iLounge

Will any MP3 player ever catch Apple's iPod?

One thing I hate about iPods is that they are database-driven (through iTunes). This is fine when you are beginning with audio and know jack about MP3s, but when you want to build up a complete collection its a pain in the a**. iTunes hides too much of the details from me. I am *this close* to trading up to a Neuros or Archos or Karma that will let me mount the device as a simple hard drive on my deskop and move file folders at will.

in general a database-based system
plugs the songs into a database with fields like title, group, genre and so
on. The plus is you can re-arrange the presentation by, for example, genre,
instead of whatever hierarchy you have them arranged on your hard drive. The
minus is that you have to run all your music through some sort of host-based
software. That software is where Apples does such evil as DRM.

A file-based system works just like, say, WinAmp on a PC. It plays files
that contain MP3 sound data. The plus is, of course, that you only need copy
the files to your machine to have them available to play. The minus is, they
present in the file tree hierarchy you’ve specified. Most of the minus is
overcome by playlists, particularly in conjunction with a programs that can build playlists according to genre or other ID3 info.

I prefer the file based architecture. No host PC software is required and the audio player can function on its own. That’s what held up “on the go” playlists on the iPod for so long, this crazy reliance on the “socializing” over-reaching iTunes and the necessity to redock with the Mac to change stuff on the iPod.

Posted by BetterMP3 on September 25, 2003 at 3:26 PM (PST)

It's an iPod World at Macworld

isnt this a bit old   now its 10 30 and 40 gig ipods why dont you give this the flick and have some NEW news

Posted by ryan on September 22, 2003 at 7:56 PM (PST)

iPod Adventures in the Middle East: Part I

Hey, just wanted to commend t-slice for his saint-like patience and tact… i would have lost my temper with a few posts by people who shall remain nameless. *cough*noname*sneeze* funny cold i’ve got…  anyway, thanks for the great article, and good luck!

Posted by veruca_salt on September 21, 2003 at 6:56 PM (PST)

iPod Adventures in the Middle East: Part I

Hey, just wanted to commend t-slice for his saint-like patience and tact… i would have lost my temper with a few posts by people who shall remain nameless. *cough*noname*sneeze* funny cold i’ve got…  anyway, thanks for the great article, and good luck!

Posted by veruca_salt on September 21, 2003 at 6:55 PM (PST)

iPod Adventures in the Middle East: Part I

Hey, just wanted to commend t-slice for his saint-like patience and tact… i would have lost my temper with a few posts by people who shall remain nameless. *cough*noname*sneeze* funny cold i’ve got…  anyway, thanks for the great article, and good luck!

Posted by veruca_salt on September 21, 2003 at 6:55 PM (PST)

iPod Adventures in the Middle East: Part I

Hey, just wanted to commend t-slice for his saint-like patience and tact… i would have lost my temper with a few posts by people who shall remain nameless. *cough*noname*sneeze* funny cold i’ve got…  anyway, thanks for the great article, and good luck!

Posted by veruca_salt on September 21, 2003 at 6:53 PM (PST)

iPod Adventures in the Middle East: Part I

Hey, just wanted to commend t-slice for his saint-like patience and tact… i would have lost my temper with a few posts by people who shall remain nameless. *cough*noname*sneeze* funny cold i’ve got…  anyway, thanks for the great article, and good luck!

Posted by veruca_salt on September 21, 2003 at 6:51 PM (PST)

iPod Adventures in the Middle East: Part I

Hey, just wanted to commend t-slice for his saint-like patience and tact… i would have lost my temper with a few posts by people who shall remain nameless. *cough*noname*sneeze* funny cold i’ve got…  anyway, thanks for the great article, and good luck!

Posted by veruca_salt on September 21, 2003 at 6:40 PM (PST)

iPod Adventures in the Middle East: Part I

Hey, just wanted to commend t-slice for his saint-like patience and tact… i would have lost my temper with a few posts by people who shall remain nameless. *cough*noname*sneeze* funny cold i’ve got…  anyway, thanks for the great article, and good luck!

Posted by veruca_salt on September 21, 2003 at 6:40 PM (PST)

iPod Adventures in the Middle East: Part I

Hey, just wanted to commend t-slice for his saint-like patience and tact… i would have lost my temper with a few posts by people who shall remain nameless. *cough*noname*sneeze* funny cold i’ve got…  anyway, thanks for the great article, and good luck!

Posted by veruca_salt on September 21, 2003 at 6:40 PM (PST)

iPod Adventures in the Middle East: Part I

Hey, just wanted to commend t-slice for his saint-like patience and tact… i would have lost my temper with a few posts by people who shall remain nameless. *cough*noname*sneeze* funny cold i’ve got…  anyway, thanks for the great article, and good luck!

Posted by veruca_salt on September 21, 2003 at 6:39 PM (PST)

iPods for Windows: It's a good thing?

iTunes is a nice starter program for beginners, but on Windows you have the option of using Media Jukebox/Center—this is the benchmark against which all other Jukebox software is found wanting.

http://www.musicex.com/mediacenter/

And yes, it syncs with the iPod, Smartlists, streaming, WMA/MP3/Quicktime/Real/OGG support, transcoding, visuals to die for, supports Tivo, and infinitely customizable. iTunes is a toy by comparison. Don’t be delusional—there’s so few choices for the MacOS that iTunes looks good. Big fish, small pond.

