The "I don't need an iPod" thread

[wordmunger]

This is a thread for all those non-iPod users out there. If you don't have and don't want an iPod, here's your chance to say why.

My reason: simple, I don't like listening to music with headphones. I usually like to listen to music as a background for conversation, and obviously in that situation headphones just get in the way. The other time is when I'm in the car, but even then I generally prefer to listen to NPR. The photo iPod is intriguing, but not $500 worth of intriguing. A device like that would be worth maybe $100 to me. Perhaps five years from now, that's what a photo iPod will cost.

[wowser]

I'm fine with my old Sony Discman - I take out a small Case Logic case with me, and never feel the need to get an iPod. I would just worry about losing it or getting it stolen

[MacDawg]

This is a thread for all those non-iPod users out there. If you don't have and don't want an iPod, here's your chance to say why.

My reason: simple, I don't like listening to music with headphones. I usually like to listen to music as a background for conversation, and obviously in that situation headphones just get in the way. The other time is when I'm in the car, but even then I generally prefer to listen to NPR. The photo iPod is intriguing, but not $500 worth of intriguing. A device like that would be worth maybe $100 to me. Perhaps five years from now, that's what a photo iPod will cost.

Of course you don't have to use headphones with the iPod... I listen in my truck all of the time. I have 6 CD changer, but I got tired of burning and changing/arranging. The iPod is fabulous. Plus, I travel a lot, and it is nice to have the option with the Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones. There are also other "non headphone" solutions.

To each his (or her) own, but the iPod was a nice choice for me. I didn't think I really needed one (just wanted one) either till I got it. Now I wouldn't want to do without it.

[Chappers]

I didn't want one until photo iPod and as I like pics more than music I start to lust a bit more. Also I don't like the whole damage your hearing type of experience.


Oh that sounds old...... I'm gonna get one and sod the expense.

[homerjward]

i frankly didn't want an iPod until my parents gave me a 15gb 3g for my birthday this year and now i'm in love with it. i think if you use one you'll love it and want to get one but that's just my opinion.

[DavidLeblond]

Where's the "I need an iPod but can't AFFORD one" thread?

C'mon Apple, throw me a freakin' bone here.

[dobbin]

The only time I really listen to music much is in the car and I am happy with the radio or occasionally CDs. Although I must say, I borrowed my wife's iPod mini a few weeks ago for a long journey I had to make by train and I must admit I loved it. I don't really need an iPod for myself as I rarely make journey's like that, and when I do I can borrow hers.

BUT.... as I have just ordered an iBook, I couldn't resist getting an iPod on the cram and jam promotion. I just thought it was a good deal so I ordered one. So I'll soon have a 20-gigger that I know I'll like, but don't really need. Maybe I should just sell it and share the c&j discount I got with the buyer.

Now, an iPod Photo is another story....
The main reason I have ordered an iBook (to replace my cube) is because I want to be able to take my photo collection around with me to share with people (eg with my Mum who doesn't have a computer). An iPod photo would have done the job without needing an ibook.

Next time I get a new computer (in about 3 years time probably) I may go back to a desktop and get an iPod Photo/Video/Hologram/Whatever to carry round with me. I just missed it by a week or so on this upgrade which is a shame. Never mind.

[tristan]

I don't need an iPod - at least that's what my wife says. She walks and metros to work, while I drive, so she stole my iPod. :-) So now I just burn CDs and play them in my car, which actually works okay.

[dobbin]

Oh yeah, good idea for a thread by the way. Its amazing how the whole world seems to have gone iPod mad recently.

Hell, I don't need one but I've still ordered one. If I can get it connected up in my car then I guess it will be worth it, otherwise I've fallen for the hype.

[davegoody]

I didn't want one until photo iPod and as I like pics more than music I start to lust a bit more. Also I don't like the whole damage your hearing type of experience.


