Re Ipods and my Luddite opinions thereof (My I-Podick rant)

[Andy Peters]

I guess iTunes' updater is bundled in with the OS on a Mac, so it doesn't have to do anything special, extra, to bog you down. That's the upside of a closed, proprietary system. I still don't think the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. I even prefer Windows over Mac because at least it's somewhat open. Remember when they used to be called "compatible"? I like to come as close as possibly to what I refer to as "commodity" gadgets/computers as possible. Generic. Interchangeable parts. Hackable OS.

Let's see ... what about the Mac is actually proprietary?

a) Consider the hardware. Sure, if you buy the all-in-one systems (iMac, Mac mini) you're stuck with Apple's choice of video controllers, lack of PCIe ports, number of USB and FireWire ports and memory options. But you know that going in. This isn't any different from buying any vendor's laptops or all-in-one machine. If you want hardware expandability, you buy a Mac Pro.

b) Consider the software. It's based on Unix, and a lot of open-source things build and run without much consideration. Oh, and the development tools (XCode, etc) are FREE. Nobody is limiting you to what software you can install on a Mac. Nobody is stopping you from installing the dev tools and writing your own code. What's not open about this?

-a

[JGriffin]

OMG, you're going to trot out IRQ conflicts as a reason Macs are better than PC's? C'mon people, raise your hands if you've had an IRQ conflict on a PC in the last 10 years. That whole paragraph sounded like it came out of the Apple Fanboy Talking Points Memo from 1997. .

Or it came from seven months ago when I --and a microsoft-certified band member-- was wrestling with a Pro Tools install on a PC for, quite literally, weeks. Wouldn't work when signed in as the Admin-level user. Wouldn't work with the printer connected. Would work when signed in as the bass player's 7-year-old. Would crash within ten minutes under all circumstances. Fucking stupid.

I didn't say BETTER. I said "why I don't prefer PCs." Different thing.

Plus, and, also: There's really no need to take this tone with me, man. I wasn't getting nasty, so please don't get insulting and dismissive.

[vvv]

FWIW, onna PC, when you do less then keep it simple, it ain't simple. IOW, mebbe drop all the user sign-in different account shite, etc. Or, pay the 7 year old as yer IT person ...

I know nothin' about Apple, other than it's even more expensive than PC, and so less desirable to me.

As for commuting with the headphones - I have been in many near altercations on the train in recent years due to politely asking someone to speak softer on their fookin' cell-phone. Headphones, along with mebbe a 12' blocker, keep me sane, and the most egregious cellulitis abusers, or me mebbe, uninjured.

And the worse part? The prettier the gurrl, the more egregiously loud and vapid seems her never-ending cellular soliloquies.

[JGriffin]

FWIW, onna PC, when you do less then keep it simple, it ain't simple. IOW, mebbe drop all the user sign-in different account shite, etc. Or, pay the 7 year old as yer IT person ...

I made neither the choice to have multiple logins, nor the choice to try to run ProTools on a PC.

[chris harris]

I only "trotted out" the reasons why I SWITCHED years ago. I have no use for arguing which is better. I'm SUPER HAPPY with what I use. iTunes & iPods have always worked perfectly for me. I could tell you how to create a playlist on your iPod without iTunes. It's quite simple. But why would I?!? Your attitude is insulting. The suggestion that all users of Apple products are suckers who are fooled by fancy designs and status is as insulting as Mac users' suggestions that all windows users would rather use macs, but can't afford it. There are WAAAAY MORE people spouting blind, ignorant (you really haven't heard of On The Go Playlists on iPod?!?!?!) nonsense about macs than there are Apple "fanboys" who bother to even mention Apple products to others. The haters are more vocally obsessed than the people they complain about.

[-3db]

I only bought an iPod, it's 5gen with the video, to listen to pod casts on the subway. I never had one before but I find the iPod is a great way to ignore the beggars and mexican guitar bands that wander into the subway car and ask for change.

A couple of times somebody was in front of me and their mouth was moving so I realized they were asking me something. I had to pop out one of the ear buds to hear what they were saying. But thats another story.

You know now, I have to bounce a mix to mp3 then download it to the iPod to see how it sounds. Then I write down where the tweaks are, do the tweaks and start over again. There has got to be an easier way to do that. Man that takes a lot of time.

