't care about the current CC-CD issue and how the industry is sh!tting on people's rights? DRM is a major issue, if companies started releasing rootkits (ala Sony) or CC-CDs, it would be a big issue. Right now, the process of ripping CDs to the computer whether through EAC, Itunes, Audiograbber, CDParanoia, dBPowerAmp, and etc. is being challenged as whether that is violating Fair Use rights by the RIAA. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't like to be limited when it comes to the buying of products and how I use them.
As with the ease of use arguments, Itunes sucks, I don't know how you find it easy. As a person who has explored many difficult software (aka trying to install ATI drivers on Linux ), I would claim that Itunes is bloatware, it's horrible. Oh, and on the design part of the Nano, I don't know why someone would want a screen so small or a device so thin. It's useless to me, it's too thin, I could snap it in freaking half! 21st Century Design indeed. I would agree with you on that because product life is limited these days (ie. Plasma TVs die, LCD Projection lamps burn out). I have an RCA TV that's 18 years old, I play Xbox on it, it works. My Panasonic LCD Projection TV broke, hmmm...I wonder. 21st Century Design indeed! Oh, and you aren't bleeding edge, you are very behind on the awareness of DRM it seems.
Quote :
I've never been too bothered by the ipod or by people telling me who had one how great it was, or by the fancy advertisements.
My solution??? It starts with the little i as well.
iPAQ
Yep.
When I first saw these ipaqs for sale running windows media player I realised that this would be a great portable music device.
That was AGES before ipods were even around.
Last year I finally made the plunge and got an ipaq.
I loaded my music onto a nice 1GB SD card.
It plays nice. It plays loads of music. And I can use my own headphones.
I don't need any special software for it. I can play any mp3 or wma song I like. There's no DRM to worry about.
But it's what it can do OUTSIDE of playing music that makes my ipaq the coolest.
You see I got the now unavailable H6315 iPAQ.
It works as a PDA, giving me a calendar, address book, and all that other handy stuff.
I can read powerpoint files, read and create word files, excel spreadsheets.
I use it to get my work email without even touching a PC.
I can even IM with all my buddies around the world.
Oh, did I forget that I can also use it as a phone???
Did I forget that I can also play back widescreen video with this device??? I can actually store 4-5 full length movies on a single 1GB stick.
It even lets me play games like scrabble and monopoly if I am really bored...
Or just browse the web.
And it wakes me up every morning, tells me when I need to pay my bills, and keeps all my important info at hand.
Sure, its bigger than the nano, but the battery is replaceable, and my 4200mAh battery gives me all day playback for music and video.
Not to plug HP or anybody else affiliated with this device, but is there really anything out there that can do all of the above while still being a great music (and video) player??? I don't think so.
So, there's my two cents worth as far as ipods are and having a great portable music player.
Any/All Comments Welcome!
iPAQ = iCRAP!
Oh really? I didn't know that iPAQs were crap, any evidence as to why? Or is that flaming I smell.
Arguably, nothing beats Apple products ease of use, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
Scratched nano?
Those who live by the bleeding edge, die by the bleeding edge! In case anyone really cares, go to appleinsider and look up my many posts on said subject matter. Bottom line? Sometimes, people can be INCREDIBLY STUPID! Hint, hint!
Who's that person behind the curtain? I guess nobody remembers the Reebok craze? Too young perhaps? Bottom line, 99+ percent of those who own iPods will never read this article, and guess what? They don't give a rat's ass!
So enough of my own screed and ad hominem attack, enough of my rude tude dude. Just call it PAYBACK!
It's NOT about thinking different, it IS about thinking critically!
Later,
Not 1337
So you don't care about the industry raping CDs with such limitations, you don't care that music will have its limits? You don't care about the current CC-CD issue and how the industry is sh!tting on people's rights? DRM is a major issue, if companies started releasing rootkits (ala Sony) or CC-CDs, it would be a big issue. Right now, the process of ripping CDs to the computer whether through EAC, Itunes, Audiograbber, CDParanoia, dBPowerAmp, and etc. is being challenged as whether that is violating Fair Use rights by the RIAA. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't like to be limited when it comes to the buying of products and how I use them.
As with the ease of use arguments, Itunes sucks, I don't know how you find it easy. As a person who has explored many difficult software (aka trying to install ATI drivers on Linux ), I would claim that Itunes is bloatware, it's horrible. Oh, and on the design part of the Nano, I don't know why someone would want a screen so small or a device so thin. It's useless to me, it's too thin, I could snap it in freaking half! 21st Century Design indeed. I would agree with you on that because product life is limited these days (ie. Plasma TVs die, LCD Projection lamps burn out). I have an RCA TV that's 18 years old, I play Xbox on it, it works. My Panasonic LCD Projection TV broke, hmmm...I wonder. 21st Century Design indeed! Oh, and you aren't bleeding edge, you are very behind on the awareness of DRM it seems.
