My wife was very kind and bought me a Zune for our anniversary, I have spent most of the day transfering CD's onto it, so far I got all the Star Trek Movie Soundtrack, Star Wars soundtracks, the extended Fellowship, my Sinbad soundtracks and most of my James Bond on and I have barley scratched the surface on memory. I think I perfer the Zune because the screen is bigger (about twice) than the I Pod and you can turn it sideways to watch video. Anyone else played with one of these things???

I never got a Zune because I heard they were still working out the kinks. Ipods however, suck. So does their service. End of story.

Ipods however, suck. So does their service. End of story.Not in my experience. I love my iPod (on my second one now), and I carry it everywhere I go, although I usually use it in my car much more than anywhere else. I've had my current one about a year now, and it has never given me a bit of trouble.

Qapla'

SSB

Our family has 3 Ipods. I use mine for the gym all the time. My son has the video Ipod. Again, no problems. The Zune has promise, but there are still some bugs to be worked out.

I perfer the Zune because the screen is bigger (about twice) than the I Pod and you can turn it sideways to watch video.I believe this is true of Apple's forthcoming iPhone (which doubles as an iPod), and I'd look for it soon on the iPod itself.

Qapla'

SSB

I never got a Zune because I heard they were still working out the kinks. Ipods however, suck. So does their service. End of story.


LOL... whatever man. :p

I love my iPod. Wife loves her iPod. Siblings and their kids love their iPods. End of story.

I bought a refurbished one once. True, its refurbushed but that just means it was restored to like new condition. I noticed my battery wasnt lasting long, and so I called them up, and they said they would fix it. A week or so later, I get a replacement. A REPLACEMENT when all i ordered was a REPAIR. So anyway things are going well until I realize the new one doesnt last either. It was only lasting about 5 hours instead of 14. So I go to the site and run this test: shut off EQ and backlight, and run the same album over and over until it dies. It died in 11 hours. So even when I wasn't hardly using it, it still wasnt near what I paid for. So I call and ask for a refund, but they wont do that because it was shipped 14 days before than, (even though I only had one in my possession for about 4 days total.) After confronting several people over an hour, they finally put me with some guy who thinks he is a genius, and tells me what I already know: ITS BROKEN. So he says he is going to force apple to send me a brand new one, non-refurbished. I send it back in, and guess what? I get the same one back 10 days later stating that there is no problem, which is a joke. In fact, it was even worse than when I sent it in! I tried to get ahold of the guy I talked to, but never could because the line was always busy.(Gee, wonder why.) So I said "screw this" and sold it to mom for $100(I paid 150), but she was aware of the issues, but thought that $100 dollars was reasonable. After about a month, she is now complaing that the battery is about to die out completely.

The products cost way more that other companies, and they dont give you as much. Sure, they look nice, but that is what you are paying for. Oh, and by the way, they wont replace your battery, because it supposedly costs over $200. They'll just tell you to get a new one. Why would I do that? Besides, its just the sort of cell battery I could get at walmart, only its the rechargable kind. It doesnt cost $200. It CANT. How could they even get away with selling something for less than what they paid anyway?

I could continue but this post is getting rather long. Sorry if it bothers anyone, but since the topic has been brought up, I thought I should share my story for those considering an mp3.

Oh, and by the way, they wont replace your battery, because it supposedly costs over $200. They'll just tell you to get a new one.Huh? Battery replacement on Apple's site is $66, worst case. And they do it for you. You can do it yourself for less money, if you're willing to crack open the iPod yourself.

See: http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/service/battery/

Qapla'

SSB

I used a Palm E2 as my MP3 player till the wife got me a PSP. Though initially I didn't like the PSP because it lacked PDA functions I was used to, eventually it's superior screen, Wifi, and web browser made it unlikely I'll return to a Palm. And with a 4GB memory stick it holds a lot of music and video.

My problem with the Ipod is being stuck with Itunes, I like being able to tranfer songs from CD's and the computer directly.

My problem with the Ipod is being stuck with Itunes, I like being able to tranfer songs from CD's and the computer directly.Not sure what you mean; most of the music of my iPod is ripped from my own CDs. True, you do have to rip them to iTunes to get them into the iPod, but I don't see how that's a drawback. I have my entire library backed up to stack of about 8 DVD-R discs.

