May 21, 2006

10 Things Your iPod Won't Tell You

My iPod says, "I know you're not thinking of buying me with that $2 in your wallet!" And then it calls store security.

posted by Koko 18 years ago
  • ┌──────────────────────────┐ │░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ │░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ │░░░       iPod     ■■■ ░░░│ │░░░                    ░░░│ │░░░ > iPod cannot lie. ░░░│ │░░░   iPod answers in  ░░░│ │░░░   affirmative. Yes ░░░│ │░░░   your bum does    ░░░│ │░░░   look big in that.░░░│ │░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ │░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ │░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ │░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ │░░░░░░░░░░ MENU ░░░░░░░░░░│ │░░░░░░░░          ░░░░░░░░│ │░░░░░░              ░░░░░░│ │░░░░                  ░░░░│ │░░░        ,~,         ░░░│ │░░░       /   \        ░░░│ │░░░ |◄◄  (     )   ►►| ░░░│ │░░░       \   /        ░░░│ │░░░        `-'         ░░░│ │░░░░                  ░░░░│ │░░░░░░              ░░░░░░│ │░░░░░░░░          ░░░░░░░░│ │░░░░░░░░░░ ► || ░░░░░░░░░░│ │░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ │░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ └──────────────────────────┘
  • ))) for another beaut' roryk!
  • my ipod told me to kill you all...
  • The lack of customer service is what cheeses me off the most about the way Apple's changed in recent years. I remember a time when I could talk to an Apple rep for as long as I needed to, in the process of fixing something -- and they seemed happy to hear from me! Soon you'll get a kick in the teeth and a lollipop. "Suck on the sucker, sucker!"
  • Seems like this guy wrote this article without ever actually using a competing korean knockoff device. I'd say the iPod is safe for a while yet.
  • A lot of this stuff either a) did not surprise me or b) isn't completely true (at least for my model). Who doesn't know that iTunes purchased music can only be played on an iPod? But you don't ever have to buy from iTunes, and I don't (for that and other reasons). They are right that a closed system would probably go out of business, but the iPod itself is not a closed system - I play all my mp3s (ripped with a free program) quite happily on it. If the iPod were a closed system, playing only protected AAC, I would never have gotten one. They are right that the accessories, even the important ones like plugs, are very expensive and increasingly the iPods don't come with anything. That's a downer. And the charges for phone service are insane - I had no idea (and it might influence my future choices whenever I replace my current player). But I haven't found my iPod to be fragile at all. Now, I have a mini-iPod, which may be totally different, but I have dropped it hard enough on to very hard tile to put dents into it at least twice, only to find it still playing. I was really sorry I dented it, but impressed with the strength. The battery life is also impressive - mine was advertised with "up to 18hours" (which I always take to be idealised anyways, but I got about 20. It may be down recently, but I can't tell (I only listen for a few hours at a time, not every day, and it slowly runs down like a cell phone). I will take to heart the advice about not charging while in its case, which I have been doing, but will stop. The issue with backup is true with all players - my iRiver documentation (on the website or in the manual, don't remember) said it was actually a regulation coming from the US government (that manufacturers had to design players that could only receive music, and not transfer it back to the computer, at least with the proprietary software). That said, there are many work arounds - and you don't have to pay money. You can just copy the files directly by looking at the "hidden files" on your iPod. The file names will be truncated, but I believe all the meta data is fine. The hearing thing is very true - as it was with my old Sony Walkman in 1989. (My grandfather told me to never listen to it above 2 on the scale, and I have tried to follow his advice in the 17 years since - my hearing is still pretty good). But I think I will go load that protect your ears software anyways, if they have it for the mini. Yes, they are out of date right after you've bought it (just like my laptop, my husband's new harddrive and every other piece of electronic equiptment on sale), but the crime wave can be dealt with really simply - don't wear the white ear buds. I have nicer ones from phillips anyways. How can anyone know what you have then? and with a funny case, it's even more private.
