Apple to Auto Adjust Maximum iPod Volume?

[Poll Smoker]

First off that is not how it happened. IN my law class we talked about this case and many people especially Americans like to gossip. I mean Ameircans can get information and twist it and turn it into something new. The press is responsible for this! Go here and read about it: http://www.centerjd.org/free/mythbusters-free/MB_mcdonalds.htm The judge never awared the 2.8 million dollars he significanlty reduced it because Mc Donalds and its team of lawyers threatened to appeal the case with the Supreme Court and if the Supreme Court found that judges ruling harsh he can be released. Why did she sue because Mc Donalds coffeee was way to hot to sell and was not fit for consumption. It also had no label telling other consumers you can get burned if you spill it. When I drink my coffee instarbucks it says this warning. When I spilled my coffee on my lap many times I got a little red burn that went away after 1 hour or so. This woman needed skin grafting! Again this guy who is suing apple has a ZERO and I mean a ZERO chance.

The most disturbing thing about your post(s) is that there is a law school that would admit you.

 

[ericthered]

Why? Volume changes with different earbuds, and not everyone uses the Apple ones. And what if you're driving it through a set of speakers? I don't want my music being turned down when I'm playing it at a party.

I can't see this as being a good thing.

Only as an option. Nearly 80% of the time my nano is plugged into my car audio system Having the output cranked down would be really be a PITA

 

[ChocoMan]

huh?

what?

 

[akadmon]

Can we have some new (even if ultimately proven false) rumors, pleeez? This is depressing It's a slow day at work and I want something to pick me up

 

[ChrisK018]

^ New & false rumor: Apple Game System. The ermmm... iGameBox

 

[luminosity]

Yeah, and damn anyone who tries to make this World a safer place right.

I wish all those who scream 'nanny state' every time anyone suggests anything to help people would give up their social security and medicare befits, you know they would have screamed the same thing when they were originally proposed too!

I'm sorry, but your posts have exceeded the sensibility limit. Please repost your thoughts using more hysterical language and irrational ideas.

 

[Billicus]

This is simply silly and a terrible idea in my opinion. If I want to listen to my iPod at full volume and go deaf in 5 years that's my own problem. People have to be responsible for their own actions and not depend on Apple (or the government) to take care of us and make sure we don't make wrong decisions.

My 2¢...

 

[Maccus Aurelius]

Heaven forfend a mere sophisticated volume limiter would be implemented. If I was a parent and gifted an iPod to the child, the volume would be preset. No worries. As I'm sure, as others are, that this would most definitely be optional, I wonder where all of this frustration is coming from? Now, I along with others would be annoyed if we have no choice, but really, we have no indication of that happening, sue-happy America or not.

 

[137489]

Huh Interesting post. I have low frequency hearing loss (I am only 39) due to standing too close to the speakers when I used to manage/video local rock bands, when I was in my teens/20's (plus the number of concerts I went to in the 80's) - so now I am forced to listen a little louder. In a way I can see why Apple would want to send out a caution. However, given the number of non-apple devices on the market for the iPod that have their own volume controls - I do not think this would go over very well. Also, as someone who has converted their old vynals, cassettes, 8-tracks (ok showing my age), 45's etc to mp3, plus do recording off the web, I can tell you sometimes you just have to turn the volume higher to hear it. I also listen to more than music on my ipod, and sometimes the source of the recording is low - so I have to increase the volume.

I say the only way for this to work and to make everyone happy would be to put a db meter in the headphone jack and limit the max volume to a certain db. If you connect it to an external device, then you are on your own (much like torqing out an engine - don't blame GM, Chrysler, Ford if the nitro fried your pistons).

 

[Rodimus Prime]

if it is not optional to turn off this feature I will not be buying a new iPod. Reason for this is because I have my iPod plug into my car though the AUX port. I set the iPod volume to max than adjusted it with the volume controls on my car. The iPod is not driving my car's speakers but the volume it puts out is then adjusted though my car's volume. Less volume in the iPod means less I have to turn it up more in my car. Not something I really want to do.

I have not listen to my iPod with headphones in over a year now. I listen to it almost every day in my car. I am going to sit and wait on this one because I was thinking about replacing my iPod this summer. If Apple makes this manditory (sp) I will be looking at the Zune.

