To iPod or not?

[francis]

Hmmm, it's bonus time at work. Do I fork out on an iPod is the question I need to consider. The 20Gb one is just under £300, which is a hell of a lot for a personal stereo, and I could do something more worthwhile with the money. But, on the other hand, it's an iPod and would mean lugging less CDs to work. If I order it before 27th March I get free customer laser engraving on the back (although they don't seem to like potty mouth, so I'll have to think of another message if I do go for it).

[Tom]

I heard that the acronym stands for 'idots Price our devices' but people seem to love them, if you don't mind being tied in to one music supplier.

[Phil]

Do it. They're fantastic. I bought one for my girlfriend on her last birthday: one happy girlfriend - didn't moan about me spending too much time in front of the computer for a whole month.

Get the 20Gb one - that's got the charging cradle and the wired remote. I think 20Gb works out as about 12 days constant playing - without repeating a song, which frankly is enough for anyone.

Also, don't forget that as a student you can get it through the uk apple store for education (http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/ukInd) and save £25 AND get free delivery.

Or you could wait for the iPod Minis (http://www.apple.com/ipodmini) to come out. Though they're not *that* much cheaper and they're "only" 4Gb

-phil

[David]

Why not wait for the iPod mini (http://www.apple.com/ipodmini/)? That's my kind of personal stereo. Groovy baby :D

[francis]

Not sure on the iPod mini - the colours are a bit, er, groovy. The price is quite similar to the iPod, so if I do go for it I'll go for the iPod. My brother got one when they first came out - he had to sign up to a waiting list as demand was so high. I should stop looking at the Apple site as it's getting tempting. Still, good to know about the student discount (on the subject of, can I pick up MS's Visio on a student deal?). If I get one of these, will I stop listening to an album as an album and start to use them as a source for a monster-sized compilation?

[Stuart]

Ipods, I love 'em! My wife bought two (one for me, one for my daughter) for Christmas 2002. They are both 10 Gb which seems ample although if I was buying today, I would probably go for the 20 Gb. Both of them are in daily use and so far (touch wood) apart from a soft reset for one, they have both proved extremely reliable. Have a look at www.ipodlounge.com for alternative software.

The only problem they have (along with most Apple hardware) is that they become manky after a short time.

If you frequently listen to music on the move, I would go for it.

And Tom, what else should we spend our money on?

All the best,

Stuart

[Tom]

You should not 'spend' money: you should keep it in tin boxes - I thought all Scotsmen knew this. My quote came from Fortune Magazine and I guess that is how the (other) readers get their fortunes.

[francis]

Finally - it's bonus payday. One 20GB iPod has been ordered. Thanks for the student discount link, Phil - I added a nice carrying case to the order and still paid the same amount as a "normal" iPod. And the free shipping was a nice bonus. Now all I have to do is wait...

[Phil]

Looks like it's a good idea not to wait for the iPod mini after all. Its global release date has been
put back three months (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3568895.stm)

[David]

Good, let's hope your battery (http://www.slcentral.com/c/h/a/2004/2/ipod-battery/) lasts as long as they say. And if not, maybe this will help (http://ipodbatteryfaq.com/).

Perhaps this is why the mini has been put back - their designers are now frantically working in little sliding doors and replaceable battery compartments.

[Tom]

I've just bought a Muvo 2 but have no intention of using it for music. There is a lark going on with Hitachi charging twice as much for 4 Gb microdrives when sold to camera owners as when sold to music lovers. Its not that Hitachi-san loves music. He just rekons that since everyone else rips off camera owners why shouldn't he. There is an analogy with vacuum cleaner bags: you sell the machine cheap and clean up on the bags. So the web is alive with detailed advice on how to rip the guts out of a Muvo, even some special advice on the use of chewing gum and popsicle sticks. Hows this for gory detail (http://www.yoursphotographer.com/microdrive/microdrive.html)?

[Phil]

Apple are known for keeping their products in short supply though - adds to the hype / prestige / excitement. I suspect there may be an element of this with the minis.

I'm guessing this is not deliberate with the European iTunes Music Store though, this appears to be legal wranglings with the record companies. It is a real shame as the US music store appears to be a great product and has been really popular - partly due to the fact that it was the first there. With myCoke music already offering European service and Sony, Amazon and Microsoft gearing up I think Apple could lose the initiative here.

[Tom]

Mac-folk are also buying iPods to rip out the 4 Gb drives, but it costs them more than gutting a Muvo.

[James]

Is it just me or do others keep getting a password box pop up to visit this topic?

[David]

Originally posted by James Barker@Mar 27 2004, 5:30 pm
Is it just me or do others keep getting a password box pop up to visit this topic?
Yes - me too and I just can't work out why. It is happening because some element on the page is being sourced from http://websitearchitecture.net rather than the security default http://www.website...

I'll investigate.

[francis]

Originally posted by Phil@Mar 26 2004, 1:12 pm
Apple are known for keeping their products in short supply though - adds to the hype / prestige / excitement. I suspect there may be an element of this with the minis.
This is exactly the same as the annual Christmas rush for the year's kids' toy of choice. Manfacturers (allegedly) manufacture/supply by drip-feed amounts of the thing to get more hype. Remember the Buzz Lightyear thing? I don't believe for a minute that the might of Disney couldn't make enough to satisfy the UK market.

And, yep, I'm getting password prompts on this thread.

[David]

OK, it's like this:

When I first installed the forum, the domain default was set without the "www" and I noticed that this caused a few problems with the .htaccess folder security so after a few days I changed it to include the "www". In the meantime a number of posts had been made. In most cases this caused no problems but if a post contains a smilie, the image source still points to the domain without "www", causing .htaccess to prompt for a password when the post is viewed. Unfortunately, .htaccess does not understand that the two domains (with and without "www") are one and the same. :rolleyes:

The solution is easy - edit the post with the smilie and "Submit Modified Post" without changing anything. The smilie code will be replaced with the current default domain image source. I have now done this on this topic so you won't see it any more.