I just can't understand why Apple have produced a Colour iPod that can transport your photos around, but the ONLY way to get pics onto it is by linking with a PC - I am a professional Photographer (as well as a Mac Addict) - WHY (and this needs to be Capital Letters) did they not put a CF reader into it as a minimum - This could have been a short-length socket so just the first couple of mm protrude into the case. BAD move Apple !

P.S. The sad, sad thing is that I still Bl**dy want one ! - The U2Pod is just plain ugly IMHO - may look better "in-the-flesh".

[sebisworld]

I just can't understand why Apple have produced a Colour iPod that can transport your photos around, but the ONLY way to get pics onto it is by linking with a PC - I am a professional Photographer (as well as a Mac Addict) - WHY (and this needs to be Capital Letters) did they not put a CF reader into it as a minimum - This could have been a short-length socket so just the first couple of mm protrude into the case..

You do know that Belkin has a card reader that plugs into the iPod, don't you? It's $99, though.

[wPod]

not need an iPod? i got an iPod before i ever got a mac!!! my trusty first gen iPod has out lasted any mp3 player ive owned (which was 3 before i got the iPod) i have flat out STOPED listening to the radio and only listen to music from my iPod. as for my CD collection i got that ripped to my iPod so now i can take a huge binder full of CDs around with me in a little package! i guess if you dont listen to much music then the iPod is useless.

if they had a video iPod, that played movies and such, that would be useless to me cause i dont watch that many movies or TV or such. so if you dont listen to much music, then why would you need an iPod?

[DavidLeblond]

I just can't understand why Apple have produced a Colour iPod that can transport your photos around, but the ONLY way to get pics onto it is by linking with a PC - I am a professional Photographer (as well as a Mac Addict) - WHY (and this needs to be Capital Letters) did they not put a CF reader into it as a minimum - This could have been a short-length socket so just the first couple of mm protrude into the case. BAD move Apple !

The problem I think they would have with a CF reader is that not everyone's camera uses CF cards. I have 2 cameras, one uses memory sticks and one uses xD cards.

[davegoody]

You do know that Belkin has a card reader that plugs into the iPod, don't you? It's $99, though.

Oh yes, I do know that the Belkin device exists, though it works, it is slow, ungainly, ugly and who knows if it works with the iPod Photo ? - My point was that the iPod Photo is a great gadget, but it is VERY limited by not having a way of directly moving files from Memory cards. I want to be able to carry my iPod (without lots of extra gizmos) that can do this - not much to ask when companies produce devices that do all this as standard (Epson, PhotoTainer, FlashTrax etc) - I know that these are nowhere NEAR as nice as the iPod in any way, but this is one thing that would make it a real Killer device.

[OldManJimbo]

I don't have one for two reasons:

1) Price - I don't think they're over-priced, just outside my cash flow possibilities at this point.
2) I rather like the unpredictability of the radio. I travel a lot and local radio always gives me a sense of where I am. Plus, I can't hear the latest news or weather forecast on the iPod.

When I want MY music, I fire up iTunes on my trusty Rev 2 12" and listen away.

I will eventually buy an iPod and use it to record meetings I attend.

Good thread.

[davegoody]

The problem I think they would have with a CF reader is that not everyone's camera uses CF cards. I have 2 cameras, one uses memory sticks and one uses xD cards.

I understand your argument with this, though CF is, by definition, a subset of the PC-Card spec, this means that it would be possible for an adapter (smaller than a "real" CF card) to be used with other memory formats. Good point though ! :p

[Mr. Anderson]

I just can't understand why Apple have produced a Colour iPod that can transport your photos around, but the ONLY way to get pics onto it is by linking with a PC - I am a professional Photographer (as well as a Mac Addict) - WHY (and this needs to be Capital Letters) did they not put a CF reader into it as a minimum - This could have been a short-length socket so just the first couple of mm protrude into the case. BAD move Apple !


