Jonathan Ive, the designer of the iPod (and iMacs, iBooks, PowerBooks and more) was awarded by Britain's Queen Elisabeth the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his achievements in industrial design.
Songbird to bring down iTunes? Songbird is open-source music management software that would give users access to more than one music store. It is being compared to the Firefox experience. I still think people miss the fact that it's not the software - it's the seamless integration of the device (iPod) with the software (iTunes). That's going to be difficult to duplicate.
Macworld bestowed their Editor's Choice Awards on the iPod nano and the iPod with video. Playlist Magazine (both magazines are published by the same company by the way) bestowed their Plays of the Year Awards on the iPod nano.
Some might call it the very first twinkle of the iPod future. Now, it can be yours. One of every kind of the Apple Newton is on sale via eBay. Good luck.
You want lyrics? Get them now - the industry is at it again.
**UPDATE: Electronic Frontier Foundation slapped Warner/Chappell with a letter saying the company's actions could be violating law. Warner/Chappell and Pearlyrics issued a joint statement saying, "we are committed to working together to provide consumers a convenient, legal way to find accurate song lyrics."
To earn free songs, order an iTunes Music Store gift certificate from the PayPal website. For every $20 iTunes Music Store gift certificate you purchase, you’ll earn 10 free songs; for every $50 gift certificate, you’ll earn 25 free songs. But, hurry, the promo lasts only until December 31, 2005.
There's some cool new video tutorials on the iTunes Music Store from Ripplecast. Learn how to podcast, learn the new Aperature program, automator and more. And the best part is they're FREE!
MTV and Microsoft are planning to ignore the iPod culture and willtry to compete with iTunes by creating its own rip-off that will not be compatible with the most popular personal media player on the market. The only way they can do this is to bully us into it by integrating it into Microsoft software and by playing even less music videos on the air so they can add more promotion time for a lame venture that we iPod users can hopefully destroy. But I have no strong opinions about this. Let the market decide!
If you're not as anal as I am about having all the id3 tags (the title, artist, album, etc.) of your MP3s, IDTunes might interest you. It will go into your music collection and will fill in 'unknown' or 'unnamed' file names, corrects syntax, corrects spelling, removes duplicates and fills in artist, album, genre and year information. It even adds lyrics to your songs.
If you have a lot of music which is 'unknown' or have a ton of duplicates, IDTunes would be worth it.
So you've been desperate to use your iPod or iTunes to Karaoke that Flock of Seagulls song you love so much. But there are no lyrics or way of doing this, is there? Well, now there is. iStar Composer will find lyrics for your music, and then synchronize it on iTunes or iPod. Pretty cool concept.
Time for the annual "best-of" and "year-in-review" lists. Here's a start:
Macworld (Apple stuff in general)
Playlist
iLounge
Keep checking back. We'll post more when we run across more. Or let us know what you find. I predict we'll see a lot of overlap. As good as the new iPod market might be, it seems to be dominated by several big players, for now anyway.
Apple has launched the iPod 101 site. This site will not only introduce potential iPod buyers to the device, but also provides support, hints, tips and more for existing users.
Check it out!
In probably the most amazing announcement this week was the availability of the 80's classic TV show, "Knight Rider". Before recording albums and hanging out with hot babes, David Hasselhoff was TV's Michael Knight. Apple has really outdone themselves this time.
Oh yeah, the deal also includes Law & Order, The Office, Surface, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Monk, the Sci-Fi Channel’s production of Battlestar Galactica, and classics like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Dragnet, Adam 12 and Knight Rider.
Joking aside, the addition of the "Vintage NBC" content is pretty interesting - and must be a very profitable offering for the networks.
Let's say you want to listen to music through iTunes while you fall asleep. However, you don't want to have it play all night. You can set up a semi-automatic smartlist, but you still have some manual work to do.
Or, you can use a program like iTunEcho. Set the time you want iTunes to play, and iTunEcho will automatically stop iTunes at the specified time.
