Help with iPod and accessories

heath said:
For the true audiophile/geek I suggest the Rio Karma. Lots of info at the Riovolution forums

Better sound quality than iPod, better battery life, better equaliser, better support for formats (OGG Vorbis and FLAC), a MUCH cooler docking station: it GLOWS!, RCA outs, ethernet connection; better ear buds...

Not for the fashion conscious though, it's grey and short and doesn't come with a case nor a remote. The lack of case being the biggest hassle but a guy on the forum above sells a very nice hand-made case (I got the green one). It was basically designed as a no-gimmick DAP, no games, not organiser or phone book etc.

Get one if you're more interested in the music than how you look listening to it. If you're more interested in looking cool then the ipod is your best choice :p
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Can you also use the Rio Karma as an external hard drive? That's the nicest feature of my iPod because it means I can bring my paintings back and forth from home to work. No more Zip drives or constanly re-burning CDs. And I'm not the least bit disappointed with the sound quality or the battery life.

Insofar as software, Oleron, iTunes, which comes bundled with the iPod, is the software of choice for the iPod. If there's an Apple store anywhere near you, stop in and see one for yourself.

Michael
 
I'm very happy with iTunes. It's so easy to use, it has everything all-in-one (including the music store, which is handy for those of us who are both lazy and want to see artists get some $$$), plus it is highly customizable due to the plethora of Applescripts on the web. For example, I downloaded an Applescript to enable iTunes to take tracks off an iPod. That makes it easy to back it up or gank someone else's music off their iPod.

BTW, did I mention that I went out and bought a little pink iPod mini? Sigh. We're so much in love. Excuse me while I make it play "The Sound of Music" while I spin around in a meadow.
 
"Climb every mountain......"

:g1:

Ahem, so you can convert from CD and verify with this iTunes thing then?
 
Oleron said:
OK, that's the hardware questions sorted out - thanks everyone for your excellent advice.

Now for the software!
What do most people use for converting and transferring their music to their iPods?
What I want to do is use a program to convert my CD's into MP3 (or whatever format is flavour of the month) and download them tho the iPod. I want to use something that will quickly convert an entire CD without any fuss. I have about 500 albums to do so I don't want to have to hand-hold the application too much.

Also when the conversion is finished, how do I verify the tracks without listening to each one individually?

My PC has Windows XP and Linux, USB2 and firewire. I don't mind paying a reasonable amount for the software as long as it's good.
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Most CD-rippers I have seen have the ability to access an online database of albums so you don't need to enter the album title, or song titles by hand. Most seem to make a folder on the harddrive and leave all the songs of the album in that folder.
 
Cheers guys.
Now for the hardest question of all. How do I buy one of these damn machines?

I've tried amazon - 6 week wait. Various online resellers - all out of stock or long wait times.

And nobody wants to sell me an itrip because it makes me a pirate radio station!?

After all my meticulous online research, now I can't get one.
 
It sounds as if your dead-set on a iPod, personally I could well imagine buying a mp3-player myself someday but I would look at the pricetag more closely. When I looked on a price-hunter site the iPod was priced 60% higher. Affordable replacement batteries would also go into the equation.
 
A couple of things...

1) If you are not interested in carrying this thing with you all over the place, then don't waste your money on a device whose main selling point is its compact size, like the ipod. For example, the Nomad is slightly larger (but still quite portable), and will give you more disk space, and better battary life, for less money.

2) Forget about the FM broadcaster nonsense. The sound quality is considerably reduced by them, and unless you really want to just set the gizmo up somewhere, and have it broadcast to every radio in the house, it is not necessary. Just get the appropriate cable so that you can connect the headphone jack to the line-in of your sterio.

The RCA output on the RIO would be the best option for this. Also, whatever you get should come with the software you need. My 30GB Nomad came with software that lets me just drag and drop music onto my player when it is plugged into the computer (via USB 2).


Dr. Stupid
 
One good alternative to the iPod is the Dell DJ. The 15GB model sells for $199 and the 20GB model has just been priced-dropped from $299 to $237. Battery life is about 16 to 20 hours per charge.

Good ripping/format conversion application: CDex.

Good ripping/playlist organizing/portable uploading application: Dudebox.

Windows Media Player 9 also rips CDs, but only to wma format, which many mp3s players can use, but I don't think the iPod does (duh!). Plus, it also does Media Library/playlist organizing and uploading to portables. There are surely downsides to WMP but the upside is that you probably already have it so you don't have to buy or install anything new.

The batteries for both the iPod and the DJ are considered (by the manufacturers) "non-replaceable," but replacement batteries and instructions for changing them are available from sites like this http://www.mp3-player-battery.com/
 
Psi Baba said:

The batteries for both the iPod and the DJ are considered (by the manufacturers) "non-replaceable," . . .
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No, that's not true. Here's info on replacing iPod batteries from the Apple site: http://www.apple.com/batteries/replacements.html .