Nah, no card reader, just some way to connect the digital cameras to the iPod Photo and not have to deal with the image size issues. Its a first try and I'm sure that with enough flak the next versions will incorporate better software and support for the high end DSLRs.

I don't own an iPod - and until one is available with more than what's currently out there, I don't think I'll ever get one.

D

[SilentPanda]

I have a 1st gen 10 gig iPod and I never use it. Yesterday I dusted it off and that was about it. It just sits there. The only time I actually use it is if I go on a long trip (over an hour) then I'll load it up with music and plug it into my car stereo.

However it does act as a "Buy a new iPod deterrent". :)

[kylos]

I wasn't confident of my decision when I bought my iPod, but I quickly fell in love with it. I'm not a headphones type of guy, either, but that's not the real revolution of the iPod. It's that you can carry your entire music library anywhere, and play it on any system you want. I bought several different cables and adapters to facilitate playing through many audio systems.

[Ugg]

When the iPod came out, I thought no way will I ever pay that much for a glorified Walkman. When I came to realize that it wasn't just about music but about any audio, I quickly changed my mind. I like to listen to German talk radio but would have to record it as the best stuff was going on while I was asleep. Then, to be portable, burn it to cd and listen to it later while on the go. This was a hassle as well as wasteful, most of those cds ended up in the trash after a listen or two. And with the 4G price reduction I took the plunge.

Now, I load it in the iPod along with audiobooks iTMS purchases and my cd collection. I can chooose whatever I want, when I want and for the most part where I want. I still haven't gotten an adapter for my truck yet, still trying to decide which one to buy or if I'm better off with a new Alpine stereo. I'll probably wait a few months to see if something better comes out.

I agree that they're not for everyone but they are also not just for music. My world has changed dramatically since I got it. I had considered XM radio for awhile because it offers the variety that I would like but it doesn't necessarily offer it when I want it. The iPod is beyond a doubt the best purchase I made since my iMac.

[AmigoMac]

This is not my thread :)

no, I don't need and iPod ... I need an iPod photo :D

it's on the way ;)

[jsw]

...along with audiobooks...
To me, audiobooks are the killer app that finally got me to get an iPod. I'd always thought they were cool, but I never had a valid reason to get one, and I never really truly wanted one. I still don't need one, but with in-laws 6 hours away and relatives much farther than that, trips became a heck of a lot easier with the 'pod. Yes, you can burn CDs. Anyone who has burned an 18-hour book onto CDs using iTunes knows that it's not fun. It takes a few minutes to go from seeing it at Audible.com (or iTMS, but I like Audible's subscriptions) to having it on the 'pod.

... Its a first try and I'm sure that with enough flak the next versions will incorporate better software and support for the high end DSLRs.
I don't think software will cut it - I'm guessing hardware changes will be required to do on-the-fly reduction of high-end DSLR images (which presumably are 5MP+ in size) in order to display them on the screen. However, I think an add-on product to allow fast transfer via the Firewire interface should at least allow fast storage of the images.

[bousozoku]

I don't have a real use for an iPod but I was hoping that the photo models were something different. Since I've been doing photography, I can't necessarily drive 30 miles to dump all the photos and drive back. There are several devices priced like the new iPod photo models, which have media readers and hard drives and play mp3 files and videos.

I would have liked to have had such a device from Apple since the iPod plus Belkin Media Reader don't work well as a photo repository. I also wanted to be able to listen to my music during breaks, but it's not to be. I guess I'll keep buying cards.

[Mr. Anderson]

I don't think software will cut it - I'm guessing hardware changes will be required to do on-the-fly reduction of high-end DSLR images (which presumably are 5MP+ in size) in order to display them on the screen. However, I think an add-on product to allow fast transfer via the Firewire interface should at least allow fast storage of the images.

Very true, it will likely need more power of some sort - what type of CPU is the current model using? I'm thinking that the biggest problem is going to continue being the battery. The more powerful you make it, the more power it needs - so this all might have to wait until they make them more efficient and more powerful....

