iPod Doh! My new nano won't work with my Mac!

[EssentialParado]

You're not being asked to pay anything to continue to use your hardware. Your computer functions just fine with 10.3.9....and every other piece of hardware you have works with it just fine. If you want the latest and greatest iPod, you have to have a somewhat new computer. If you don't have the latest computer (or at least one somewhat new), why should you have the latest iPod?

So my PowerBook I paid $3500 for just 2 years ago isn't considered "somewhat new" ?

All your arguments would work if this was 10.2, but this is 10.3, an OS that was the primary Mac OS, and had the main marketshare during 2005 and possibly a large part of 2006.

 

[chainring]

I am another guy who is stuck with an iPod I can't use until the new OS X comes out - or I Windows.

I bought a Classic today, took it home and found out it was incompatible. The sales guy took the box from behind the counter and put it directly into the bag. Sure, I could of asked to check the specs but I expected it to work. I have a G4 PowerBook and a 2G iPod and I was psyched to get a new iPod. I never upgraded to Tiger since I didn't think I was missing anything - and I wasn't - until now.

My gripe is the sales guy should have asked my about what system I was running. He was more concerned with making a sale than keeping a customer happy. While I was being rung up a woman with kid in tow came into the store wanting to buy one for her mother. I'm sure she's not checking the specs in advance. She expects it to work. I sure hope grandma doesn't have any software issues.

The irony is I also have a Window PC and now I'll have to transfer my library over to it to use my new toy. I sympathize with the OP.

I am also surprised there isn't an easy workaround to the problem. Why hasn't any of the gurus on this board figured something out? And don't tell me it's because all the gurus are up to date on their operating systems. Accept the challenge and figure this one out. Afterall the iPod is only a hard drive.

 

[motulist]

You Apple apologists are sickening. We should applaud Apple when they get things right, but just as importantly we should condemn them when they get it wrong. The current OS is version 10.4, it is reprehensible that they don't fully support their own OS that's just one generation behind the current version of the OS.

C'mon, this is lame of them and you know it.

And to people arguing things like OS 10.3 equates to Windows ME and so it's only natural that it not be supported, you should be ashamed of yourself. Windows ME was released in september 2000, Mac OS 10.3 was released in october 2003. And 10.3 is the previous generation to the current Mac OS, not 2 generations older like Windows ME is. And OS 10.4 was released on April 29, 2005, so a person could've bought a Mac 2 and a half years ago and not be able to use his new iPod without paying for an upgrade to his two and a half year old computer? C'mon, that's totally messed up.

 

[aristobrat]

He was more concerned with making a sale than keeping a customer happy.

Since Apple employees don't get commissions or bonuses for selling stuff, he really didn't have a reason to be concerned with "just making a sale".

Afterall the iPod is only a hard drive.

Really? Is this your first iPod? It does a lot more than just be a hard drive. It keeps track of the last date/time you played a song, if you changed a rating of a song, if you skipped a song before it finished, updates your Smart Playlists on the fly, etc... It's more than "only a hard drive".

 

[DoFoT9]

Or maybe I should upgrade to Windows, since Apple thinks they can mess with me.

uuhh maybe read the fine print next time??

 

[aristobrat]

The current OS is version 10.4, it is reprehensible that they don't fully support their own OS that's just one generation behind the current version of the OS.

So if this is your criteria (2 supported OS versions = mandatory), then condemn them however many more days it is until next OS is out.

I am also surprised there isn't an easy workaround to the problem. Why hasn't any of the gurus on this board figured something out? And don't tell me it's because all the gurus are up to date on their operating systems.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/353378/

I'll let the poll above tell you.

 

[chainring]

Since Apple employees don't get commissions or bonuses for selling stuff, he really didn't have a reason to be concerned with "just making a sale".

So then the salespeople have no reason NOT to make sure Apple customers are happy. They should ask before a sale is made. It should not be the customers responsibility to insure compatibility of a product that they expect to compatible.

Really? Is this your first iPod? It does a lot more than just be a hard drive. It keeps track of the last date/time you played a song, if you changed a rating of a song, if you skipped a song before it finished, updates your Smart Playlists on the fly, etc... It's more than "only a hard drive".

All of the above is done with simple XML. Why can't I simply mount the drive and drag the files over - LIKE I'M DOING ON MY WINDOWS COMPUTER RIGHT NOW!?

 

[aristobrat]

So then the salespeople have no reason NOT to make sure Apple customers are happy. They should ask before a sale is made. It should not be the customers responsibility to insure compatibility of a product that they expect to compatible.

Hmm, wonder why he didn't do that then? Apple retail, in general, is known for going out of their way to satisfy the customer. If they were getting lots of angry returns, you'd think that they'd be proactive.

All of the above is done with simple XML. Why can't I simply mount the drive and drag the files over - LIKE I'M DOING ON MY WINDOWS COMPUTER RIGHT NOW!?

Don't know. Like you pointed out, there seems to be nobody trying to find a workaround for this issue. And besides four or five people in this thread, I really haven't heard anyone else talk about it, which is very unusual for a problem of magnitude here on MacRumors.

 

[suneohair]

I am another guy who is stuck with an iPod I can't use until the new OS X comes out - or I Windows.

I bought a Classic today, took it home and found out it was incompatible. The sales guy took the box from behind the counter and put it directly into the bag. Sure, I could of asked to check the specs but I expected it to work. I have a G4 PowerBook and a 2G iPod and I was psyched to get a new iPod. I never upgraded to Tiger since I didn't think I was missing anything - and I wasn't - until now.

