Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Rip CDs Directly to Your iPod

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the get-ready-for-someone-to-toss-a-lawsuit dept.

Kevin writes "A company out of Taiwan has released a device that rips audio cds directly to your iPod. It converts them to MP3 and even does all the tagging for you." Zettabyte, the company producing the units, hopes to hit market within the year and while it could work for any MP3 player, it is being marketed exclusively for the iPod right now.

11 of 85 comments (clear)

  1. Now the big question: by Doctor+Memory · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Will it cost less than the iPod itself? I mean, yeah it's cumbersome dragging out the laptop and stuffing CDs in it, but I already have it. I'm not going to shell out US$200+ for yet another device to clutter up a desk drawer during the 98% of its life that I'm not using it...

    --
    Just junk food for thought...
    1. Re:Now the big question: by wed128 · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's not marketted at you. It's for people with a) no computer, b) an old computer that they'd rather not replace, but does not support the ipod, or c) use an alternative operating system in which ipod support is abysmal.

  2. Re:How Long by Otis2222222 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I'd like to see them try. If you own a physical CD, ostensibly one that you bought legally, and you copy its contents to your iPod, no laws have been broken. If you got said CD from your neighbor there could be issues, but I'd say that a device like the one in question has, as they say, "substantial non infringing uses".

    After all, if it's well established that you can legally use an iPod in the first place, then what is the legal difference between putting a CD in your computer, ripping it, and copying it to your ipod versus eliminating the middleman and copying the CD to your iPod directly?

  3. Re:How Long by dividedsky319 · · Score: 3, Informative

    How long til the RIAA finds this out and makes them disappear from the face of the earth. Good idea, but I have a feeling it won't hit the market, and if it does, it won't be there long.

    Why do you say that? This isn't really any different than ripping to iTunes on a computer and transferring it to your iPod. You have the physical cd that you purchased (well, possibly... it obviously works with burned cds too), you're just putting it right onto your iPod.

    This just takes out the "computer" step.

    However, other problems come up too... If a CD is ripped to the iPod, what happens when you plug the iPod into a computer? iTunes doesn't support iPod > computer, so the CD you ripped won't show up and, if automatic sync is enabled, the cd would be deleted.

  4. Small market... by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What is the actualy intersect of people who own digital music players but don't own a computer? It's hard to imagine too many iPod owners out that that don't have a computer...

    --
    Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
    1. Re:Small market... by FFON · · Score: 3, Funny

      computer? i'm typing this from my ipod right now!

      --
      .cig
  5. Re:How Long by Dachannien · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This just takes out the "computer" step.

    One would think that the RIAA would be more supportive of this than it would be of CD-ripping in iTunes for that very reason.

  6. One thing by Mille+Mots · · Score: 4, Funny
    Why buy something to do something that you already have a computer to do it? This is not something that is completely portable either. Honestly I just don't see much use for it - "oh no, I don't want to have to use iTunes or [insert CDripper software] to make mp3s!

    Well, what if you're at a friend's house and (s)he, uh, sells you an old CD. Yeah, sells it to you. But, you don't want to take the actual CD with you, because you're afraid your car will get broken in to. So, you, you know, agree to leave the actual, physical CD at your friend's house, for, you know, safe keeping. You'll probably get it later, anyway. But, you'd really like to have those tracks on your iPod, like, now. So, you whip out your iUpload device, plug it into your iPod and blam!, now you have your newly purchased, perfectly legal music in your iPod.

    So, there you go, one reason why you would buy something to do something you already have a computer to do. And it's perfectly legal!

    Maybe.

    --
    Sig nificant

  7. What we need is...... by ericdano · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What we really need is a hardware device that can rip MOVIES to iPod video format quickly. Waiting hours to rip a DVD is just insane. Why can't they come out with a super fast way to rip them to an iPod??

    --
    It's either on the beat or off the beat, it's that easy.
    I moderate therefore I rule!
    --
    1. Re:What we need is...... by GlassHeart · · Score: 3, Informative
      Why can't they come out with a super fast way to rip [movies] to an iPod?

      Firstly, because video compression is a very CPU-intensive process. While faster CPUs or custom hardware may improve its speed, neither is likely to be very cheap. It's not as if people are making it slow just for fun, you know. Secondly, ripping commercial DVDs is currently illegal in the US due to the DMCA, so you might understand the reluctance on the part of manufacturers.

  8. Whooosh! by 93,000 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sorry, dude. Had to.

    --
    Sweet informative mod.