D

[emw]

Very true, it will likely need more power of some sort - what type of CPU is the current model using? I'm thinking that the biggest problem is going to continue being the battery. The more powerful you make it, the more power it needs - so this all might have to wait until they make them more efficient and more powerful....

D

Are you really thinking of using it as an image preview system? I guess it could be somewhat useful to be able to thumb thru a number of photos you'd taken prior to transferring them to your Mac, but in general the view you get will be pretty limited by the iPod's screen size (probably no better than the view you get on the camera itself, and maybe worse).

In my mind, it would just be an image dump, which shouldn't use too much battery, other than disk access requirements. In which case, I would think it would be a matter of someone leveraging the existing FireWire and USB connectivity, although that may indeed need to be Apple.

[jsw]

Very true, it will likely need more power of some sort - what type of CPU is the current model using? I'm thinking that the biggest problem is going to continue being the battery. The more powerful you make it, the more power it needs - so this all might have to wait until they make them more efficient and more powerful....

D
If you look at the specs here (http://www.scoutingaround.com/computers/ipod/ipod_generations.html) and here (http://www.arm.com/products/CPUs/ARM7TDMI.html), it seems like the current iPods are actually slower than the previous ones, likely to increase battery life once the code became more efficient. I think there's sufficient horsepower and RAM to render a reduced version of a large image (if that's all the CPUs were doing), but I don't know if the other processes would already consume too many resources to spare any on image reduction. My guess is that software could be written to do what everyone wants it to - load and display pictures - but that there might be a hard time fitting it into what little room remains. However, maybe you could use the song buffer RAM. On the plus side, once rendered, the thumbnails could be viewed with no more resource drain than any other image, unlike current cameras, which re-render the images every time you view them.

[Abulia]

I listen to music in my car (BMW) so I don't need one. I have, instead, a PhatBox mounted in my vehicle. It does everything the iPod does and sooooo much more. I love it when the car reads off the album names to me. :) All the 80 GB cartridges I can handle. ;)

http://www.phatnoise.com

[dubbz]

My reason for getting my current player, an iRiver iHP-120 (aka H120), instead of the iPod can basically be summed up in two words:

Ogg Vorbis

Big issue for me, since a major part of my music is Ogg Vorbis encoded. Not a big issue (actually, fairly irrelevant) for most , since MP3 is still the King.


Slightly Off-Topic: Personally, I wish WavPack (http://www.wavpack.com) whould get more support. It's a very cool format that's just begging for portable support. (It has a Hybrid mode where you have two files. One is the lossy version of your track, the other is a corrrection file. When together, you get a lossless version of the track. So you could have lossy+correction file on your PC/Mac, and just copy the lossy file to your portable for playback there).

[sandman42]

Like a lot of people, a 'personal music player' isn't really important to me. Don't get me wrong, I love music -- I have a ton of CDs, I play in a band, I dig all the esoterica of the music 'scene', etc -- but it's all a social thing; listening to music by myself with headphones on doesn't really have a place in my life.

Funny thing is, I did buy an iPod. For me, though, the main reasons for buying it didn't include for carting it around listening to it through headphones. I wanted it:

- as a self-powered and easily transportable backup for the hard drive on my iBook
- to connect to my car stereo as an alternative having a bunch of CDs in the car
- to be able to share my music at parties, etc
- and to satisfy my appetite for really cool technology!

I only just got it (the day before the photo iPod came out, in fact -- doggonit!), but so far it seems to be working out pretty good. It's probably cheaper than buying individual things for the above purposes, and you can't beat it for being a cool device.

[Lord Blackadder]

I probably wont get an iPod any time soon, they are quite expensive. I'm not an audiophile. I don't mind burning a million CDs on cheap media for my car and throwing away/losing them often. My cheap Rio gets the job done and I'm not constantly afraid of breaking/losing it. My brother has a 4G 20 GB iPod and after playing it I think it's way cool, just not a NEED.

