Kenneth, in iTunes you can simply turn off the "store" features in the preferences panel... and the only file types it doesn't really support is .wma.. and for good reason.. that codec sucks. Your suggestion that Apple does well with the iPod because of their ad campaigns is ludicrous so i'm not even going to address it.
MP3-Player
- Thread starter HeadCrusher
- Start date
Kazrog
Kazrog, Inc.
SPLASTiK said:
The iPod can use Apple Lossless, which is essentially the same thing as FLAC.
SPLASTiK said:
Yeah, it will be interesting to see how that pans out. I wouldn't buy an mp3 player that gets the blue screen of death though.
Really? I can't seem to find anything on Apple's site about it...Kazrog said:
From Apples website, supported audio formats:
AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Music Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), Apple Lossless, WAV, AIFF.
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No FLAC... no OGG either...
Kazrog
Kazrog, Inc.
SPLASTiK said:
I edited my post above - I forgot that FLAC and Apple Lossless aren't exactly the same thing. They work identically though - lossless compressed audio.
Kazrog said:
Meh, FLAC is open source and not proprietary to Apple so people who don't want iTunes can actually play the file with ease.
I think you can actually play FLAC though on an iPod... but you have to install Linux on it first.
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It'll be good to see what Microsoft has to offer the portable player world though since to make a dent they'd have to do improve somehow above and beyond the competition. And when there's a competitor that's willing to compete hard, that's always good for everyone.
Kazrog
Kazrog, Inc.
SPLASTiK said:
I think that open source vs. "proprietary" (a term that is over-abused) is a worthless debate. Don't get me wrong, I love open source software, and I love Linux, but there are a lot of disadvantages to it - most notably the fact that many open source programs don't integrate well with each other or with hardware. All things considered, I think Apple provides a far better solution, both from an OS perspective and a music perspective.
I know what the mp3 scene is like on the Linux side, I've spent a lot of time with it, and there's nothing that compares to iTunes. Banshee comes the closest but misses the mark. iPod-linux is intriguing but ultimately I like the simple, seamless way that the iPod already works. I don't have any desire to use the device for more than it was intended for. The iPod wouldn't make a good PDA or a good game machine because the control layout is not supportive of those use-cases.
Oh yeah, and Apple Lossless has been reverse engineered, so it can be supported on any device that uses an open source decoder:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lossless
It kind of is.Kazrog said:
I know there's some purists but I've always been of the idea: if it works for you, it works for you. Many times open source isn't your answer for reasons you stated as well as you might have to make some feature tradeoffs... I wouldn't use Ardour over ProTools or DP, though it is pretty awesome for being free.
With FLAC though I don't see why anyone shouldn't support it. It simply works. I don't know anyone who's had a problem with it beyond missing the plugin, though iTunes doesn't support it so that makes things difficult. I think that's why more and more hardware players will support FLAC, that and if they want lossless support and were to go with Apple Lossless they'd have to license it through Apple most likely since they're charging money, meaning shell out money. Not that a competitor would want to support a competitor's format... Lossless is still kind of a niche market though.
I do love my open source aps though... I don't know why anyone would buy M$ Office anymore when there's free alternatives that are awesome, especially since they announced this week the next version of Office will have support for the Open Document Format. Ubuntu is pretty awesome too now.
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On the topic that Kenneth said about marketing helping the iPod sales. I agree it was a major contributor, though you can't deny it's a pretty solid product and pretty easy to use so it's not a hard sell if you're in the market after looking at one. I think the strong ad campaigns had a big influence in people checking them out though. Most people I know that bought them didn't really shop around and look at the competition much and bought them because they're what's popular more than anything.
But it's hard to deny the marketing had nothing to do with the success since even many marketing classes now talk about the Apple iPod ad campaigns for advertising strategy. Hell, even George W. Bush has an iPod haha
Hi guys!!!
I had an iPod three years ago but it broke down and I haven't got one ever since.
But I'm considering buying a new one.
My question is: given that I run OSX 10.2.8 and for personal reasons I'm not goin' to upgrade to a newer OS, there's a way to operate the iPod with simply drag and drop, without having to use iTunes as an interface?
Any utility?
Someone please help!
I had an iPod three years ago but it broke down and I haven't got one ever since.
But I'm considering buying a new one.
