iPod - A few questions

[Sput]

Evening all.

Evening!

1) What formats does the player support? The majority of my music is in OGG and MP3 format. Does the player support OGG playback?

Only mp3, it does support AAC though.

2) Is there anything on the immediate horizon which is going to come out and render the iPod obselete?

There are rumours of a colour display ipod in the future so pictures can be viewed, but the newest version of the big iPod has just come out (with the click wheel, 4th edition).

3) Are they *really* as great as the media hype says (asks knowingly that it isn't!)

You get as much out of it as you put into it really. If you don't bother getting into the habit of using it (and Apple have made it very easy to do this what with automatic sync and charging) then you'll probably not feel it's good value.

4) Would you like a cup of tea?

Yes. When can I expect it by?

[Chris]

I was playing with a mate's iPod the other day during lunch whilst in college...

...which could become nothing but an expensive paperweight...

Having never used one of these things before, I felt that it was quite heavy for a portable music player, although he did have an iSkin on his. So yes, it could double up as an expensive paperweight when not being used.

3) Are they *really* as great as the media hype says (asks knowingly that it isn't!)

Well, the 4th gen that he had was a bit annoying with the intergrated play buttons and scroll wheel. The menu system is pretty fancy though - you just scroll and click to select and play songs - pretty simple once you get used to it, but it does get some getting used to. I'd rather the play and select devices stay separate.

Apparently you have to use the bulky iTunes application to put music onto the player. Other things you may not be aware of - the iPod can double up as a data storage device, but you can't directly access any of your tunes on the device, which IMO sucks quite a bit.

[DJGM]

As well as MP3 and AAC file formats, the iPod also supports unencrypted WMA files. In other words, files that are encoded
as Windows Media Audio, but not downloaded from an online music store such as Napster. The iPod does not currently
support Microsoft's version of DRM, and probably never will, unless someone creates an unofficial hack for it.

Since the iPod is hard disk drive based, it can also be used as an external HDD. Depending on the capacity of the iPod you
get, this would be extremely useful for backing up lots of stuff, especially if (for whatever reason) you need to reformat
your PC/Mac HDD. The 4GB iPod mini probably won't be suitable for this, depending on how much music you put on it.

Also, if the BIOS on your PC supports booting from a USB device, you could use an iPod to install another operating
system, without taking up space on your system HDD. This would be great for trying a fully installable Linux distro,
for example, and it would be much quicker overall than using one of the many "Live CD" distros such as Knoppix.

If you do get an iPod, change the trademark white iPod earphones, for a set of standard black ones taken from an
ordinary Sony Walkman. Not that there's anything technically wrong with the earphones that come with the iPod,
but since it's gotten to the point where (almost) everyone wants one, you could become a target for chavs!

[Martin]

Apparently you have to use the bulky iTunes application to put music onto the player.

My 2nd generation ipod can use EPHpod for transfering songs/contacts. It's much better and easier to use than itunes. When I got my ipod they were bundling them with musicmatch and the interface alone was enough to want me to change.

http://www.ephpod.com

[cat]

Just as a bit of advice - if you are at uni, then buy it through the Mac Higher Education store. You have to access it via your uni intranet, but you can get a really good discount.

In the US, I think you can get them at cheap as $66 if you have an education discount, which is nothing really!

[iSon]

I was having a mooch round the Apple Education store today, and it doesn't really work out much cheaper for the less expensive items. But the discount on iBook's and G5's is rather tasty. Might be worth exploring I think...

[cat]

I bought an iBook 12'' yesterday, having sold the old laptop. I had about 250 pounds difference to make up, which I think is a reasonable price for the upgrade that it is, and I'm not planning on selling it... and it was only that much because I added bluetooth internally and extra RAM.

It would've cost me about a grand if I'd bought it normally, but it cost me about £790 quid. Definately worth it.

The only thing is that it's not going to arrive for another week or two. 5-7 days to make, 3-7 days to deliver. Pretty crap delivery time, really.

[Pete]

Requiring an iPod for my street cred, I was wondering if they'd fixed that problem where the battery broke after a year in the new versions?

Plus, taking into account they'll sell out by Christmas. Should I buy one *now* or wait for the sales when I expect an even bigger rush for them?

[DJGM]

In response to the controversy caused by iPod users finding out about the limited overall lifespan of the internal
battery inside earlier models of the iPod, Apple introduced a battery replacement program, where you can send
your iPod to an Apple Service Centre, and have the dead battery professionally replaced by an Apple technician.

Apple obviously charge a fee for this service. Although, having just looked on Apple's website, this seems to
have since been replaced by the Apple Care Protection Plan for iPod, which covers not just the iPod and
it's battery, but also other accesories sold with the iPod, such as the earphones, and the dock connector.

Given the fact that the iPod is rather an expensive item, I'd recommend putting some sort of insurance on it!

Alternatively, there are ways of replacing a dead iPod battery yourself, and you should be able to find guides
on the internet that show you how to do this. Look up "Replacing an iPod battery" or other similar search
terms on Google. Bear in mind though, if you decide to perform battery surgery on the the iPod yourself,
you'll invalidate the warranty, and you could permantently knacker the thing. Meaning another £200+
would have to be spent on buying yourself a brand new iPod, to replace the one you fecked up!

[Fireboy]

If however you do not take out insurance or run over the 2 year warranty the battery replacement page is located here.
It costs £86.29.

AppleCare costs £59, but if you run over the two years then you would have to pay the £86.29 anyway.

[DJGM]

Prices for the iPod Photo have been cut, and a new 6GB iPod mini is available . . .