The Ipod

[doc_bean]

Okay, a slight confession here: I don't tend to like new technology or trends, but my girlfriend is looking for an mp3 player she can use while running. Logically when thinking of mp3 players I think of the Ipod. But the with the whole Itunes thing, I'm wondering wether or not you can upload your own songs onto an Ipod (ripped from a cd).

I know, the average 60y old probably knows more about the ipod than me

[Beirut]

I bought my kid a 512 meg SanDisk MP3 player for Christmas and it seems to be a good one. Not expensive, easy to use and upload music to, and the sound quality is good enough.

[Ser Clegane]

I'm wondering wether or not you can upload your own songs onto an Ipod (ripped from a cd).

No problem at all - you can simply use the iTunes software to copy the songs from your CDs to the iPod

[The Foolish Horseman]

i bought a 19.99 gbp 1gb mp3 player from argos at the weekend...so easy to use and upload songs on...soun=d quality good..good battery life too

[Xiahou]

If it's for running, I'd get something solid-state that doesn't have all the moving parts of an iPod. That way, all of the bouncing around, dropping, ect. that could be associated with jogging will be less likely to damage the mp3 player.

[Blodrast]

Xiahou is right. I dunno if they get damaged, but even skipping can become annoying enough.
If it's gonna be only for running, a flash stick with 4GB on it should be ok, whether it's an ipod or not. I dunno if they have ones with more memory, at a still reasonable price.

[drone]

At Christmas-time, I think I saw an 8GB iPod Nano. So the flash-based players are getting up there in size.

iPods will play standard mp3s (I think it even plays wavs, if you don't mind the file size).

[Dutch_guy]

iPods will play standard mp3s (I think it even plays wavs, if you don't mind the file size).

Yes, it converts them into MP3 files if I'm not mistaken.

[Blodrast]

At Christmas-time, I think I saw an 8GB iPod Nano. So the flash-based players are getting up there in size.

iPods will play standard mp3s (I think it even plays wavs, if you don't mind the file size).

cool, I didn't know that. 8 GB is pretty good.
Actually, with some of the older models, you can mod them to play pretty much anything. I am not sure about newer ones, last time I checked you couldn't do that with the last couple of generations of ipods.

[drone]

Googling got me this:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/appl...d-quality.html

All iPod models have an upgradable firmware that "enables support for future audio formats". According to "About Compatible Song Formats" from the Apple Support Site, iPod models using the most up-to-date firmware support "MP3 (from 32 Kbps to 320 Kbps), MP3 Variable Bit Rate (VBR), AIFF, WAV (with no compression), M4A AAC, M4P AAC (Protected), M4B AAC (iTunes Store Spoken Word files), and Apple Lossless".

Same site had this:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/appl...ndex-ipod.html
which lists 8GB as the largest Nano currently available.

I wonder if the Lucent-Microsoft ruling is going to affect mp3 players. doc_bean, you might also want to follow the European iTunes debate:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/digitalworl...y_outlaws.html
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070122-8676.html

[Blodrast]

Well, I was rather referring to this: http://www.ipodlinux.org/FAQ#Applications

Is there an MP3 player?

Currently we use Intel's highly optimised library for the ARM processor that includes MP3 decoding support. The MP3 player in podzilla that uses this library runs quite well, but it isn't perfect - some songs will skip, VBR isn't handled too well and high bitrates aren't always decoded fast enough. With current developments on 4G iPods, realtime playback is possible and these problems generally don't apply.

The MAD (http://www.mars.org/home/rob/proj/mpeg/) player also runs, however it is not quite real-time.

The Helix MP3 Decoder (http://datatype.helixcommunity.org/mp3dec) has been tested and runs almost as fast as the Intel library.
[edit]
Is there an Ogg player?

The Tremor (http://www.xiph.org/ogg/vorbis/) player is running at about 80% real-time. With current developments on 4G iPods, realtime playback is possible.
[edit]
What about FLAC, AAC, Mod, and wave files?

Right now some development is happening on MPD which supports these formats as well MP3 and OGG Vorbis.

An AAC player is in the current beta of podzilla. See the blog entry (http://www.ipodlinux.org/blog/index.php?p=15) for details.

I'm interested in FLAC, mostly.

[Beirut]

8GB of music?