My question is: given that I run OSX 10.2.8 and for personal reasons I'm not goin' to upgrade to a newer OS, there's a way to operate the iPod with simply drag and drop, without having to use iTunes as an interface?
Any utility?
Someone please help!
you really should just upgrade. i'm running 10.4.7 and it's very stable, and i love all the enhancements since 10.2.8Fabbio said:Hi guys!!!
I had an iPod three years ago but it broke down and I haven't got one ever since.
But I'm considering buying a new one.
My question is: given that I run OSX 10.2.8 and for personal reasons I'm not goin' to upgrade to a newer OS, there's a way to operate the iPod with simply drag and drop, without having to use iTunes as an interface?
Any utility?
Someone please help!
lepersmeesa
Badman rudeboy
I would recommend an Archos Gmini. They are very simple to use. You can just drag and drop files on to it. The easiest MP3 i have ever used or seen.
Kazrog
Kazrog, Inc.
JeffTD
Senhor Testiculo
I had a 20gg G4 die on me, so I went the Creative route.
Honestly, the Zen Vision:M owns the iPod video in a couple areas, specifically battery life, and the ability to drag and drop files, as well as supporting more video formats.
That said, and I'm not going to elaborate as it's rather embarrassing, I ruined mine by opening it and tinkering a bit, and now it's toast. Instead of paying to get it repaired, I've opted to go back to the iPod video with the "buy a new Mac and iPod, get a 179 rebate" deal for students. Ordering the Macbook and 30G on Friday \m/.
Honestly, the Zen Vision:M owns the iPod video in a couple areas, specifically battery life, and the ability to drag and drop files, as well as supporting more video formats.
That said, and I'm not going to elaborate as it's rather embarrassing, I ruined mine by opening it and tinkering a bit, and now it's toast. Instead of paying to get it repaired, I've opted to go back to the iPod video with the "buy a new Mac and iPod, get a 179 rebate" deal for students. Ordering the Macbook and 30G on Friday \m/.
and once you realize you can drag oand drop on it too.. and that your last one was likely a dud (happens with any company) you will be fine with iPod once again. Battery life in iPods is all about management. if you just keep yours on "charge" all the time while at home.. even after only using it for a little while on the battery, then you will kill the battery life. you have to "train" the battery. charge it all the way up.. run it all the way down, etc. i've had my 60GB iPod Photo for a couple years now and it's working as good as the day i bought it... almost full as well, with nearly 1000 full length albums on it, with cover art for each... it runs for hours.. for longer than i can generally listen to music without a break, for sure.
JeffTD
Senhor Testiculo
I actually think there was a faulty batch of HDD's - I got one on the same day and at the same store as my sister, father, and a friend, and all of theirs had the HDD become faulty within a month of mines failure.
The battery life I was referring to was that the Creative got a nice 5 hours while playing videos, while the iPod video can only get about 2.5 max.
As far as the drag and dropping, though, do you need some sort of utility for that? The only way I remember to view files on it was to view the hidden files, and then they were (very unorganized) in different folders, with about 10 songs per folder.
The battery life I was referring to was that the Creative got a nice 5 hours while playing videos, while the iPod video can only get about 2.5 max.
As far as the drag and dropping, though, do you need some sort of utility for that? The only way I remember to view files on it was to view the hidden files, and then they were (very unorganized) in different folders, with about 10 songs per folder.
James Murphy said:
I don't think it supports ogg if I remember correct. I was comparing different codecs a while ago and had to open ogg files in winamp I believe. That said, I really like my ipod. It's one of the non-color 40 gig ones and the only problem I've had is the metal exanped a little and separated from the plastic on one side. It didn't affect functionality at all, but it doesn't look so sleek anymore and I have no idea why that happened
But yeah, I've hardly used any of my cd's since getting it. Everythings on the ipod now.
Also if you ever have trouble with battery life there are a ton of places that offer replacements for cheap. 25 bucks w/ increased capacity if I remember.
just use iTunes man... it's so damn easy to use... and makes the iPod drag and drop simple. i have 2000 full length albums in my iTunes library and i can find anything in a couple seconds.DSS3 said:
James Murphy said:
i wish i had that many albums :-/. do you have an external HD for your CD's? or do you have them on your Mac's HD?
