iPod hating

Huddy

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Zack's article is here:

http://www.mygamer.com/index.php?page=articles&mode=viewarticles&id=226

I have to say, I wholeheartedly agree with Zack on this one, and have for a long time spoke of the evil of Apple and their "computers". I happen to work in a school district on the computers, and we're currently 85% Macintosh, so i have plenty of experience to back up my feelings. If you want a pretty tabletop item, buy a Mac. If you want a funtional unit designed to go on the web, do multimedia applications, or play games..or just plain compute, buy a PC.
Now, for the iPod....I tried Zack, i really tried. All of the technicians here at my job praise everything Apple. I ignored the promises and the golden road promised by iPods for a few years now, and finally, just the other day, purchased a 1GB MobiBlu Cube player. This thing ROCKS. Sure, it's only 1 GB, but I can plug it into any USB port (it comes formatted to work with both Mac and PC) and instantly drag and drop files to it like any USB Flash memory stick. Even creating folders and dragging them over works perfectly. It has FM radio (not the best reception, granted), a microphone, and cool OLED display, and...yes...actual instructions! I don't have to use iTunes or any other actual application to transfer. Again, it's only 1 GB (now available in 2GB), but with a simple drag and drop, in 30 seconds or less, I'm fully loaded with a new playlist. Oh..and this thing is TINY!!!! About the size of a quarter, and it just hangs around your neck with necklace headphones.

If you haven't gotten one, or want to find a better alternative to iPods (it's not hard..honestly), then i strongly suggest a closer look at the MobiBlu Cube.

http://www.mobiblu.com

Down with Apple!!!!
 
I don't like Apple, either. My first computers were all Macs. And I can honestly say they just plain suck!
 
For graphic design work, video editing, and sound editing I've always found Mac to be superior. I'm not saying I have one or will get one. Just saying that they do better in some things.
 
I went with an iRiver MP3 player. It's a 20GB unit, using many of the audio componants that Apple uses with the iPod but without any of the DRM or iTunes hassles that you have to deal with with an iPod. Honestly, I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone would pay a premium for the Apple product, then have to jump through hoops with iTunes when you could have a player that IDs itself as a removable hard drive and to which you can simply drag-and-drop audio files into and out of. All I can think is that most people gravitate, lemming-like, to the product that the marketing people tell them is a "must have" item.

PS- the article you quoted states tha tthe 30GB iPod "is quiet because it has no moving parts". This is factually incorrect, unless Apple has totally changed the way that they make the iPods. While the smaller units like the Shuffle do use Flash memory, all of the larger iPods (at least as far as I know) all use micro-drives for storage- basically tiny hard drives with spinning platters. I say this because I'd hate for someone to buy an iPod for an activity like, say, jogging, based on this comment, and totally fubar thing thing with the jostling. if I'm incorrect about that with the version that's being reviewed LMK, but all of the units I've seen that are 10GB and over are almost universally based around micro-drives.
 
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Marketing is killing the tech market. The items you always hear about <caugh>iPod</caugh> usually are the bottom of the barrel in its market. I have always heard good thing about the iRiver and NEVER anything good about an iPod (besides that it looks cool). When are people going to realize to stop watching commercials and listening to all the non-technical people about how great some product is. The people who actually know what they are talking about rarely have a voice. Zack's voice should be heard loudly and clearly! Note: It's sad to me that even in an environment such as this, Zack's article received a 2/10 rating (at the time of this posting). WTF is wrong with everyone?
 
That's actually the score the iPod received FROM Zack.

Oh, and we can blame alot of the popularity of iPods on U2 and Paris Hilton. For one thing...I never liked U2 and Paris?...well I think we all know exactly what she's qualified for and it ain't reviewing any electronics that don't vibrate.
 
Hah! I agree with the overall lameness of the iPod. iTunes? Overpriced and more of a pain than a tool. Not to mention expensive, I'm sorry but I refuse to pay upwards of 10 thousand dollars to fill my music player of choice.
 
Interesting. Well, I shall provide the target for the rest of you all.

