iLounge

Backstage: iPods taking slow boat from China

I’m from the UK and ordered my 4th gen iPod when it became first became available and exactly 15 days on and STILL I haven’t received it!...Although I didn’t specify overnight delivery it shouldn’t take this long either cus it said once shipped will take 3-5 business days! (Shipped on the 26/07/04, the last possible promised ship date!).

Not a happy chappy at all!!!!

Am I just impatient or is this normal as I am a first tiem iPod buyer?

Posted by Richard on August 3, 2004 at 11:46 AM (PST)

Backstage: New iPod 4G diagnostics

Adam, you’re an idiot. there is no way thats a colour screen… USE YOUR BRAIN!

Posted by Me.... on August 2, 2004 at 11:20 PM (PST)

Backstage: New iPod 4G diagnostics

In contrast test I almost looks like the LCD could REALLY be a color screen???
Maybe a hidden feature?

Posted by Adam on August 2, 2004 at 1:07 PM (PST)

Backstage: New iPod 4G diagnostics

I’m not sure if the optical sensor could be used for more than one thing…... Why not use it as a high-speed data connection for an LCD remote as well as a recording port for a mic / digi line in / data (vid/photo) out. The bandwidth would let ipod share the connection with two or more devices would it not?

Posted by James on August 2, 2004 at 4:14 AM (PST)

Backstage: iPod, iPod, iPod, iRiver

wow, iRiver, wow. What can you say. I have used iPods before, but while they are, simple to use, I think you have to be simple to buy one as well. I am an avid iriver fan, and I am about to buy my third, and biggest (as in most expensive) iRiver product, the new H340.

People who say they are complicated, don’t know what they are talking about. It is like saying apples taste like pears because you have eaten fruit. There is no comparasion to be made, because they use different systems. The iRiver product may seam “complicated” to the lay person who has not owned an iRiver product, but once you get used to it (and that does not take long, it took me about 20 minutes to learn all the important features, without the manual) the device is as easy to use, if not easier then an iPod. Navigation on the H and iMp series is very simple.

When it comes to features, does the iPod even come close? I don’t think so. The iPod is the rock while iRiver products are more the bows and arrows, they are far more advanced and generous then iPod. I will never buy an ipod, whose only real advantage over iRiver is exterior design.

All that said, the only problem, and it is a Major problem, is support. It dosn’t exist for the Englisg speeking world, that said, I have had problems and have had to send my unit back to get replaced, and it was all taken care of effeciently and effectivley.

Posted by MunkiFisht on August 1, 2004 at 9:11 AM (PST)

Backstage: iLounge on new servers

Help1

Why cant i post anywhere else but in backstage?

I keep getting this message and have emailed ipod lounge but dont get an answer
This is the mesage I keep getting;

  vBulletin Message

You do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:
You do not have permission to access the page that you were trying to. Are you trying to edit someone else’s post or trying to access administrative features? Check that you are allowed to perform this action in the Forum Rules.

If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

Posted by raincoast in Nanaimo BC on July 31, 2004 at 7:05 AM (PST)

Backstage: On RealNetworks and the iPod

Is it just me, or does anyone else really just want to watch Jobs’ screaming hissy fit he threw when this came to the news? I’ll bet that was NOT a happy day around the Apple campus. (Cept maybe in the legal department)

Posted by Ghent on July 31, 2004 at 2:27 AM (PST)

Backstage: New iPod 4G diagnostics

Hi,

If you fiddle around with the contrast tests it sure looks like there is different shades of blue going on (more of a cyan colour actually).

Posted by David on July 30, 2004 at 8:14 PM (PST)

Backstage: Leander on iSkin v. Lajo

I think the punishement meted out by Dennis is appropriate.  The measures taken by ####, regardless of who caused the split between he and Ackloo, is completely unacceptable. It provided him a way to slander the competition without being harmed in the process, while Ackloo’s method of cutting off supply of his products could have resulted in that particular distributor just saying, “Ok, we won’t sell your product”.  This would have been GOOD for ####.

Posted by Lindan in Las Vegas on July 30, 2004 at 5:04 PM (PST)

Backstage: New iPod 4G diagnostics

Dude, optical would be the be-oh-em-be and could mean real recording capabilities! It should be relatively easy to determine if there is an optical sensor at the bottom of the jack.

