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50 Fun Things to Do With Your iPod
Ant writes "Jason Kottke's Web site has compiled a list of 50 fun things to do with your iPod besides listening to music with those white earbuds: From the article 'In the four years since its introduction, the iPod has proven to be a versatile little device. Despite a relatively closed architecture, hackers have found their way in. Content creators and software makers put information at your fingertips when you're on the go. Would-be designers have added to the fashionable stylings of the now-ubiquitous white ear buds. Hardware makers and enthusiasts have augmented the iPod with new add-on gadgets. Here are a few dozen things you can do with your iPod besides listen to music.'"
Listen to music! Gosh its a music player for Gods sake, not second coming of a slice bread..
"There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people."--Howard Zinn
One thing you won't be able to do, at least with Apple's factory setup of the iPod, is listen to radio (unless one day they charge for satellite radio). This could be so easily added as it is seen on competitors' devices but if users aren't listening to downloaded music, rather something from a source they do not control, then they are not buying things on iTunes. Am I correct to guess that this is a marketing thing and not because they can't fit a little radio on there? If so, that should be a big criticism of the device.
Seriously, god knows how many reviews/blogs/posts/whatever complaining about whatever mp3 player not having radio. Why would I want to listen to what someone else picks and ads and stupid people when I can listen to what I want, when and where I want to listen to it!
"damnit, trolley I want in your signature." - Elburrito
Well, I didn' t mod you a troll, but I would have if I was modding.
:)
Here's why:
1. You don't actually own, use, or appear to even like iPods, but you feel compelled to post on your second-hand experience of buying one for your girlfriend. Based on what sounds like about 20 minutes of using one, you think you're some sort of expert commentator.
2. You follow that up with some weird observation about not seeing iPods in use in major cities. Now, I'm in the bay area, but I do travel a lot. I'm not sure what you're looking for, but I personally see iPods everywhere, to the point where you'll see several people posting here about iPods being too popular or too trendy. I was at the gym last week and was amused to see that every single person on the row of elliptical trainers that I was on had an iPod of some sort.
3. You finish with a rambling observation that you don't see why people find the iPod (which you don't own) special or useful.
In summary: you're posting uninteresting, vague and uninformed observations about a product you don't even own or use, and that you appear to have a bias against. You also post vague statements about other products being better without offering any specific examples. I'm not even sure you like to listen to music. So, overall that would move you to troll in my estimation.
There you go.
- "When you want something with all your heart, the entire universe conspires to give it to you" -Paulo Coelho
There's nothing much impressing in that lot... Also, for someone who has used iPodLinux you can see the author did not try it AT ALL, he doesn't even denote most of the things you can do with it. Where it says you can play a movie I thought "Oh! iPodLinux!" and it didn't even talk about it... iPodLinux could have taken lots of space in this list if the author had tried it...
A mini (which had the best case, most reasonable size/capacity/price). I have had it for a year, and have replaced the battery myself just this Xmas. While it is nice and all, it is NOT a device worthy of the hordes of gibbering idiots that worship the damn thing. I have crashed the OS several time, had it freeze on me several times, had it corrupt data, had the battery not last half the expected lifetime, given up on iTunes (ml_ipod for Winamp for teh win - and yes, I prefer Winamp as a media player because the Media Library is great for dealing with hundereds of gigs of music and videos) and had other problems with it, but I still use it all the time, every day. In fact, I may have had my hands on it almost as much as on my dick. Oh, wait, I read /., nevermind.
The 'Net is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it. - William Gibson
My recipe goes like this:
- Clone DVD to get the VOB files to my hard disk.
- MergeVOB to get them into one huge file.
- Videora iPod converter to do the MP4 converting.
On my rather dated machine the process takes about an hour 40, but the movies are only 700mb and that doesn't make much dent in my 60GBOkay, now here's the kicker. I bought the movies legally on DVD and still have the case and all, why is this illegal? That's just stupid I don't care who you are. I should be able to put the disc in and iTunes should rip it for me, just like a CD.
This is not an illusion, a rip-off, or a ninja technique!
Seems a lot of the features are trying to turn an Ipod into a PDA. If some one would just make a PDA with a proper hard drive that has an Ipod style menuing system there wouldn't seem much of a fight for functionality. Ipods are still largely a single use device. I use my PDA all day long and would be lost without it. I'm guessing cost is the big factor holding it up. Personally I'm pretty happy with the 1 gig card on my PDA. I store a lot of stuff on it and have yet to use up 10% of the memory. If it breaks I can pull out the card and drop it into a new one and be up and running in minutes.
