Ipod potential disaster

[Pedal Wench]

We're not talking about PtP file sharing, we're talking about paying for downloads. If I pay the music company for a song I should be able to play it on any device.

That type of protectionism killed Betamax (which was technically a better format) and whatever DVD format that was that recently lost out.

You can play it on any device that supports AAC files, which, since you brought it up, is a better format than MP3, with a much better sound quality at the same bitrate than MP3.

You can also purchase even higher bitrate songs on iTunes that don't have any copy protection.

[OakLeaf]

I'm in that dwindling demographic that still buys CDs. For anything that I plan to listen to on the home stereo, I can't see having a lo-res rip as my only copy. Even the new "iTunes Plus" files don't approach the bitrate of real audio CDs... which don't approach the "bandwidth" of vinyl, but obviously have a lot of advantages over analog reproduction.

The proprietary formats go both ways, too. iPods and many other players don't support .wma files. And, after years of jamming SD cards with a little bit of music on them, into my handheld computer, I found that if I wanted a dedicated music player with some real capacity, I had to get an iPod. None of the other players supports MacOS.

I keep typing more and editing it out, because I start to sound like one of those zealots, which I'm really, really not Yes, I've been a Mac user since 1989, but the initial choice was because I shared my first office - and printer - with a desktop publisher who used a Mac, and since then it's because I haven't seen any real good reason to put myself through the learning curve of an entirely new OS. (Although running Parallels gives me the opportunity to learn it a little bit at a time now, and turn the freakin' thing OFF when I get fed up )

[Pedal Wench]

I'm in that dwindling demographic that still buys CDs. For anything that I plan to listen to on the home stereo, I can't see having a lo-res rip as my only copy. Even the new "iTunes Plus" files don't approach the bitrate of real audio CDs... which don't approach the "bandwidth" of vinyl, but obviously have a lot of advantages over analog reproduction.

The proprietary formats go both ways, too. iPods and many other players don't support .wma files. And, after years of jamming SD cards with a little bit of music on them, into my handheld computer, I found that if I wanted a dedicated music player with some real capacity, I had to get an iPod. None of the other players supports MacOS.

Amen! I still buy them, and I'm still quite heavily involved in the consumer side of the audio biz. I wrote a column on Blu-ray/HD DVD and mentioned the dwindling CD biz and got completely attacked. So, we're not alone -- there are still millions and millions of players.

I also agree that complaining that another player won't play AAC files is like complaining that your Look cleats won't work with your Speedplay pedals. (Like how I turned us back to cycling?) It's not what it's supposed to do. iTunes has no problem with MP3, so it's actually all the other manufacturers who aren't allowing you more flexibility.

[OakLeaf]

Amen! I still buy them

But only to dress up your guinea pigs

[Zen]

iTunes has no problem with MP3, so it's actually all the other manufacturers who aren't allowing you more flexibility.

ipods cost an arm and a leg compared with other playback devices. If we all had to buy ipods that would really cut down the market share.

[KnottedYet]

My iPod was $49. http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/ Love that Shuffle! Low tech enough that even Knot can handle it! And I still haven't filled it up. Holds and plays goodies from CDs and from downloads. Looooove it. (and I put a cute little lady-bug sticker on it, so it's all cuddly and stuff)

[Zen]

But that's only one GB of storage.
What other accoutrement's do you need?
Battery?
Battery charger?

I got 5 GB's and one AA battery.
Fiddy dollars.
(and it says ZEN on the front )

[sandra]

This is how you copy your iTunes music back to your harddrive:

For Windows users to transfer music from an iPod to your hard drive, without extra software:

1. Connect the iPod to your PC. If iTunes starts syncing (ie erasing) your music automatically, hit the X in the upper right hand corner of iTunes display, to the left of the search box, to stop it.
2. In Control Panel, Portable Media Devices, double-click your iPod.
3. In the Tools menu -> Options, in the View Tab, check "Show hidden files and folders."
4. Navigate to the Music folder. On my 2nd gen 'pod, the full path is
Portable Media Devices\GINA'S IPOD (F\iPod_Control\Music
5. Select all the music folders, and drag and drop them into a folder on your hard drive, or directly into iTunes.

And you're done! The iPod music folder structure is strange and inexplicable, but once you move your files into iTunes you can set it to automatically organize your folder by artist and album to clean that up. (To do this, in iTunes Edit menu, choose Preferences and in the Advanced tab, check "Keep iTunes Music Folder organized.")

[Zen]

You can play it on any device that supports AAC files

so if i want to have access to all music I have to have multiple playback devices. Utter nonsense. The music industry is hindered in their marketing skills. Agree on a universal file type.

I guess I'm a just an egalitarian.

I'm in that dwindling demographic that still buys CDs.

I buy CD's and I still listen to vinyl.