Want to wake up to iTunes? iTunEcho also allow you to do that as well!
As a big fan of the steering controls on my Nissan Maxima, I had high hopes for Griffin's SmartDeck. Let's just say it's not so smart, at least not in my vehicle.
My first huge complaint is that the tape adapter is extremely LOUD in the cassette deck. I'm not able to crank the volume loud enough in the car to overcome the annoying noise of the adapter itself.
My second even bigger complaint is that it just doesn't work. "Forwarding" the tape adapter does not forward the iPod. It just makes the noise of the cassette adapter LOUDER and stops the music from playing. No amount of adjusting, tinkering, etc. will make it work. I'm sure it works in other cars - it just doesn't in mine.
Even if it did work, I would never be able to get over the annoying noise of the adapter. This cassette adapter is way over-hyped. Buyer beware.
**UPDATE** When calling Griffin to obtain an RMA number, they quized me about the car and the reason for the return. They were very nice and understanding. And they didn't even charge me the normal 20% restocking fee.
There's been a lot of chatter about the new iPod Nano scratching easily. However, it's made out of the same exact material as the full-size iPod. And while you do hear about scratching, it's nothing like the iPod Nano complaints. I think it is just so portable and convenient that it gets tossed around quite a bit in your pocket, purse, etc.
You could get an case for it of course, but it kind of takes away from the sleekness, thiness and sexiness of it.
An alternative is a "film" or "shield" where a thin coating of clear plastic coats the iPod. Macworld has a great article on this type of scratch protection.
If you do happen to have some scratches on your iPod, you can use good ol' fashioned inexpensive Brasso metal cleaner. It's mild abrasion buffs out scratches. I've done this on 3 iPods and the results are amazing. No need to spend a ton of money on special formulas.
Okay, they're number 1 in online music sales, they're number one with MP3 players, what do you mean they're number 7?
They're number 7 in the top 10 list of record sales; beating out Tower Records, Sam Goody and Borders for overall sales. Yes, you read that right, overall sales. And the three mentioned above of course are all retail stores.
Now on to beat Best Buy, Wal*Mart and Amazon.com.
TiVo announced today that you will soon be able to transfer TiVo'ed programs to your iPod (and PSP) via TiVoToGo. I'm all for maxing out both TiVo's and the iPod's capabilities. This is a great idea to add value to both great technologies. Hopefully, it will boost TiVo's financial position so they stick around long term (assuming they're careful about privacy and "red flag" issues for which they've been criticized previously). I'm not concerned about the iPod's longevity!
See also
The recent iPod battery class action settlement has been delayed due to an appeal. Apple confirms that the appeal is not from them. It is likely from a consumer who is smart enough to know that the only ones that benefit from class action lawsuits are lawyers.
Let's just hope that EMI has learned something from the Sony fiasco.
What is up with Sony anyway? Awful MP3 players, letting Microsoft get a giant leap on the PlayStation 3, and so much more. Looking at my Sony TV, Sony DVD Player, Sony Receiver and more, I'm thinking these will be the last...
Well, as much as I like my iPod, I'm already fairly intimate with it that I don't really need to date it. But maybe I'm missing the point of PodDater.com.
Bad jokes aside, it didn't take long for PodDater.com co-founder David Hunegnaw and partner Roopan Dey to bring dating to the new iPod. Interesting concept - search for a potential date, download their video, and watch at your leisure on your iPod.
Registration & profiles are free (for now anyway) if you're interested in checking it out.
This is great and something I'd never do. It really seems to be becoming a cliche now. Duct tape wallets. Duct tape phone. Duct tape, uh, tape. Now, the ubiquitous, all-purpose, grey sticky tape can be used to class-up your ratty, second-rate iPod. Hey, if anything, the instructional photos are delightfully terrible.