Quote :
I've never been too bothered by the ipod or by people telling me who had one how great it was, or by the fancy advertisements.
My solution??? It starts with the little i as well.
iPAQ
Yep.
When I first saw these ipaqs for sale running windows media player I realised that this would be a great portable music device.
That was AGES before ipods were even around.
Last year I finally made the plunge and got an ipaq.
I loaded my music onto a nice 1GB SD card.
It plays nice. It plays loads of music. And I can use my own headphones.
I don't need any special software for it. I can play any mp3 or wma song I like. There's no DRM to worry about.
But it's what it can do OUTSIDE of playing music that makes my ipaq the coolest.
You see I got the now unavailable H6315 iPAQ.
It works as a PDA, giving me a calendar, address book, and all that other handy stuff.
I can read powerpoint files, read and create word files, excel spreadsheets.
I use it to get my work email without even touching a PC.
I can even IM with all my buddies around the world.
Oh, did I forget that I can also use it as a phone???
Did I forget that I can also play back widescreen video with this device??? I can actually store 4-5 full length movies on a single 1GB stick.
It even lets me play games like scrabble and monopoly if I am really bored...
Or just browse the web.
And it wakes me up every morning, tells me when I need to pay my bills, and keeps all my important info at hand.
Sure, its bigger than the nano, but the battery is replaceable, and my 4200mAh battery gives me all day playback for music and video.
Not to plug HP or anybody else affiliated with this device, but is there really anything out there that can do all of the above while still being a great music (and video) player??? I don't think so.
So, there's my two cents worth as far as ipods are and having a great portable music player.
Any/All Comments Welcome!
iPAQ = iCRAP!
Oh really? I didn't know that iPAQs were crap, any evidence as to why? Or is that flaming I smell.
Behind on DRM? I DON"T THINK SO!
But then again, I own ALL my digital music content, bought and paid for!
And I buy mostly used CD's. Why? It's cheap!
No ITMS for me, thank you!
I don't consort with traderz, and I don't RIP content. I'll leave the heavy lifting to those guys, seeing as I'm just a leech!
Rootkit? Shmootkit! If it's there, and I can't get it to my (unscratched and never going to snap) nano, I WON"T BUY IT! It's just that simple! Sorry, but there's just nothing out there that's "To die for."
Like I said, one word, REEBOK! You ( and a few precentage points) might care, but the vast, vast majority of people "Don't give a rat's ass!" Sad, but true.
As for the Ipaq comment, I reached 3000th degree Grandmaster Smack Fu status, AT AGE 8! The article that predicated this thread is nothing other than such. As are most of the post's in this thread! What else would one expect from "PeeCee Geek Central?"
I've never been too bothered by the ipod or by people telling me who had one how great it was, or by the fancy advertisements.
My solution??? It starts with the little i as well.
I loaded my music onto a nice 1GB SD card.
Any/All Comments Welcome!
Completely different type of player. 1GB is a very small amount of storage and isn't comparable to most of the HD based DAPs. Don't get me wrong, I'd love a fast iPaq (or other DAP) with 8gb of storage for recording concerts, but even that's not the same as having 20-60 GB of storage.
Interesting article. I love gadgets and new technology, but iPods have never done it for me. I recently bought a Sony Ericsson w800i mobile Walkman phone, which has a quite serviceable MP3 player inside. Now that the novelty has worn off, I just use it as a phone...
For me, I don't like the fact that walking around with headphones listening to tinny sounding music is considered the way to go (and I hate earbud headphones). Or even the fact that so many people believe it necessary to listen to music in every available spare moment that they have, in every possible location... I realsie that this goes back to the days of the cassette Walkman, but it's getting worse. I would rather have my music at best possible qulaity, less often.
As for iTunes and iPods... well it's great marketing, but I personally can't get excited about paying for such low resolution audio files. I will always buy CDs = call me old fashioned. I also bought a Sony SACD player a few years ago, and I love listening to SACDs - pity that the format never took off. But the money is with the portable formats, the iPod and its clones have just contributed to the demise of high quality audio in the marketplace.
