StarDestroyer.Net BBS

I've decided that my Christmas present to myself will most likely be an Ipod. I'm between the 20G and 40G version. The 20g is obvioulsy cheaper for one and more practically I rarely exceed 10gigs with my current player so 20 should suit my needs nicely. The 40 gig insures I won't have to ever upgrade and it comes with the plug in stand that I would have to buy seperately with the 20 g machine.

My issues are just simple concerns. Durability, ease of use, and I own a Dell machine so with this new generation of Ipods is it really OK to use with PC's now? I've been lusting after an Ipod for some time now and just wanted to get some comments befoe making that purchase.

I got a 40gig model for my birthday this year and so far i've liked it. It's a good music player that doesn't skip, and i can use it to store back ups for my PC. Having the 40gig means that i don't really have to worry about runnig outof space.
If you have Windows then all you need to do is install iTunes and your sorted as long as Gripe 1 doen't apply to you.
But here's my gripes:

1 - It says USB on the box, but unless it's a High power USB your going to spend ages getting a lot of songs on. Don't know how fast a firewire works. (iPod works with both firewire and USB)

2 - Twice since i got it my iPod (round about 30th of sept this year) it has just frozen up and wont play, wont turn off, wont even aknowlege the lock switch. I got round this by just waiting for the battery to run out then sticking it back on the charger. I think this has something to do with over heating as both times IIRC i'd had it on for about 7 or 8 hours. It was annoying, but i can live without my iPod for a couple of hours while it runs out and charges up, and none of the data is corrupted.

3 - It did seem a little over priced for what it is (though i have no comparison for a 40gig disk), and my christmas present budget is down because of that.
Having said that, i just went and looked at all the stuff i don't use and i found games (including arkanoid, solitaire and a funky music quiz based off of your music), a text file viewer, calendar with alarm and a contact list manager. I just realised i can stick Starcrossed and Blood of Heroes on my iPod and read them when i want, apply what ever value you want to these features.

4 - Uni security branch suggested that people with iPod's get some different headphones as the white mac headphones are easily recognised as iPod headphones. I guess this applies to every security consious person and not just students.

5 - The little wheelie dial selector thing is good for fast forwarding, altering the volume, etc, but if your music collection is large it can be a pain to skip through every artist to get to ZZ Top or U2

Taking the above into account i still like it, i just consider it a bit overpriced.

Sidenote: If you want to use it like a hard drive as well as a music player you'll need to tinker some options in iTunes before it works properly.

I like my iPod, but it can be a pain in the ass without USB2.0 or Firewire. With Firewire, though, shit just flies right onto your iPod. It's a nifty little device but iTunes can eat up a lot of memory and the selection on the iTunes Music Store is quite lacking.

4 - Uni security branch suggested that people with iPod's get some different headphones as the white mac headphones are easily recognised as iPod headphones. I guess this applies to every security consious person and not just students.

I got myself some with a pink tinge, No one touches me!! Dark clothing, black jacket... PINK HEADPHONES!!!

Although, i recommend something from the creative range, particularly the Zen Touch. Cheaper and Better. Your paying for the name with I-POD and it isn't worth the extra cost considering its technically an inferiour product.

I detest Creative Labs, personally.

My sister has a 20GB 4G iPod and it is quite nice. Make sure you have USB2.0 or FireWire/iLink/IEEE1394 ports otherwise you'll spend ages trying to upload anything into the iPod.

phongn wrote:I detest Creative Labs, personally.

well i detest apple, so there

Zac Naloen wrote:well i detest apple, so there

Creative litigated Aureal out of business, bought them and sat on their superior technology whilst peddling EAX junk. They also can't do proper sample conversion for the life of them.

I love my 20 GB iPod. Just make sure you have USB 2.0 or FireWire ports on your machine, or music transfer will take forever.

And get yourself a pair of Ety ER-6i earbuds which were specifically designed for the iPod. They're a bit on the pricy side unfortunately...

Stravo wrote:I've decided that my Christmas present to myself will most likely be an Ipod. I'm between the 20G and 40G version. The 20g is obvioulsy cheaper for one and more practically I rarely exceed 10gigs with my current player so 20 should suit my needs nicely. The 40 gig insures I won't have to ever upgrade and it comes with the plug in stand that I would have to buy seperately with the 20 g machine.

My issues are just simple concerns. Durability, ease of use, and I own a Dell machine so with this new generation of Ipods is it really OK to use with PC's now? I've been lusting after an Ipod for some time now and just wanted to get some comments befoe making that purchase.

iPods are sweet.

Anyway, yeah, just install iTunes for Windows and you're set. I really hope you have USB 2.0- how old is your Dell? It requires USB 2.0 or FireWire.

Durability: Never seen someone break an iPod via use. I do know someone with a first gen 5GB iPod (the one with the physical wheel on it), the thing is beat up, the protective case he has is cracked all over, etc, and it still runs

Ease of use: iTunes streamlines it. Very easy.

aerius wrote:And get yourself a pair of Ety ER-6i earbuds which were specifically designed for the iPod. They're a bit on the pricy side unfortunately...

What, not ER-4 or E5c? How about toting around some HD580s or DT880s?

phongn wrote:

aerius wrote:And get yourself a pair of Ety ER-6i earbuds which were specifically designed for the iPod. They're a bit on the pricy side unfortunately...

What, not ER-4 or E5c? How about toting around some HD580s or DT880s?