My family has always had Macs. When the first PCs were coming out, my dad made the decision to buy an Apple and we have stuck with it ever since. Now I am not an extremely technical person, but I will continue to support Apple until Microsoft takes them over. The only reason I may buy a PC is for games. But that is only when I have money.

For my 24 birthday, I got an iPod Mini. Now I do not know all of the features of the iPod video, so some of my information may be incorrect. But I love the Mini. I have driven home often and it is a 6-7 hour drive and my mini has yet to die on me. I also take it to the gym and have never had a problem with sound quality or the earbuds falling out.

I agree with Zack's hypothesis about Apple not including full 2 way communication in the iPod in an attempt to curb file sharing. It may have been a requirement from the record companies before they would allow Apple to license their songs for the Music Store.

Again, I have a Mac and I love iTunes. I thought its functionality was pretty simple. And there is a way to create playlists on the iPod Mini, again not certain about the video.

And since Windows Media Player works like crap on Apples, it isn't too surprising that Apple decided to enact a little payback

I do feel bad for people that misunderstood some of the iPod's features. I always thought that it was pretty clear. I knew about the lack of simultaneous Windows and Mac compatability and the lack of full two communication before I purchased one. I guess I am just an Apple geek.

I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future we see some of the additions that Zack mentioned as well, like Wi-Fi. And perhaps with Apple's move to Intel chips there may be simultaneous compatability on the horizon.
 
I agree, Windows Media player does NOT work well on Macs, never has. But with MOST mp3 players, you don't have to use ANY application...it's just a drag and drop process. Yet with iPods it seems to make you work the hard way to do simplistic tasks.

I also know that, yes, Mac's used to lead the way in various graphic designs, but I'm not so sure it quite owns that market like it used too. I've used various 3d and 2d apps on both platforms, and it always seems that windows apps are the current best out there. Sure, if you can stack 10 X-servers together you can have a powerhouse, but on their own merit, I've never seen one current Mac machine outperform a current Windows box. No denying, Mac was first with Photoshop, Maya, etc., but with multiple-button mice standard on Windows, it just makes things easier. Yes, I know most mice are also compatible with Mac's, but why not just give you a two or three button mouse from the get-go?

A few other big issues with Mac:

1. Upgradibility is almost impossible, forcing you to buy a new machine every two years or so.

2. Apple generally comes out with new updates to OS X every month or so. Often this renders alot of old applications useless.

3. I'll never understand why you have to buy OS 10, then have to buy OS 10.1, and then OS 10.3. All within about a year's timeframe. At least Windows usually comes out with OS's that last 4-5 years before having to buy a completely new OS (though ME, 2000, etc were disasters.)

4. iTunes is a total ripoff, when you can easily buy legal music online for 10 cents a song or less.

5. Macs are NOT immune to viruses..don't believe it. I've exterminated a few viruses from Macs in my time. There's alot more out there targeting Windows OS's for sure, but only because they hold the biggest install base.


Apple has some good ideas, granted, and they're a great marketing firm. Microsoft has definitely borrowed ideas from them, and generally improves upon them, but that's just business. It happens in every business.

I can't knock Apple for it's simplicity, design and niche market it goes for. It does that well. If you're going to do nothing but browse photo's, the internet, and type up some documents, a Macintosh is fine for you. If you want to stay leading edge, play games, or have endless options available, stick with PC's. Just my opinion though!

Good discussion!
 
First off, I want to thank all of you, especially Huddy for starting this thread, and for reading my article. I bought my 30GB iPod and have never been more pissed off at a product. But what really angers me is the fact that Apple never releases any of their lacking features to the public. The iPod doesn't even come with an instruction booklet. They just try and make the iPod look cool by having Bono sing or by having shadows dance that say "hey, buy me. I look cool. Just give in."

The truth is, the iPod has TONS of problems with it. But the thing is, Apple purposely made it that way. But the mass general public continues to buy this crap. We as the public should not be buying such garbage. Why? Because major companies will continue to make crap and we will continue to buy it. Any educated gadget user will immediately find the problems with the iPod unacceptable. But, unforunately, the general public arn't nerds like all of us at mygamer. So they just give in to the fancy commercials and Bono endorsed products.

