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iPod Shuffle Finds Its Voice
theodp writes "Steve Jobs wasn't around to convince you that you should be impressed, but on Wednesday Apple unveiled a 4GB Shuffle that's half the size of its predecessor. Holding up to 1,000 songs, the pre-shrunk Shuffle sports a 10-hour battery life and also adds a new VoiceOver feature that can recite song titles, artists, and playlist names, as well as provide status information. Even without a show from Steve, the new player is generally leaving folks dazzled, although there are some complaints."
Update: 3/14 at 14:10 by SS: Reader Mike points out some disturbing news that the new Shuffle contains DRM which, according to a review at iLounge, prevents it from fully working with any headphones that don't have an Apple "authentication chip."
Here it is: iSophagus
http://store.sluggy.com/detailed-isoph.html
I always thought how big and clumsy my Shuffle is, thank god they finally addressed this issue !
839*929
Yeah, it's almost like the Shuffle doesn't have a screen or something.
Oh.
You can fast forward and rewind, although you need to read the manual for that ;-)
Double-click-and-hold and triple-click-and-hold, respectively.
What else is new. The EFF has spent their entire existence trying to run out in front of every parade.
You want to like the guys, but then you realize that they survive by pandering to the type of mongoloids who Slashdot and Digg appeal to.
Well, extrapolating from the trend so far, you'll be losing the next gen shuffle in your ear.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
OK, this is an interesting new marketing strategy for a company as a way to remove a product from their line. You don't ever have to stop selling it. You just keep halving its size until no one is sure whether they have bought one or not.
With some good access to the RDF, everyone will continue to hear music, whether or not there was actually a device in the box.
I still own a first generation Shuffle. I think it weighs 50 grams. Really, that's just to much to bear, carrying it in my briefcase. I know that if my briefcase only had a 10.7 gram Shuffle in it, it would be MUCH easier on my walk to work.
The thing that one needs to remember is that anyone, no matter who they are, who questions Apple or points out any problem with Apple's behaviour, is evil. Apple is always right. We are fortunate to be living at the same time that Apple exists.
Just because you are paranoid does not mean that no-one is out to get you.
Um, whoosh?
Too bad Rockbox has "by techies, for techies" approach to the user interface.
The same could be said of KDE. Hasn't stopped it's adoption has it?
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Have you ever tried decaf? Seriously, look into it.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Or this Peter Serafinowicz sketch, it's all coming true!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGGOn-H7s3Q
He wasn't saying there is anything wrong with being a "techie", just that it isn't a good thing when only techies can understand an interface. Because, *gasp* most people aren't techies.
But I'm not most people. How does it matter what other people think about the interface?
But yeah, the other guy was overreacting.
Luckily Apple prevented the installation of Rockbox onto iPods with the 6th gen Classic :/
Luckily for WHO? Not for me, at least.
Oh, you must be new here.
Most music already has this feature. You just gotta wait for it, and you'll even listen to it in the singer's own voice.
LOL! I really had to think about it for a minute to figure out how you could make such an outrageous claim.
I paid the going retail price for a Windows screen reader and got a free Unix computer!
Why would you buy a mp3 player the size of a suppository anyway?
I can only think of one reason. And I sorely wish I could unthink it.