Posted by errble on July 30, 2004 at 11:24 AM (PST)

Backstage: New iPod 4G diagnostics

Will this work on the 3Gs as well? I tried it on mine and got no love whatsoever.

Posted by Tracy on July 30, 2004 at 10:14 AM (PST)

Backstage: Leander on iSkin v. Lajo

“I just wish that Denis would put aside his personal ‘problem’ with #### and have #### products represented here like anyone else’s.”

“Personal problem”? #### abused their privileges here. They were advertising in the forums (against the rules) and publishing fake comments under other names (also against the rules). Even worse, those pseudonymous comments were criticisms of their competition.

I help run some other forums, and the only way to ensure that vendors don’t break these rules is to punish them for doing so.

Posted by audio geek on July 30, 2004 at 5:53 AM (PST)

Backstage: New iPod 4G diagnostics

Parappa is da man.

Posted by Dr. Webster on July 30, 2004 at 3:30 AM (PST)

Backstage: Leander on iSkin v. Lajo

So what are the key differences in ####’s and iSkin’s current line up?

Posted by The Dude. on July 30, 2004 at 2:24 AM (PST)

Backstage: Leander on iSkin v. Lajo

I just wish that Denis would put aside his personal “problem” with #### and have #### products represented here like anyone else’s.  I acknowledge to some extent this does occur (eg in reviews and new release news), but banning #### from advertising and not including #### in the list of manufacturers invited to comment on the 4gen iPod smacks of ‘cutting off your nose to spite your face’

Surely Denis is mature enough to separate #### - the person from #### - the manufacturing company.

Posted by Piquet on July 29, 2004 at 11:57 PM (PST)

Backstage: Early iPod 4G review comments

Hey, has anyone noticed that the 4th Gen iPod turns on when headphones are plugged in and pauses when they are removed?

Posted by Bill Sanders on July 29, 2004 at 5:14 PM (PST)

Backstage: On RealNetworks and the iPod

I’m a new iPod user and I guess I’m in the minority in thinking the deployment of Harmony was a huge faux pas by Real. Real is trying to save their company using any measure whether good or bad. They complain about proprietary data and open source and their product doesn’t even run on Mac. Why would I form a relationship if I am Apple with a company that doesn’t bring anything to me? How is a partnership advantageous to Apple?  It just doesn’t make good business sense. If Apple did not continue to provide innovative products then I would be concerned, however that has not been the case.

The bigger issue I have with Harmony is the hacker aspect of it - so basically Real makes an offer to Apple - it’s refused, they then hack the product?!  So Oracle can then do this to Peoplesoft? (not a good analogy but you get the gist) Fundamentally how is that a good thing for a company to react in such a way? This is pure ego stuff disguised as “good for the consumer”. Real is just trying to keep their company afloat because their business plan did not fully anticipate or appreciate their competition or the market. That is simply bad business in my mind. Yeah, Apple did flip them the bird so to speak when they rebuffed Glaser in such an overt way (email leak) so to me this is Glaser’s “pay back time”. Again bad business.
Long term strategy - if this is Real’s business ethics do you as a business want to openly link yourself with such a company?  I’m not dumb enough to think ethics go out the door all of the time but in such a blatant way is not a wise decision. He is also marketing users to cheer on a David vs. Goliath situation. Uhm Real is not a small programmer who is being unfairly put upon.  To think otherwise is naive.

Posted by aec on July 29, 2004 at 1:48 PM (PST)

Backstage: On RealNetworks and the iPod

I think it’s important, in fact, absolutely vital for Apple to find new and innovative ways to limit customer choice.

In other words, it doesn’t matter what the users want. It only matters what Apple wants.

But seriously, folks. I have no love for Real, and no axe to grind with Apple. I love my various iPods and other Mac products… and have no intention to buy music from Real.

That said, this is extinction management at its finest.

Posted by Bradley Allen on July 29, 2004 at 12:18 PM (PST)

Backstage: On RealNetworks and the iPod

The protected WMA idea is a great one. And I would rather not pay $1.49 for a song.

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz on July 29, 2004 at 7:06 AM (PST)

Backstage: Leander on iSkin v. Lajo

I tried both ISkin’s Evo and the #### Exo2, and the ISkin product fitted a whole lot better.