Being half deaf on the left, I wish someone would figure out a "hack" for balance control. Pretty sad such an obvious control would have to be a hack though...
"I can be self-referential if I want to," said Tom, swiftly.
I am so tired of hearing iPod this, iPod that -- these devices are not the first, nor the best, the portable MP3 players. I am also surprised that so many people here in slashdot, who tend to be quite reactionary about privacy and public disclosure rights, seem to blithely surrender to iTunes, that software which rules your music collection -- one which is in some ways spyware (reporting back to apple what you listen to) and is subject to the whims of Apple and its cohorts. At what point will MP3s become unsupported unless digitally signed by some Authorized Party such as Apple or the RIAA? I live my Creative MUVO much better - just drag and drop your music, no sweat, no software, no Big Brother. And, unlike the iPod shuffle which I was misguided enough to get my girlfriend for Christmas, it doesn't require software (iTunes) which caused the CD drive of her computer to no longer be recognized by the OS. I returned it to the store, and am going to buy her a MUVO.
I don't travel so much, but here in Australia just about everyone with headphones seems to have little white headphones. This is my experience in Melbourne and (on a day trip) in Brisbane. They're everywhere!
As to the device itself, I haven't found the sort of problems you've had. In my experience it's been trivial to get music onto it. I bought one for my fiancee, and was rewarded at work with a Nano. I'd have never bought an mp3 player for myself, but after being given one, I find I use it a lot.
My fiancee is a PC user, with no particular feelings for or against Apple. She found the iPod simple to use, and now it's the source of her music collection. After opening the box, we had our entire CD collection of nearly 25GB on it in about 40mins.
The device is not particularly special in the specs, although I'd say they're competitive on price, especially the smaller units. It's just a small hard drive, reasonable audio circuitry and a very smooth interface. There are other options, but after trying them in stores I find them clunky to use. The iPod's not perfect, but it's the best of the bunch.
You say that people are giving Steve Jobs credit for something he didn't do. I've heard that he was personally involved with the project, not at a technical level, but at the design level. If that's true (and I've heard it from different sources, so I don't doubt it) then he can take fairly credit for some part of the iPod, but so also can the design team (headed by Ives, no doubt) and the technical team. It's just that we don't know their names.
Some things that aren't inluded in that list:
- Convert large text files and into notes for use on iPod
- Rip DVD Movies To Your iPod Using Free Software
- Use your iPod Photo or Nano as a Yahoo! Maps directions viewer
- How-To: Get TV shows off of your TiVo and onto your iPod
And that's just from clicking through del.icio.us search results for iPod a few times.Because it's perceived as special by so many people. Successful marketting. Hype leading to popularity.
I'm not attempting to downplay this. I've owned four different MP3 players over the years. Only my latest is an iPod. Why, after three significantly cheaper and perfectly capable MP3 players that I was perfectly happy with until I outgrew them (each has been bigger than the last) did I finally decide upon an iPod?
It had nothing to do with the device itself. Look at it and you'll find no clear advantage to anything else you compare it to. The hard drives aren't bigger than you can get on other devices, it doesn't really play more stuff (less, in fact, than WMA-capable players), it isn't really any easier to use than a large number of cheaper competitors.
If you don't see it, you're focused in too close. Pull back the camera a bit, so that you can see more than just the device itself. The reason I bought the iPod wasn't that it was, by itself, any better than the Creative or other players available. No, see those three aisles of iPod accessories in the store next to the iPod?
You can do more with the iPod, not because it does more, but simply because it's the one that everyone is making things for. The Creative player had three accessories I could buy. The iPod had three aisles of accessories. No matter what I wanted, I have a multitude of choices -- which style of case I wanted, what kind of speakers, specially built to both play and charge while it was docked in it, which kind, shape, and color of dash-mounting kit, etc.
The iPod is better because everyone thinks it's better, and manufacturers and sells accessories accordingly. What makes the iPod so special is that everyone thinks it's so special. It's like the proverbial self-fulfilling prophesy -- because so many people perceive it to be special, it actually is.
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
The IPod has a stellar "coolness" factor, but I tell everyone considering one to get an Ipaq instead. Maybe a bit less memory in most configurations, but WiFi, Bluetooth, Web browsing; or interface to your GPS, remote-control just about any IR device, print, use Word, Excel, read Ebooks, receive streamed video from your home server.... and of course, Solitaire. If you're not flush with extra cash, why get a less-capable device for more money?
Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.