[Abulia]

WavPack (http://www.wavpack.com) whould get more support. It's a very cool format that's just begging for portable support. (It has a Hybrid mode where you have two files. One is the lossy version of your track, the other is a corrrection file. When together, you get a lossless version of the track. So you could have lossy+correction file on your PC/Mac, and just copy the lossy file to your portable for playback there).
That's cool. The nice thing about the PhatBox is that via firmware updates, they update the OS (it's essentially a mini-Linux server) to support different/new formats.

PhatBox supports Ogg Vorbis; I use that for my music as well. It also supports MP3, WMA, and FLAC. The new version of the software now supports AAC encoding/playback.

- Don

[johnnyjibbs]

I don't 'need' an iPod but I sure as hell want one, hence I'm getting one :D ;)

Ok, so I think they are very much a luxury item and normally too expensive me to have (although more useful than a PDA in my opinion). I'm getting one now as part of a promotion (cram and jam) which allowed me to get a 20GB one for just £70 instead of £220.

[musicpyrite]

Before I got my iPod I was kinda like "meh, iPod, who would pay that much to listen to music? And I don't listen to music that much anyways."

So after Steve announce the 15 GB iPod on January 6, I had some leftover Christmas and birthday money, so I decided to take the plunger.

Now, it is hard imaging how I got by with out. I can listen to it at the bus stop, on the bus, in class, lunch, after school, study hall, etc. I love it! It has totally change my music listening habits. yay for ipod!!

[latergator116]

I think the iPod is really cool, but I don't think I'd ever get one. First off, I don't have the money. Second, the only time I listen to music is when I'm sitting front of my computer, so I have no real use for it. :)

[Koodauw]

You totaly right. I dont need an iPod.

*sets his down for a min*

*Chills set in*

*breaks out in a cold sweat*

*Panic attach begins.*

BRB

[deral]

Because I want to be the "black" sheep in a sea of "white" iPods. What?!? they got a black one? ah crap.

[annk]

To me, audiobooks are the killer app that finally got me to get an iPod. I'd always thought they were cool, but I never had a valid reason to get one, and I never really truly wanted one. I still don't need one, but with in-laws 6 hours away and relatives much farther than that, trips became a heck of a lot easier with the 'pod. Yes, you can burn CDs. Anyone who has burned an 18-hour book onto CDs using iTunes knows that it's not fun. It takes a few minutes to go from seeing it at Audible.com (or iTMS, but I like Audible's subscriptions) to having it on the 'pod.

YESSSS. Audible.com + iPod is the perfect solution. I was burning my books to CD, then transferring them to minidisc (smaller and sleeker than the iPod, with a 24-hour battery), but the ease of transferring directly from audible-iTunes-iPod was just too good to ignore.
:rolleyes:

[5300cs]

I used to use a walkman when I was in high school, then a discmac. When I was in college I got a Rio (the first one that came out.) That got me interested in mp3s since I didn't have to stop and flip the tape, or change CDs all the time.
When my Rio died I got a CLIE and used that to listen to music, but the earphones drove me nuts and the lack of space didn't help. Eventually I broke down and got a 1st gen 5gig (after the 3rd gen had been announced already :rolleyes: ) It served me well for over a year until I got my 20gig 4th gen about 2 months ago. I love them both, and couldn't live without them. I live in Japan and my commute to work can be over an hour one way sometimes, so the iPod helps (as well as my Newton :D )
I agree that the Newton is expensive, but the 4th gen 20gig-ers don't seem that bad. The iPod Photo is a little steep though ... :rolleyes:

[Sun Baked]

Sort of a waste to buy and iPod for my 1 song iTunes library. :cool:

Of course people waste money on more foolish thing than that, like real Rolex watches when the fake one looks just as nice. ;)