Saturday, July 27, 2002
“Hard disk DJs ‘spin’ MP3s”
CNN.com/SCI-TECH reports another story on the growing trend of DJs dumping the turntables for iPods. Friday nights at the BQE bar in Brooklyn, New York features the iPod spinning DJ “The Podiatrist” working the crowd with two iPods and a mixer.
“New York ad salesman Michael Parrish, who noticed the BQE’s DJ was turntables-free when he requested a song, says anyone can be a DJ now.
“When I was younger I felt like there was a talent to it because they were spinning records backwards and forwards and really cutting it in and overlapping songs,” Parrish says. “It doesn’t take much talent to be a DJ anymore. You just have to have a good flow of songs.”
Friday, July 26, 2002
XPlay Windows iPod software for $14 after rebate
“Mediafour’s XPlay iPod software for Windows costs $24.99 before a $10 mail-in rebate, $14.99 after, at Amazon.com, notes a reader. It’s the lowest price we’ve seen. Rebate ends July 28, 2002.”
iPod Sales Up at Amazon.com
“Fast-growing sales of iPod digital music players (which accounted for more than 24 percent of Amazon.com’s MP3 player/jukebox sales this past June) have put a shine on Apple’s bottom line, and the company has announced an expansion of the iPod line with six new models.
All six new Apple iPods are currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com and should be in stock in two to four weeks.”
iPod 5GB MP3 Player for $235
“The factory-refurbished iPod 5GB MP3 Player is back at $235 at Small Dog Electronics. It’s still the lowest price we’ve seen. Offer ends July 31. Or, get it bundled with the Coby iPod/MP3 Audio Car Adapter for $14 more through August 1. A 90-day Apple warranty applies to the iPod.”
iPod 10GB MP3 Player for $334
“Readers note that Amazon.com offers the first-generation iPod 10GB MP3 Player for $344. That’s a $5 cut since our last mention and with free shipping, the best total price we’ve seen. The latest model cost about $50 more.”
Thursday, July 25, 2002
iPod for Windows Review
Walter S. Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal has written a review of the “near final” version of iPod for Windows.
“The iPod just gets better and better. No other digital music player comes close.
And now, it works with Windows, too”
Software: Disc Recording Update 1.3.4 Mac OS X
Apple.com has released an update to Disc Recording update. You can download the update at Apple.com or via the Software Update Preference Panel.
What’s new in 1.3.4:
The Disc Recording Update delivers additional iTunes and Finder support for a number of LaCie, EZquest, and Iomega CD-R devices.
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.1.5 and iTunes
For more info and download…
New iTunes 3 KBase Documents Published
Apple.com has published new AppleCare Knowledge Base Documents for iTunes 3.
- How to Create a Smart Playlist
- How to Rate Songs
- How to Export Playlists to Archive or Use on Another Computer
- How to Add Spoken Word Content to Your Library
- Songs Don’t Appear in the Library
- Song Titles Look Scrambled after Converting ID3 Tags
BusinessWeek Q&A with Phil Schiller
BusinessWeek Online Technology Editor Alex Salkever talked with Apple senior VP of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller. Among the questions asked, “You introduced iPod for Windows at this Macworld. Why?”
“We’ve always said our goal with the iPod was to make the world’s best music device, and that means bringing it to Windows customers.”
New iPod icons at Iconfactory
The Iconfactory has released Smoothicons 4. The new 6 set collection includes, you guessed it, the iPod and iPod with remote along with the iMac G4, iMac G4 17”, eMac, and Xserve. There’s also an older set, World of Aqua 3, that has two iPod icons in it.
Smoothicons 4…
World of Aqua 3…
iBook G3/600 Combo with iPod Bundle: $1449.00
Deals on the Web reports:
“Small Dog Electronics is offering the new iBook G3/600 1280/20GB/DVD/CD-RW/56K bundled with a factory refurbished 5GB iPod and an Xtreme Mac iPod Mobility Kit for $1449.00. It’s the best price we’ve seen on the bundle.”