Am I missing something?

4GB of space is not even close to enough for me; I have a 60GB iPod with video.

Qapla'

SSB

Not sure what you mean; most of the music of my iPod is ripped from my own CDs. True, you do have to rip them to iTunes to get them into the iPod, but I don't see how that's a drawback. I have my entire library backed up to stack of about 8 DVD-R discs.

Am I missing something?

Haven't owned an Ipod or used Itunes, I was under the impression you couldn't just transfer songs directly from the computer, I have a lot of obscure stuff I downloaded in the old days of Napster and Morpheus.




4GB of space is not even close to enough for me; I have a 60GB iPod with video.

Qapla'

SSB

I guess it's depends on your defination of "enough", right now I have 258 songs, the MST3k movie, several MST3k shorts, several RSS video and audio feeds, and a ton of game saves and downloads, and my 4 GB card is still 63% empty!

Again, I'm not knocking the Ipod, I just went a different way.

Doesn't matter what software you use.. you can't play CD Audio directly on any MP3-type device. It has to be converted to a compressed format. iTunes is a method for organizing all that. Copied "directly", whatever that means, you wouldn't have things like playlists or tags.

Personally I love iTunes, it does everything I need it to do. Never crashes, sounds and looks great. Easy as hell to organize my music anyway I have ever wanted to. I can't see why people dislike it. Its either anti-Apple bias or they just aren't using it correctly (I see that a LOT actually).

My wife and I both have our iPods and they are great. I've looked at other devices out of curiosity and because I hear certain iPod bashers claim so-and-so's device is so much better.

But you know what? It's the same thing in a different case with crappier software for about the same money. Feature for feature the cost difference is negligible and the iPod is still the easiest to use if you just want to listen to music. I don't like gadgets to try to do it all. And I don't see the point of taking video with me everywhere I go to watch on a tiny screen. I even stopped using my PSP for that. My 40gb iPod is the only thing besides my phone I don't leave home without.

Haven't owned an Ipod or used Itunes, I was under the impression you couldn't just transfer songs directly from the computer, I have a lot of obscure stuff I downloaded in the old days of Napster and Morpheus.No, those will work -- I have a few things like that lurking around from the days when I fiddled around with Audiogalaxy, and iTunes handles them just fine. It works perfectly well with MP3s and various other file formats.

Qapla'

SSB

And I don't see the point of taking video with me everywhere I go to watch on a tiny screen.For the most part, neither do I. I have a little video on mine, and I watched a little of it on my flight from Charlotte to Tallahassee the other day (there was nothing to see out the window except clouds). But the real value comes in situations like this one: Because I was in Boston last week, I watched Lost in my hotel room. My wife tried to tape it but she did something wrong, so she hasn't seen it. So I downloaded last week's episode to my iPod today, and tonight I'll connect the iPod to my TV and we'll get to watch it commercial-free for $1.99.

Qapla'

SSB

Huh? Battery replacement on Apple's site is $66, worst case. And they do it for you. You can do it yourself for less money, if you're willing to crack open the iPod yourself.

See: http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/service/battery/

Qapla'
SSB

They must have put that up just now. I always heard that they wont help you, you have to get a new one. They always seem to change things so that people cant find loopholes. I looked at the return policy and stuff and found that they were cheating me. I look at it again a few days later, and they had changed it. I dont remember exactly what it was, but I never will by an Ipod or Apple product.

I always heard that they wont help you, you have to get a new one. They always seem to change things so that people cant find loopholes.It's been essentially the same procedure for several years; it used to cost more ($99). Note that they do actually replace the iPod itself when you send it in -- but as I noted, if you prefer to change the battery itself, you can. You can spend less and get batteries with longer life, if you choose. See: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ipod/batteryreplacement/

Qapla'

SSB

Well I have had my Zune for a whole 24 hours; I took it out with me in the truck to work today and its playing in my office now. So far no complaints.

As a dad who maintains 2 ipod nanos, an ipod mini, an ipod video, and a zen micro I can swear that the zen has the others beat to hell.

