Apple to Auto Adjust Maximum iPod Volume?

[Bababasjd]

DailyMail.co.uk reports on a recent Apple patent application that describes how Apple could automatically adjust maximum volumes on their iPod devices to help protect the listeners from developing any long-term hearing damage.

The maximum safe level would be determined by how loud the iPod had been playing and the amount of quiet time since last play. This is not the first time that this potential problem has been in the news.

In February 2006, a man sued Apple over the risk for iPod-related hearing loss. Apple addressed this potential issue in a software update in March 2006 which allowed users to set their own personal maximum volume limit.

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Haha does this person think he is going to win, is this a joke? Just like mc donalds you cant sue them, because if apple clearly states the issue it is the consumers responsibility to accept that problem. In the case of Mc Donalds the judge ruled and that it is the consumers job to research and understand the risks if the information is avaliable. And trust me there are thousdands of compact disks that cause hearing damage and mp3 on the market today that cause hearing dmaage. If the case ever get reviewed which it will not, the judge will have to and can not under the law rule in favor of the client because then the case of Mc donalds would have to be over rulled then mp3 would have to be changed. If the judge ever rules in favor of the client actually he can be released from his duty as apple is a big corporation and many judges will not even take on a case like this unless there is something that violates human rights like wal-mart. All in all, it wont happen 100 percent gurantee! However, that does not mean apple will not implement new ideas for hearing, the onyl reason apple would do that is through their generosity, but other than that they are not forced.

 

[luminosity]

Haha does this person think he is going to win, is this a joke? First off from a lawyer this guy has a 1 in 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

chance in winning, why? Just like mc donalds you cant sue them because if it is clearly stated it is your choice as a consumer and your respnsiblity to make that decesion and accept that risk. it is like LCD's it is your responsiblity you understand they cause eye damage but you still buy them. Just liek cigaretts you know they cause lung cancer but you cant sue them a few lawsuits won but try know it is impossible. The list goes on and on. All in all, the judge would dismiss the case.

You're a lawyer?

 

[bretm]

Its because these days someone else is allways responsible for your actions. LAWYERS.

Try government. This whole entitlement society is only going to get worse. Take government health care for instance. If I'm not responsible for me, then how could I have possibly be responsible for hurting my ears? Must've been someone else's fault (Apple's) because I'm not responsible for anything, right?

 

[bretm]

Haha does this person think he is going to win, is this a joke? Just like mc donalds you cant sue them, because if apple clearly states the issue it is the consumers responsibility to accept that problem. In the case of Mc Donalds the judge ruled and that it is the consumers job to research and understand the risks if the information is avaliable. And trust me there are thousdands of compact disks that cause hearing damage and mp3 on the market today that cause hearing dmaage. If the case ever get reviewed which it will not, the judge will have to and can not under the law rule in favor of the client because then the case of Mc donalds would have to be over rulled then mp3 would have to be changed. If the judge ever rules in favor of the client actually he can be released from his duty as apple is a big corporation and many judges will not even take on a case like this unless there is something that violates human rights like wal-mart. All in all, it wont happen 100 percent gurantee! However, that does not mean apple will not implement new ideas for hearing, the onyl reason apple would do that is through their generosity, but other than that they are not forced.

McDonalds was sued and lost over how hot their coffee was. Why do you think every coffee now says "caution: hot" Duh!

If coffee isn't hot enough to scald, then it's not right.

 

[bretm]

Haha does this person think he is going to win, is this a joke? Just like mc donalds you cant sue them, because if apple clearly states the issue it is the consumers responsibility to accept that problem. In the case of Mc Donalds the judge ruled and that it is the consumers job to research and understand the risks if the information is avaliable. And trust me there are thousdands of compact disks that cause hearing damage and mp3 on the market today that cause hearing dmaage. If the case ever get reviewed which it will not, the judge will have to and can not under the law rule in favor of the client because then the case of Mc donalds would have to be over rulled then mp3 would have to be changed. If the judge ever rules in favor of the client actually he can be released from his duty as apple is a big corporation and many judges will not even take on a case like this unless there is something that violates human rights like wal-mart. All in all, it wont happen 100 percent gurantee! However, that does not mean apple will not implement new ideas for hearing, the onyl reason apple would do that is through their generosity, but other than that they are not forced.

Please name one compact DISC that causes hearing damage. And then state your sources or give it up.

 

[andy721]

idiots

The problem is that people hurt their hearing even though it doesn't cause them pain, therefore they don't know it's hurting them in the long run.

but the thing is, THEY KNOW THIS! It's really moronic of them to even attempt it. people are retarded when it comes to health.

 

[luminosity]

but the thing is, THEY KNOW THIS! It's really moronic of them to even attempt it. people are retarded when it comes to health.

no, people don't know it. Some do, but the majority don't, and just as importantly, don't know that the damage is irreversible. We're used to healing from most injuries.

 

[igazza]

good idea apple i love listening to music and i wanna have hearing when im 90 i only listen now at around 75 80%

100% for over 1 hour its doing damage to your hearing i heard

 

[cameronjpu]

Haha does this person think he is going to win, is this a joke? Just like mc donalds you cant sue them...

See here's the thing.... in the McDonald's case, the plaintiff won, and won quite a lot of money.

 

[sachxn]

Low volume

keep it low buddy otherwise someone from the Zune team may copy it in their next generation product.

Sachin

 

[spriter]

A good idea, although hopefully it's optional for people who want Tinnitus

Jokes aside, you really do no want Tinnitus. It's annoying.

 

[IzzyJG99]

Suing a company for something you did wrong. Any idiot knows that if you listen to music that loudly...you're gonna get damage. This is up there with that chick who spilled HOT coffee on her lap and sued McDonalds.

