iPod Classic tells Apple to kiss its ass

[rcarlberg]

Never happened to me. Maybe it depends on their Itunes settings.

Did you at any point connect to somebody else's iTunes account?

[Gruno]

Never happened to me. Maybe it depends on their Itunes settings.

I believe if your iPod is named something different than what your host computer iTunes is named, a prompt will pop up asking if you would like to sync the iPod to iTunes. If you do not sync, then you won't be able to add/delete songs.

[Jerjo]

Yeah, you set iTunes to not automatically update and sync. Then it won't wipe what's on there. And of course, never update the OS on the device.

[Spiral]

Did you at any point connect to somebody else's iTunes account?

Account? Probably not. I've plugged my pod into other computers and loaded things from their Itunes, and plugged other pods into mine and done the same. Maybe having an Itunes account is what makes the difference, then? Or maybe it's syncing. I've always just loaded and deleted files manually... never understood why anyone wouldn't.

[Yves]

When you are using one iPod to one computer synching is fine. Once you saturate your memory on the iPod though, you need to start doing things manually.

[Gruno]

I've always just loaded and deleted files manually... never understood why anyone wouldn't.

One reason to not doing it manually: time

Doing it manually takes a lot of time, unless you are adding songs daily. Still, in iTunes, when it syncs, it's done without you having to do anything except plug the iPod into the computer..

[Plasmatopia]

There is a way to automatically create playlists (and then just sync that one playlist to your iPod, not ALL your music). I think you can limit it by "most recently added" and/or other things like release date, genre, etc. and you can limit the total number of gigabytes. I had to do that with the 30GB iPod because there was no way I could fit everything, but at least that way I could get the most recent purchases onto it.

[jkelman]

There is a way to automatically create playlists (and then just sync that one playlist to your iPod, not ALL your music). I think you can limit it by "most recently added" and/or other things like release date, genre, etc. and you can limit the total number of gigabytes. I had to do that with the 30GB iPod because there was no way I could fit everything, but at least that way I could get the most recent purchases onto it.

There's actually a lot of flexibility in iTunes if you dig into it...and if you use any kind of auto-synching another plus is if you have to reformat/restore, it's backed up and will restore automatically too! I used to spend so much time if i had to do it. Now? nada.

[Plasmatopia]

There's actually a lot of flexibility in iTunes if you dig into it...and if you use any kind of auto-synching another plus is if you have to reformat/restore, it's backed up and will restore automatically too! I used to spend so much time if i had to do it. Now? nada.

I'll say it again: user friendliness = familiarity.

[ronmac]

I'll say it again: user friendliness = familiarity.

True. But, that could also be more about bad habits created by technology. Often, we don't find out how unintuitive one technology is until we try another that is more intuitive. Old habits die hard.

[jkelman]

I'll say it again: user friendliness = familiarity.

Um, yeah, but familiarity is also the consequence of user-friendliness. I spent an afternoon with a buddy trying to demystify the Pono software for him...to no avail. Within one day of having my first Mac this past summer, I'd figured out something the local Apple Store's, em, Genius Bar could not

Why? Well, yes,jam admittedly technically minded...but the kind of stuff I figured out on the Mac were things that would have taken much longer with Windows.

,

[Rune Blackwings]

True. But, that could also be more about bad habits created by technology. Often, we don't find out how unintuitive one technology is until we try another that is more intuitive. Old habits die hard.

I know my dad thought he was hot stuff when he got his Dell DJ player. He was all happy....until he had to actually use it. You practically needed a college degree to run it. I had difficulty figuring the thing out. The iPod he got is much more user friendly.

[Plasmatopia]

True. But, that could also be more about bad habits created by technology. Often, we don't find out how unintuitive one technology is until we try another that is more intuitive. Old habits die hard.

Exactly. We get sucked into the paradigm created by the technology we are used to.

[wideopenears]

Well, it looks like my battery is dead....after a full charge I got halfway through an album before it locked up....a Restart brought it back, but then it went off again and said "connect to power"---now it's plugged in, and playing fine....but I think this may be the beginning of the end of my beloved 160 gig iPod Classic!! Oh Noooo!!!

[wideopenears]

So, doing some research on new, high capacity portable players --so far, the Sony A17 Walkman and the Fiio X5 seem appealing...anyone familiar with either of these?

[Brian Griffin]

Well, it looks like my battery is dead....after a full charge I got halfway through an album before it locked up....a Restart brought it back, but then it went off again and said "connect to power"---now it's plugged in, and playing fine....but I think this may be the beginning of the end of my beloved 160 gig iPod Classic!! Oh Noooo!!!

Nice of CrApple to design it with an internal battery that isn't easily replaceable!

There are shops that can replace the battery, or if you are adept at that sort of thing you can easily find a DIY with a google search

It's a PITA, but you'd have your pod's library intact, rather than starting over with a new playa

BG

[wideopenears]

Hey Brian--I think it's not merely the battery. And frankly, I'm not surprised--this thing has a mechanical hard drive, after all, and those things are not eternal.

I like Apple stuff, frankly--ya, there's the whole "monopolistic" thing, and they do attempt to lock you in to the Apple World--but frankly, they are and have been innovators, and for ease of use, they make great products, mostly. I've used PC's, and non-Apple MP3 players, etc. But I run Apple all day at home, from my Mini Mac, to my Apple TV, to my iPad, to my family's iPhones. It all works well together and I think it's pretty intuitive stuff. Now, if I could just get AT& T to give me a better Modem/router and stop choking my bandwidth....!!

[ronmac]

I like Apple stuff, frankly--ya, there's the whole "monopolistic" thing...

I can't say I've ever seen the word "monopolistic" attributed to Apple. I assume you mean market saturation, which, of course, is different.

In fact, Apple's proprietary OS is what almost killed them company when Bill Gates was monopolizing the PC industry by licensing Windows to anyone and everyone.

[wideopenears]

Actually, I mean neither Market Saturation nor Monopolistic, really.
To clarify, I mean that OS has certain limitations to "Apple Only" products. You can run (most?) Windows products on an Apple. Something like iTunes, which is pretty seamless on a Mac, seems to gum up PC's, though. And then there's the "App Store" issues. Not sure what terms I'd use to describe this phenomenon--but you're right about Gates and the Windows marketing/licensing.

[ronmac]

Actually, I mean neither Market Saturation nor Monopolistic, really.
To clarify, I mean that OS has certain limitations to "Apple Only" products. You can run (most?) Windows products on an Apple. Something like iTunes, which is pretty seamless on a Mac, seems to gum up PC's, though. And then there's the "App Store" issues. Not sure what terms I'd use to describe this phenomenon--but you're right about Gates and the Windows marketing/licensing.

Yes, some of this is proprietary. But, my point is that they are not the only options. There are viable alternatives. Just ask Scott ( ). The Apple Store issues could be more about Internet Explorer (the world's worst browser WRT compatibility), than anything. I can't say, because I never use the store. But, when you state that Windows products can be run on a Mac, I assume you're referring to MS Office. Yes, there are versions for both platforms. And, you can actually run Windows on a Mac, although I equate that with using leaded gas in your BMW.

[rcarlberg]

Yes, you can run Windows on a Mac.

It runs like a bloated poorly-designed POS. Same as on a PC.

[wideopenears]

I agree. But you know, WORD is just so much easier than Open Office.

[ronmac]

I agree. But you know, WORD is just so much easier than Open Office.

Well, that ain't saying much. The problem with Word is that they have so much shit packed into it to try to make it act like a desktop publishing app (which it isn't and never will be), yet they still haven't added basic key commands.