Date Archive > March 2005
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March 31, 2005
Wirus podType: Type on your iPod, sort of
The web site says it's, "a little idea using on-the-go playlists lets you 'type' on your iPod." The concept is sufficiently creative and the execution is good. In fact, podType is a handy little utility to keep on your iPod.
Here are the details: go to the Wirus web site and download the zip file that contains the collection of small (about 7k each) mp3 files. Each mp3 has the artist listed as 'Ω Wirus podType' and the album is 'Ω podType [type of character such as Alpha, Special, or Numeric]'. Add these files to your iTunes library and then sync them to your iPod. That naming convention organizes all of the podType "songs" at the end of your library, but the important thing is the name of the "song" - each of these podType files has a single character for the song title.
The idea here is to use the On-the-go playlist feature on your iPod and use the characters provided by the podType "songs" to take notes or record any short piece of information that you may need. If you recall, adding a song to the on-the-go playlist in your iPod is as simple as scrolling to it and then pressing and holding the middle button for 2 seconds. The song title will flash to let you know it's been added. To read back what you've recorded just navigate through the playlists to the on-the-go playlist.
You may not want to write your first novel with podType, but for recording phone numbers, addresses, or anything else short, podType works surprisingly well. It really is fast and easy to use. The most difficult part is reading it back, since the iPod will only display each character vertically, in a listing. So you may have to scroll to read your note back.
podType hardly takes up any space on your iPod, and it can come in handy. It's free, the execution is done nicely (with the leading Ω character, all of the directories stay out of the way on the bottom of your lists), and it adds even more functionality to the iPod.
Category: Software | Comments (2)
March 30, 2005
Griffin Technology iVault
The aptly named iVault is the result of helixipod's journey from a lonely guy getting jiggy with a CNC machine, to posting his creations in an iPodlounge discussion thread to now, teaming with one of the preeminant iPod accessory makers.
Largely unchanged from helixipod's, known to his mother as Greg Gutierrez, first prototype, the iVault is an aluminum case with holes for the audio jack, the status lights, the USB plug, and the on/off switch. Although there is no word on it, I assume that it will be lined with something soft 'n grippy to keep the shuffle happy and scratch-free. The two halves of the case are fastened, shall I say assembled, with four screws, so the iVault is not the type of thing you'll be taking on and off frequently.
Undeniably attractive, and extremely protective, I love the colors (purple, blue, silver, red) that are available. I am happily surprised at the $30 price point too. Seems like a bargain if the case is as nice as it looks.
However, I still find the USB port solution a little awkward. Griffin will be shipping a USB cable along with each iVault, which seems to me a clunky workaround to the case's treatment of the USB plug. I don't like the idea of having both an uncovered USB plug (lets in dust and dirt) plus having to remember to take the cable wherever the shuffle goes.
The iVault ships in May, but you can preorder it now at the Griffin Technology web site.
Related: helixipod Aluminum Billet Cases
Category: Cases | Comments (0)
iPodlounge Buyer’s Guide available
The seminal iPodlounge Buyer's Guide is available now for downloading. I haven't read it yet, but I'm sure it's filled with glossy white goodness. Hint: Check out the comments section of this page for mirror sites to download from.
Category: News | Comments (0)
March 28, 2005
iPod-TV: Television listings on your iPod
iPod-TV is a free application that transfers television schedules to your iPod. A week's worth of programming for each selected channel can be saved on your iPod and then used to decide which is better - continue to listen to music, or plant your lazy arse down in front of the TV and zone out. Due to the massive amount of garbage fine entertainment on television, each listing is saved as a small mp3 file (since the iPod Notes doesn't have the storage capacity necessary). Currently, iPod-TV is a Windows application and works only with UK television. Versions for the USA and other countries are in the works.
Category: Software | Comments (0)
The Register: Should iPods carry health warnings?
In response to an Australian private school that has banned iPods, "because it encourages kids to be selfish and lonely," The Register has started a contest as well as concocted some of their own ideas for warning labels. Cheeky and funny, just the sort of thing I like to read on a Monday morning. See more here.
