Comments on: New iPods make some add-ons yesterday's hits

Video iPod, Nano render a slew of existing accessories incompatible with the newest products. Will sales of the players suffer?

[Michael Grogan]

My only questionis

why does anyone buy these over priced pieces of junk in the first place? There are many reasonably priced music solutions out there that deliver great functionality along with freedom of choice concerning what music to play on them and whos accessories to use.

[Michael Grogan]

My only questionis

why does anyone buy these over priced pieces of junk in the first place? There are many reasonably priced music solutions out there that deliver great functionality along with freedom of choice concerning what music to play on them and whos accessories to use.

No remote control without a dock?

The new remote control is great in that it's wireless - the old wired remote control could sometimes be a bit of a pain.

But what do we use for a remote when we're not using the dock? For example, on a plane I'd have the iPod tucked away somewhere, and control it via the wired remote. What will I do now?

Perhaps getting rid of the old remote port simplified the electronics, or helps Apple get royalites from companies who now have to use the dock connector, but it seems like a real shame.

No remote control without a dock?

The new remote control is great in that it's wireless - the old wired remote control could sometimes be a bit of a pain.

But what do we use for a remote when we're not using the dock? For example, on a plane I'd have the iPod tucked away somewhere, and control it via the wired remote. What will I do now?

Perhaps getting rid of the old remote port simplified the electronics, or helps Apple get royalites from companies who now have to use the dock connector, but it seems like a real shame.

[El Kabong]

It isn't about Market Share

as much as it is about character. In this life, we only have a few opportunities to demonstrate our real nature and, as far as I'm concerned, Apple has amplied exposed themselves as hostage takers and gougers. Is their computer better? Is their MP3 player better? Their business model has proven those questions irrelevant because once you "own" an Apple product, Apple owns you. Their lack of software compatability and the buyer's dependency on over-priced proprietary hardware is historic from the getgo.

[DeusExMachina]

What are you talking about? Do you even know?

lack of software compatibility? How so? You mean the file I make
with Office somehow does not work? That the video I edited can't
be opened on a Windoze box? That when I run XP pro on my G4 in
a window on my desktop, that that is some sort of hallucination?
You need to consult your little red book again, comrade.

What system do YOU have?

When it comes right down to it, EVERYTHING has some sort of
proprietary element to it. Dell, Gateway, HP, IBM, Apple, Ford,
GM, Toyota, Maytag, so on, so on... Apple products, you can buy
RAM from just about anyone, same for Hard Drives, optical
drives, keyboards, displays, mice, expansion cards (video cards
are mac specific though). Apple gives you the VGA adapters.
Don't drag mini and the portables in to the mix, everyone elses
micro boxes and portables are the way, little room for upgrade. I
can add RAM, a PCMCIA card, and put a larger Hard Drive in my
PowerBook, same as PC counterparts. The time I spend NOT
doing spyware / virus scans I will enjoy doing something else.
Oh, when you get the guts to buy a Mac and admit you like it,
you will find so many things you can do, and do better, than a
Windows box.

[El Kabong]

It isn't about Market Share

as much as it is about character. In this life, we only have a few opportunities to demonstrate our real nature and, as far as I'm concerned, Apple has amplied exposed themselves as hostage takers and gougers. Is their computer better? Is their MP3 player better? Their business model has proven those questions irrelevant because once you "own" an Apple product, Apple owns you. Their lack of software compatability and the buyer's dependency on over-priced proprietary hardware is historic from the getgo.

[DeusExMachina]

What are you talking about? Do you even know?

lack of software compatibility? How so? You mean the file I make
with Office somehow does not work? That the video I edited can't
be opened on a Windoze box? That when I run XP pro on my G4 in
a window on my desktop, that that is some sort of hallucination?
You need to consult your little red book again, comrade.

What system do YOU have?

When it comes right down to it, EVERYTHING has some sort of
proprietary element to it. Dell, Gateway, HP, IBM, Apple, Ford,
GM, Toyota, Maytag, so on, so on... Apple products, you can buy
RAM from just about anyone, same for Hard Drives, optical
drives, keyboards, displays, mice, expansion cards (video cards
are mac specific though). Apple gives you the VGA adapters.
Don't drag mini and the portables in to the mix, everyone elses
micro boxes and portables are the way, little room for upgrade. I
can add RAM, a PCMCIA card, and put a larger Hard Drive in my
PowerBook, same as PC counterparts. The time I spend NOT
doing spyware / virus scans I will enjoy doing something else.
Oh, when you get the guts to buy a Mac and admit you like it,
you will find so many things you can do, and do better, than a
Windows box.

[RS3York]

Unfortunate

It's really too bad that the new iPods are no longer compatible with some accessories. But in the end it's all about money isn't it? Some like to believe that Apple is "fighting the good fight" but they're in it to make money like most people in the industry (yes, even some the companies contributing to the OSS movement see a financial edge).

By removing the connection Apple saves money on each unit manufactured (+$), can sell new versions of their own accessories (+$) and promote its program among 3rd party manufacturers (+$) = $$$.

The MS/IBM complex is no different in it's ultimate aim. The thing that amuses me in these little Apple vs. MS-IBM forum debates is that many of the comparisons made are irrelevant, misguided or outright baseless.

If there's anything that I agree with is the fact that Apple's OS simply will not break 10% marketshare in the personal PC market unless it's made available for install on any x86 box (legally).

MS & Apple are ultimately *very* similar, the only significant difference is that Apple manufactures core hardware in addition to software and MS currently has an amazing amount of marketshare with both its OS & Office software.