 

[AllieNeko]

This is rediculous. Lowering the signal level off the headphone jack is bad enough. Randomly adjusting it will be horrible. Again, parties, car stereos, etc...

I sure hope Apple doesn't do this or at least makes it optional. I would be ticked off big time.

"The iPod headphones can exceed 90dB"

I sure hope so, 90dB peaks are not very loud - similar to background noise levels on a bus or subway.

 

[bmk]

If you can find one teen who's parents haven't told them to turn that thing down because it was too loud and would hurt their ears, I'd be surprised.

Yeah, that's the problem with kids these days. You tell em that loud music's gonna damage their ears and they just don't hear ya...

 

[Freis968]

Thank God for the 5.5 Gen iPod, none of this crap to worry about!

 

[swagi]

Suing a company for something you did wrong. Any idiot knows that if you listen to music that loudly...you're gonna get damage. This is up there with that chick who spilled HOT coffee on her lap and sued McDonalds.

Actually your analogy shows, why your argument doesn't hold any water. You are right, McD was sued. You are also right, that that woman also bears a little fault with sipping the coffee over her lap.

You should check out these facts http://lawandhelp.com/q298-2.htm

Quoted from there: "A report in Liability Week, September 29, 1997, indicated that Kathleen Gilliam, 73, suffered first degree burns when a cup of coffee spilled onto her lap. Reports also indicate that McDonald's consistently keeps its coffee at 185 degrees, still approximately 20 degrees hotter than at other restaurants. Third degree burns occur at this temperature in just two to seven seconds, requiring skin grafting, debridement and whirlpool treatments that cost tens of thousands of dollars and result in permanent disfigurement, extreme pain and disability to the victims for many months, and in some cases, years"

So actually, being possible to play your music at very high volume trhough your headphone jack is an issue to adress. And it really is a serious claim.

And to all the whiners that listen to their music though a speaker system. If your speaker system is attached to the headphone jack and the volume sucks, then there are two possibilities:

a) check out the inbuilt preamp before buying a speaker-set; A headphone jack is not designed for powering a passive speaker system.

b) Get a MF certified system for the iPod. There are dozens on the market, that are not only beautifully designed, but also use the dock connector.

 

[tuneman07]

The reason the lady at McD's won her lawsuit was because as someone else said their coffee was kept much hotter than it needed to be in order for them to save money (The hotter you have your water the less actual coffee grinds you need to brew coffee as the hot water pulls more flavor from less grounds). They were found to be liable because this was found to be an unreasonable and dangerous practice.

You can't make money off something like hearing loss when you made the choice to listen too loud and this precedent has been set a billion times - giving people the option of hurting themselves isn't liability- that goes for gun companies, fast food, alcohol etc...

As for this volume control I wouldn't buy an Ipod that had that out of principle- When does this ridiculousness stop? If we keep this up trying to protect everyone from everything including themselves we honestly wont be able to leave the house in 20 years. This stuff pisses me off to no end.

 

[birdsong]

The reason the lady at McD's won her lawsuit was because as someone else said their coffee was kept much hotter than it needed to be in order for them to save money (The hotter you have your water the less actual coffee grinds you need to brew coffee as the hot water pulls more flavor from less grounds). They were found to be liable because this was found to be an unreasonable and dangerous practice.

It's still ridiculous that they had to pay up. She burned herself. End of story. I don't know about you, but when I make espresso at home, the temperatures involved are significantly hotter than 185 degrees Fahrenheit. When I've burned myself on the steam wand (which gets to over 212 degrees Fahrenheit as it's steam), I don't cry and run to my lawyer. I say "alright, hopefully I won't be an idiot again." Suffice it to say, most people don't have the recognition that they too are idiots sometimes. It's always someone else's fault.

I guess I'm glad I have an external headphone amplifier to use with my Etymotic ER-4Ps, as they require significantly more voltage for the same volume level compared to iPhone buds.

 

[Cygnus311]

If iPods starting changing volume on their own, I'll just never buy one again. Dumbest idea ever.

 

[MrCrowbar]

Well, I wouldn't mind an optional "keep my ears safe" option. If it could detect what kind of headphone is connected to adjust that accordingly, it would be useful. If you plug your iPod to computer speakers for a party (which lots of people like to do) it would be futile to have the volume adjusted downward as the signal is run through an amplifier afterwards.

If it's done, right, I would embrace the thought that my iPod is reminding me to turn it down a little bit. I usually can understand the lyrics of the guy's iPod next to me in the underground while I'm listening to my iPod, so I think my volume levels are ok.

 

[funkybatt]

what next, will they upload the proper music for us?

 

[Eriamjh1138@DAN]

Whatever happened to that ****** who sued apple about the volume levels, anyway?

 

[Rychy]

Interesting.... I'm quite worried about hearing loss myself. I keep my iPhone's volume limit at a little under 50%, and if I can't hear my music with that limit I don't listen to it.

 

[MikeTheC]

What a load of crap. I mean, what special, unique risk does an iPod present that just about every other source of sound on the planet does not? That's such a bogus, junk lawsuit. I'd have thrown it out of court if it had been me.

But, so much for personal responsibility in this grand old country of ours.

"I had the volume really cranked up, and went deaf because Apple didn't stop me from exercising my own constitutionally-guaranteed personal liberty." I mean, WTF?!?!?!?!?!?

 

[Virgil-TB2]

I like how almost everyone assumes this is going to be hardwired and not optional.

Really.

I have read all the relevant info and I don't see anywhere at all that it's stated that Apple will make this an automatic or unchangeable feature. Why the heck would they?

People are definitely assuming the worst here.