video, meet iPod

MooZilla · Post by **MooZilla** » October 13, 2005, 7:59 pm

http://www.apple.com/ipod/ipod.html

<img src="http://images.apple.com/ipod/images/ind ... jpg"></img>

I'm kinda undecided on this one. Looks like a great idea, and i'd love to watch movies. But on my iPod?

At first i thought the picture iPod would be pretty useless, but after seeing it in action i was silenced. The screen has been sized up a bit, my only concern would be the refresh rate on the screen. I'd guess that it's a pretty decent LCD now. There's some wicked ghosting on the ipod mini's and older models of the standard.

The good news is that <a href="http://ipods.freepay.com/?r=7644027">freeipods.com</a> (my referral link included

) is offering this as of yesterday for one of the options. I only need one more referral

Couldnt of come at a better time.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 13, 2005, 8:27 pm

The new Creative Zen Vision is a better bang for your buck if you plan on watching movies/videos.

http://www.creative.com/products/pmp/demo/zenvision.asp

Much better 3.7" screen, and...OMG!!! an FM Tuner...imagine that Apple! An FM Tuner! You fucking dumbasses have had 4 generations of iPods and still don't have one.

Same 30GB HD Plus Zen supports DIVX, XVID and a host of other vidio formats. And you don't have that lame spin wheel touch thingy. I prefer directional buttons and other dedicated buttons!

archeiron · Post by **archeiron** » October 13, 2005, 8:33 pm

Winnow wrote:You fucking dumbasses have had 4 generations of iPods and still don't have one.

Those "dumbassess" are eating everyone's lunch in that market space. They may not have every bell and whistle that you would like them to, but they are spanking the competition - even the ones with products that are superior on paper.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 13, 2005, 8:35 pm

Apple is Microsoft's bitch!

They are eating the competition for breakfast because of the marketing hype not necessarily because it's a better product.

noel · Post by **noel** » October 13, 2005, 9:31 pm

Winnow wrote:They are eating the competition for breakfast because of the marketing hype not necessarily because it's a better product.

Do you remember the scene in Ocean's Eleven when Danny Ocean (Clooney) is describing the way they'll rob the Casinos and Saul (Reiner) asks if they're just supposed to walk out of there.

Ocean replies: Well... yeah.

A lot of people who buy the iPod do so specifically cause they're tired of FM. In my car, I have an iPod jack for my mini (soon to be nano) and satellite radio.

Hoarmurath · Post by **Hoarmurath** » October 13, 2005, 9:33 pm

Winnow wrote:Apple is Microsoft's bitch!

Microsoft makes a portable media player?

Winnow wrote:They are eating the competition for breakfast because of the marketing hype not necessarily because it's a better product.

Sex sells. iPods are sexy. And while an iPod may not be the better product based on certain criteria, it is certainily a great product. Unlike most of Microsoft's products. Face it, people use Microsoft Windows because they use them at work, or because it plays their games, or because their friends use it, or because some necessary software requires it. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY*, installs Microsoft Windows because it's the best Operating System available. Don't confuse market share with quality.

*I don't mean nobody.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 13, 2005, 10:00 pm

Hoarmurath wrote:
Winnow wrote:Apple is Microsoft's bitch!
Microsoft makes a portable media player?

Winnow wrote:They are eating the competition for breakfast because of the marketing hype not necessarily because it's a better product.
Sex sells. iPods are sexy. And while an iPod may not be the better product based on certain criteria, it is certainily a great product.

Microsoft knows how to dominate a market. The only ones they can't dominate are because laws prevent them from doing so.

Apple is Microsoft's bitch because Bill Gates played Steve Jobs like a fiddle in the 80's and now Microsoft owns part of Apple. You can thank Steve Jobs partly for making Microsoft what it is today.

Yes, sex sells. I'm not calling Apple's marketing people dumbasses. Apple always gets away with providing less for more money due to some extra finishing hypnotic gloss on their products. "I'm shiny. Buy me!"

I wish I had the money to develop an MP3 player with an AM tuner. I realize it's harder to make a compact device that gets decent AM reception but the good talk radio is on AM. They would sell well because there are none out there except for one piece of crap Rio model with enough ram to store like two mp3 songs. An FM tuner is a no brainer. They are so cheap and small it should be standard. The little pencil dick sized MP3 players even have them.

