ipod

The Apple iPod is, far and away, the most popular MP3 player on the market--less a product and more a way of life for many people. But just how reliable a product is it? That's the question posed by Nick Wingfield's article in today's Wall Street Journal. "When iPods Die" (which, like most WSJ content, is locked behind the paper's subscriber firewall) compiles some compelling iPod war stories. Among the frustrated 'Pod users chronicled is Tom Westrup of Austin, Texas, who--after suffering from repeated freeze-ups during playback--is currently awaiting his fifth replacement iPod. There'… Read more

If imitation is really the sincerest form of flattery, than tech manufacturers are certainly a sycophantic lot. And the most popular object of their affection always seems to be something from Apple.

Take the "iPod mouse" from Buffalo, for instance. If it didn't have a retractable USB line hanging out awkwardly like an umbilical cord, it could have been separated at birth from the real thing. Not only that, but it also resembles similar products from Anyzen and Samsung. So make it a three-fer for Buffalo.

I know how it is: It gets harder every year to select the perfect present for that eco-friendly farmhand/truck driver in your life. Luckily, Passchal's got you covered this time.

The Virginia-based handbag maker is selling iPod and DVD cases hewn from old truck and tractor tires. The people at Passchal handmake them after picking through discarded inner tubes and soaking them in "an environmentally friendly solution" for three days.

Each case retains the original tire markings for that authentic, nouveaux vintage look. Recycling is so very now, isn't it?

Though $55 is a bit … Read more

Toshiba announced a new 100GB model of its 1.8-inch hard drive on Tuesday. And although Apple Computer strenuously declines to comment on what it calls rumor and speculation, it doesn't take a genius to extrapolate that a 100GB iPod model might follow suit.

Most recently, Apple added an 80GB version of its video iPod in September.

Products using the new drives are expected to go on sale in the first quarter of 2007, the Toshiba representative said.

Toshiba's new drives, like predecessors, use two platters to store data and perpendicular recording technology to increase the amount of … Read more

Note to industry: If you must make tons of remote controls for MP3 players, please don't make them as complicated as the six or seven we need to watch our TV right now.

We haven't yet laid hands on Keyspan's "TuneView for iPod" but fear that it may be going down this treacherous road. There's one obvious reason: Its manufacturer claims to have introduced a bevy of features that'll all make life simpler. Where have we heard that before?

The product language scares us already: "TuneView for iPod consists of a 2-way … Read more

It's not often that an attachment is nearly as big as the product it supports. But when the main device is the diminutive iPod Shuffle, size becomes something of a challenge.

The IncipioBud will still save some space, though, by allowing you to forego the iPod's docking station and plug it directly into any USB port in a Mac or a PC. As Ubergizmo points out, it would come in handy on the road--and, at $6, there's not much to lose.

Kevin Rose might be getting a phone call from Steve Jobs today.

On the latest espisode of his weekly Diggnation podcast with Alex Albrecht, Rose claimed--in between swigs of what appears to be a 24-ounce bottle of the Crave-approved Racer 5 IPA from Bear Republic--to have the dirt on Apple's long-rumored iPhone combination cell phone/iPod device. There's no shortage of blogs and Apple watchers predicting the imminent arrival of the iPhone, but MacRumors.com notes that Rose accurately predicted the news from last January's Macworld and also called the iPod Nano, so we're willing to … Read more

Most Webware.com readers who use Windows are familiar with two kinds of software: applications that run within the Windows framework, and Web-based applications. Using the former requires access to your own computer; using the latter requires password management and an Internet connection.

Now, the growing availability of software that runs off portable devices makes schlepping your laptop home for the holidays less of a necessity. PortableApps Standard Suite turns your memory device--iPod, Darth Vader Flash drive or even your digital camera's memory card--into a software and personal file manager.

Here's how to get started: Grab the PortableApps … Read more

Note to Intempo: There's a concept known as too much of a good thing. That idea is apparently a foreign one to the company, which just began shipping its new monochromatic "I-Series" speakers apparently to match the iPod Nano's color spectrum, though it will work with other MP3 players.

This reminds us of the matching shirt-tie combos that were popular in the '60s and made a comeback in the '90s (as did everything else). You can mix and match, but that would kind of defeat the purpose. Once again, originality eludes designers in consumer technology.