Please tell me those headphones aren't as big as their names...

phongn wrote:What, not ER-4 or E5c? How about toting around some HD580s or DT880s?

The Ety ER-4 is too sterile sounding for me, incredibly detailed, but not very much fun. I have not heard the Shure E5c yet.
And wearing HD580s or DT880s in public will look incredibly dorky to say the least.

Praxis wrote:Please tell me those headphones aren't as big as their names...

The ER-4 & E5c are earbuds, technically they're canalphones, but basically they're soundproof earbuds. The HD580 & DT880 are full-size headphones which are about the size of those orange construction worker earmuffs.

aerius wrote:The Ety ER-4 is too sterile sounding for me, incredibly detailed, but not very much fun. I have not heard the Shure E5c yet.
And wearing HD580s or DT880s in public will look incredibly dorky to say the least.

Don't forget to tote around you headphone amp as well

Praxis wrote:Please tell me those headphones aren't as big as their names...

The ER-4 & E5c are earbuds, technically they're canalphones, but basically they're soundproof earbuds. The HD580 & DT880 are full-size headphones which are about the size of those orange construction worker earmuffs.

IOW, the sizes of them are proportional to the number within their names

I was doing some more window shopping for the Ipods and noticed that there are HP Ipods and regular Ipods. Many of the HP Ipods have been getting mixed reviews while some insist that they are exactly the same save for the HP logo. What exactly are the differences if any and should I stick to just getting an Apple Ipod?

They're the same thing.

phongn wrote:They're the same thing.

So there's no advantage to getting either one? One won't work better with a PC than another? If so I'm not sure what the benefit to either company is to allow the two to sell Ipods.

I've got a 20GB 4G iPod, and all the bad things that have happened have been my own fault

People keep telling me they're overpriced, but people are stupid. A 256MB flash-style MP3 player can cost up to AU$250, and my iPod cost AU$475. The iRiver and Creative offerings were not as small, well designed, etc. Its small, its light, its covered in a sheath of scratch-attracting delicate flower plastic. Everyone can use 100% of my iPods functionality after 30seconds of interface use.

The initial transfer of my music to the iPod took (I think) an hour or two on FireWire. After that my occasional additions only take a few seconds or minutes to update. Bear in mind you can't actually turn an iPod 'off' so after a few days you MUST charge it; I use the USB on my PS2 to charge it at work.

I'd love to replace my buds; they sound okay, but the cords are uber-tangle design, and that really gets in the way, since I'm jamming it in my pocket all the time.

Stark wrote:I've got a 20GB 4G iPod, and all the bad things that have happened have been my own fault

People keep telling me they're overpriced, but people are stupid. A 256MB flash-style MP3 player can cost up to AU$250, and my iPod cost AU$475. The iRiver and Creative offerings were not as small, well designed, etc. Its small, its light, its covered in a sheath of scratch-attracting delicate flower plastic. Everyone can use 100% of my iPods functionality after 30seconds of interface use.

The initial transfer of my music to the iPod took (I think) an hour or two on FireWire. After that my occasional additions only take a few seconds or minutes to update. Bear in mind you can't actually turn an iPod 'off' so after a few days you MUST charge it; I use the USB on my PS2 to charge it at work.

I'd love to replace my buds; they sound okay, but the cords are uber-tangle design, and that really gets in the way, since I'm jamming it in my pocket all the time.

I know what you mean. On the SGN boards there is a raving Creative Zen fan club, and they've branded me an "Apple fanboy" because I like iPods better than Zens, since after all PC Magazine, PC World, and Mobile PC all agreed with me on that. Okay, so I admit to a bit of fanboyism on Macs themselves, but I've been doing better

The Creative Zen is probably the only real competitor. But I don't see how people can call the iPod overpriced. The Zen is a whopping $30 cheaper (wow! ), is nearly twice as heavy, considerably thicker, doesn't organize playlists well, has a slightly harder-to-use control scheme, and the only plus is that it's battery life is insanely long (24 hours or so). Why it's better than the iPod even though its fatter and heavier? "The iPod is so light, well, uh, it'll fall out of your pocket!!!111" *snicker*.

I don't get the whole overpriced arguement. They USED to be (10 gig iPod was the same price as 20 gig Zen for a very short time before the iPod went to 15 gigs then 20), but they haven't been in a while.

Stravo wrote:So there's no advantage to getting either one? One won't work better with a PC than another? If so I'm not sure what the benefit to either company is to allow the two to sell Ipods.

It was a cross-licensing thing as I understand it. HP would put iTunes software on some of their products as well as selling the rebranded iPods. Basically it works out to increased market visibility for the iPod and iTunes, and thus they should be able to move more product and make more money, in theory. I'm not sure how well it worked out in real life though.

So *thats* the angle. I figured it was just more HP-rebranding madness.

Stark wrote: Bear in mind you can't actually turn an iPod 'off' so after a few days you MUST charge it; I use the USB on my PS2 to charge it at work.

What the fuck are you talking about? Just hold down the play button for about 2 seconds and it turns off.

Oooh, this iPod thing sounds pretty sweet...would a Dell Inspiron 600m have USB 2.0 or "firewire?"

HemlockGrey wrote:Oooh, this iPod thing sounds pretty sweet...would a Dell Inspiron 600m have USB 2.0 or "firewire?"

You don't need hi-power USB, but it would probably help. It took me about 6 hours to get all my 900+ songs onto the iPod with a standard USB.

I have barely 150 songs, so I suppose I'll be fine...