Jump to content

Introducing the iPod mini!


Jim Dye

Recommended Posts

Just a little aside about the battery issue...

I own a first-generation iPod that I bought in 2001, and started having battery problems starting once it was about a year old. Mind you, I was using the iPod almost every day during my commute, which meant at least 2 hours of use per day. A couple of months ago my battery time was down to only a couple of hours, so I figured I was probably on my way to a dead iPod. After poking around the web to see about getting a battery replacement, I came across an article (can't remember which site) that recommended opening the iPod and disconnecting, then reconnecting the battery. Apprently there was a bug in the power management system of the original iPod model that caused the iPod to incorrectly charge the battery, and by disconnecting and reconnecting the battery the power system recalibrates itself. I tried this, and now the iPod is back to holding a charge for several hours. So, after 2 years, there are still original iPods going strong under daily-use conditions.

I'm sure there are some people out there with legitimately defective iPods, but I am satisfied that I've gotten my money's worth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"As for your next question, yes, you plug it into your computer and download mp3's from your computer to the device, using the software that comes with it. If I remember correctly, recent versions of the iPod actually came with both Mac and Windows software. The Windows software was not iTunes, but in the future it may be."

Apple now offers a free download of iTunes and whatever other software the iPod needs for Windows as well as for the Mac. The new iPod mini comes with both a USB and a Firewire cable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

OK, here's another dumb question. Can you connect the i-pod to your multi-disc CD changer to record? If so, how? Specifically, do you need a digital out on the back of your changer or can you connect the i-pod to the CD output on the back of the changer? Been thinking about the i-pod. What's the advantage of downloading mp3 files when you have over 1500 CDs and you want to hear them while on the go, especially while in the gym?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The iPod is cool, but waaay over-priced. Much like Macs themselves. I love Macs, but who can afford them? Jesus, I built myself a 1.93GHzPC with 1gig of RAM for music production/recording for under $500 that runs Cubase SX and can record 32 tracks of 24bit audio at once. A Mac that could do that would cost me at least $1500. Crazy.

The software is great, the hardware is great, but for poor folk like me, who can afford it?

There are so many other mp3 players out there, it would pay to look around. And the $99 battery replacement charge after a year and a half is fuckin' stupid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

iPods are cool and all, but way overpriced. I recently got a 40GB Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra for $300. I'm all about the memory. Let's see, it's a little over half full so far, with.... 264 albums. Not too shabby! :g

I purchased the same machine a month ago. :wub:

I also got the 40gb Nomad Zen. I paid $250 at Best Buy, plus another $40 for an extended warranty. I read on the Head-Fi forum that Creative's warranty isn't very good, and the extended warranty was highly recommended.

I don't know how the unit will hold up over time, but with the extended warranty, I've got 3 or 4 years.

I'm incredibly HAPPY with this machine. I know it's a little bigger than the IPod, but it's also half the price (for the 40gb model). It's really a kick taking hundreds of albums with me everywhere I go. I've been encoding a 160k and my estimate is that I'll be able to get a little over 500 CDs on the player.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to my federal tax refund, I just picked up a new 10 gig iPod at Target for 209.99! I saved almost 90 bucks. They were closing out the old stock to make way for the larger 15 gig models. :g

I just love it. The 3rd generation iPods are even better than the older ones.

Jammin out to some Donald Byrd as I type this. :tup

Link to comment
Share on other sites

iPods are cool and all, but way overpriced. I recently got a 40GB Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra for $300.  I'm all about the memory.  Let's see, it's a little over half full so far, with.... 264 albums.  Not too shabby!  :g

I purchased the same machine a month ago. :wub:

I also got the 40gb Nomad Zen. I paid $250 at Best Buy, plus another $40 for an extended warranty. I read on the Head-Fi forum that Creative's warranty isn't very good, and the extended warranty was highly recommended.

I don't know how the unit will hold up over time, but with the extended warranty, I've got 3 or 4 years.

I'm incredibly HAPPY with this machine. I know it's a little bigger than the IPod, but it's also half the price (for the 40gb model). It's really a kick taking hundreds of albums with me everywhere I go. I've been encoding a 160k and my estimate is that I'll be able to get a little over 500 CDs on the player.

Me too. I had to return the first machine I got, as the battery connection was bad and the power kept cutting out. No such problems with the replacement. I've also had some issues with the software locking up my computer. But--no problems whatsoever with the machine itself, and I've got 368 albums on there so far (mostly at 160kbps) and still almost 12 G left to play with!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

headlined_logo2.gif

Friday, March 5, 2004 Posted: 4:50 PM EST (1450 GMT)

iPod Used In Domestic Homicide

number_01.jpg

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE (HLN) - A Memphis woman was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after she bludgeoned her boyfriend to death with an iPod.

Arleen Mathers, 23, was arrested Thursday morning after she called Memphis Police and said she had killed her boyfriend, according to a Sheriff’s Department report.

When deputies arrived at Mathers’ apartment at 528 Poplar Avenue, Mathers led them to the body of her boyfriend, Brad Pulaski, 27.

Brad Pulaski had died of blunt trauma to the head after being repeatedly bludgeoned with an iPod, a popular MP3 player produced by Apple.

Police said no motive has been confirmed, although evidence suggested the murder was the result of a domestic dispute after Pulaski erased the contents of Mathers’ iPod.

According to law officers, Mathers was hysterical when police arrived and told them that she killed her boyfriend only after he accused her of illegally downloading music and erased about 2,000 of her MP3s. Mathers complained that it took 3 months to build her music collection.

An autopsy performed Friday afternoon at Methodist Hospital showed that Brad Pulaski had been beat multiple times in the face and chest by a blunt metal object, and died of internal bleeding, said Dr. Felix Klamut, deputy coroner.

According to Apple’s website, the iPod is partially made of a hard metal plate that’s been praised for it’s resistance to regular wear and tear, like drops and coffee spills.

“It took him a while to die,” Dr. Klamut said. “She must have stabbed him 40 to 80 times with that iPod. His death was not instantaneous, that’s for sure”

Arleen Mathers was arraigned Friday night by a video hookup from the county jail. Municipal Court Judge Simon Lambert set her bond at $600,000 and scheduled a preliminary hearing for March 9.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...