However, I’ve noticed ISkin’s new screen protector (w/ soft tips) has left tiny scratches on all for corners of the screen.

At the moment, I’m just using the #### zipcase, which is fine.

Posted by Dekunut on July 29, 2004 at 6:36 AM (PST)

Backstage: Leander on iSkin v. Lajo

On the contrary, both sides were quoted, as were two third parties (Dennis, and a distributor).

Cymbalski wrote: “I supplied him with all of my products for over a year and when (iSkin’s) Andrew ... came out with his first product ... I asked what was my price. Andrew replied that he could not supply me because my distributors might cause confusion with his distributors. I replied fine, and that was the end of it. So now we are separate companies.”

Posted by Jerrod H. in TX on July 29, 2004 at 5:56 AM (PST)

Backstage: Leander on iSkin v. Lajo

That Wired article is totally once sided. The only side that talked was iSkin. So the story was told only by one of the two involved people.

Posted by Coolpepper43 on July 28, 2004 at 7:18 PM (PST)

Backstage: Leander on iSkin v. Lajo

I was wondering what the deal was with #### and iSkin. I read through the forum thread linked to in the article, and all I can say is that I wish iPodloungers would chill out a bit!

Posted by Dr. Webster on July 28, 2004 at 3:16 PM (PST)

Backstage: On RealNetworks and the iPod

Harmony from Apple’s perspective:

1. Apple’s iTMS sales reduced.
Probably not by much, as Real is not available for Macs, and both iTunes/iTMS generally have a better interface than Real’s jukebox/music store software. Apple will likely add other iPod-iTunes/iTMS linkages and other iTunes/iTMS features to keep iTunes/iTMS at forefront.

2. Apple’s leverage/power vs. music labels is diminished/ (balanced?).
View depends on who you believe to be more aligned with the user – Apple or the labels. If iTMS sales decline, labels will feel freer to impose more restrictions or raise prices.

3. Apple’s ability to alter its Fairplay DRM (for better or worse) is hampered.
Apple will likely state they do not guarantee that Real songs will always work on the iPod. Depending on how identical Real songs are to Apple Fairplay songs, changing iPod firmware or iTunes software could cause PR issues for Apple.

4. Apple’s iPod support becomes more complicated (for Helix-Fairplay; Real/Harmony-iPod issues).
Again, Apple will likely state that they do not provide support to ensure Real songs play on the iPod. Again, PR issues.

5. Apple’s iPod sales reduced if people buy WMA- or Helix- player as additional or replacement player.
Probably not by much, if Apple continues to innovate and lower the price of the iPod, due to “cool factor” and usability reviews. Also, a few people may buy the iPod knowing that other than MP3s and CDs, they are not locked into the iTMS.

Question: If all these things happen to Apple, as an iPod user, are you better off or worse off?

Besides licensing Fairplay to other music stores (with guarantees that songs will work on iPod), and/or suing Real, Apple can also do the following to blunt Harmony:
1. Have iTunes convert iTMS songs to protected WMA for WMA players (completely ignore Helix and ATRAC).
2. Have iTMS sell lossless encoded FairPlay songs for $1.49?/song or average $14.99?/album using a different Fairplay algorithm.

However, each of these has further market consequences.

Posted by Kevin on July 28, 2004 at 11:19 AM (PST)

Backstage: Leander on iSkin v. Lajo

Both companies make good, and now different products. iSkin’s line is easy-to-understand, but limited in choices. ####’s line is more comprehensive, but far more difficult to understand for the average person, and certain items (screen protectors for the mini, certain belt clips, etc) were or are difficult to actually obtain once “released.”

The skins I personally use on my own iPods right now are ####’s, for two main reasons: Click Wheel protection and entirely soft screen protection. I also like the exoflp line, and would like to see #### go for a exoflp plus thin top version compatible with the 4G.

That said, I think iSkin’s new screen protectors are awesome, and they’ve been steadily improving the look and grip of their cases, plus they have the thin tops, and “the complete package” when you order.

Any product I review will receive fair treatment, regardless of who it comes from (big company, small company, etc) and many other “political” factors that aren’t relevant to the review. I may choose not to review certain products on occasion, and may not always make everyone (or the product’s maker) happy with the review, but fairness and honesty are and will remain my top goals.

Posted by Jeremy Horwitz on July 28, 2004 at 11:18 AM (PST)