One of the nano's was to replace a legacy ipod that lasted only 3 years (error reading hard drive). The nanos are buggy, had to reset them to factory settings and reload more than once. Too soon to say about the ipod video (that was a march b-day present).

I used to download Lost on itunes to watch on my PC after missing many of the episodes. It worked fine until an "upgrade" to itunes about 6 months ago. Now it won't play smoothly on my 1.7ghz notebook.

I don't like itunes. It's not intuitive and it's a resource hog. I don't like apple's licensing agreements (apparently they didn't either; the EMI deal does away with them for their library).

But the teenage girls love their ipods: oh so fashionable.

Thanks for the link! My battery is getting weak, I'll give this a try!

It's been essentially the same procedure for several years; it used to cost more ($99). Note that they do actually replace the iPod itself when you send it in -- but as I noted, if you prefer to change the battery itself, you can. You can spend less and get batteries with longer life, if you choose. See: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ipod/batteryreplacement/

Qapla'

SSB

We had two ipods: mine and my eldest son got a video Ipod. He took really good care of it too - encasing it in plastic and never letting even the slightest smudge stay any longer than a few seconds.

One day he lets one of his younger brothers borrow it on his way to school. My wife had to stop suddenly and the ipod (which had been carefully placed on the center console) goes sliding forward and drops into the cup holder. PLOP! Right into my wifes hot tea! :eek:

The screen immediately went blank and the ipod wouldn't start anymore no matter what we did.

Well, we felt bad. He was being kind and sharing and all. So we bought him a brand new one.

A month later: The tea soaked ipod flashes back to life and is no worse for the wear. All the songs are still there - it's perfect!

We now own three...:rolleyes:

I've only used iPods, so can't comment on others or make comparisons. I usualy get all of my new songs from allofmp3.com. I couldn't get one particular song that I wanted, so I downloaded it from itunes store. It won't upload to my iShuffle (although it goes to my 1st geberation 20GB iPod) and since buying it I've had to reinstall XP on my computer, which now of course says that it's my second computer that i've registered for this song. So, I won't be using the itunes store to buy any music again, since eventually over the years with computer upgrades etc, I'll have to go and buy it again I guess that's what the DRM is all about. The program itself is as good as any other for playing music. (WMP 11 for example).

I bought my son a Sandisk MP3/Video Player, for about 1/2 what I would have payed for an iPod. So far it's been dropped and sent through the wash in his pocket. We let it air dry for 3 days and it is still working pefectly. I'm impressed. It can't be beat for the price.

We had two ipods: mine and my eldest son got a video Ipod. He took really good care of it too - encasing it in plastic and never letting even the slightest smudge stay any longer than a few seconds.I bought a hard plastic case for mine at the same time I bought the iPod itself. I used latex gloves to handle the iPod when I took it out of the box; it went straight into the hard case and has stayed there ever since. I figure I'll be able to get a little more for it whenever I decide to sell it because it will be in pristine condition. If not, at least I'm not constantly wiping fingerprints off the thing as I use it.

As I usually use the iPod in my car, it is almost always tethered to a charger. Maybe that's why my battery lasts quite a while, even after a year of use. Last night, after I hooked it up to the TV, I watched an episode of Lost and two episodes of the remastered Star Trek, running off the battery. It was still showing about two-thirds of a full charge this morning when I put it back on the charger in the car. After my 40-minute drive to work (during which I was listening to podcasts), the battery is fully charged again.

Qapla'

SSB

I'm an Apple certified techie. I don't own an iPod, and don't even like the sound of the compressed MP3's. iPods and iTunes work fine with each other though. Zune is just reinventing the wheel. but with more corners. being that I was a DJ decades ago, and paid my ASCAP & BMI fees, I wil just copy the vinyl, one tune at a time, and pick what I want. The rest I'll get from RadioLover, an application that grabs, copies, stores and labels music it hears on any internet radio stream. I listen to SOMA-FM's "Secret Agent" stream. Last weekend I got 870 new tunes added to my collection, and I'll have to go out n buy some of the artists CD's to hear more.

Secret Agent is righteous. :thumbsup:

I'm able to copy CDs to the Mac, then plug in the iPod and download (sync) the tracks to it. In the past, I didn't get tags from CDs, but now I do. I think it's a feature of newer builds of iTunes.