I have a g4 and I hate the thing, so I was gleeful when I first saw this article buy you guys are hating the ipod for all the wrong reasons. The drm and the scratches come on. First of the drm is itunes not the ipod, I only have one drm file and thats the lossless album I ripped. the lack of cases, well yeah annoying but really not a deal breaker, besides every included case I've ever had for anything has sucked compared to an after market one. here are some genuine gripes:
a) no really good way of making a playlist on the fly, on the go really sucks and you can only make one of them without resyncing
b) no en queue during a shuffle don't know what I'm talking about check out winamp
c) itunes does not work with the way that I listen to music (though that is a non issue because the community got it to work with winamp)
d) there is a millisecond gap between songs (this only really becomes an issue if you're listening to live stuff, prog albums, or classical music that has been separated into movements) but there is a work around for that too rip the entire cd as one track
e) and it's the big one the file system is asinine
f) limited format support eg no ogg, flac, wma(but why would you) so on and so forth
but, things aren't all bad on the ipod front, as I'm learning
1) for one the player shows up on all computers sans machines running 98 as an external hard drive, something that could have saved my friend dell dj
2) the scroll wheel is way faster than any button interfact
3) when the headphones are disconnected the player stops, (which could potentially save the player if it falls again might have saved my friend dell dj)
now my dream player would have
1) tremendous space
2) reasonable battery life
3) on the fly playlists
4) en queue during shuffle (I miss this soooo much)
5) native operating system support(so I can use on linux, windows, or mac even) and I can do diagnostics
6) gapless playback
7) fast navigation
8) some standard freaking connectors so I don't have to worry about losing a piece of wire
Funny how all of those posting about their dire hatred of the iPod have little, or no, factual knowledge of the device.
The most blatant mispost that pops to mind (after reading these ill-informed rants) is that the iPod (& iTunes) do not support gapless playback (o.k., one guy at least said "I don't believe it supports..." ).
Both the iPod and iTunes support gapless playback. Am I to think the majority of you haters are morons or simply listless and lazy in your research skills (original article's author included).
It is a sad day when the mis-informed of the world spend their time posting ridiculous statements about which they have no knowledge and spreading FUD that that might sway the opinion of someone reading this and trying to form an "honest" opinion.
b) no en queue during a shuffle don't know what I'm talking about check out winamp
it'd be helpful if you defined it. I use winamp, and I haven't a clue what you're talking about.
Quote :
d) there is a millisecond gap between songs (this only really becomes an issue if you're listening to live stuff, prog albums, or classical music that has been separated into movements) but there is a work around for that too rip the entire cd as one track
A bad kluge. Just because I want gapless doesn't mean I'm willing to give up the ability to skip to a specific track.
Quote :
f) limited format support eg no ogg, flac, wma(but why would you) so on and so forth
Flac is only an issue in as much as you'd have to convert to applelossless if you wanted lossless files. The reality is that preamp/amp probalby isn't clean enough to warrant lossless encoding and the storage space certainly isn't enough to store my music...maybe if they make 100gb DAPs. As for WMA, I'd argue it's an issue because you might want to buy something from buymusic.com that iTunes doesn't sell. I don't know about now, but there was a time when you could buy Radiohead material on buymusic (virtually every album) while iTunes had no more than a few songs.
It wouldn't affect me, but if I did buy music files, I"d like the option to buy from every store that's out there.
Quote :
2) the scroll wheel is way faster than any button interfact
I prefer the Karma's interface, and I think i can scroll through a list of music faster than on an iPod, but I don't get into interface wars. I like windows others like Macs....in the end, if the Mac had all the software/games and the iPod did gapless while the Karma did not, I'd have an iPod.
Quote :
3) when the headphones are disconnected the player stops, (which could potentially save the player if it falls again might have saved my friend dell dj)
not much of an issue. The HD on a DAP is rarely spinning. Even with your feature, when it hit the ground, the drive would still be spinning if it was before the plugs came unplugged.
Quote :
1) tremendous space
2) reasonable battery life
3) on the fly playlists
4) en queue during shuffle (I miss this soooo much)
5) native operating system support(so I can use on linux, windows, or mac even) and I can do diagnostics
6) gapless playback
7) fast navigation
8) some standard freaking connectors so I don't have to worry about losing a piece of wire
Sounds like a rio karma (except for the HD space...only 20gb) and possibly en queue
Funny how all of those posting about their dire hatred of the iPod have little, or no, factual knowledge of the device.
The most blatant mispost that pops to mind (after reading these ill-informed rants) is that the iPod (& iTunes) do not support gapless playback (o.k., one guy at least said "I don't believe it supports..." ).
Both the iPod and iTunes support gapless playback. Am I to think the majority of you haters are morons or simply listless and lazy in your research skills (original article's author included).
No it doesn't, and it's sad that an owner would actually be so misinformed as to think that it does. The only way it plays darkside of the moon without gaps is if you make it 2 tracks: side one and side 2. Search the Ipod/itunes site, it's there in black and white. Easier still, go to ipodlounge and search for gapless playback. It's a very commonly requested feature for at least 2 or 3 years and it has not been implemented.
), I would claim that Itunes is bloatware, it's horrible. Oh, and on the design part of the Nano, I don't know why someone would want a screen so small or a device so thin. It's useless to me, it's too thin, I could snap it in freaking half! 21st Century Design indeed. I would agree with you on that because product life is limited these days (ie. Plasma TVs die, LCD Projection lamps burn out). I have an RCA TV that's 18 years old, I play Xbox on it, it works. My Panasonic LCD Projection TV broke, hmmm...I wonder. 21st Century Design indeed! Oh, and you aren't bleeding edge, you are very behind on the awareness of DRM it seems.