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16 Years Ago Today, Apple Unveiled the Original iPod
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Oh my goodness, those comments are carbon copies of the ignorant tripe we read in the comment sections today about the new iPhones. Nothing has changed in 16 years. It makers feel good to know that 16 years of ragging on Apple about everything hasn’t stopped the company from succeeding and prospering.
Wow. There’s some amazing things in that thread.
My first was the third gen. I rocked a Diamond Rio or something until that point.
You would think going back in time to re-read the blathering is cause for cringing by the current crop of naysayers but you would be wrong of course. And the beat goes on.
Ah the iPod, arguably the first portable MP3 player that takes gapless playback seriously. (Sony did gapless playback, but only for ATRAC files).
My first iPod is the 5th gen. It was also my first Apple product. My last was the 5th gen nano (the one with camera). They are all dead now (batteries dead, only turn on when connected to power).
My first iPod is the 5th gen. It was also my first Apple product. My last was the 5th gen nano (the one with camera). They are all dead now (batteries dead, only turn on when connected to power).
And this from comment #121 in that thread.
"It's a shame that Apple doesn't have market awareness and released that yet again, has "missed the boat" before spending R&D, time and money on creating this now-novel audio device. You’d think they would’ve learnt from omitting CDRW drives from their machines a few years ago."
Oh my, that one could have been posted today for all we know, not 16 years ago.
"It's a shame that Apple doesn't have market awareness and released that yet again, has "missed the boat" before spending R&D, time and money on creating this now-novel audio device. You’d think they would’ve learnt from omitting CDRW drives from their machines a few years ago."
Oh my, that one could have been posted today for all we know, not 16 years ago.
How time flies. It defined an era, and that era is now in the past.
Mine still functions, but I formatted it as a boot drive to repair an iMac years ago, and can't restore it now without a FireWire cable. :/Still miss my iPod 3rd Gen. I think it still functions but I haven't used it in years.
Found a photo of my original iPod w/ my iBook:
Very blurry photo of my friend Matt and I with our iPods in 2004. I had every iPod Apple ever made, the 3rd Generation w/ light up red buttons being my favorite. I hated having to remove the scroll wheel (back when it moved) to clean gunk from under it.
I still blog about technology but at the time, we were reviewing 40 different iPod cases from 30 companies. I was 17 when this photo was taken.
Matt & I at MWSF 2005:
and here's a retro one for you...taking a photo of an iPod w/ an old school camera. hah. Camera phones were just coming available then:
Actually, the only iPods I never owned was the HP iPod and the U2 one but I owned every major full size iPod, nano, mini and shuffle. Really loved these things.
Still use my iPod Classic every day.
Very blurry photo of my friend Matt and I with our iPods in 2004. I had every iPod Apple ever made, the 3rd Generation w/ light up red buttons being my favorite. I hated having to remove the scroll wheel (back when it moved) to clean gunk from under it.
I still blog about technology but at the time, we were reviewing 40 different iPod cases from 30 companies. I was 17 when this photo was taken.
Matt & I at MWSF 2005:
and here's a retro one for you...taking a photo of an iPod w/ an old school camera. hah. Camera phones were just coming available then:
Actually, the only iPods I never owned was the HP iPod and the U2 one but I owned every major full size iPod, nano, mini and shuffle. Really loved these things.
Still use my iPod Classic every day.
Too bad they didn't have a low cost MP3/MP4 player. We are starting a ministry where we give guests and visitors an audio mp3 and video player so they can watch a Christian video or listen through the Bible in a year.
We'd use an Apple device but they are not cost effective yet and we even looked at used iPhone devices but it's hard to buy bulk iPhone 4 devices.
We settled on MYMAHDI video players on Amazon for $12 that do all that we need and comes with usable headphones and cables and long life recharable battery plus adding a low cost/used micro sd card gives it plenty of storage and capability at a disposable price.
It plays photos and MP3 files easily but it was a little tricky figuring out the AMV video format but using ubuntu linux we were able to build a video converter and the results are surprisingly good and easily viewable by one person with or without reading glasses.
https://www.amazon.com/MYMAHDI-Digital-Compact-Portable-Recorder/dp/B01K6JFLIA
We'd use an Apple device but they are not cost effective yet and we even looked at used iPhone devices but it's hard to buy bulk iPhone 4 devices.
We settled on MYMAHDI video players on Amazon for $12 that do all that we need and comes with usable headphones and cables and long life recharable battery plus adding a low cost/used micro sd card gives it plenty of storage and capability at a disposable price.
It plays photos and MP3 files easily but it was a little tricky figuring out the AMV video format but using ubuntu linux we were able to build a video converter and the results are surprisingly good and easily viewable by one person with or without reading glasses.
https://www.amazon.com/MYMAHDI-Digital-Compact-Portable-Recorder/dp/B01K6JFLIA
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I think of The Book of Eli when I see that model.Still miss my iPod 3rd Gen. I think it still functions but I haven't used it in years.
