Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

iPod Software Update 1.2 Now Available

Posted by pudge on from the mmmm-usic dept.

Walter Weeks writes "This afternoon Apple has released the much anticipated iPod Software Update 1.2. This update adds a slew of features and updates such as iCal support, a digital clock, sound check, restructuring of the menu hierarchy, and more! Currently, it is not available for Mac OS 9 nor via Software Update, but you can get it on Apple's iPod site." It also has the promised audible.com support. Now that I have a web browser in my phone and a calendar in the iPod and contacts in both, maybe I can get an iPod and sell the Palm. If only the phone or iPod had AvantGo ...

33 comments

  1. best new features by arson1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    IMO, The new software updated let's your iPod keep track of the play counts, so when you synce back up to itunes, the songs you played while you were out are accoutned for.

    That, and the calendar, just because it looks cool :)

    --


    --
    Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things.
    1. Re:best new features by tbmaddux · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I like the inclusion of browsing the iPod by genre, something I'd been missing (standard in iTunes) so much that I'd been building genre-based playlists just for the iPod.

      --
      Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?
    2. Re:best new features by Alex+Thorpe · · Score: 1

      The problem with browsing by genre for me is that many of my songs don't have one chosen, and some artists have multiple genres, sometimes on the same album if I ripped songs from them at different times. Heck, my Rammstein collection would show up in 5 different categories: Rock, Metal, Industrial, Alternative, Electronic.

      I had been using cddb.com to look up album names for some songs. Doing so again for genre would take a LONG time!

      --
      "Common Sense Ain't" -Unknown
  2. iPod is my new PDA by bastion_xx · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Seriously. I had a sweet Compaq PocketPC, but lost it (long story, long night). As such, I've been in the market to buy a new PDA.

    Too bad some of the new integrated PDA/Cell phones weren't available (yet), so I looked at what my needs were:

    1) Contacts - Read/only
    2) Calendar
    3) Storage
    4) Cool new features - MP3 playback
    5) Taking Notes

    My usage is primary read-only and I use the PC (Mac) for managing everything. Seldom did I create contacts or calendar entries on my Pocket PC. However, daily I used to look up names and numbers or calendar entries. As for note taking, I always carry a pen. So as long as paper is still being made, I should be set.

    With the new 10GB models and 1.2 of the code, I now have a new PDA. And it's a mad MP3 player as well!

    1. Re:iPod is my new PDA by funky+womble · · Score: 2
      You can get quite a long way with a standard mobile phone (not one of the new and expensive phone/PDAs). Most recent Nokias, for example, hold around 500 names along with space for email address, up to 4 phone numbers, address and notes, quite usable calendars, and big enough SMS memory to write yourself plonty of notes which can be organised into folders.

      Much smaller than a PDA and when you're used to the keypad, typing on them is pretty fast. I'm sure other manufacturers have similar functions too.

      Though an iPod would be a pretty cool thing to have too <grin>

    2. Re:iPod is my new PDA by iomud · · Score: 2

      It'd be cool if they opened up the ipod firmware, I imagine we'd have all kinds of cool hacks out in no time. I cant complain though, Apple keeps increasing the ipod's versatility with each update.

    3. Re:iPod is my new PDA by piznut · · Score: 0

      1) Contacts - Read/only
      2) Calendar
      3) Storage
      4) Cool new features - MP3 playback
      5) Taking Notes

      You aren't in the market for a PDA, you are in the market for a portable hard drive with a minimalist display and hardware mp3 playback. iPod sounds perfect for you.

      I think when most people thing PDA, they think of something that is able to..you know...run programs and let them input stuff while mobile.

      Can we please stop referring to the iPod as if it were something more than a glorified firewire harddrive?

  3. My #1 wish for the iPod: by imac.usr · · Score: 3, Insightful
    A tiny input device that plugs in either via the headphone jack (like the remote) or via the FireWire port, like the fold-up Palm keyboards.