Apple and iPod Recognized by Recording Industry
Renay San Miguel of CNN Headline News writes a story about the current state of digital music and how the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is taking notice of Apple’s campaign to thwart music piracy.
“‘Apple is definitely one of the computer makers that cares about the legitimate music market and has spent time and resources working with the record labels on online music delivery systems,’ said Hilary Rosen, the RIAA’s chairman and chief executive officer.
‘As part of one of their recent campaigns, they clearly asked consumers to ‘not steal music.’ I’m convinced they want fans to enjoy music online in a legitimate way and have invested previous resources to make that a reality.’”
Wednesday, July 24, 2002
Software: Xpod 1.3.0 Released
“Have an iPod and want to copy mp3 files with one click to another system. No problem with BITcom Xpod, the easy to use utility for iPod owners. One click native Aqua interface and unlimited iPod support. It’s freeware and available for Apple Mac OS X only.”
- What’s new in v1.3.0:
- One-click music copy
- Auto-rename of files
- support for iPod Extras
- Device information
- Direct play of music titles
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.1 or higher
For more info…
Download…
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
Apple adds PC support to the iPod as the competition heats up
Mr. Spin from UK website Stage4 informs us of his article focusing on the new iPods, new features and how they compare to the recently announced Odyssey 1000 by e.Digital and the Toshiba Gigabeat.
“Sounds good but whilst Apple’s iPod has put on some weight, some of it’s competitors look like they are on steroids.”
Eye on iPod: big fish in a bigger pond
David Carnoy, Executive Editor for CNET Reviews has written an article about how the iPod for Windows stacks up against the competition.
Also mentioned is the fact that the iPod for Mac cannot be reformatted to work on a Windows PC and vice-versa.
“Disappointingly, Apple told us that it has no plans to let you reformat your old iPod via, for example, a firmware update. You’ll purchase either a Mac OS- or a Windows-formatted iPod in Apple’s new lineup—meaning your Windows-friendly iPod won’t work with your Mac later.”
Software: PodWriter v2.0b3 Released
“PodWriter is a (now) 100% pure Cocoa application (was Java) that allows you to write notes for your iPod.”
“What’s new in this version:
“PodWriter will now save long notes to multiple files. From what I can tell, this works fine. However, if you open one of the parts of the note like ‘Doug (2-4).pwtr’ and you edit that file that it goes over the 1000 character limit, it will save 2 files. One with the name ‘Doug (2-4).pwtr’ and another named ‘Doug (2-4) (2-2).pwtr’. This is because it just things that it’s a normal note and will again split it up. Also fixed a little bug with the version checking. “
Hands on with the new, thinner iPod 10GB
iLounger, “BumpMan” had a chance to test drive the new iPod 10GB at Macworld NY and has posted his first impressions in the forums.
“First off the new 10% thinner part is pretty nice. It would suprise most of you including myself how much 10% sounds like and what it looks like. Its a very noticable difference and well worth it. It seems as though this is more the size it was meant to be.”
Netalog Announces TransPod Car Adapter, Transmitter
Update: We’ve learned that MacMinute has misquoted and reported the wrong person as CEO of Netalog. Jeff Grady is CEO and you cannot choose frequencies “right from the iPod.”
Jeff Grady of EverythingiPod.com emailed us with a link to a MacMinute story about the upcoming TransPod. Imagine a cell phone type holder for the iPod in your car, but the TransPod has a FM transmitter and power adapter built in. You can adjust the TransPod for easy reach using modular “sticks” that extend from the cigarette adapter. The TransPod will have over 100 frequencies to choose from. Jeff Grady added, “Our design will have a macro tuner so that you select one of three FM frequency ranges, then you will fine tune in the exact frequency with a fine-tuning dial.” Pricing has not yet been determined.