Okay - now this is pretty cool & unique. The Internet iTunes Registry enables you to upload your iTunes-generated XML file, which it then analyzes, rates, compares, graphs and so much more. Check it out - really interesting stuff. Here's my Internet iTunes Registry homepage.
If you're fortunate enough to already have a BlueTooth cell phone, there's now a product called the iBlue for iPods and iPod minis that provides the same functionality as a Motorola ROKR by utilizing your cell phone's hands-free capabilities. Unfortunately, the iPod Shuffle, iPod nano, and new iPod with video aren't supported, as they lack the wired remote port which the iBlue plugs into.
You can leave your cell phone in your pocket, purse, or bag. You just need to have easy access to your iPod (which is probably a given anyway). You can listen to your music and answer and make calls without getting out your cell phone, and the iBlue will automatically pause your iPod so you don't miss a beat (this is especially useful for audio books and Podcasts).
The included earphones have a microphone partway down the cord and a button for answering or making calls. After the initial configuration, which includes charging the iBlue's battery (you'll want to do this monthly, per the instructions), plugging it into the iPod, and pairing it with your cell phone, you can put your phone away.
Once you're using your iPod, it's just a push of a button to make or receive calls. A much better experience than regular hands-free accessories for cell phones.
Who really needs convergence when you can pick the peripherals you want and use them seamlessly and wirelessly?
Save 10% off an iBlue! Use coupon code IWantMyiBlue when entering web orders at Small Dog Electronics.
Don't really have anything to say with this. It's just darn funny.
iPod mania, along with other factors, is having a significant impact on the Apple v. Microsoft choice wars. It seems the popularity of the iPod is encouraging some Windows users to convert to Mac. One expert predicts Mac's market share will double by 2014. Keep in mind, that would only be an increase to 4%. Still, nice to see more switchers.
Still using a PC? Make the switch now - Pay no interest for up to 120 days on today's Mac purchase.
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (the fancy name for the group that awards Emmys) is going to announce a new category to award original video content that is designed specifically for devices like cellphones and iPods. It's quite interesting to see recognition of this new medium before there's really even a market or a lot of programs for it. With companies like Sony and Apple pushing it with devices like PSP and the video iPod, it seems the Emmys wanted to look cutting edge and be a leader.
I can accept that some people get away with wearing gigantic headphones in public. It's like the antithesis to wearing earbuds, and a way to get noticed I suppose. Or perhaps they're compensating for some other shortcoming in their life. Nonetheless, I think it's a pretty stupid look. Don't get me wrong, a great set of high quality headphones are awesome for personal, at-home use. I still have my Sony headphones from my radio days that even survived a tornado. But now I digress.
The new m-Tune-N headphones (no need to discuss the stupid name) is a terrible attempt at integrating the iPod. The nano is inserted into the headphones. Then you put the headphones on. Thank god they made access to the click wheel. I mean, that made it so much more convenient. I just cannot see how this is a useful feature. I suppose if you don't have any pockets and need to use both hands for something and you're too cool to use the earbuds and you need to compensate for some shortcoming in your life and you don't need easy access to your iPod controls, then these headphones are for you. Knock yourself out. The price is right.
John Lennon will be releasing his new compilation this week digitally and the rest of his catalog in December, but not on iTunes.
Ah, new technology. The porn industry embraces it first, the Beatles last. According to this article, EMI, who owns the masters, but not the rights to the Beatles music, has been pressuring Apple Corps to embrace the digital music age.
But Apple Computer is yet again in a trademark infringement lawsuit with Apple Corp. Seems the last time they were in court, Apple Corp agreed that Apple Computer could use the name "Apple" as long as they didn't make music. The reported settlement Apple Computer paid was 30 million. When the Macintosh came out, it was capable of producing sounds and music. In typical Apple Computer rebelious fashion, one of the system alert sounds was named "Sosumi" (So Sue Me).