You know, I don't see how any music-related device can be socially alienating. Music, as far back as the cavemen banging on rocks with sticks, has always been a social activity. Blast forward to the twenty-first century and the single iPod-listening kid is still participating in a social activity by listening to his iPod. Finding out about new bands, recommending music to his friends, it's all a complex social activity even though the act of listening to music with headphones on my be done solitary. But I've got some news - headphones have been around longer than the iPod.
Category: Culture | Comments (0)
March 25, 2005
Weekend reading
- iPods Make the World Go Away by David Kirkpatrick at Fortune.
- The shufflehack blog: Documenting iPod shuffle hacks.
- An Addictive Taste of iPod by Alyce Lomax at the Motley Fool. These guys usually have a love/hate relationship with Apple.
- iPod Camera Connector supports video, audio importing at iPodlounge. Surprising how much confusion there is about this device and how late the Apple documentation is coming in.
- iPod Invasion by Dan Myers at BGNews.com. And the MacDailyNews post about the article, because they always do such a good job with it, Apple's iPod hits 'critical mass' with 40 percent of all-time unit sales coming in last 90 days.
Category: News | Comments (0)
Business 2.0 on the future of iPod and Apple
Business 2.0 features a very good article that speculates on what the future holds for Apple. The writer goes far to try to get inside Steve Jobs' head and makes some interesting, and feasible, guesses as to what the man behind the curtain will do next. It's a long article, but worth the time to read.
"The sizzle is in what Apple comes up with to turbocharge the iPod -- or to create entirely new devices so irresistible that, iPod-like, they'll blast open vast new markets." The article goes on to profile what it thinks are likely new products from Apple, including:
- Wireless iPod - Likelihood: Virtually certain (conception at right)
- vPod (video iPod) - Likelihood: 75 percent
- iHome (media center-type device) - Likelihood: 70 percent
- iPod on Wheels (automotive entertainment) - Likelihood: 60 percent
- iPhone - Likelihood: 50 percent
The article closes with this statement, "No matter what bursts forth from Apple's labs, Jobs already has achieved something that many observers thought would never happen: He has freed Apple from the PC ghetto in which it had been ensnared for more than two decades."
Although it seems that a paid subscription is supposed to be required to read the article, I was able to access it just fine here and view the photo essay images here .
Category: News | Comments (0)
The PodShirt: For when you just have to wear magnets
From the makers of those silly little PodBrix lego figures comes the PodShirt. "shuffle integrated apparel" is what they call their new product that looks suspiciously like a black t-shirt with a silk screened logo on it. Your $29 buys you a shirt with a clasp that mounts behind the shirt near your right boob. This clasp then holds an iPod shuffle magnetically.
I assume, and I'm not about to try it, that the only magnetic material in the shuffle is it's battery? Although the web site says they've done testing on it and this has no adverse effect on the shuffle, there is some question in my mind about an adverse effect on the human body when you've got a magnet strapped to your chest all day long.
I'm holding out for the PodPants... get it?
Category: Gear | Comments (0)
March 23, 2005
iPoditude Review: Etymotic ER•6i earphones
Canal phones are hardcore. They are for people who are serious about music. People who wear canal phones love music and the act of listening to music. If you see a person with the tiny stub of a canal phone sticking out of their ear, don't mess with them. Don't talk to them, for they won't hear you. Don't even make eye contact with them because at that moment, they don't care about you, they only care about the music.
Warning: Do not attempt to eat potato chips while wearing canal phones. I learned this the hard way. The occlusion effect will startle and possibly deafen you.
Enough of that, I'm here to tell you about the Etymotic ER•6i ear phones. These little gems can fill your ears with the most beautiful sounds. Can you tell that I love them (I do!)? Read on...
Continue reading "iPoditude Review: Etymotic ER•6i earphones"
Category: Reviews | Comments (0)
SXSW tracks at iTunes
Not that I'd pay a buck for each of these tracks, but the iTMS right now is featuring the top 50 bands from the SXSW festival. What kept my interest at this page of the store was the descriptions of each band and their music. If you're interested in the music at the SXSW festival, or the top 50 bands (according to the iTMS staff) take a look at this page.