Posted by itunessucks on September 21, 2003 at 10:13 AM (PST)

iPods for Windows: It's a good thing?

aaron, people preach when they are frightened.. are you frightened.

ipod is not going to make people switch to mac. software compatability and the ability to turn ‘dumb end user’ mode off will make people switch to mac.

sam

Posted by sam the man on September 20, 2003 at 9:03 PM (PST)

MWNY03: A look at iPod accessories

Can any one tell me when or if anybody is producing a wireless all-in-one car unit for the new generation ipod? Cheers

Posted by Acer on September 17, 2003 at 4:14 AM (PST)

Will any MP3 player ever catch Apple's iPod?

Farce.

Posted by James on September 13, 2003 at 12:36 PM (PST)

New iPod Reactions: Accessory Makers and an Author

The one thing I can’t find on all these accessories sites is a mount to safely hold the iPod in the car. They have everything to use it in the car, but nothing to secure it. Especially one that will work with the 3G.

Posted by S.J. on September 12, 2003 at 10:18 PM (PST)

Wishing for a play queue for iPod

Just started to play around with OTG. Seems to work fine (2.0.1, 15G). Start it off with a song, keep adding others (songs or albums) in and the playlist keeps going and going and going…

Posted by Chris on September 11, 2003 at 8:26 PM (PST)

iPod Adventures in the Middle East: Part I

Just had to say that the ipod works great in the 145 degree heat and sand.  One of the lads on our CATA team has an 20 GB ipod and some external speakers.  It has provided us a lot of enjoyment in some nasty conditions.  P.S. Iraqis don’t like Social Distortion, it does absolutely nothing to win their hearts and minds-I knew there was a reason we invaded-other than the oil that is….

Posted by Crisis_12 on September 11, 2003 at 2:23 AM (PST)

iPod Adventures in the Middle East: Part I

Hey T!

Man, I’ve got every respect for what you’re doing out there.  Although you had no part for what happened, it’s good to know that people are risking themselves to rebuild the lives of others.  Even if it’s the pay cheques that are doing the ‘persuading’. *lol!*

And I thought the ‘tanks’ were the current Archos Jukeboxes myself… oh well!

I’ve got a v.v.reduced in price 30Gb Ipod reserved for me - brought back to shop for some reason, reduced from £399 to £349 from price drop, then down to £149 as a ‘managers special’.  And it’s all mine!  :D

I’ll be joining the RAF on January 7th so there’s going to be an Ipod joining up the services as a new recruit, and exploring the world through the eyes of the RAF!  Biggles, stiff upper lip, tea, England and all that wot wot!  :D

Posted by Sensei Kat on September 10, 2003 at 1:22 PM (PST)

Will any MP3 player ever catch Apple's iPod?

Charles,

My dear friend, get a life.  Maybe you should consider getting surgery to remove YOUR hand from your dick.

Thanks to all those that actually privided usefull information to the rest of the world.

Posted by Al on September 7, 2003 at 9:15 PM (PST)

Will any MP3 player ever catch Apple's iPod?

Ended up getting a Creative Nomad Zen and very happy with it. The Ipod 10 gb was 459 canadian, and the nomad was 474 canadian and it had 20 gb, lots of features, not as compact as the ipod but then I dont think there are any that are smaller but its not too much bigger and it comes with a protective case and belt strap. I would recommend this.

Posted by Tom on September 7, 2003 at 5:50 AM (PST)

Will any MP3 player ever catch Apple's iPod?

sure

Posted by Ben on September 7, 2003 at 4:48 AM (PST)

Switching from MP3 to AAC Without Losing Your Mind

does anyone know if car MP3/CD Decks will start supporting AAC anytime soon.  MY old Alpine HEad Unti is starting to puke on me.  I’m looking at getting the CDA-9807 and connecting my iPod to it. It would be nice to be able to play AAC cd’s on it as well.
I just converted my Library to AAC. So all of my MP3’s are gone. And I don’t feel like re-re-ripping. Guess i shouldda thought of this first.

Posted by philldo on September 6, 2003 at 5:08 AM (PST)

Will any MP3 player ever catch Apple's iPod?

I’m considering to buy an iPod but I have one short question:  can the new iPod play mixed CD tracks gaplessly? Thanks.

Posted by Xavier on September 6, 2003 at 1:51 AM (PST)

Will any MP3 player ever catch Apple's iPod?

Come on, Apple was just marketed out of the buisness from the start by Bill Gates, a marketing genius.  Apples are far superior when dealing with reliablity, security, functionality, and looks. Who cares though, I mean if you like your PC, that’s cool, keep using it, but next time you buy a computer read some about the G5…
I have an old 20GB model that has lasted a year of constant abuse, I’ve never reset it, never had any problem whatsoever.  I also have a friend with a 15GB version who had the battery problem, remember, as with every Lithium device, you must charge it fully before you start taking it from it’s power source.  That means a full 2hrs of charging!!!!!
I have to give Apple mad props for releasing the magnificent iPod, but remember that isn’t Apple’s only product, look into some of their software/hardware, almost all of it is great stuff.

Posted by Ben on September 4, 2003 at 9:50 AM (PST)