The Great Ipod Thread - All Ipod and MP3 player related threads are merged here.

[amitverma]

what do u mean by "in one rip".
does it rip the PCM CD-audio to ogg/wma directly?

[navin]

Originally Posted by amitverma

what do u mean by "in one rip".
does it rip the PCM CD-audio to ogg/wma directly?

simple today if you want a 5 different files using 5 different encoders you have to run the CD 5 times. using Wack you can run the CD once and it will then call different encoders (serially) and encode the CD into various formats.

Running the CD is the most time consuming task if once has to do it with CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) my CD ROM drive does thi at about 3.5-5x (it is rated at 48x). Using WACK you save this time.

[gunbir]

Folks... Got to play with a black 2gb Nano yesterday... The pictures dont do it justice. This thing is tiny!!! And soooo gorgeous. Drool... Wish it had more space... like 20/40 GB. A couple of GB wouldnt cut it for me...

[khanak]

As long as we are talking about Ipod alternatives

20GB player from Sony



40GB media player from i river(plays videos) - $500



5GB player from i river - $250

[devarshi84]

nokia has a 5gb hdd phone with wireless

samsung has a 3gb phone the i300 with windows OS


I hope they price it well and they will beat this mp3 players one day(that day is still a year or two away.)

[navin]

sad thing about iriver. for a media player one would need 400GB not 40GB. I got 800GB on my desktop and it's already 3/4 full. (50GB MP3, 180GB WavPack, 200GB MPEGs, 30GB JPG, etc..). It adds up pretty fast. my 60GB ipod is full (you get 55GB and you should have 10% free so all that is usable is 50GB).

[Rtech]

Watch out for the Nano guys...

Originally Posted by news.bbc.co.uk

Electronics firm Apple has admitted there have been problems with its new iPod Nano music player, after a string of complaints about damaged screens.

The smaller version of the popular iPod was hailed as a design breakthrough when it was unveiled a few weeks ago, with the cheapest model costing £140.

Apple says a manufacturing problem has left screens on one batch vulnerable to cracks and is offering replacements.

It says the problem affects fewer than a tenth of 1% of all Nanos shipped.

However, it denies claims the Nanos are more prone to scratching than other models.

Owners have been complaining about cracked, scratched or inexplicably failing screens, sometimes within hours of buying the machine.

Customer anger

A website set up by Nano owner Matthew Peterson to collate complaints with a view to forcing Apple to address the issue received 30 e-mails per hour.

He closed down the site after Apple acknowledged there was a problem with some Nano screens, posting a message entitled "Apple does the right thing".

At the launch of the Nano at the start of September, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs introduced the "impossibly small" gadget - which is the thickness of five credit cards - by pulling the device out of his pocket.

But others have found carrying the device in this manner has resulted in inexplicable damage to the music player, which Apple's UK website sells for £140 for a model which can store up to 500 songs and £180 for one which stores 1,000.

One fifteen-year old, who had saved up to buy his Nano, found the machine suffered a cracked screen within three hours of buying it.

"I pulled my iPod out and my heart dropped. The LCD was half destroyed, but there is no visible scratch or mark on the outside of the iPod," he wrote.

Another irate customer said: "If I had done something to damage my iPod I wouldn't be as angry as I am because it would be my fault. But I haven't done anything," he wrote.

Mr Peterson, a financial consultant and loyal Apple fan, described how his Nano was damaged.

Too fragile

iPod Nano
Steve Jobs launched the "impossibly small" new music player

"My Nano broke on day four. The screen that is. It shattered. It was in my pocket as I was walking and I sat down. No, I didn't sit on it, it was just in my pocket just as all iPods before it have done," he said.

He said the Nano was too fragile and should be recalled and improved.

iPod repair company iPod ResQ announced a temporary price increase on its iPod Nano screen replacement service due to what it describes as "overwhelming demand".

Apple says the problem with screens on some Nanos is quality issue rather than a design fault and is offering to replace the machines affected.

But a spokeswoman told BBC News Website the new machines were not more prone to scratching than other models.

She said: "The iPod Nano is made from the same high quality polycarbonate plastic as the very popular fourth generation iPod.

"If customers are concerned about scratching we suggest they use one of the many iPod Nano cases becoming available."

UK gadget magazine Stuff told the BBC News website it had had no reader complaints about the Nano.

Managing editor Adam Vaughan said his experience of the player was that it was "not as fragile as it looked". It had withstood considerable wear and tear, including being dropped.

"Like any gadget, it has got a bit scratched but that's about it," he said.

[tsk1979]

Oops they did it again!
This is not the first time apple goofed up, denied the goof up, and due to customer pressure admit to goof up. First it was batteries, then its the screens. I do not blame the engineers though. In this era of cut-everything cost cutting they *cannot* do anything. you wont believe to what lengths management will go in the Hardware industry to save 5 cents for a 5$ chip.
... Speaking from expirience.

[devarshi84]

I never liked ipods. they are more show than go. The sound sucks when compared to a iriver music player. even the motorola e680i sounds lightyears better than the ipod.

[navin]

oh sure the iriver is better but it dont have 1000 accerories, add ons etc...sort like using betamax when everyone was one vhs.

[devarshi84]

why buy expensive apple extra accessories when you can get good quality acessories from outside.

Its like using a baleno for 8lacs while it really should be selling at 6 lacs.

looks like u search for different functions in a music player than i do.

[navin]

ipod got 3rd party stufff too. i do consider the iriver a better player. i have heard both but the ipod has support and 3rd party stuff out there.

[Sam Kapasi]

Hey Devarshi,

We all know the Mac is a far better computer than the PC.

Still it's very likely you typed out that statement on a PC. Because you get hardware and software for that PC far more easily.

Am I right here in understanding what you're saying here Navin, old man?

[navin]

yup. I'd love to use Mac too but in India you'd be stuck in left field.

[devarshi84]

heheh. I somehow like the apple's mac designs but wouldnt want to use one. We have some mac's for design students in the labs and they are hard to use. I find windows to be better than macs

maybe it is because I have never used macs before and so I am more comfortable with windows.

as for my liking I would like to stick with my mobile phones for music than ipod or iriver.

news: the motorola e680i and many new mobile phones are having bluetooth 1.2 drivers which allow for a stereo bluetooth headset.