Category: iTunes | Comments (0)
March 22, 2005
Things you can’t do with iTunes 4.7.1
- Shared iTunes library restricted to just 5 listeners per day: BoingBoing reports that only 5 users can access you shared library per day. That's pretty restrictive if you live in a dorm or a large workplace and share your library.
- iTunes AAC protection extends into iPhoto and iMovie: A MacFixIt reader writes about how the DRM embedded into AAC tracks purchased from iTunes extends into slideshows and movies that contain the song and generally mucks things up. What a pain!
Here is my take on it: I don't think Apple is out to spoil everyone's fun. I think they've got to find the happy medium that makes everyone - from the music industry to the consumers - happy. I do think, however, that Apple has a responsibility not to change the rules frequently, and to let everyone know what the allowances and limitations of the software are.
Category: iTunes | Comments (1)
March 21, 2005
Afternoon Links part 2
- iPod Camera Connector: Available at the Apple Store online. $29 bucks, ships in 1-3 weeks, looks like a simple USB-to-dock adapter but without more information it's hard to tell. Works with iPod photo models only. Currently, I can't find the page for supported cameras at the URL they specify.
- iTunes Promo Gets Carded: Custom iTunes gift cards good for specific songs. Good idea. Record labels should jump all over this. How long do you think it will be until we see somebody's iTunes gift card collection posted online?
- DecoDock: iPod shuffle dock. Art Deco design makes the shuffle look like a building. Beautiful or gaudy, depending on your perspective. If it had line-out audio it would be much better. $25 with pre-order.
Category: News | Comments (0)
Afternoon Links
- Lajo iPodArt silicone skins are on sale right now for $19.50 and include a free TwistClip or iShade. Some of his designs are unique and quite nice.
- General Motors have announced that they'll start to implement aux in capabilities in their corporate stereos systems in cars starting for the 2006 model year. I'm glad to see this happening (it's about time), but I don't think GM should expect a pat on the back for it. It's not like it's the most difficult or expensive part of car making.
- PyMusique, originally designed to allow Linux users to access the iTunes Music Store, also has the notable ability to bypass the FairPlay DRM schema and allow the user to purchase music tracks sans the DRM. This story surfaced on Friday, so I'd be surprised if Apple hasn't already put a stop to these shenanigans. I remember reading a while ago that the front end of the iTMS was a fairly simple XML interface that uses standard http.
- Best music promotional item yet: Sexohol, a band whom I've never heard of, has released their new album on an iPod shuffle. What a great way to garner some attention and airplay. Hell, if somebody gave me an iPod with that new U2 album on it I'd even give it a listen. Via iPodlounge
Category: News | Comments (0)
Mac market share, switchers
On Friday, Morgan Stanley released a report that said the PC-to-Mac switcher rate for iPod owners can be as high as 19 percent. AppleInsider has good coverage of this. If that does come to fruition, Mac market share can climb to as high as 5 percent in 2005. Doesn't sound like much, but the difference between the current 3 percent and 5 percent is a whopping number of stylish little white boxes running OS X.
I'm glad to hear this. I think the iPod experience is a good introduction to the Mac and it gives a valid taste of things Apple. I use and own both Macs and Windows machines and I think they both have strengths and weaknesses. However, my main machine is a Mac (a 14" iBook), and I've been a long-time Mac fan, so I'm glad to hear it when other people discover that there are alternatives to the Windows world, and those choices are as good as a Mac.
Category: Culture | Comments (0)
iPod Nation article takes the pulse of the iPod
The Western Kentucky University Herald features an article titled iPod Nation written by Natasha Allen that examines the "white-crested wave" of iPod popularity.
In amongst the obligatory information regarding the iPod and there are some interesting comments. The article quotes Lauren Brooks, a digital image specialist at Best Buy in Bowling Green, "iPod knows no age boundary, I'll definitely say that. Older people like them for (listening to) speeches and things like audio books."
The article ends with this gem, "I don't know what I would do without mine... It's makes life so much more tolerable."
Category: Culture | Comments (0)
