# The big picture for iPod!!



## Nate (Oct 24, 2001)

Look,  everyone is complaining how this little device is not a "breakthrough" in technology.

Yes it is if you just look at the big picture.  
This little thing needs some kind of OS right, it has an LCD screen, firewire and a hard drive.  

What if by some chance this little iPod becomes the true center of the digital hub idea!!

I'm sure Apple is playing with this idea of a colour screen..........this would mean that it would not only be able to just play music but store pictures with the rumored iPicture or something like that, play quicktime or iMovie vids and store files.  It's already got a file structure like Mac OS X, so the scroll wheel would work just fine!

This thing just needs a little tweeking and you've got that full fledged rumored digital device.  Just give it some time.


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## Fahrvergnuugen (Oct 24, 2001)

Thank you.


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## Nate (Oct 24, 2001)

Does this help people understand where Apple is coming from?

I just read bryce's post and it looks like some do understand!


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## bryce385 (Oct 24, 2001)

Yeah iPod is really cool - I think what overshadowed it was the price tag.  Breakthrough - definitely. Affordable no.  Now let's see how quickly apple figures this out


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## AdmiralAK (Oct 24, 2001)

Will future versions of the iPodOS do visualizations for the MP3s it plays ?


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## Nate (Oct 24, 2001)

That would be sweet!!


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## Fahrvergnuugen (Oct 24, 2001)

Buy an iBook 

Visualizations would be sweet...but totaly impractical. hello, please cut my battery life in half!


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## boi (Oct 24, 2001)

and if they had visualizations on it, i'd need transparent pants so i can watch it while it's in my pockets.
hey... transparent pants... iPants. are you listening, apple?


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## Fahrvergnuugen (Oct 24, 2001)

LOL


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## Nate (Oct 25, 2001)

Could someone add some insight to the idea of having quicktime, pictures etc...displayed under the iPod OS.  

Does this little device have the capability to do so?


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## troydugger (Oct 25, 2001)

I like Apple and all, and I think the iPod is sweet, but there is absolutely NO FREAKING WAY I am going to buy the the iPod.  5GB for $399?? what a joke?  I can get a Neo with 20Gig for $50 less!!!

Take a look at http://ssiamerica.com/products/neojukebox

Okay, maybe it won't sync up with iTunes, but WHO CARES!

Apple is ripping people off.  They can't do this kind of stuff in the handheld market.  I'll buy their computers at higher prices because they are far superior, but there is no way their handhelds are that superior.

Sorry Apple... I thought iPod was my Christmas present, but I'll go with the Neo with 4x the storage for $50 less.

-Troy


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## j79 (Oct 25, 2001)

i would pay 50 bucks more for an mp3 player that is about the size of a deck of cards and connects to my firewire port.
and sure, 20 gigs of space is alot. but honestly, who needs 4000 mp3s at any single time?? i don't. and plus, the thought of just transfering all those mp3s over USB? ha! yeah right...


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## themacko (Oct 25, 2001)

The iPod is not supposed to be the center of a 'digital hub.'  Apple wants your Mac to be the center of your digital lifestyle (a digital hub).  All of your digital componants will be run by the center of this hub, your Mac.  Digital cameras, DV camcorders, PDA's, MP3 players, DVD players, all these things will be connected to or partly controlled by your Mac.

So I doubt there will many iPod 'add-ons'


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## Javintosh (Oct 25, 2001)

Apple is not ripping people off. You can buy the same drive from SmartDisk (the FireFly drive) for $399 without the MP3 player. The MSRP is $499 for that drive.

Do I think the iPod is too expensive? Yes, about $100 too expensive. I will most likely buy one when they drop to $300. Then again I like to get a good deal.

Remember: Apple is selling the iPod for the *same price* as the plain FireWire drive of the *same size*. Is that so hard to understand?  

Apple could have prized the iPod to be competitive with other HD-based MP3 players, by matching their size (and making it the size of a *brick*). You can't expect Apple to buy a $399 drive and sell it for $200. They are a business not a charity. The hard fact is that given the likely component costs, the iPod is as cheap as it could possibly get.

I only hope that when component costs go down Apple lowers the price. They should this with the AirPort BaseStation. Bad Apple! Bad!  

Javier


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## AdmiralAK (Oct 25, 2001)

Let me just say this:
In a  capitalist economy, such as our own, there is not such thing as ripping off.  There are alternatives for one to choose, if one so desires, one can go with th alternative.

Again ,let me say that I do not have use for such a device, so I am not defending it from personal interest.


Admiral


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## Lazarus18 (Oct 25, 2001)

Kanguru www.kanguru.com makes a 10GB 2.5" drive for $219 that is firewire. They use some funky interface to allow you to get USB, firewire and other connection options (I forgot which and not sure if anyone would use them), but I think you have to pay an additional $50 for the connector. But at any rate that's under $300 for twice the space and still has firewire and data capabilities. 

Problems: no pretty screen, not sure if it's OSX compatible. I e-mailed them about this and honestly forget their response. I think they said that it would mount. Obviously no pretty iTunes integration.