Now that Apple Computer is selling music, Apple Corps believes they are violating their agreement. I'd say that the case was delaying the Beatles appearance on iTunes, but I'm not sure. If you look back in history, they were always the last to jump on the technology bandwagon. Stereo. 8-Track. Cassette. CD's.
As a Beatles fanatic, I already own every song commercially released, as well as quite a few more. So I don't need to download their music. I'm just patiently waiting for them to upgrade the current CD's which were released in the 80's. Listen to their latest release, 1, and you can hear the incredible difference in quality. The bass is incredible (Come Together) and the quality is pristine.
C'mon Apple (Corps), get with the times and get on iTunes so that your fans - old and new - can get the Beatles music. Even the friggin' Rolling Stones are on iTunes.
I've really never understood why people would want FM radio for their MP3 player. I use my iPod primarily to get away from radio.
But if you think you need it, check out Tunestir by Battery Technologies.
You can store favorite stations and even use it as a remote. People also seem to think you need remotes with portable devices. You know, the kind of devices you hold in your hand. Like a remote.
It's hard to believe that Sony would stoop low enough to destroy consumers' faith in the CD format, a format they helped balloon to mass popularity so long ago, by hiding dangerous software on its PCs in the name of copyright protection. These multimedia giants are ridiculously behind on the role of digital music in our lifestyles.
More evidence that iPods and iTunes are the future (and Macs, naturally).
Here's a new portable iPod speaker system by Tivoli. Tivoli is a premium name with a premium sound.
This system has a detachable speaker, supports Apple's new universal dock standard, a nice remote, and that premium Tivoli sound.
Read the review at iLounge.com.
iLounge.com has just reviewed the new Kensington SX2000 iPod speaker system that is one of the first to use the new universal dock standard.
Quite an interesting design. Almost looks like a flat panel monitor.
Apple announced that in the 20 days following the release of the iPod with video, they have sold over 20 million videos. If you ask me, that's a ringing endorsement to the concept and definitely gives legs to selling videos online.
If you haven't seen the new iPod yet, you really need to see it. The screen is incredible and the viewability is amazing.
Samsung has announced it will introduce an online music service to compete directly with iTunes. Yeah, good luck.
If you're in the market for a case for your iPod, there are literally thousands of choices. The Apple Store online offers a mere 185 pages (yes, pages) of cases. That's over 1000 cases. There's even a $75 Kate Spade case. That's nearly the cost of a Shuffle and 1/4 the price of a new iPod!
I wouldn't even begin to recommend a case - I've had 4 iPods over the years (and trying to find a way to get the fifth) and I've yet to buy a case.
Wired has a great article on the new Motorola/Apple/Cingular iTunes phone, the ROKR. The much-anticipated and now lamented, the ROKR was released on the same day as the iPod nano.
I haven't seen the phone yet, but from everything I've read, it's just so-so. It is limited to 100 songs. You can't purchase and download songs on the phone - you need to sync it just like an iPod with iTunes.
It's probably not a bad phone, but I haven't yet encountered any mobile device that does more than one thing well. I have a Blackberry phone and it's fine as a Blackberry, but really stinks as a phone.
Update: Attended an event at Cingular Wireless the other night (their headquarters is here in Atlanta) and they were raffling a phone to attendees. They made a big joke about how they were originally going to raffle a ROKR, but considering all the negative press, they thought the RAZR would go over better.
It was bound to happen. When reports surfaced soon after the Nano's release that it was too easily scratched, you could see this coming. Apple doesn't comment about its lawsuits, but was the Nano rushed to market? I guess the court will have to tackle that issue if it isn't settled like the battery controversy.
Got a closer, second look at the new iPod today. Wow. A colleague of mine bought a lovely black iPod last week, and downloaded Desperate Housewives over the weekend. The screen is beautifully bright and crisp. The weight and profile of this iPod is fantastic. I've got to get my hands on one of these!
What are you waiting for? Get the new iPod today!