I realize 80 percent of you out there have iPods so don't expect much agreement.

edit: worked ---> played

Fash · Post by **Fash** » October 13, 2005, 10:29 pm

i've been for and against ipods at times, and now im just astonished at the rapid product releases by apple. when the $99 shuffle came out, it became my first and only ipod, and i use it heavily every day... i can now understand and justify spending more on a bigger more capable ipod in the future. i left this fuckin thing in the car after playing it all day, overnight, and all the way into work the next morning.. i still was able to listen to it for another 4 or so hours at work before it died.

i had a creative nomad zen usb2 when they first came out, it was 10 or 20 gig. the software for transferring music sucked, it was crippled to not function as a usb drive, and the battery life was horrible. and heavy.

that being my experiences, i'd hafta say that apple does things well. an attractive item and features with above average quality and support, tho you do pay a premium for the name and the image.

oh! why the fuck are you watching videos on 3.7" or 1.9" or wtf<7" screens?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 13, 2005, 11:28 pm

Fash wrote:
oh! why the fuck are you watching videos on 3.7" or 1.9" or wtf<7" screens?

I'm not and I don't own an MP3 portable player of any kind atm. (except a several year old 4GB original Creative Nomad that also hasn't been used in several years.

Apple is pimping video in the latest iPod and the new zen looks to be better in video formats and definately better in the key area of screen quality and size so for those wanting a small video portable player that also playes MP3s (and FM as a bonus), the Zen Vision looks more attractive. Atl least the Zen Vision has enough pixels to handle a DVD quality picture.

Sionistic · Post by **Sionistic** » October 13, 2005, 11:46 pm

So whats the prediction on the % of people buying this for porn on the go?

noel · Post by **noel** » October 13, 2005, 11:52 pm

For the record, I wasn't disagreeing with you. In fact, I was agreeing. They have an excellent marketing campaign for an decent, but not the best product in that class. I'm just pointing out that the marketing is a giant part of the equation and it's something that Apple has understood very well whenever Jobs has been at the helm.

Hoarmurath · Post by **Hoarmurath** » October 14, 2005, 12:22 am

Winnow wrote:Apple is Microsoft's bitch because Bill Gates played Steve Jobs like a fiddle in the 80's and now Microsoft owns part of Apple. You can thank Steve Jobs partly for making Microsoft what it is today.

Perhaps this is part of the reason that today Microsoft is a software company and Apple is a hardware company.

If things had gone just a little differently in the 80's, Xerox would be the King and Microsoft and Apple would both just be has-beens. Bill Gates is brilliant and his company has benefitted immensely. But that was then, and the only thing keeping them on top now, is the fact that they are on top. Apple obviously can't compete with them directly, so Apple makes their money on their hardware.

Sure, people buy Apple's products because they are "cool". They pay a little more and get a little less, so to speak. Similarly, people use Windows because even though it's shitty software, everyone who makes software knows that they need to make it work with Windows, or else they won't have a market to sell to. Microsoft has become a self-perpetuating "monopoly".

But with regard to the topic at hand, while I can't get excited about watching shows on such a small screen, I think it's a pretty neat idea to sell TV shows via iTunes.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 14, 2005, 3:03 am

Hoarmurath wrote: Perhaps this is part of the reason that today Microsoft is a software company and Apple is a hardware company.

If things had gone just a little differently in the 80's, Xerox would be the King and Microsoft and Apple would both just be has-beens. Bill Gates is brilliant and his company has benefitted immensely. But that was then, and the only thing keeping them on top now, is the fact that they are on top. Apple obviously can't compete with them directly, so Apple makes their money on their hardware.

You don't stay on top just because you're on top. Look at IBM and Xerox. They were on top. You have to stay on top by providing products that people want. I personally like the MS Windows environment and love that I don't have to worry about incompatibility. Try owning JUST a Mac and see how much fun you have trying to find games etc. Let the app and game designers focus on creativity, not on compatibility. It took Apple 20 years to admit a multi button mouse was useful. Fuck proprietary shit. PCs and Windows allowed for more innovation and creativity. You can see the results in the marketshares as to people's preferences and how that battle went.

Sure, people buy Apple's products because they are "cool". They pay a little more and get a little less, so to speak. Similarly, people use Windows because even though it's shitty software, everyone who makes software knows that they need to make it work with Windows, or else they won't have a market to sell to. Microsoft has become a self-perpetuating "monopoly".

I don't think Windows XP is shitty software. I haven't crashed in years. Sure, the early versions of windows sucked, but so did hardware until plug and play was fine tuned. Even back then, I chose to battle over drivers, etc instead of buying an Apple that looked nice, cost a lot, but that's about it.

But with regard to the topic at hand, while I can't get excited about watching shows on such a small screen, I think it's a pretty neat idea to sell TV shows via iTunes.

Have they said how much your average one hour TV series episode is going to cost?

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » October 14, 2005, 11:14 am

quick anybody name a product that competes with iPod.

without using google.

iPod so totally owns this space it is ridiculous. Apple just bought ALL OF THE FLASH inventory in CHINA for iPod Nano's.