 

[mrsebastian]

dear apple, [bleep] you! they're my god damned ears and i'll do what i want with 'em. if someone sues you, because they are simply stupid, then add another [bleeping] lawyer to the legal team. it's not like you have the cash... or maybe you could focus on making your products better, kinda like they used to be...

like how my nano refuses to mount on any other computer without reformatting, even though synching is completely turned off. how my powerbook is ridiculously hot and that affects everything from the airport card to the processors. how my last two imacs all over heated, had faulty power supplies, logic boards, etc. oh yeah, airports that work intermittently at best and constantly need to be restarted. last but not least, my 60 gig ipod that randomly locks up when transferring files to and from it's hard drive.

come to think of it, i'm really starting to wonder why i'm still an apple fan? why do i support you're business and make you rich, when in the last eight of my 20 odd years of using apple products, 90% of them have all needed repairs or haven't worked as advertised?

 

[karmapolice63]

This isn't new news. Volume limiting has been an issue for years with doctors and Apple is trying to keep the masses happy by offering a compromise for their systems. Essentially it's the user's responsibility however to make sure they are listening at a comfortable level.

 

[aranhamo]

Yeah, and damn anyone who tries to make this World a safer place right.

I wish all those who scream 'nanny state' every time anyone suggests anything to help people would give up their social security and medicare befits, you know they would have screamed the same thing when they were originally proposed too!

Happy to. Who do I talk to to have my social security and medicare benefits transferred to you?

 

[birdsong]

I see you are no science student. Plus you might just get bumped and not intentionally spill it. People that end their views with 'End of Discussion' are usually the retards too

Actually I'm an engineer. We tend to think with logic. Logic dictates that it's not McDonald's fault if someone else bumps you and you get burned.

Water can indeed get hotter than 'boiling', by which I suspect you mean 100 degrees C. Putting pressure aside for a moment, try adding sugar and check out the temperature when it 'boils'. If a coffee machine produced a ready made cup of milky, sweet coffee after using steam to heat it as many do, the resulting coffee might well be well over the boiling point of pure water when handed to you and thus really burn badly if spilled on your lap ...

The effect of dissolved sugar in the quantities present in a cup of coffee on the boiling point of water is negligible.

 

[Maccus Aurelius]

Regarding that McD's lawsuit, didn't the woman actually only want the medical bills paid, and was only *temporarily* awarded punitive damages because they brushed her off? That said, I'll be damned if any vendor gives me a cup of coffee that isn't hot as hell, especially in the winter, when I'd like for my cup o' joe to stay warm longer. That's why I love little diners. If you b**** and moan that your coffee's too hot, they'd likely say "Then make it at home goofball"

Anyway, this is nothing to make a big stink over (yet). This is a way different case from the hot coffee lawsuit, because it's not about people accidentally boosting the volume up to levels that permanently damage their hearing in one fell swoop, but about a protective measure that is so vague on details, I'm surprised more people aren't asking for specifics before going on with their "So help me God!" comments.

 

[aranhamo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald's_Restaurants

Her medical bills were $11,000, and she initially sued for $20,000. In the end, she was awarded $2.9 million, and then pending appeal she settled with McDonald's for an undisclosed amount less than $600,000. The coffee cup already had a warning on it, but "the jury decided that the warning was neither large enough nor sufficient."

 

[swagi]

I hear you man

dear apple, [bleep] you! they're my god damned ears and i'll do what i want with 'em. if someone sues you, because they are simply stupid, then add another [bleeping] lawyer to the legal team. it's not like you have the cash... or maybe you could focus on making your products better, kinda like they used to be...

like how my nano refuses to mount on any other computer without reformatting, even though synching is completely turned off. how my powerbook is ridiculously hot and that affects everything from the airport card to the processors. how my last two imacs all over heated, had faulty power supplies, logic boards, etc. oh yeah, airports that work intermittently at best and constantly need to be restarted. last but not least, my 60 gig ipod that randomly locks up when transferring files to and from it's hard drive.

come to think of it, i'm really starting to wonder why i'm still an apple fan? why do i support you're business and make you rich, when in the last eight of my 20 odd years of using apple products, 90% of them have all needed repairs or haven't worked as advertised?