BOTH companies try to control the whole 'stack' to the fullest extent possible. MS tries to control the software stack from the kernel all way up and Apple does the same except they start from the hardware level. Apple is decidedly more successful in controlling their environment although seemingly at the expense of success in marketshare - The one product Apple has that dominates its market - the iPod - *depends* on Windows-compatibility for its popularity.

I'm still waiting for Apple to "Think Different" (or atleast "fairly") and deliver a native, official port of iTunes for Linux. At the very least you'd think that there would be one for FreeBSD...it's like waiting for native support for OpenDocument in MS Office...

Ah, now I found where your bias comes from.

Dude, get real. iTuens doesn't need to be ported to Linux. Linux sucks in the desktop arena. What's the market share of people who use Linux on the desktop for EVERYTHING, versus people who use windows or OS X? A fraction of a percent. Why would Apple want to put money into a bunch of free-loaders anyway? They wouldn't.

OS X is far more advanced than any flavor of Linux. And I guarentee you, come the Mactels, within a year you will see Apple's market share BOOM! Imagine, having one box that you can develop on for OS X, XP, and Linux. That will be the Mactels.

Apple controls the hardware and software to ensure complete compatibility. No tweaking with drivers and kernals for hours on Linux or windows. New video card? Check. Ram? Check. HD's? Check. Expansion hardware? Check.

And guess what? I paid 3k for a Pwoermac that has run almost every day for the last 3.5 years that still runs photoshop, still runs illustrator, still runs Final Cut Pro, and STILL acts as a media server, without having to deal with the feeling that it's way out-performed today.

I work on a Dell allllllll day, it has 512 MB of RAM and it STILL locks up on Outlook for christ sake?

My point, MAcs will always out-perform windows AND linux, no matter the hardware, no matter the price.

[RS3York]

Unfortunate

It's really too bad that the new iPods are no longer compatible with some accessories. But in the end it's all about money isn't it? Some like to believe that Apple is "fighting the good fight" but they're in it to make money like most people in the industry (yes, even some the companies contributing to the OSS movement see a financial edge).

By removing the connection Apple saves money on each unit manufactured (+$), can sell new versions of their own accessories (+$) and promote its program among 3rd party manufacturers (+$) = $$$.

The MS/IBM complex is no different in it's ultimate aim. The thing that amuses me in these little Apple vs. MS-IBM forum debates is that many of the comparisons made are irrelevant, misguided or outright baseless.

If there's anything that I agree with is the fact that Apple's OS simply will not break 10% marketshare in the personal PC market unless it's made available for install on any x86 box (legally).

MS & Apple are ultimately *very* similar, the only significant difference is that Apple manufactures core hardware in addition to software and MS currently has an amazing amount of marketshare with both its OS & Office software.

BOTH companies try to control the whole 'stack' to the fullest extent possible. MS tries to control the software stack from the kernel all way up and Apple does the same except they start from the hardware level. Apple is decidedly more successful in controlling their environment although seemingly at the expense of success in marketshare - The one product Apple has that dominates its market - the iPod - *depends* on Windows-compatibility for its popularity.

I'm still waiting for Apple to "Think Different" (or atleast "fairly") and deliver a native, official port of iTunes for Linux. At the very least you'd think that there would be one for FreeBSD...it's like waiting for native support for OpenDocument in MS Office...

Ah, now I found where your bias comes from.

Dude, get real. iTuens doesn't need to be ported to Linux. Linux sucks in the desktop arena. What's the market share of people who use Linux on the desktop for EVERYTHING, versus people who use windows or OS X? A fraction of a percent. Why would Apple want to put money into a bunch of free-loaders anyway? They wouldn't.

OS X is far more advanced than any flavor of Linux. And I guarentee you, come the Mactels, within a year you will see Apple's market share BOOM! Imagine, having one box that you can develop on for OS X, XP, and Linux. That will be the Mactels.

Apple controls the hardware and software to ensure complete compatibility. No tweaking with drivers and kernals for hours on Linux or windows. New video card? Check. Ram? Check. HD's? Check. Expansion hardware? Check.

And guess what? I paid 3k for a Pwoermac that has run almost every day for the last 3.5 years that still runs photoshop, still runs illustrator, still runs Final Cut Pro, and STILL acts as a media server, without having to deal with the feeling that it's way out-performed today.

I work on a Dell allllllll day, it has 512 MB of RAM and it STILL locks up on Outlook for christ sake?

My point, MAcs will always out-perform windows AND linux, no matter the hardware, no matter the price.

Apple Website Needs Changes

I just bought an iPod and was encouraged by the Apple website to purchase accessories that indicated they were compatible with the new iPod but they weren't. I understand that it may take awhile new, compatible accessories to appear, but Apple needs to change its website NOW to make it CLEAR which accessories are compatible and which ones aren't.

Apple agreed to take back the item (iTrip) but wanted to charge a 10% restocking fee. When I complained they waived it so don't stand for having them charge you for their error!

Otherwise I am very satisfied with the whole buying experience including the iPod itself!

Apple Website Needs Changes

I just bought an iPod and was encouraged by the Apple website to purchase accessories that indicated they were compatible with the new iPod but they weren't. I understand that it may take awhile new, compatible accessories to appear, but Apple needs to change its website NOW to make it CLEAR which accessories are compatible and which ones aren't.

Apple agreed to take back the item (iTrip) but wanted to charge a 10% restocking fee. When I complained they waived it so don't stand for having them charge you for their error!

Otherwise I am very satisfied with the whole buying experience including the iPod itself!

[sallad]

Please GET A CURRENT IPOD PHOTO

the old clickwheel pic just shows laziness.
blah!

[sallad]

Please GET A CURRENT IPOD PHOTO

the old clickwheel pic just shows laziness.
blah!