I like my tunes as much as the next guy, but I don't see the need to carry around 130 hours+ of music on my person.

If I was moving to a desert island for a year or using the unit as the repository of all music for my home system, I can see the merit, but anything that holds thirty or forty songs has got to be good enough for a portable unit.

[Papewaio]

Long commutes so you don't have to reload every week... is a good reason... Or if you work where you are allowed to play music then not having the same songs repeat in the week is good too.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but anyone aware of any current players that support Ogg Vorbis? My old iriver H140 is getting on a bit, and a replacement might be on the cards, but I prefer not to have to re-rip my entire music collection, which is all in Ogg-aside from the fact that I like it as a file format.

It's still a cracking player though, I'm very glad I bought it. I'd be perfectly happy sticking with it if I can't find a reasonable replacement.

[Blodrast]

8GB of music?

I like my tunes as much as the next guy, but I don't see the need to carry around 130 hours+ of music on my person.

If I was moving to a desert island for a year or using the unit as the repository of all music for my home system, I can see the merit, but anything that holds thirty or forty songs has got to be good enough for a portable unit.

*coughs*
Ahem. I have a 30GB one, which is 2/3 full, and I'm unhappy with what music I have on it.

You see, it's not that simple:

1. I'm picky. Really picky. I get bored of listening to the same stuff, over and over. I'm sure that doesn't make me unique, or special, and there must be loads of individuals just like me in that aspect. So I want the stuff recycled as often as possible.

2. Bigger size means you have to recycle the music on it less often. Recycling it is usually a pain in the butt, because we people are lazy. I can rarely bring myself to dig through a bunch of cds, look for something that *might* pique my interest, then transfer it on my puter, then put it on the mp3 player, possibly needing to decide to remove something from the player in order to make more room.
It's a chore. So I want to do it as rarely as possible.

3. 8 GB is really, really, not that much. A regular album, MP3 format ripped from an audio cd at 320kbps is gonna be anywhere between 100MB and 200MB.
Also, do note that "8GB" is nowhere near 8GB actually. It's "8 billion bytes", which is much less. On top of that, you have the mini-OS which also takes up a bit of space (especially for hard-disk based ones), and, poof, there go the megabytes!
For example, my so-called 30GB harddrive actually has about 27.4GB or 27.8GB (can't remember exactly), because, just like I said, it's 30 billion bytes. At that size, the difference is considerable.

Now, did I manage to convince you of the difficulties I'm facing ? Is that a tear in the corner of your eye ?

[Blodrast]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but anyone aware of any current players that support Ogg Vorbis? My old iriver H140 is getting on a bit, and a replacement might be on the cards, but I prefer not to have to re-rip my entire music collection, which is all in Ogg-aside from the fact that I like it as a file format.

It's still a cracking player though, I'm very glad I bought it. I'd be perfectly happy sticking with it if I can't find a reasonable replacement.

BKS, have a look at that link I posted (ipodlinux). Older ipod models support ogg, among other things. I am not aware of others, though (which doesn't mean there aren't, of course).

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I got the 2GB ipod nano for $150 usd. People who need more than that are too tolerant of bad music, or have theirs at a really high bitrate. Mine is 192 kbps I believe.

[Xiahou]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but anyone aware of any current players that support Ogg Vorbis? My old iriver H140 is getting on a bit, and a replacement might be on the cards, but I prefer not to have to re-rip my entire music collection, which is all in Ogg-aside from the fact that I like it as a file format.

It's still a cracking player though, I'm very glad I bought it. I'd be perfectly happy sticking with it if I can't find a reasonable replacement.

I have a H120 that I bought years ago- I've never regretted getting it. It's wonderful just to be able to drag/drop files onto it and have them work.

Maybe this list will help you search for a new player.

[Lemur]

I bought my wife the iPod shuffle for her workouts, and she loves it. The new ones are pretty freakin' small. One gig, one music list, no moving parts, practically indestructible.

If you need something bigger and more expensive, then fine. But I think the Shuffle is a good workout thingmabob.

[edit]

Xiahou, the wiki you link to is kinda weird. It doesn't list the iPods that use flash, even though there's lots of them.

[Xiahou]

Xiahou, the wiki you link to is kinda weird. It doesn't list the iPods that use flash, even though there's lots of them.

Do they support ogg?