<completely off topic rant>
I agree, that Apple product quality totally deteriorated. But as a matter of fact Apple products are much cheaper than they were. Like the former time entry model iBook was at the price point of the current entry model MacBook Pro. I'm still thinking, as to why I paid 3.800 Euros for my current Powerbook.

Well, having played around with MacBooks, MacBook Pros and owning some Core Duo iMacs I know why -> Apple has gone the cheap road. Yes, they sell more products, they got more marketshare.

Now going into the 4th year with my PB I feel like it has to be replaced. But I'm so unhappy, that there ain't no worthy comp to replace it with

Apple computers weren't overpriced in the old days. They had better quality. Give me a 3.500 bucks 15" with great gfx card and other nifty options and I'm in the market again. But currently I don't feel that there is any worthy Apple computer out there to replace my Powerbook. I'm seriously considering using a Sony Vaio FZ-series notebook, to tide me over til Apple starts delivering a worthy Powerbook successor!
</completely off topic rant>

 

[thegman1234]

Where do you think that warning came from in the first place?

I may be mistaken, but to my knowledge the cup had said Caution Hot when she burned herself. They didn't add it after she burned herself.

 

[macsound1]

I think it would be a cool feature that you can disable because like someone else said, what if you are playing through speakers or something where you really dont want to have to deal with turning them back up every 20 minutes or whatever it is. It would be nice if you could turn it on and off if that is what you are looking for but would totally suck if it just was always like that but apple isnt that stoopid.

 

[Sweetbike40]

this will totally suck if you can't turn off the safety. there have been times when i had my earbuds on and a song will unexpectedly blast but i'd like the option to turn that feature on and off. when i use it in the car, i'd hate to be limited to volume level. or in the house. why then aren't stereos limited? people have always used headphones with any music device.

 

[thegman1234]

this will totally suck if you can't turn off the safety. there have been times when i had my earbuds on and a song will unexpectedly blast but i'd like the option to turn that feature on and off. when i use it in the car, i'd hate to be limited to volume level. or in the house. why then aren't stereos limited? people have always used headphones with any music device.

Limiting the sound that headphones can output is an excellent safety feature. My guitar amp only outputs a certain volume to headphones this way you can't blow your brain out. The iPod also has a feature where u can limit the volume output, and iTunes also has a feature where u can not only raise or lower the volume of a specific song, but you can regulate song volume.

These are all great features for your safety, and an auto adjust would be a great feature as well, but it seems like something that would definitely be optional to use, just as the other iPod volume features are.

Apple knows that, other than the iPod touch, they still have competition on the portable music player industry. They also know who their largest demographic of iPod sales is. And as a company that practices good business, they know the culture of that demographic. Myself being a member of that demographic, I can honestly tell you that one; we like to listen to loud music, and two; if this feature could not be disabled, it would turn heads away. Apple knows this.

 

[johnmcboston]

Ahhhh. So they can't get better volume control IN the ipods themselves, but it will make other volume decisions for me?? nice.

 

[muncyweb]

Take Responsibility

I second this motion. Everybody should take responsibility for their own safety! It shouldn't be the responsibility of government or companies to ensure the safety of our ears. I'm getting so tired of everyone trying to "safety pad" the entire planet. If people want to do stupid things, they should be able to. I'm sure Apple could do A LOT MORE if they didn't have to worry about idiots suing them.

Ya, if it wasn't able to be turned off this would REALLY PISS ME OFF. Why can't people take responsibility for their own decisions DAMN it. If you want to go deaf, GO DEAF! Why do idiots have to sue someone?

 

[thegman1234]

I second this motion. Everybody should take responsibility for their own safety! It shouldn't be the responsibility of government or companies to ensure the safety of our ears. I'm getting so tired of everyone trying to "safety pad" the entire planet. If people want to do stupid things, they should be able to. I'm sure Apple could do A LOT MORE if they didn't have to worry about idiots suing them.

I agree, though I like the idea of certain safety features, I believe that many of them give people a false sense of security. This in turn allows people to become less responsible. However, that's a whole different story.

 

[b33k34]

My new Nano is already too quiet - much quieter than my old one (1.5gen) and my iRiver. This would be a terrible idea.