All of it.

in china.

if you think for a second that there is any competing product out there that touches the iPod in terms of any business metric, please bring it to our attention.

but yeah i was talking to an Apple employee last weekend, and i was like "where is my satellite radio!!". she looked at me like i had 2 heads. she was like "we don't sell satellite radio, that is a service". i'm like "no shit, its called business partnership, like your phone with Cingular"....

Chmee · Post by **Chmee** » October 14, 2005, 1:08 pm

Voronwë wrote:quick anybody name a product that competes with iPod.

without using google.

Creative Zen Touch. No clue how it compares market share wise but I have had mine for almost a year now and have been very happy with it.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » October 14, 2005, 1:10 pm

Never had a need or use for one of these items. Not enough time in the day. I suppose if I had a longer drive to work or something like that but that isn't the case. As much as I'd love to be able to tune out the wife's nagging I don't think I'd ever had a use for it.

miir · Post by **miir** » October 14, 2005, 1:34 pm

When I was in the market for a MP3 player earlier this year, I was looking for a basic, small, no-nonsense player that I would use mostly at the gym.

I decided on a 1gig Shuffle and don't regret it one bit.
I didn't need flashy lights, a display screen or a fm tuner.
I didn't buy an iPod because it was 'cool'.. the thing is in my pocket 90% of the time so I couldn't care less how it looks. The best thing about it is that it doubles as a USB data key which I use all the time at work.

Funny that the iPod is the first thing PC and Mac users have ever agreed on.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 14, 2005, 2:16 pm

miir wrote:
Funny that the iPod is the first thing PC and Mac users have ever agreed on.

I don't agree! I'm a Commodore backer though.

The first decent portable MP3 player to add an AM Tuner gets my business, otherwise I have no need for one. I don't need flashy lights or even a display. I need an AM tuner.

noel · Post by **noel** » October 14, 2005, 4:41 pm

miir wrote:When I was in the market for a MP3 player earlier this year, I was looking for a basic, small, no-nonsense player that I would use mostly at the gym.

I decided on a 1gig Shuffle and don't regret it one bit.
I didn't need flashy lights, a display screen or a fm tuner.
I didn't buy an iPod because it was 'cool'.. the thing is in my pocket 90% of the time so I couldn't care less how it looks. The best thing about it is that it doubles as a USB data key which I use all the time at work.

Funny that the iPod is the first thing PC and Mac users have ever agreed on.

The shuffle is perfect for those of us that exercise. You can have enough songs on it to take care of even the longest normal exercise.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » October 14, 2005, 4:52 pm

noel wrote:The shuffle is perfect for those of us that exercise. You can have enough songs on it to take care of even the longest normal exercise.

I think I have 2 or three songs for that. I should excersize more but being lazy is soooo comfortable.

miir · Post by **miir** » October 14, 2005, 4:54 pm

You can have enough songs on it to take care of even the longest normal exercise.

Heh, the 1gig can hold over 12 hours of music... I'd hope that's more enough.

Hoarmurath · Post by **Hoarmurath** » October 14, 2005, 4:57 pm

Winnow wrote:Have they said how much your average one hour TV series episode is going to cost?

Right now I think they just have ABC shows, I saw Lost and Desperate Housewives, and they are going for $1.99 per episode or $34.99 for the whole (last) season.

Seems reasonable that they'll stick with that pricing for most shows, but of course I don't know that for sure.

They're also selling music videos for $1.99 each, but that seems a bit steep to me.

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » October 14, 2005, 5:27 pm

I think they are pricing "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" too low.

its fucking brilliant though.

with a capital BRILLIANT

masteen · Post by **masteen** » October 14, 2005, 6:24 pm

Funny, I started watching (pirated) TV shows and listening to (stolen) music months ago on my (cracked) PSP. It also plays games. Fuck Apple.

EDIT: Dept. of Redundancy Department called.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 14, 2005, 7:02 pm

masteen wrote:Funny, I started watching (pirated) TV shows and listening to (stolen) music months ago on my (cracked) PSP months ago. It also plays games. Fuck Apple.

Masteen is on the right track!

Episodes of TV series are posted within hours of them airing on the newsgroups. I don't see how they'd really care if you downloaded them as the commercials are still there so the advertisers are happy..

Newsgroups > Everything

Just convert it to whatever format you need.

I guess on this point I'll take Aslanna's stance though. If too many people actually realize how awesome newsgroups are, the powers that be might shift their attention to them.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » October 15, 2005, 1:26 pm

Derailed!!

Newsgroups prove the point that no one truly cares about stopping piracy.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » October 15, 2005, 2:44 pm

Fash wrote:Newsgroups prove the point that no one truly cares about stopping piracy.

Not really. They just go after the most visible methods first.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » October 17, 2005, 12:06 am

We must fight all things that make the newsgroups easier to use. DOS based readers need to come back. CLI is the last refuge against AOL.