No worries, except that syncing an iPod to a different computer erases the tunes from the old computer and replaces them with the tunes from the new one. It erases them on the iPod, not the computer. So I just sync to the same computer each time.

syncing an iPod to a different computer erases the tunes from the old computer and replaces them with the tunes from the new oneI avoid that by using manual syncing; I have to do that anyway, because I have more stuff in iTunes than will fit on my iPod. That's because I have two seasons of Alias, two seasons of Lost and a few movies in my iTunes library, as well as significant amounts of music saved as AIFF and Apple Lossless formats.

I have 8037 items in my iTunes library. It would take 29.1 days to play through everything non-stop!

I do wish iTunes would allow you to view duplicate songs on your iPod, as you can with your iTunes library. Maybe in a future version ...

Qapla'

SSB

We had two ipods: mine and my eldest son got a video Ipod. He took really good care of it too - encasing it in plastic and never letting even the slightest smudge stay any longer than a few seconds.

One day he lets one of his younger brothers borrow it on his way to school. My wife had to stop suddenly and the ipod (which had been carefully placed on the center console) goes sliding forward and drops into the cup holder. PLOP! Right into my wifes hot tea! :eek:

The screen immediately went blank and the ipod wouldn't start anymore no matter what we did.

Well, we felt bad. He was being kind and sharing and all. So we bought him a brand new one.

A month later: The tea soaked ipod flashes back to life and is no worse for the wear. All the songs are still there - it's perfect!

We now own three...:rolleyes:

You know what it is, don't you? Obviously iPods can't hold their tea.

Darn you Apple! DARN YOU ALL TO HECK!! :mad:

I've only used iPods, so can't comment on others or make comparisons. I usualy get all of my new songs from allofmp3.com. I couldn't get one particular song that I wanted, so I downloaded it from itunes store. It won't upload to my iShuffle (although it goes to my 1st geberation 20GB iPod) and since buying it I've had to reinstall XP on my computer, which now of course says that it's my second computer that i've registered for this song. So, I won't be using the itunes store to buy any music again, since eventually over the years with computer upgrades etc, I'll have to go and buy it again I guess that's what the DRM is all about. The program itself is as good as any other for playing music. (WMP 11 for example).

Arrrgh, me't'anks ye for the link, matey... ;)

I had a similar "problem" when I recently switched PCs. When I authorized the new one iTunes told me that was authorized PC #2 out of a maximum of 5. I was incensed that after 5 PC "authorizations" my songs will no longer be playable. Until I realized it's possible to "de-authorize" PCs, so in effect you could maintain the maximum 5 in perpetuity as long as you remember to de-authorize a PC you're planning on junking. Too late with my old one since it's now kaput, but I'll keep it in mind when I replace my new one 10 years from now.

Arrrgh, me't'anks ye for the link, matey... ;)Yeah, it's a great site. I've never had a problem. It will be good when they start doing music video. Thanks for the de-authorising tips... I will check it out.:thumbsup:

My wife's 30gb iPod died in the first week but was replaced. Mine hasn't had any problems. It's like having a radio station that plays all your favorite tunes with commercials! And, yes, I do download TV episodes to watch on the plane. In spite of the small size, the picture is very sharp.

The only complaint I have about iPods is the lack of instruction. I had to go online and find out about manual synchronization (and the ability to play it through my computer at work with it trying to auto-sync). A store tech had to show me how to reboot. And I never have figured out On-The-Go playlists. Generally Apple wants you to think the iPod is so easy to use and gives you minimal instructions onj how to use it.

Jim

I like the Archos meself. I have the 160 GB 504 and it's really nice.

Well I just made the long trip to Phoenix over the weekend and packed the Zune with...it sure was nice not having to decide what CD's to pack on the trip just grab the player and pick from the 480 tracks I've loaded so far, a neat invention all around.

Just got done replacing the battery of my 4thG ipod. It was hard, but after you get the nuances, not that bad. If anybody wants a heads up, email me and I'll fill you in.

And I never have figured out On-The-Go playlists.Highlight a track you want to add to your "On The Go" playlist. Press and hold the center button on the iPod's control panel for about two seconds, until the highlighting on the track name flashes briefly.