The first iPod came out in October 2001. Just 4 years later and we're already on the 5th Generation iPod. Not sure which model you have? This article on the Apple support site does a fantastic job of identifying which generation iPod you have.
There have only been 25 different versions of the iPod - I mean, c'mon - keep up, man! :-)
Okay, not really. But this crushproof case from Otterbox is waterproof up to depths of 1 meter. Not only does it keep out the water, but it also keeps out the sand, dust or dirt. The exceptional thing about this case is that you can still control the iPod while it's in there, as well as plug in headphones - all without breaching the waterproof seal.
And if that's not enough, checkout these submersible/waterproof headphones by SwimMan.
Fits 4th generation iPods including the mini.
Read the review at PlayListMag.com.
H&M Holdings, the current makers of one of the world's first MP3 players - the Rio, has announced it is leaving the business citing "intense competition". It's a tough space to compete in, especially when you consider Apple's iPod has a 70% market share.
Most people think the Rio Diamond (pictured) was the first MP3 player. Wrong. That distinction actually belongs to Saehan's MPMan which was released a couple of months earlier than the Rio in Asia.
HP stopped selling the Apple iPod + HP a couple of months ago. However, there are still some in the retail pipeline, sometimes at a great discount. The only thing different about the Apple iPod + HP is the label. Everything else about it is the same. So if you can live without color or video, you can pick up a great deal.
Check out PriceGrabber.com for a list of merchants with stock left. Prices go from $79 (Shuffle) to $249 (iPod 40GB). I've also seen them at your neighborhood warehouse club - BJ's Wholesale, Costco or Sam's Club.
Purchase refurbished iPods starting $79 at the Apple Store
Oregon Scientific has an interesting speaker system for the iPod called the iBall. Sit your iPod in the included transmitter base and send your music up to 100 feet away to the powered speaker array without wires.
The base also charges and syncs the iPod to your computer.
Works with 3G-4G iPods, plus the nano. Not sure if the new iPod with video will work. More information on Oregon Scientific's web site.
There's a new iPod dock in town and it isn't your old generation dock. This one is now universal for all iPod models since the the third generation (1G and 2G didn't dock). In the past, Apple has released a separate dock for every generation.
The universal dock comes with inserts that will hold all the various models of the dockable iPods, except the iPod Shuffle. All you do is slip in the insert that matches your iPod. As with the previous dock, it comes with audio out, dock connector and s-video ports.
However, it doesn't end there. The new dock sports an infared sensor which goes with the new Apple Remote (purchased separately of course). The remote is the same as the one shipping with the new iMac G5. As you'd expect, it controls volume, skip, rewind and fast forward. If you're lucky enought to have the new iPod with video, the remote lets you control the video.
iLounge.com has a very good in-depth review of these new components.
Buy the new dock and remote today!
Gift certificates from the iTunes Music Store are great - but if you want to buy that special someone a specific song or album it wasn't possible - until iTunes 6.
Simply click the Gift This Music from any song or album listing. Key in the email address and you've sent someone the gift of music.
If you want to gift some music to me, the email address is way2poppy(at)konfrst.com. :-)
Give the gift of music with iTunes gift certificates
You don't have to just view videos from the iTunes Music Store - you can convert just about any video you already have on your computer with QuickTime 7 Pro.
QuickTime 7 Pro is an awesome program. It is well worth the $30 price tag. Convert video. Convert music. Record sound. Extract sound. Extract stills. View movies in full screen. Encode. Decode. View high-definition video. There are so many things this program can do.
Apple has created a helpful 8-step process to convert your videos for use on the iPod with video.
QuickTime 7 Pro for Mac OS X
QuickTime 7 Pro for Windows
Black & White - more choice than before, but it may not reflect your true personality. If you are looking for something outside the norm, consider iPods from Colorware. Lots of different color choices. Blue iPods, green iPods, even pink. If you miss the color options the iPod minis gave you, here's an alternative.