  • So, that pretty well covers all the objections (at least two were basically the same thing). Basically, when buying expensive electronic equiptment, do some research and get to know the pros and cons of said thing. When I got my player, I didn't go looking for an iPod (originally, I was going for a little player, but realised they would just frustrate me). I just found that at the time, they were the best value for money in my price and size range. I knew they wouldn't play OGG, but I only had one OGG file at the time (some of my friends have most of their collections in OGG). I also knew it would not work with a Linux computer, but I don't run one. Sometimes I wish I had gotten one of the 20GB iPods that were just going out at the time (for about the same price), but at the same time, I'm just at the limit of my 6GB and there have been times when I have been extremely happy with the very long battery life (like a 18+ hour bus and train trip across country - and it was still going. Nothing like beautiful Gamelan music to keep you feeling relaxed on the Greyhound).
  • scartol - do you think that customer care will be a serious factor in computer/electronic business in the future? I would have thought that the best way for a company to distinguish itself (especially if it can't corner hardware quality as well as Apple) would be to corner excellent service, but it seems that companies which had made their names based on service (eg Dell) are dropping that. If all companies go for terrible and fee-charging service, then there won't even be the chance to shop for service.
  • WHAT?!? Apple products need FIXING?!?!?
  • Well, we used to have telephone operators who would cheerily get the number for you. But THEN, they insisted you dial it yourself, while adding area codes and stuff. THEN, when I first started using MCI in the 70s, as a alternative to regional telephone companies, I had to dial an 800 number to reach a computer, input a complicated user code and dial the full telephone number I wanted to reach, which the computer would finally dial for me. Making a mistake somewhere in the 40 or so numbers made me want to throw my telephone through the window, but my company did save money. Luckily, MCI was forced to simplify its longon routine to compete. Fastforward to today, I do really miss the days when there were telephone operators, and, later, tech support folks who would helpfully work you through a problem without resorting to a scripted solution. It was nice to have human contact. On the other hand, I can understand the cost saving in not having to retain a lot of techies on the chance that they'd drag someone who has no computer smarts through a solution that most of us would find easily within our own experience or from internet sources. If my car goes wonkie, and my warranty has run out, I expect to pay to have it fixed, and to have done the necessary maintenance in the interim. As much as I miss the old days, I don't find it unreasonable to pay to have my computer constellation (hardware/software) analysed so that it's clear where the fix comes from. My biggest complaint re computer support is that so many providers hide the support contact information so that it's difficult to get advice, even if you're willing to pay.
  • I have to make a lot of phone calls to public schools for work. Gone are the days of the friendly semi-retired lady in the pastel cardigan ansewring the phone at the front desk (who's handing out the tardy slips these days, I can't say). If you don't know the extension you need, you can be stuck in recorded-enu hell for 15, 20 minutes before you can leave a message.
  • The only thing that kills me is that they didn't design it so you can replace the battery yourself. That strikes me as a particularly dickbrained idea from a design standpoint. Of course, then you get millions of users mailing them back with sixty bucks for a replacement, so I suppose it's good business sense, but not really the mark of a company that really cares about its users. *hugs cheapo Creative player*
  • "I'm destroying your hearing." Well, that's true, but that applies to everything from any kind of earphones to traffic noise and the damn muzak that is in every single place nowadays. And, in my case, too late.
  • what?
  • He said "I'm deploring your herring." Apparently not a fish fan.
  • Well, would he like a fairy tern, then?
  • 11. "Even though I look really spiff and all the cool kids have one, you don't really need me. I'm an item of consumer electronics - I don't complete you as a person." 12. "You don't like music half as much as you pretend to in order to impress members of the opposite sex." 13. "No one cares about your playlist, despite how carefully you crafted it to express how intelligent, sensitive, thoughtful, rockin', and/or hip you are." 14. "That thing about hot girls roaming the city, looking to "jack in" to the iPods of strange men in order to listen to their music? Ha ha! Yeah."
  • How could I forget? 15. "I pwnd your offspring."
  • my only problem with my ipod is that i can't turn it off...i can make it 'sleep', but unless i plug it in (an arduous chore) the sleep mode drains the battery in 2-3 days...(then it is OFF...recharge it, it stays off, and charged, like for weeks, until i turn it on again...then it refuses to turn off....grrr) does anyone know of a software fix for this? i would much rather wait the 2-3 seconds for it to 'start up' in exchange for a device that is ready to go when i pick it up off the floor of my car.
  • That happens to me too, sr - I didn't notice when I was listening everyday (and charging every few), but since I've been riding my bike instead of walking, I listen less often (as it's obviously not safe). I didn't know that I could charge it when it was in the "off" setting and it would stay off, that's interesting.
