Hello, 2005

[av8rmike]

I'm slightly more intrigued by this idea of carrying around my entire music collection with me in some form of "MP3 Player", as the kids call it. However, I'm not suggesting an iPod, since iTunes is a terrible program and doesn't work as well with PCs. I'm actually considering a Microsoft Zune 80, which is by many accounts better than the iPod and costs the same. Although, my CD collection is relatively small and probably wouldn't make a dent in 80GB.

Comments

[hirsch222.livejournal.com]

Take a look at the Cowon mp3 players (http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/). They're pretty neat. I just bought the D2 for my girlfriend. She's kind of an ipod hater and she needed something linux compatible anyways.

[av8rmike.livejournal.com]

It looks tiny, man. Does it come with a choking hazard warning? =)
The fact that it's touch-screen-only interface might be cool, but I'd want to try one out before I bought one. Thanks!

[mnfiddledragon.livejournal.com]

I have the Sansa 4G mp3 player with the mini-disc expansion slot...and I love it! It was (relatively) inexpensive, it can still play videos if I choose to watch them (rarely)...I have all the features that I truly enjoy - including being able to listen to the radio (mmm...Minnesota Public Radio!) and it supports playlists. I don't mind having to switch music out every now and again, either :)

And as the other commenter mentioned - I needed something linux compatible :)

[av8rmike.livejournal.com]

Well, I haven't used Linux since college, so that's not all that important. I hadn't even thought about expansion, but my phone has a miniSD port, so I wonder if they would work together? Also, how much classical music can you get into 4GB?

[mnfiddledragon.livejournal.com]

I can't remember off the top of my head, but what I have here on my desktop is 3.69G worth of music according to iTunes (we use it at work) representing 808 pieces crossing all genres including classical music. Mostly it depends on what type of compression you're using.

(As for linux - I use Windows at work, but my home computer is all linux - so for me it was a consideration)

[skipmagic.livejournal.com]

I avoid iPods because Apple stubbornly refuses to allow unprotected WMAs to play. Protected, I can understand; unprotected, however, it's friggin' annoying. So, I have an iriver Clix2 (awesome player), and my wife has an eSansa. Both are great devices; the iriver is the better of the two, if you ask me, but the eSansa is less expensive and you get the expansion port.

[av8rmike.livejournal.com]

Like this thread, there's no consensus in your household among manufacturers. I guess that shows that most people are satisfied with non-iPods.

[skipmagic.livejournal.com]

Heck, there's not even consesus within me. I own a Nano (first generation), the Clix2, and I'm the one that chose the eSansa for auntsie_pants, as a holiday gift. But, yeah, there are plenty of nifty iPod alternatives out there.

[opalcat.livejournal.com]

I have a Creative Zen something-or-other. It's nifty. You can use any damned program you want to put the music on, too. I refuse to use iTunes for a whole variety of reasons.

[av8rmike.livejournal.com]

I just started using a program called MediaMonkey after Winamp died on me for the nth time. It seems like a well-designed program and every bit as capable as iTunes.

[skipmagic.livejournal.com]

I like MediaMonkey. It does what it does very well.

[violaman.livejournal.com]

You know me: I used to be anti-iPod and anti-iTunes. I ripped my music with 3rd-party software and had a iRiver 40 GB MP3 player for about two years. After a while it was frustrating to manage my music manually and have to remember where I put things. And when the iRiver started to go south on me, there wasn't any tech support out there to help me, nor was there a clear upgrade path to a new iRiver MP3 player (they had phased out their big hard-drive-based players by 2006). So I bought an iPod. Yes, iTunes is a resource hog and doesn't always play well with Windows. No, iPods don't play protected WMA files. But you know what iPods do? They play MP3s, and they play them well. I'm on my 2nd iPod and I love it. I wouldn't go back to another player now. Before you buy something else, try one at an Apple store or check out a friend's.

Welcome to the 21st century, BTW.

[av8rmike.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure you can welcome me to the 21st century until I actually buy something. Yes, I know you: you were sucked in because you liked the flash factor and you wanted to have the most advanced thing out there. So when are you buying that MacBook Air? ;) And yes, I know how iPods work, but most of the reviews agreed that the Classic wasn't a step forward, whereas Microsoft had vastly improved the Zune 80 over the first release and even done some things better than Apple.

Of course, the Zune, Classic, and your iRiver are all HD-based players. Do you think they are a dying breed, since the flash-memory models are all the rage now, despite the much-reduced capacity?

[violaman.livejournal.com]

I had the 5th generation iPod and now the iPod Classic, and I'd say it's a baby step forward, not a leap. But I wanted another HD-based player, and that's what I got. Also, since it's 160 GB, I'm set for at least another year, maybe two. I have heard good things about the 2nd generation Zune but I've never tried one. I do think that there's a market for HD-based players but it's a shrinking one. Most people seem to want to carry a subset of a much larger music collection around with them. Or maybe the average consumer just doesn't own that much music and doesn't need more than 4 or 8 GB. I consider myself an oddball for wanting to have my whole collection with me at all times, but I'm glad there are music players out there that serve my needs.

[tidesong.livejournal.com]

I'm like you...I really like being able to have my whole collection of MP3s with me.

Did you see the Macworld keynote?

[av8rmike.livejournal.com]

I guess I'd have to start ripping my entire collection (which is probably only 50-60 discs), see how much space it takes up, and go from there. That sounds like a fun way to spend a weekend, as if I didn't have enough projects.

[tidesong.livejournal.com]

You should listen to your brother, Mike. ;)

I had him playing with one at the Apple Store here, Phil. He can play with mine when he comes out here next month.

[tidesong.livejournal.com]

Well, you know my thoughts. I love iPods. Play with mine some more when you're out here. I'll show you how it interfaces with iTunes..and it's pretty nice. What didn't you like about the Windows iTunes? I haven't used it much on a PC, just on my PowerBook, so I really don't know what differences are there...but I love iTunes on my Mac.

I think, ultimately, you're going to want more than something that only holds a few GBs of MP3s, but that's just my opinion. If you think you don't have enough to fill 80GB, you'll just have to buy more CDs. ;)

[av8rmike.livejournal.com]

Well, of course it's nice, on a Mac. The Windows version was buggy, a resource hog, and I think the thing is just plain ugly. For a company that is so much about interface and flash, they certainly haven't done much with iTunes. Plus there's that whole monopoly thing.

[tidesong.livejournal.com]

*ROFL*

I was going to post a simple reply of "resistance is futile" from the direct reply link in the e-mail. Then I saw the icon you chose for yours.

[av8rmike.livejournal.com]

Steve Jobs' Keynote in 60 Seconds (http://daily.mahalo.com/2008/01/16/md038-the-steve-jobs-90-minute-keynote-in-60-seconds/)

[tidesong.livejournal.com]

*rofl* Yeah, that was much easier to watch than the whole damn keynote. Wish I'd seen this first. :P