    The ability to modify contact entries and enter brief notes would mean I can stop having to find space in my backpack for my Newton. :P

    --
    I use Macs for work, Linux for education, and Windows for cardplaying.
    1. Re:My #1 wish for the iPod: by possibly0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      this isn't meant facetiously, but i would recommend a small pad of paper. you can write changes or notes on paper while you're out, and enter in into your computer when you get home. this is nice, too, because sitting down and going over what you've written is a good way of remembering it or planning what you need to do.

    2. Re:My #1 wish for the iPod: by am+2k · · Score: 1
      The ability to modify contact entries and enter brief notes would mean I can stop having to find space in my backpack for my Newton
      <Trying to imagine how to enter text using a wheel>
  4. They added a clock function ... by jkujawa · · Score: 2

    But it has to be set by hand. Bwah?

    1. Re:They added a clock function ... by SlamMan · · Score: 1

      Mine synced up the clock when I added had it adding songs to my iPod.

      --
      Mod point free since 2001
  5. Having recently by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ripped all my CDs to Ogg Vorbis I'm desperately waiting for iPod supporting that audio format.

    Damnit, my money's itching!

  6. Does the iPod play .OGG files yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What about .OGG? When will they finally add support for it?

  7. Ogg support possible? by Outland+Traveller · · Score: 1

    Is there anything about the iPod that would preclude it from supporting Ogg/Vorbis in a future software update?

    1. Re:Ogg support possible? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think the iPod has a CPU capable of decoding Vorbis. AFAIK it uses a hardware MPEG decoder to handle MP3, not a general-purpose CPU. It wouldn't be a matter of simply downloading new software, you would have to reconfigure the MPEG decoder (if that's possible?) or else you are out of luck.

    2. Re:Ogg support possible? by andfarm · · Score: 1

      Probably the fact that there is (as of yet) no integer-based decoder available for OGG. That, or weakness of the processor. AFAIK, it actually uses an ASIC for MPEG decoding, so that isn't being done by the processor at all.

      Anyway, LAME at default VBR settings is transparent to most listeners and averages 1 MB/min. Good enough for me and my music.

      --

      TANSTAAFI: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free iPod.

  8. Avant Go by GreenKiwi · · Score: 1

    Check out ephpod. It can download news and weather.

  9. What does 'spoken word support' mean? by SIGFPE · · Score: 2

    Huh?

    --
    -- SIGFPE
    1. Re:What does 'spoken word support' mean? by rdarden · · Score: 1

      From Audible.com: "Audible's spoken-word programs are downloaded in files designed to be more compressed than MP3 music files."

      I presume that's what "spoken word support" means.

  10. Updater for OS9 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    is here

  11. OS 9 by count3r · · Score: 1
    Regarding it is not available for Mac OS 9, the iPod site contains this link that says it does.

    ..c

  12. r3mix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think you should look into LAME's --r3mix preset.

    In my experience, it's as efficient at the balance between quality and filesize as mp3 gets.

    1. Re:r3mix by andfarm · · Score: 1

      That's essentially what I'm using.

      --

      TANSTAAFI: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free iPod.

  13. You think wrong. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it's a hardware MPEG decoder, why can the iPod play back Wave and AIFF sounds? And they've added support for Audiable's format (however it is just mp3 with DRM anyway...)

    1. Re:You think wrong. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WAV and AIFF don't require any CPU-intensive decoding, you pretty much just dump the bits straight into the DAC.

  14. Re:Books on your iPod +n/t+ *nm* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    :0>

  15. I am Ignignaut by Gizzmonic · · Score: 1
    And this is Ur.

    >I hope you can see this, Because I'm doing it as hard as I possibly can!

    --
    (-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
  16. No Linux on the iPod?? by pininfrna · · Score: 1

    I would just like to acknowledge the restraint exhibited by the /. community in posting to this thread. I know at least ONE of you wanted to ask about an iPod linux distro...

  17. Why don't you just get a REAL MP3 player... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... oh, wait, Microsoft doesn't make an MP3 player.

    Well I'm sure that if they did it would be better than Apple's.

    Also, Apple acts like they should care about Mac users. What's wrong with them?

  18. Playlist on the fly? by sulli · · Score: 2

    This is the feature I still want .. I would love to be able to select the next 20 songs to play all at once. I presume not in this release?

    --

    sulli
    RTFJ.