Watching the movie, Baby Driver, felt like an homage to iPod.
This is why I'm getting the silver iPhone X mainly because the white rear reminds me of my first Apple product twelve years ago - iPod video (5th gen)
I rarely ever needed to clean the front part of it just like my Pixel's upper white glass rear. But the black iPods or anything dark needed to. I'm digging the two-tone color options now. Black front. White, silver, or gray backs. Their best iPhone designs like the 5 series and og are two-tone.
What I don't miss from iPod classics is the mirror-like scratch prone rears. Happy 16, iPod. For some reason, #20 is when I buy Apple products.
October 20, 2005 - iPod video
October 20, 2016 - MacBook Air
May 20, 2017 - iPhone SE
I deliberately waited for Oct 20 last year to get the MBA to match my old iPod's anniversary. So maybe November 20 for me with the X after the initial issues get called out the first 17 days.
I know my first iPod with the iPod Video which has since go on to better places. I still have an iPod Touch that is connected to our Bose speakers at home which holds all of my purchased music.
Funny to think that the iPod is basically dead now. But with the introduction to the iPhone ten years ago, it totally makes sense.
Funny to think that the iPod is basically dead now. But with the introduction to the iPhone ten years ago, it totally makes sense.
I remember picking up my first iPod which was the second gen (never by first gen Apple hardware no matter how shiny it was) along side my copy of Mac OS X 10.2. That was a good summer 
. I got my iPod 5th gen four years later and gave it to my younger brother. I wonder if he still has it...
. I got my iPod 5th gen four years later and gave it to my younger brother. I wonder if he still has it...
...well, in those days Mac rumours meant Mac rumors, and it was quite true that the iPod wasn't the first MP3 player or even the first with a ~5GB hard drive for songs. The iPod's real advantage - which wasn't initially apparent - was its ease-of-use and well-designed UI when compared with the competition.
Anyway, the iPod didn't really take off until the launch of the iTunes music store and a PC-compatible USB version a few years later.
However, just because everybody was wrong about the iPod then, doesn't necessarily mean that everybody is wrong about watches and cars...
[doublepost=1508771031][/doublepost]
...well, the iPod had an ARM chip and that was originally designed by Acorn, so...
More money Apple is refusing to accept . Apple's current MO is "If you can't stream it , you can't have it.". Owning and storing your own files is frowned upon. All people can and should stream all their stuff from Apple via the Gigabit wireless that we all have access to 100% of every day in every location. Obviously !!
It would take ONE apple engineer ONE day to update the Nano to 32GB and they would sell tons of them. But it takes Courage to discontinue a product that people actually want and use ( iPods, Airports, Monitors, computers ).
There is a big after market for iPod Classics ( for your car ), and now all iPods. But Ivecook are smarter than that, they know with absolute certainty we don't actually want iPods.
It would take ONE apple engineer ONE day to update the Nano to 32GB and they would sell tons of them. But it takes Courage to discontinue a product that people actually want and use ( iPods, Airports, Monitors, computers ).
There is a big after market for iPod Classics ( for your car ), and now all iPods. But Ivecook are smarter than that, they know with absolute certainty we don't actually want iPods.
I actually laughed at the introduction... as I unwrapped and set up my Sony MiniDisc player. My twin and dad raved about them so I finally bought one with accessories and plenty of blanks to burn my CDs to them.
I regretted my MiniDisc purchase within days and can't believe it took me till the 4th Gen iPod before I finally bought one. Of course, less than 30 days later Apple came out with the iPod Photo. My friend Tej teased me because I said they'd update it just as soon as I finally bought one and I also predicted it would come with that capability eventually. Never imagined that soon. It's in my old tech box and only power ups connected directly to an outlet. Tons of music and audio files on that I miss.
I regretted my MiniDisc purchase within days and can't believe it took me till the 4th Gen iPod before I finally bought one. Of course, less than 30 days later Apple came out with the iPod Photo. My friend Tej teased me because I said they'd update it just as soon as I finally bought one and I also predicted it would come with that capability eventually. Never imagined that soon. It's in my old tech box and only power ups connected directly to an outlet. Tons of music and audio files on that I miss.
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Ah yes, the infamous Thread 500:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apples-new-thing-ipod.500/
Such visionaries in there! Always good for a laugh.
Awww, happy birthday! My first Apple product... I didn’t get the iPod until the Touch version was introduced and then I later picked up a shuffle. I still have the Touch. DH still has his Touch as well and actually still uses it from time to time.
Were it not for the success of the iPod, Apple wouldn’t be where it is today. Not even close.