  • This guy exposed his bias when he stated in #1 "Apple is similarly positioned and could end up painting itself into a corner, just as it did with Macintosh" If the Macintosh painted Apple into a corner, I want to be in that same corner. Apple Stores are the fastest growing retail operation in the US, and the sales per sq. foot of store are higher than almost everything except your local crack dealer. The guy is an apple basher...he can go join the rest of them that stated 10 years ago that Apple was going to fold... /goes to listen to his iPod while he surfs on the PowerBook!
  • 16. iTunes is crap software, and you don't need it, much like the cable box that most companies force you to rent, not because you need it to actually watch TV but because it allows you the ability to purchase pay-per-view TV. There are better software solutions for Windows than iTunes. It's a resource hog, and refuses to play nice with my hardware (yes, iTunes, I have TWO GODDAMN CD BURNERS, thank you for asking - now will you let me use the one that I want, rather than the one you think is correct?) I mean, hell - I put in a blank CD, it says "Hey! A blank CD has been inserted! Wanna burn some music?" I say "sure" and then it says "OK - insert a blank CD!" I say "I did, moron." iTunes says "No, in your OTHER CD drive! Just because I recognize that you inserted a blank doesn't mean I'll actually let you use Drive 2!" hate it hate it hate it hate it. Works OK for mass-tagging multiple files, but for fuck's sake if you aren't going to buy at iTMS and you are even slightly software savvy, ditch iTunes. My wife has gotten used to it, so I'm stuck with it, but both of us use Winamp for everything else... ...and HuronBob - I'm not a Mac-head or anything - but my first thought on reading that sentence was "What... so now Microsoft is an 'open format' company? Riiiiight..."
  • Warranties and customer service are funny things, because the less you need of either, the better the product is to begin with. Therefore, getting the best product might mean getting a product with viperish customer service, and not using the customer service. That's not to excuse Apple, who have certainly gotten awfully mingy with their service. The ipod is not bad, but the hideous crapware that's iTunes turned me off of mine. It plays Christmas music for my girlfriend during the holidays. Now I have a Cowon X5, which gives you no nonsense about whose music is loaded on it.
  • That article is full of so many lies and half-truths I wouldn't be suprised if the author was Bill gates. 1."At issue is Apple's proprietary format, which makes the iPod incompatible with other digital-music technology." -- the most common of which is made by microsoft. Of course the real issue isn't Apple, but DRM which limits users choices. If more online stores like emusic and Audio Lunchbox would sell you pure mp3s without DRM, then it wouldn't be a problem. And yet, all the music I've bought from eMusic and Audio Lunchbox works fine on my ipod. 2. "Customer service is a privilege, not a right." Is Apple the only company with crappy tech support? I think not. (I've never called Apple about my ipod, though, so I am pleading ignorance on this one) 3. "If you drop me, I'm toast." WTF?? I've dropped mine several times. Moreover, they are talking about ALL harddrive players, not simply the ipod. 4. "You say 'backup'; we say 'copyright infringement.'" The even admit this is because of the RIAA. Does any player allow you to take the music off of it? Regardless, you can back up the music from your harddrive. Sure it may be inconvienient that you can't see the songs on your ipod as normal files, but is backing up the songs on your harddrive that hard? 5. "My battery life is pathetic." I've only my own experience but I've owned my ipod for more than 3 years and haven't had a problem with battery life. I know anecdotal evidence is not a real counter to what most people encounter, but I really feel that the battery issue is incredibly overblown. 6. "I'm destroying your hearing." What? Loud music can damage your hearing? That's umpossible! Another overblown issue that has been around since the walkman was introduced. 7. "I'm out of date before I'm out of the box." because, all of my other electronics remain state of the art forever... It may be frustrating when they change things, but how frustrating would it be for that guy with the expensive car if he had bought something besides an ipod? 8. "I've sparked a crime wave." Right. Sure it has. Does anyone think this is anything more than FUD and slow news day filler? 9. "We'll nickel-and-dime you any chance we get." Well that is kind of crappy, but Apple isn't the only one who does things like that. 10. "Once you go iPod, you're locked in for life." Yes, because every song I've ever bought has been AAC. I've never listened to or bought music before I got an ipod. Sure, you may be forced to burn to a cd and reencode the songs that you've bought from itunes, but if you can afford to fill up an ipod with songs you bought for 99 cents each, you can afford to pay your butler to reencode them for you, right? So out of those 10 what do we have left? Possibly crappy customer service, and they charge for accessories. Man, apple sucks! (note, an ipod is the only apple product I've ever owned, so it isn't as if I'm an apple fanboy (although I am sitting in a Mac computer lab on campus as a write this, but that's only because I have the entire lab to mayself and the windows labs have people in them.))
