Ipods schmipods!

DelMonte · 19-10-2007, 10:50

Ok so I'm gonna be in the minority here, but talk about syle over substance!

I've just had my iriver mp3 player stolen so have been borrowing my girlfriend's ipod over the last few weeks. I have been used to being able to just drag and drop tunes via usb, and simply connect to any computer in the same way with my iriver. This is just a dream after using an ipod!! B!oody itunes is a complete pain as me and the missis have different tastes in music.

And then to top it all off (bearing in mind this ipod is about 3 months old, bought brand new) the thing goes and freezes and won't work. It won't resest, nada. Spoke to my mate who's a bit of an expert and he was like, 'oh yeah it happens all the time, just wait for it to run out of battery' So why do people keep buying them??

Classic example of our throw away culture in my opinion

shakermaker · 19-10-2007, 10:55

depends what you want from it

the user interface is almost perfect
and having it sync your whole collection automatically when you connect is great for most people

i've never heard the thing about letting your battery run out before... could it be that your friend is wrong? check out ipodlounge.com

i think the whole thing about ipods being less reliable than other brands is tosh to be honest... you just hear more, because they sell so many times more than others... have a look for refurb players on ebay to see how unreliable the 'alternative' brands are

BasilRathbon · 19-10-2007, 10:57

Don't waste money on expensive i-pods. Simply think of your favourite tune and hum it. If you want to "switch tracks", simply think of another song you like and hum that instead.

Hope that helps!

probedb · 19-10-2007, 11:03

Well you don't have to use iTunes for a start, don't know about the latest iPods but my 1st gen nano hasn't crashed. If you really want to make it useful and have certain iPod models (earlier ones) you can install rockbox

julado · 19-10-2007, 11:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by BasilRathbon

Don't waste money on expensive i-pods. Simply think of your favourite tune and hum it. If you want to "switch tracks", simply think of another song you like and hum that instead.

Hope that helps!

I can't afford an I-pod and I use your method regularly Basil....unfortunately it sounds crap....even to me....do you think my batteries need changing

Hecate · 19-10-2007, 11:09

There's a lot of brand snobbishness around, and Apple do tend to get it in the neck with their admittedly smug veneer.

As for the iPod, I find the interface very intuitive; it's incredibly easy to use and integrates excellently with iTunes. To update my iPod, I connect to the computer via USB and the iPod updates automatically with the selection of tracks and playlists I've chosen. If you're running Windows XP, each user presumably has a separate account. A separate copy of iTunes on each account, each with your own music catalogue, is the way forward. I'm assuming here that you're not sharing an iPod?

If you don't like iTunes, the iPod will work with other software too. I've been happy with iTunes though, so you'll need recommendations from elsewhere.

You don't have to wait for the battery to run down on a 'frozen' iPod before you can resume working with it, by the way; holding down the centre button and the menu button for 10 seconds does this job (switch the hold button on and off before you do so).

fabulous_girl · 19-10-2007, 11:09

i had an ipod mini- cost me £140- battery life was APPALLING. i;d charge it overnight, take it on the train and itd be gone by the time i'd left the station. I sold it for £100 on eBay a whole yr later STATING IT WAS FAULTY!

ShinyPurple · 19-10-2007, 11:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by julado

I can't afford an I-pod and I use your method regularly Basil....unfortunately it sounds crap....even to me....do you think my batteries need changing

It sounds bad cos the earphones are rubbish

swordfish1 · 19-10-2007, 11:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by DelMonte

And then to top it all off (bearing in mind this ipod is about 3 months old, bought brand new) the thing goes and freezes and won't work. It won't resest, nada. Spoke to my mate who's a bit of an expert and he was like, 'oh yeah it happens all the time, just wait for it to run out of battery' So why do people keep buying them??

Your "expert" mate knows nowt.
I've had an IPOD crash twice in about 5 years. You slide the lock button over once or twice and hold the centre wheel and up. It resets in about 3 secs.
It has a fantastic user interface, and itunes is a joy to use if you can be at all bothered to spend half an hour going thro the online tutorials (I agree that it should have a bl**dy manual though!).

I'm a gadget freak, but I held out on buying a "evil conglomerate piece of crap" for a long while. Wish I'd bought one sooner. I use it in the house, car, just when walking about. I have tv programmes, photos, LOADS of music, podcasts etc on it.

You may be able to tell I disagree with you

Edit:- by centre wheel and "up",i mean centre wheel and "menu"- it's just that it is up on the wheel.
If it made no sense, my weekend started a while ago and the alcohol is going down very nicely thankyou

DelMonte · 19-10-2007, 11:15

Cheers guys some useful advice there, especially probedb and Hecate

We are sharing an ipod though and only have one user account on the pc so would swopping to two and installing another set of itunes solve this or would that just mess with the ipod itself?

DelMonte · 19-10-2007, 11:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by swordfish1

Your "expert" mate knows nowt.
I've had an IPOD crash twice in about 5 years. You slide the lock button over once or twice and hold the centre wheel and up. It resets in about 3 secs.
It has a fantastic user interface, and itunes is a joy to use if you can be at all bothered to spend half an hour going thro the online tutorials (I agree that it should have a bl**dy manual though!).

