Most Secure Digital Audio Player?

PaleGreen asks: "What's the most secure portable Digital Audio Player (DAP) in terms of a true 'one-way' file copy mechanism? I want to be sure a curious coworker can't leech my portable's treasures while I'm out to lunch (or even worse, if I lose it). I'm aware of 'iPod backup' solutions that seem to get around Apple's protection. Are the Windows Media 'Plays For Sure' devices more secure in this area? Are there portables that support a hardware password (similar to a BlackBerry, where the unit resets to factory defaults after ten bad password attempts)?"

Comments

Simple Solution

[samael]

Take.

It.

With.

You.

How to copy files off an iPod

[Hanashi]

You say the backup solutions "seem to" get around file copying restrictions? There aren't any restrictions. Simply connect your iPod to your PC (I'm assuming Windows since I don't have a Mac handy).

When it mounts the iPod as a new drive, open that folder in explorer and then select Tools -> Folder Options from the menu bar. Click the View tab and select "Show hidden files and folders", then click OK.

Now you should see an additional folder on your iPod drive called iPod_Control. Open it up and find your music files in a set of subdirectories under the iPod_Control/Music/FXX folders, where XX is a bunch of two digit numbers.

The file names may or may not make much sense, but never fear. If you have ID3 tags in the files, you can just copy the files from the iPod onto your hard drive, then import them into a jukebox that understands ID3, and they'll be perfectly readable again.

Don't use this to pirate music. I only mention it because I thought it was odd that every iPod owner on Slashdot didn't know about it yet.

Re:How to copy files off an iPod

[sithsasquatch]

The only "copy restrictions" apply to sending music from your ipod to someone else's iTunes. But if you enable it as a disk, your "restrictions" disappear.