That's it. The track is now added to the playlist.

Qapla'

SSB

I would like to see a version of the iPhone become the next iPod.
With just the ability to play songs and view movies on a wide screen, that would be the version i'd like.

I would like to see a version of the iPhone become the next iPod.
With just the ability to play songs and view movies on a wide screen, that would be the version i'd like.

According to The Today Show gadget geek, there's a $99 version coming "real soon" that will lack the phone and touchscreen features. Instead of a touch screen, it operates with the standard Ipod wheel, but will still be the same size as the Iphone screen with all the other features.

One of the things I like about my PSP over my old Palm is the wide screen.

Don't own an iPod or anything else like that.

I can't see paying a few hundred bucks for something so small.
I hear too many stories about them getting lost and stolen.

I use mine at the gym or in the car. That's all. BTW, It's the same size as my wallet.

I can't see paying a few hundred bucks for something so small. I hear too many stories about them getting lost and stolen.Obviously, you've never bought jewelry! ;) Truthfully, the size is about right. Big enough (unless you're talking about the iPod Shuffle) to easily keep track of it, yet not so large that carrying it is a burden. I never know from one day to the next what I might want to hear in the car, so it beats by a mile carting around the huge stack of CDs I used to always have bouncing around in the car -- often picking up damage in the process. It wasn't uncommon for me to have a hard time finding the disc I wanted as I was driving, and I'd have to give up and wait until I stopped. And if I changed discs while driving, it was likely I wouldn't be able to return it to the jewel box, so it could get scratched. Changing what I'm listening to on the iPod is easy to do at a red light. And the only time theft was a problem for me was when I had about 100 CDs stolen out of my car about 15 years ago -- some of which I have not been able to replace to this day, and may never be replaced. I always bring the iPod with me when I leave the car, or I stash it away, out of sight.

Qapla'

SSB

Of course you'll her more horror stories about iPods. They've sold what, like 7 Zunes? Vs a trillion or so iPods. Exaggeration sure. Ya get my point. Zune is yet another poorly designed copy of an Apple product. Bottom line is that they all sound crappy when attached to a real high end sound system.

Obviously, you've never bought jewelry! ;) Truthfully, the size is about right. Big enough (unless you're talking about the iPod Shuffle) to easily keep track of it, yet not so large that carrying it is a burden. I never know from one day to the next what I might want to hear in the car, so it beats by a mile carting around the huge stack of CDs I used to always have bouncing around in the car -- often picking up damage in the process. It wasn't uncommon for me to have a hard time finding the disc I wanted as I was driving, and I'd have to give up and wait until I stopped. And if I changed discs while driving, it was likely I wouldn't be able to return it to the jewel box, so it could get scratched. Changing what I'm listening to on the iPod is easy to do at a red light. And the only time theft was a problem for me was when I had about 100 CDs stolen out of my car about 15 years ago -- some of which I have not been able to replace to this day, and may never be replaced. I always bring the iPod with me when I leave the car, or I stash it away, out of sight.

Qapla'

SSB

Yeah, but those CD's are a heck of a lot smaller than caring around LP's.
And I used to have such a skipping problem with the LP's in the car.

And I used to have such a skipping problem with the LP's in the car.You too? And geez, don't leave 'em in the car on a hot day ...

Qapla'

SSB

The only complaint I have about the ipod is that it scratches way too easily-even when precautions are taken. They should have used glass rather than plastic like on the iphone. That's really my only complaint. Sound quality is excellent (get better earphones or headphones) and import your music at 128 kbps or higher. I have a 60 gig video ipod, and it's amazing. Not only do I have a ridiculous amount of music, but as of now there are also 14 full length films with excellent video and audio quality on board too. Sometimes it's nice to just listen to the audio track of films as you work or whatever. Itunes works great at syncing everything up and downloading new podcasts as well. I've had mine over a year now and use it nearly everyday and have had no problems with it.

I think ipods, Zunes, Zens or whichever are definitely the best things that music lovers have had so far. CD's are cool for home use, but can be tedious in the field, and subject to damage. Don't even get me started on cassettes! All I can say is if you love music, get an ipod or any of the other players. The ability to find and play any song or album in your collection with just a few clicks is a great experience.