Also, Oleron, iTunes does have an option where if you're connected to the Internet it will automatically find the name of the CD you've burned, the names of all the songs, and the category it belongs to (blues, rock, etc).

Oh, and I got my iPod the day I went in to buy it. Have you tried going to an Apple store? I think they're only backordered online. I actually got mine through a university computer store (and got a university student discount -- you may want to look into whether or not you know someone in school who could do the same for you).
 
Oleron said:
Cheers guys.
Now for the hardest question of all. How do I buy one of these damn machines?

I've tried amazon - 6 week wait. Various online resellers - all out of stock or long wait times.

And nobody wants to sell me an itrip because it makes me a pirate radio station!?

After all my meticulous online research, now I can't get one.
Click to expand...

You could try this company. I've bought a couple of accessories off them and the service was really good. I actually got an iTrip off them last week and its very cool - my complete music collection available in my car.

PS: Ignore all these people trying to get you to buy something else. iPods are cool, end of story.
 
I tried to order off steve74's site but the order failed because the site rejected my credit card.
I was about to get shirty with my credit company when I realised that I'd maxed my card out! Oops.

So anyway I used another card but was told that iPods are out of stock. :(

I can't use the Newegg site because they don't ship internationally.

I may now follow Stimpsons advice of sacrificing style for function - that's what a good skeptic would do after all.;)

But I really want an iPod! I have never been one to follow fashion but they're just so dinky.

I may have to resort to mugging the next teenager I see.
 
Oleron said:
I tried to order off steve74's site but the order failed because the site rejected my credit card.
I was about to get shirty with my credit company when I realised that I'd maxed my card out! Oops.

So anyway I used another card but was told that iPods are out of stock. :(

I can't use the Newegg site because they don't ship internationally.

I may now follow Stimpsons advice of sacrificing style for function - that's what a good skeptic would do after all.;)

But I really want an iPod! I have never been one to follow fashion but they're just so dinky.

I may have to resort to mugging the next teenager I see.
Click to expand...

So there are no Apple stores where you are? Or at least computer stores that specialize in Apples? If you want, you could always mail a check to a trusted skeptic in the states and have one sent to you.
 
rebecca said:
So there are no Apple stores where you are? Or at least computer stores that specialize in Apples? If you want, you could always mail a check to a trusted skeptic in the states and have one sent to you.
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Apple stores? I didn't know there was such a thing. I'm sure N.Ireland doesn't have one. I've tried all the computer outlets I know and everyone is out of stock.

As for trusted skeptics, I would probably send the money to them only to find they were interlopers from RaptureReady!

I have resigned myself to a bit of a wait. I will order from apple direct and just be patient.
In the meantime I will paint my walkman white and prance around like a loon. It'll be good practice.
 
Oleron said:
I tried to order off steve74's site but the order failed because the site rejected my credit card.
I was about to get shirty with my credit company when I realised that I'd maxed my card out! Oops.

So anyway I used another card but was told that iPods are out of stock. :(

I can't use the Newegg site because they don't ship internationally.
Click to expand...

Hmm. I did not even notice you were in Europe. I bought my Nomad in the US, because they are way cheaper there than here. I shudder to think how much the i-pod costs here.

I may now follow Stimpsons advice of sacrificing style for function - that's what a good skeptic would do after all.;)
Click to expand...

To be fair, you're not really sacrificing style at all. The Nomad Zen Xtra is very sleek, and has a really cool looking display. It's also got a cool silver metallic exterior, instead of the plastic cheap-toy look of the i-pod. The i-pod is just a bit smaller. And even then, there are other players which are just as small, a lot cooler, and still cheaper than the i-pod. The i-pod's only real advantage is marketing. It's typical Apple: over-priced, under-performing, and silly looking.

But I really want an iPod! I have never been one to follow fashion but they're just so dinky.

I may have to resort to mugging the next teenager I see.
Click to expand...

Is dinky worth an extra $150? If so, go for the ipod. It's your money.


Dr. Stupid
 
rebecca said:
No, that's not true. Here's info on replacing iPod batteries from the Apple site: http://www.apple.com/batteries/replacements.html .
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Orignally, they never intended the battery to be replaced. Apple doesn't sell you a battery. You must send your iPod back to Apple, along with $99 plus $6.95 for shipping, and they send you back a different iPod which might be a refurbished one. $106 for a new battery, plus the cost and hassle of mailing the unit back to Apple.
from the Apple iPod Support page:
What is the iPod Battery Replacement Program?
If your iPod requires service only because the battery’s ability to hold an electrical charge has diminished, Apple will replace your iPod for a service fee of $99, plus $6.95 shipping.
Will the data on my iPod be preserved? No, your songs and files will not be transferred to your replacement iPod. Please backup important files, and remove all data from your iPod before sending it to Apple.
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You can buy a battery from http://www.ipodbattery.com/ for only $39 and replace it yourself, thus not having to worry about starting over with an empty player.
 
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