I wrote that article with all hopes that the uneducated reader will take the time and read it and realize all its faults. But I just hope people read my article and decide NOT to buy one. The iPod is really a load of over priced and lacking piece of garage.

Please, I ask everyone here at MG not to buy an iPod and educate your friends on all its lacking features. We as the consumer, should never purchase such garbage. I also ask that if anyone has any other mp3 player, please write an informative review. Whenever I write my reviews, I always keep the consumer in mind. It has always been my goal to guide the reader's dollar. I ask every one here to spread the word and write reviews of any mp3 player that you may own. Not only will content like this bring in more reader/hits, but you should also take pride in knowning that your word will directed influence the public.

Just remember, and as Stan said in the last meeting, mygamer has always been about truth. As long as we write about the truth, mygamer will live and live strong.

-Zack
 
Wow, this thread has been very helpful. I was looking into buying an MP3 player this summer and I might have gone with an Apple iPod before reading Zack's article. The article was a great heads up, now I can focus on buying a cheaper MP3 player with better functionality. Nice work.
 
Hmmm, PoMo. We might need to get you singing a different tune if you are going to work for me in the GC department. WE ARE APPLE ALL THE WAY.

Ahhhh, just kidding.

"But seriously, I got 'em."
 
Postmodern,. there are tons of head-to-head reviews out there (just Google the term "MP3 Player Round-up" or something similar to get tons of links). The bottom line os that YES there are lots of alternatived to the iPod out there now and that lots of them are far easier to use than the Apple product. I personally recommend getting a player that is NOT dependant on iTunes or anyt other proprietary file transfer tool, but that's my preference. As someone that LOATHES Windows Media Player (I've owned Musicmatch Jukebox and WinAmp for almost 10 years now to give you an idea of how long I've been into the MP3 scene) I really think that a player that functions as a removable hard drive is the way to go. You should know, however, that even players like the iRiver, whch do not REQUIRE a software suite, usually still come with one that can be loaded to do things like easily create playlists.

Be warned, however, that those suites generally also include Digital Rights Management schemes in the background, and who knows how those can be used/misused by the RIAA going forward? As a user that has 100% of my music library ripped from my own personal CDs (I'm actually proud of the fact that I've never purchased a song online- those bastards had the chance to do that 10 years ago and they basically scoffed at the idea, so screw 'em I say) I actively fear anything that could one day prevent me from transferring my legitimately ripped and very extensive music library to another player, and you KNOW that they'd like nothing better than to force you to re-buy music you already own...

If you plan to use iTunes or Virgin's online store though, you'll almost certainly need to load your player's software, as the licensing tools are included in the pakage. When you downlad a song from any of the online stores, it comes bundled with a usage license and you'll need special software (and usually an active internet connection) toi validate that certifcate. As I said... PROUD of the fact that I've never purchased crappy, DRM-laden files from a online site... :cookiemon
 
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if i prevented just one person from buying an iPod, then all my work that i put into everything about it will have been worth it.
 
A testament to the USB drive functionality of Mp3 players:

I work for a staffing firm as a recruiter. A couple months ago I got my girlfriend an interview with a large company. Part of the interview was that she had to bring samples of her work. Rather than burning files or saving them to disk, she dropped them onto her Mp3 player, which only took a few seconds and she was out the door on her way to the interview.

When the woman who interviewed her asked for her work, my girlfriend told her it was on the Mp3 player and she would have to transfer the files to her computer. She responded, "I'm going to get some coffee, make it happen." A few seconds later all of the files were transferred. The woman was not only impressed with her work, but her out of the box thinking as well. Of course I wouldn't tell this story if she didn't get the job, landing me a nice commission, too.

The moral: Mp3 players can get you a job. Lol.
 
That may be true, but she wouldnt have been able to do that with an iPod due its lack of transfer function.