Not as cool as iPod, but much more reasonable. This is the target price Apple should have in mind IMHO.

-Rob


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## Javintosh (Oct 25, 2001)

I just checked the specs for the KanguruPortable and the FireFly.

The Kanguru is 50% longer (6" vs 4"), 50% thicker (1" vs .5") and somewhat wider (3" vs 2.5"). The Kanragu is about twice as heavy ("just under a pound" vs 5 ounces).

Also, the cables are separate. At $50 for parallel or USB cables and $70 for a FireWire cable I hope you can buy standard cables!

I guess the question is whether Apple should have used these larger and cheaper HDs. In any case, for me the weight is unacceptable. Had Apple used the larger (and much heavier) Kanguru drive I would not even consider the iPod. Like other HD-based MP3 players, it is too heavy and too bulky.

I don't like the BatMan look (utility belt anyone?), so anything I get would have to fit comfortably in my pant pockets. My Visor (which is 5" x .75" x 3.25") is on the upper limit of anything I would buy. The Kanguru is definitely too big to lug around.

Javier


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## Lazarus18 (Oct 25, 2001)

No doubt the iPod is better, but $400 vs. under $300 is significant. I don't own either. I just think that the sub $300 price range is kind of the ideal for a product of this nature. Personally I don't see the utility in shelling out significant money for a glorified Walkman. I'm either in my car, in front of my stereo, or in front of my computer when I get the urge to listen to music. I'm the only Mac user I know, so a HD that connects only to Macs (essentially) is useless. I'm sure many others are in a different position. But I think that a lot of people are saying there are no firewire alternatives and this strikes me as a valid option (again, admittedly not as good).


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## swizcore (Oct 25, 2001)

> _Originally posted by AdmiralAK _
> *Let me just say this:
> In a  capitalist economy, such as our own, there is not such thing as ripping off.  There are alternatives for one to choose, if one so desires, one can go with th alternative.
> 
> ...



Well said Admiral. It is a personal decision, buy it or dont. If you buy it and feel that your were ripped off, thats your own fault. If not than hooray for you.
I will be buying an iPod because whatever I can do within my means (400 dollars is within my means) to support Apple and not put that money into the pockets of PC supporting companies is done with a huge smile on my face.
5 GIGS of Music!! Have you seen the hard drive in the iPod? That IS revolutionary. I got the Rio 500 with 64mb of onboard storage about two years ago. I thought that was great, no media cards necessary. Now Firewire, 5 gigs, immaculate Apple product deisgn, AND it doubles as data storage!!!!! Good grief skeptics....


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## jamall (Oct 25, 2001)

I've read that the firmware is upgradeable, to enable the playback of future formats. Does this mean that we might see specially deigned peripherals for the iPod, like a firewire microphone, applications that allow two iPods to interface and swap music, or maybe even a simple address book that can be updated from your mac? Just how much flexibility does this thing have?


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## Lazarus18 (Oct 26, 2001)

One thing that sounds like a serious knock on this thing to me is the way it syncs with iTunes. As I understand it, if you want to do the auto sync with iTunes you can either update playlists, or the whole thing. But if you do that, it wipes out any songs on the iPod not on iTunes. That sucks. What if you wanted to put all your MP3s on the iPod to save the space on your HD? Could you plug it in and play songs from it? 

I think they should make sure that the standard features are all they could be before they go adding new ones. Guess we won't know until the thing is out and all you people with too much money buy one .

-Rob


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## swizcore (Oct 26, 2001)

> _Originally posted by Lazarus18 _
> * Guess we won't know until the thing is out and all you people with too much money buy one .
> 
> -Rob *



I'll let you know


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## masternew (Oct 26, 2001)

BIG PIC >>>> MY ASS


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## swizcore (Oct 26, 2001)

> _Originally posted by masternew _
> *BIG PIC >>>> MY ASS *



uhhhh... k


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## Lazarus18 (Oct 26, 2001)

On my newfound curiosity re: keeping the songs on the iPod and not the HD... a new thought. In theory I imagine you could mount the iPod as a firewire HD and transfer all the MP3s that way. Then in iTunes make a library pointing to the iPod HD as the location of the songs. Then, sync the iPod to get the playlist and pretty organization. The question is does that set up this loop that makes the iPod's little brain explode? 

I watched the long promo piece on Apple's website, and am warming to the iPod. I still think it's over priced, and I don't have a need for one, but its coolness factor went up.


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## twyg (Oct 26, 2001)

You know the conversation has gone downhill when people just resort to mental pictures of their bum...

LOL...


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## holmBrew (Oct 26, 2001)

I think it was a great move for Apple to release the first FirwWire based mp3 player/portable HD combo.  It is not outside the scope of possibility that FireWire becomes a standard interfrace on many intel based desktop and portable computers.


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## Nate (Oct 26, 2001)

if you hold down the center botton you'll get an old school game "breakout!"

It's not just an mp3 player after all!!

it's got capabilities!!


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## Javintosh (Oct 26, 2001)

I read that. I also read that you can play breakout *while* playing music with it.  

I think the iPod will in time be much more than an MP3 player!


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