[naut]

I got the 2GB ipod nano for $150 usd. People who need more than that are too tolerant of bad music, or have theirs at a really high bitrate. Mine is 192 kbps I believe.

Umm... Bad music. Music is entirely subjective.

I'd fill that up with Led Zeppelin and Hendrix alone. Hopefully I'll be getting a 30 or 40 GB iPod for my birthday.

[doc_bean]

Neither the ipod shuffle or the ipod nano have movable parts am I correct ?

Too bad they`re so expensive, but I haven`t had good experiences with `cheap` mp3 players.

[Andres]

Neither the ipod shuffle or the ipod nano have movable parts am I correct ?

Too bad they`re so expensive, but I haven`t had good experiences with `cheap` mp3 players.

What's the budget?

I bought an mp3-player of "mpman" in the Makro, 2GB capacity, for 99,00 €.

I'm pretty happy with it. And I'm using it for jogging as well.

They have a nice collection over there. MediaMarkt would also be a good choice to look for a decent and affordable player.

[Beirut]

*coughs*
Ahem.

Ouch! Stop that.

* I have a 30GB one, which is 2/3 full, and I'm unhappy with what music I have on it.

Then listen to better music.

3. 8 GB is really, really, not that much. A regular album, MP3 format ripped from an audio cd at 320kbps is gonna be anywhere between 100MB and 200MB.

This is true. It would be neat to have one little MP3 player the size of a lighter with my entire collection of Floyd on it. I might buy one just for that.

Now, did I manage to convince you of the difficulties I'm facing ? Is that a tear in the corner of your eye ?

You managed to convince me that if you hit me with that hammer again I'm going to upload 20 GB of Milli Vanilli onto your MP3 player and lock you in the Backroom for a month. We'll see who has the tear in the corner of their eye then, eh?

[Andres]

I'm going to upload 20 GB of Milli Vanilli onto your MP3 player and lock you in the Backroom for a month.

[edyzmedieval]

I want to buy an 80GB iPod, but it's damned expensive. 400 euros seems horribly expensive for what it offers, but I want to buy it.

Worth the money? I'll use every feature is has, and I know every dime on it.

[Stig]

I've got a Creative Zen Micro, 6gb, works good, but if you want something while jogging, cycling etc get a 512mb one for 20 euro's ... sound doesn't matter that much.

[Yawning Angel]

People get all wound up about the evil Microsoft monopolising the computer world but are quite happy to buy Ipod's. Apple are at least as bad if not worse with their insistence that you purchase from Itunes and their unhealthy market share. Talk about double standards . .

Anyway I like to own CD's as well so don't end up buying online mp3's (also gets you out of worrying about how many times you can copy stuff and other digital rights nonsence). I bought a 20GB (hard disc) Sony before Christmas and have been really happy with it. Uploaded about 60 albums so far and only used about 4 GB. Not much chance of running out of space.

Don't use it when running, but i've never had it skip. For exercise I'd probably go with a 2-4GB solid-state version. (I tend to cycle and prefer to hear cars coming behind me than listen to music).

[Lemur]

People get all wound up about the evil Microsoft monopolising the computer world but are quite happy to buy Ipod's. Apple are at least as bad if not worse with their insistence that you purchase from Itunes and their unhealthy market share.

Sorry, I missed the part where Apple forces you to purchase from iTunes. Are you suggesting that you can't rip from CDs, or load up an iPod with MP3s from wherever?

iPods and iTunes are fun accessories, and I really don't need them for my day to day work. So you'll have to forgive me if I'm less worried about the state of the iPod than I am about Windows Vista. No doubt Apple would behave just as badly, if not worse, than Microsoft if it owned 90% of the operating system market. But they don't, so they can't.

[edit]

Xiahou, there's Ogg Drop for OS X, which allows playback of OV files. Not sure about what's available for WinXP, but a small application of Google-fu should find you something.

[Ja'chyra]

I can recommend the Creative MP3's as well. I had the Zen touch 20Gb and just upgraded to the Vision M 30Gb, but for jogging or the gym a 512 or 1 Gb MP3 would be enough.

I like to have my whole music collection on it as it saves me changing stuff about, and the Zen Vision is barely bigger than my mobile so it's not a hassle carrying it about.

And yes B, there is lots of bad music on it but I'm a hoarder. :P