My gripe is the sales guy should have asked my about what system I was running. He was more concerned with making a sale than keeping a customer happy. While I was being rung up a woman with kid in tow came into the store wanting to buy one for her mother. I'm sure she's not checking the specs in advance. She expects it to work. I sure hope grandma doesn't have any software issues.

The irony is I also have a Window PC and now I'll have to transfer my library over to it to use my new toy. I sympathize with the OP.

I am also surprised there isn't an easy workaround to the problem. Why hasn't any of the gurus on this board figured something out? And don't tell me it's because all the gurus are up to date on their operating systems. Accept the challenge and figure this one out. Afterall the iPod is only a hard drive.

Sounds like you can't read. Not Apples problem. Apples job is not to inform you directly. They give you the requirements. If you don't read them that is your problem.

 

[wakerider017]

I am also surprised there isn't an easy workaround to the problem. Why hasn't any of the gurus on this board figured something out? And don't tell me it's because all the gurus are up to date on their operating systems. Accept the challenge and figure this one out. Afterall the iPod is only a hard drive.

Was there ever a fix for the last gen iPods to make them work with 10.2

NO

Get over it! This is not the first time this has happened and it was never the end of the world before.

 

[twistedlegato]

They are not "messing" with you...

I have never heard some one say "What the heck man, why can't I use my Zune with windows 98..."

You have an OLD OS... Over 2 years old in fact...

Just wait and buy Leopard..

Leopard comming around soon! So don't spend money on Tiger. It's pointless to now

 

[wakerider017]

Leopard comming around soon! So don't spend money on Tiger. It's pointless to now

Yes I know...

 

[EssentialParado]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/353378/

I'll let the poll above tell you.

116 votes? Well that's conclusive isn't it?

Apple's own reports showed that 1 in 4 Mac users are running Panther.

Was there ever a fix for the last gen iPods to make them work with 10.2

NO

Get over it! This is not the first time this has happened and it was never the end of the world before.

10.2 was supported on iPods up until 6 months after Tiger released.

And due to the growth of both the Mac and the iPod since then it's not hard to guess that there are significantly more 10.3 users now than there were 10.2 users when 10.4 released. This is the first time Apple has supported only one Mac OS on the iPod.

Sounds like you can't read. Not Apples problem.

Charming.

 

[aristobrat]

116 votes? Well that's conclusive isn't it?

Apple's own reports showed that 1 in 4 Mac users are running Panther.

Conclusive in regards as to why there aren't more people here complaining about this "issue".

Do you have a link to Apple's report? I've been trying to find it.

 

[EssentialParado]

Do you have a link to Apple's report? I've been trying to find it.

Do Apple ever publish their reports? I've only known them to announce the end statistic.

 

[aristobrat]

Do Apple ever publish their reports? I've only known them to announce the end statistic.

Right, Apple announces statistics which are then liveblogged by like 10 different Apple-related sites (like MacRumors, TUAW, MacNN, MacWorld, etc).

So you know where you heard that 25% of people were still running Panther? Was it at WWDC 2007? MacWorld 2007? I still haven't been able to find a record of it.

 

[milo]

Do Apple ever publish their reports? I've only known them to announce the end statistic.

So what's the source of your 1 in 4 number, report or otherwise?

Without any source, you could have just made that number up.

 

[ChrisBrightwell]

The last thing going through my head at the store was asking if the thing was compatible with my Mac, which isn't that old, and has the second most recent OS.

... I suppose they should support OS 9, too? What about the Apple II?

Face it ... with an OS install that's 2+ years old, there are just some things that, like it or not, will not be supported. You can either return the iPod and get your money back (the incompatibility should get you out of the restocking fee) or upgrade your OS. It's your choice.

Either way, it's hardly Apple's fault in the case. Caveat emptor, indeed.

 

[EssentialParado]

So what's the source of your 1 in 4 number, report or otherwise?

Without any source, you could have just made that number up.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...g_up_1_million_copies_of_itunes_each_day.html

"There are 22 million active Mac OS X users right now, he said, with 67 percent of them running Tiger and 23 percent running Panther."

Hmm… so there is a 10.3 user for every two 10.4 users. More dramatic than I first thought.

Look, i even have a big shiny graph for you:

 

[LizKat]

Leopard comming around soon! So don't spend money on Tiger. It's pointless to now

One good reason to buy Tiger now is if one of the machines you own -- say a powerbook-- can run Tiger but is still running Panther, or is running a family pack licensed Tiger, and you expect to sell it or give it away in the relatively near future.

It's nice to send a machine off in the most usable fashion, no? I like to give away a machine and the best OS (with updates) that it can support and still run decently. That way it speaks well for the capabilities of both the machine and Apple software. Recipients of my giveaways in the past have later become Apple customers on their own. I think that's partly because what I gave them was in good order, easy to reinstall and update if necessary, and not more than one major release behind the times.

And of course you cannot legally part with a machine carrying a family licensed OS unless you also transfer the discs and remove any installations you made on your other machines under that license. So you're not going to do that, right? Since your kids still need their installations? So then with your intended giveaway machine, you'd maybe be looking at re-installing even some old Jaguar that came on it, and passing along those original discs plus the drop-in CPU upgrade discs that only took it to Panther... a sort of yukkky gift and certainly not much of a selling point. I'd buy it the Tiger instead.

I just gave to a neighbor (for his grade school kids) an ibook with a new single user Tiger on it, updated, and threw in a couple of 1st-gen nanos so everything hangs together and will last the kids a couple years unless they turn out to be juvie rocket scientists or rock stars. They're thrilled because they had NO laptop and NO iPods, and I'm thrilled because I have an excuse to check out the new nanos and to daydream about that nonexistent 12" MBP I'd like to get for Christmas. With Leopard installed!