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5 Reasons Not to Buy an iPod
TommyH1000 writes "CNet has posted an article with five reasons not to buy an iPod. " The article really just shows the major shortcomings with the iPod (Battery, Cost, Moving Parts etc) and gives several alternatives. A great summary of the major things going on in the portable MP3 player market.
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the Apple iTunes Music Store; its AAC-encoded files sound great, the selection is decent, and it's easy to use. But I don't like feeling hemmed in. Some other MP3 players let you choose between BuyMusic, Musicmatch, and Napster, all of which use Microsoft's secure WMA files.
The article really just shows the major shortcomings with the iPod (Battery, Cost, Moving Parts etc) and gives several alternatives.
No, it shows who CNET wants as it's friends.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Anyone on /. not bow down at the altar which is Apple...fanboys.
the author's expectations for battery life versus product size exceed that of most major military technologies.
Yes, because the military has long been known as a bastion of efficiency.
It's really sad to see all the fanboys picking this article apart. There were some valid criticisms made and potential alternatives given. Every one of the alternatives has it's own issues of course, and the author states -- no less than three times -- that the iPod is the best player out there right now.
Talk about thin skinned.
WMA is crap ... DRM and such sucks ...
Apple has a longstanding policy of being hostile to their customers and resenting backwards compatability. The next step is the new ipod that can play two types of files - the old school itms files, and the "new and groundbreaking, far superior files." Then they will stop producing the old files altogether, or in some other way make the old school ipods incompatable with the "new" itms so you won't be able to use the store. Then all new ipods will only be compatable with the new files / new itms. Your old ipod is completely unable to be upgraded. You are screwed. Congratulations on being suckered into Apple! [at least, that's what they did to me with my imac & the OSX it couldn't run.)
Shut up and give me my fucking Ogg Vorbis, or I won't buy your player. Full stop, end of story.
If you liked licking my balls, add me to your foes list!
MiniDisc players cannot hold 5 hours of MP3s. They can hold 5 hours of ATRAC-encoded music. That means that you have to convert your files, either from your existing mp3s (AAC, WMA, OGG, whatever), resulting in further quality loss, or re-record everything in realtime. Sounds like a real pain in the ass.
Also, I tried an mp3 CD player before, and while it's nice, it just got annoying. I fucking hate carrying CDs around with me. If one CD can't hold my whole collection (it can't), I don't want it. Plus, they're huge.
But I'm still a cheap ass, so I bought an Archos Studio 10, and couldn't be happier with it. 10G, user-replacable AA recharageables, and works great in Linux. Yes it's ugly as sin, but I listen, not look, and it cost 1/3 what a comparable "sexy" iPod would.
It looks like they really had to stretch to find 5 reasons.
The article is nothing more than an extended commercial for a range of new MP3 players, and at the end of the day, what conclusion do they come to?
Quote: "While not ideal for some niche activities, it's still hands down the best-designed MP3 player in the world."
So did either the person who submitted the article, or the editor who approved it actually bother to read the damn thing?