I'm a gadget freak, but I held out on buying a "evil conglomerate piece of crap" for a long while. Wish I'd bought one sooner. I use it in the house, car, just when walking about. I have tv programmes, photos, LOADS of music, podcasts etc on it.

You may be able to tell I disagree with you

ha ha no worries mate, no, it won't reset by doing this....nothing works. Also, I'd just like to add, I know about ten people that have only got a years use out of an ipod before its died. completely. Thats rubbish.

swordfish1 · 19-10-2007, 11:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by DelMonte

Also, I'd just like to add, I know about ten people that have only got a years use out of an ipod before its died. completely. Thats rubbish.

Don't wanna know you, you're a bleedin jinx!

DelMonte · 19-10-2007, 11:24

ha ha maybe thats it!
have to agree though, that when they work they're sexy as ****, v stylish....although its quite funny using my girlfriends pink ipod...mucho macho!

pleathwood · 19-10-2007, 11:49

i have a creative zen: m which basically looks like an iPod with different controls... it is also a pain in the ass, the good thing is i dont have to install and "i" software, i have enough media libraries with wmp.

itosan · 19-10-2007, 12:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by DelMonte

Ok so I'm gonna be in the minority here, but talk about syle over substance!

I've just had my iriver mp3 player stolen so have been borrowing my girlfriend's ipod over the last few weeks. I have been used to being able to just drag and drop tunes via usb, and simply connect to any computer in the same way with my iriver. This is just a dream after using an ipod!! B!oody itunes is a complete pain as me and the missis have different tastes in music.

And then to top it all off (bearing in mind this ipod is about 3 months old, bought brand new) the thing goes and freezes and won't work. It won't resest, nada. Spoke to my mate who's a bit of an expert and he was like, 'oh yeah it happens all the time, just wait for it to run out of battery' So why do people keep buying them??

Classic example of our throw away culture in my opinion

Quote:

Originally Posted by DelMonte

Ok so I'm gonna be in the minority here, but talk about syle over substance!

Preaching to the converted here!, I like to think of the Ipod as the Paris Hilton of mp3 players

The 'i' in ipod is for Idiotic

Who cares about the flaming!

Anyone got a 'Touch' they 'look' nice

hmr44 · 19-10-2007, 12:19

I love my Ipod but it is a damn pain! x

bionicdreams · 19-10-2007, 13:16

Why not make your own playlist in itunes and load the ipod with your favorite tunes? On the version of itunes I have you can choose where you want to load the ipod from. I don't' have a full ipod just a first gen shuffle, it's not perfect but you know it's easier than lugging CDs and tapes around. I have low expectation of technology as I know what a pain computers or anything related to them is! Besides I actually have a mac and some mp3 players don't' work on macosx so I am stuck with ipods! And my mac is the best computer I have ever had it doesn't crash hardly at all! What you guys have said would put me off a full ipod though!

Ghozer · 19-10-2007, 13:20

I have to agree, the majority of mp3 players, and media players, you can just plug into USB, it shows as a drive in 'My Computer' - and you simply copy any files from your computer to the player, as you would copying from one drive (or folder) to another, when its done, unplug it and your finished...

with an iPod, you have to use itunes (so thats linux out of the equasion straight away), you have to use it on the same machine each time, so putting tracks on it, then going to a friends and putting more tracks on it cant be done, unless you 're-initialise' the iPod on your m8s computer, and this will erase your songs and put theirs on...

If you want to then later, take your iPod, and synch it back onto your laptop (as you put the tunes on it from your PC) -- you cannot do that easily, as the naming convention when you DO get it to show as a Drive in 'My Computer' is stupid, and makes no sence at all..

but any ways, my 2nd Gen iPod was fine for a while, then the battery went a little funny -- it was so easy to replace... but then it started not being detected by iTunes, and after a few hours of messing around, it worked... and it let me put (some) tunes on it.... but now, its totally dead, the hard drive has errors so its now unuseable..

irenewilde · 19-10-2007, 13:22

My i-pod has stuck on a few occasions and I found some useful info here:
http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messa...18/112782.html

Never had any battery problems though.....says she, touching wood....

bionicdreams · 19-10-2007, 13:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghozer

I have to agree, the majority of mp3 players, and media players, you can just plug into USB, it shows as a drive in 'My Computer' - and you simply copy any files from your computer to the player, as you would copying from one drive (or folder) to another, when its done, unplug it and your finished...

with an iPod, you have to use itunes (so thats linux out of the equasion straight away), you have to use it on the same machine each time, so putting tracks on it, then going to a friends and putting more tracks on it cant be done, unless you 're-initialise' the iPod on your m8s computer, and this will erase your songs and put theirs on...

If you want to then later, take your iPod, and synch it back onto your laptop (as you put the tunes on it from your PC) -- you cannot do that easily, as the naming convention when you DO get it to show as a Drive in 'My Computer' is stupid, and makes no sence at all..

I think your right because I tried to install my shuffle onto my laptop when I couldn't use my pc which is also a mac and even on macs you can only use it on more than one at a time!