Contemplating an iPod vs. Sony PSP? There are a lot more similarities than you might think. Both play music and both play videos. The PSP adds high-end games.
Playlistmag.com has a good side-by-side comparison of the iPod with video and the PSP. As with anything, it really all comes down to what you want to do with it. There are very few devices that can do multiple things and do them all well and conveniently.
There's always Apple's dock, but here's a truly innovative way - wirelessly. The Belkin TuneStage sends your music wirelessly to a receiver that is hooked up to your home stereo. Control the iPod as you would normally, but instead of listening to it through your headphones, listen to it through your stereo; without the mess of wires. The iPod essentially becomes the remote control. Awesome concept.
It's a bit pricey at $180 USD, but if you want to listen to your iPod through the stereo without messing with a spaghetti mess of wires, this might be a great solution.
Playlistmag.com has a good review of this unique iPod home stereo solution.
Got a problem with your iPod? Check out the discussion board over at apple.com. If you are having an issue, chances are good you're not the only one.
Okay. I was skeptical. Watching TV or videos on a 2.5 inch screen? Come on - way too small.
Went on a field trip to the Apple Store over lunch today and played with the new iPod. It's lighter & thinner. The screen is brighter and more stunning than ever. Even if all you plan to do with it is listen to music, you'll appreciate the larger display.
And surprisingly, watching video is not bad! I could certainly see watching the iPod on a plane, train, bus or carpool. Not sure I would want to watch Gone With The Wind on it, but a 30-45 TV show or video, absolutely.
The addition of black is cool as well - a refreshing change from the white, and not as feminine as the iPod minis. Anyone want to buy my 60GB iPod Photo? :-)
Read the review & comments at Gizmodo.com. Playlistmag.com has some practical information about the new iPod as well.
Get music at your fingertips from the Apple Store.
Using your iPod in the car can be tricky. There are FM radio transmitters, cassette adapters, custom installs and more. Griffin has come up with something truly unique - the Griffin Smart Deck Cassette Adapter. What makes this cassette adapter unique is that you can control your iPod using your tape deck controls. Hit the seek button on the tape deck and the Smart Deck will advance to the next song on the iPod. Very cool. Very innovative. Very simple. Why didn't I think of this?
There's a great review of this unique iPod car solution at PlaylistMag.com. My iPod cassette adapter from Griffin has already been ordered.
Not getting the playback time you'd like? Apple has put together some great information on how to maximize your playback time by carefully selecting the features you use. There's also fantastic information on the Apple site for taking care of and extending the battery life of your iPod.
Still want more playback time? Extend your iPod playback time even further with the Belkin Battery Pack for iPod.
This can happen after an upgrade of iTunes - most notably from iTunes 4 to iTunes 5. All you need to do is go to the "Advanced" menu and click "Deauthorize Computer". Then double-click on a purchased song, authorize the computer, and then re-sync your iPod. The songs will now play.
Apple posted an update to iTunes 6 recently to 6.0.1. This release does not add any new features, but according to Apple, it features several stability improvements over iTunes 6.
If you use multiple computers for your music, you will need to upgrade all your computers that purchase music from the iTunes Music Store to iTunes 6.0.1.
The incredible iPod nano is absolutely "impossibly small". If you haven't seen it in person, the TV & internet ads just do not do it justice. I thought for sure my fingers would be too big for the click wheel, but I was pleasantly surprised to have no issues. If you are looking for an MP3 player to take to the gym, on a jog or sitting on a plane - this is perfect. It is so light you hardly feel anything. And by using flash memory instead of a hard drive, the nano is skip-free. The color screen is definitely an improvement over the iPod mini (the nano's predecessor). The screen is incredibly sharp - more so than any other iPod (save the iPod Video). Playlist Magazine thinks this is the coolest iPod yet*. Read the full review at PlaylistMag.com.
*at least until they review the iPod video. :-)
Get an iPod nano Personalized with Free Engraving at the Apple Store