  • I love how the college's solution to iPod theft was to ban iPods. Man, they could really be onto something! If we can just ban money, fancy sneakers, expensive jewelry, and car stereos, it will totally solve our crime problem. Instead of being mugged, people would, I don't know, exchange lentil soup recipes or something. GENIUS!
  • mechagrue: The secret is to cook your lentils in a rice cooker and then mash them slightly before making the soup. They get super-mushy that way, and you get the benefit of really thick, super-good lentil soup without the need to simmer it forever. And split pea? Holy hell. The rice cooker method makes the best split pea soup - combine that with a good quality ham stock (you can find a few concentrated packaged varieties that are pretty good) andsome pre-cooked ham, and your friends will swear you've been brewing it up for days when you really only had to cook it for about 20 minutes, plus steaming time.
  • *furiously takes notes in notepad, transfers them to cheapo Creative player*
  • What is it with this IPod thing? Ha! Real music fans run around with a turntable playing at 45 rpm strapped to their heads.
  • Real music fans run around with a turntable playing at 45 rpm strapped to their heads. So you think I should upgrade from the band of merry minstrels that follows me around?
  • I don't think they're that merry. That one guy is scowling.
  • All the cool people use Laser-based record players instead of needles anyway...
  • All the cool people who have an extra fifteen grand lying around. /drools
  • I had a portable turntable back in the 80's. Pop a 12" on that baby and the vinyl extended out beyond the reaches of the player - - big spinning wheel 'o vinyl. It had a convenient strap so that you could sling it across your back/chest. There was a fixed needle, and some sort of rubber clamp. It rarely skipped... /old skool-badass
  • Ah you lucky smt. I lusted after one of these, saved up for it... then ended up buying a sony recorder, a walkman-sized one. Ah.
  • And split pea? Holy hell. The rice cooker method makes the best split pea soup - combine that with a good quality ham stock (you can find a few concentrated packaged varieties that are pretty good) andsome pre-cooked ham, and your friends will swear you've been brewing it up for days when you really only had to cook it for about 20 minutes, plus steaming time. posted by caution live frogs at 06:23PM UTC on May 22, 2006 I have a rice-maker - and some split peas I haven't known what to do with. This is very exciting. Is this from dried? My package says we should boil the split peas first. Also, what's the water to pea ratio that we should do in the rice maker?
  • Also, would some nice back bacon work well instead of ham? Could be fried up, added for flavour.
  • iTunes will fuck up your split peas, too. It is eevil.
  • Some Swedish queen's recipe for split pea soup, according to my stepfather and second wife (both of whom are pushing up daisies. Though the soup is quite nice.) Rinse a package of split peas according to package instructions. Put in large pot, add a chopped onion, a sliced rib of celery, a bay leaf and a teaspoon of dried rosemary leaves, crumbled. Add a bit of chopped ham or bacon if you want, though that isn't in the original recipe. Add enough water to drown the peas in three to four times their depth and simmer for a hour or so till they disntegrate. In the meantime, make a ten-inch frying pan full of smallish (inch wide) balls of some not pre-cooked sausage (American style breakfast sausage works well, all sagey and nice, but I don't know what you have there) and fry them until browned on all sides. Dump the sausage balls into the soup, and simmer for another half hour. The soup should have thickened into pease porridge hot. Saltine crackers are a good accompaniement. It's a lot of soup for two people, though. I haven't tried cutting the recipe down.
  • godcasting...
  • Only $99.95! *fires up BibleTorrent*
  • "Plugging into God Without Unplugging From Life" Yay!
  • Please do not yell out in church. /Lovejoy
  • Gobble, gobble, GoBible. Fisch schtick is a Bible pirate. Arrrrr.
  • 1. Produce mp3s of bible readings. 2. Sell mp3 player loaded with said readings. 3. Prophet!
  • *throws stones*
  • Oh, bah. If people can't be responsible enough for their own behavior not to step out in front of a bus, then what hope is there for humanity?