The general listening audience has been lulled into a state where that the poorer listening quality has become the standard. They don't know or probably will ever know what they are missing. Sad.

[chris harris]

Less-than-spectacular fidelity HAS ALWAYS BEEN, AND WILL ALWAYS BE THE STANDARD FOR CONSUMER PLAYBACK SYSTEMS. Period! No amount of nostalgia for a period most of the nostalgic folks probably didn't even live through will change that!

There has never been a time in human history where listening to music on quality gear, in a properly treated (or even set up) room was the norm for casual music listening.

The iPod, as lacking as it may be compared to our studio playback systems, is MILES AHEAD of the fidelity of the "portable" solutions that came before it.

COMPROMISED FIDELITY IS THE STANDARD FOR CONSUMER PLAYBACK SYSTEMS. IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN. The time when the majority of people put fidelity ahead of convenience NEVER, EVER EXISTED.

Listeners haven't been fooled into accepting sub-standard sonics. Listeners have always had the choice between convenience and fidelity. And, they ALWAYS FAVOR CONVENIENCE!!!

We seem to always forget what a small minority of people we fit into when we care about how things sound.

[calaverasgrandes]

I only bought an iPod, it's 5gen with the video, to listen to pod casts on the subway. I never had one before but I find the iPod is a great way to ignore the beggars and mexican guitar bands that wander into the subway car and ask for change.

A couple of times somebody was in front of me and their mouth was moving so I realized they were asking me something. I had to pop out one of the ear buds to hear what they were saying. But thats another story.

You know now, I have to bounce a mix to mp3 then download it to the iPod to see how it sounds. Then I write down where the tweaks are, do the tweaks and start over again. There has got to be an easier way to do that. Man that takes a lot of time.

The general listening audience has been lulled into a state where that the poorer listening quality has become the standard. They don't know or probably will ever know what they are missing. Sad.

ipods can do straight wav or aiff as well. You just got to keep space on there for large files.

[vvv]

I have "friends" will D/L the 128kps rather than the 320 or whatever, because it's faster.

Butt it's not good for them!

I say we get the FDA or someone to ban 128kps and make mandatory 320kps or better.

And cellphones - let's ban them, too.

[calaverasgrandes]

and pesto made with cilantro

[vvv]

That's disgusting - that's not pesto - it's, it's salsa.

[calaverasgrandes]

I have friends and a brother in law that are chefs. They insist that anything green ground with a nut a cheese and garlic is pesto. The logic is that "Pesto" just means ground in a mortar in Italian or something.
That's when I say "shut the fuck up and make some real pesto".
Gorgonzola, walnut, cilantro is not pesto.
Speaking of I made a great pesto mac and cheese for T day.
That shit was 192k and 24 bit.

[vvv]

That shit was 192k and 24 bit.

[Bro Shark]

Dear SUBATOMIC PIECES, I'm sort of curious WHY YOU ARE ALWAYS SHOUTING and get SO RILED UP when people discuss things like mp3/ipod sound quality. IS THIS SUBJECT THAT CLOSE TO YOUR HEART? I'm going to level with you; IT MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF A WHACK-JOB and I might humbly suggest you TAKE IT EASY; we've heard your opinion on the subject A LOT OF TIMES NOW; WE GET IT.

Also, you make a pretty fundamental mistake of applying the word "fidelity" universally across very, very different things: old analog gear and new digital gear. Specifically: comparing digital compression, or D to A conversion, to the "fidelity" of, say, an old turntable is pretty much an APPLES AND ORANGES KIND OF THING, in my opinion.

THERE ARE A LOT OF SMART PEOPLE HERE AND THEIR OPINIONS AREN'T AS MISGUIDED AS YOU MIGHT HAVE US ALL BELIEVE.

THANKS.

[Brett Siler]

uh oh things are getting ugly...

On my iPod put most of my stuff is 192k. I like it's compromise between file size and sound quality. I did some test on my nice converters and mixing monitor, listen to the WAV and then immediately switching to the 192k mp3. The mp3 was a little harsher or crunchier in the high end, but it didn't sound that much shittier. Not enough for me to notice with my ear buds while I'm working out.

I think people blow the mp3 thing out of proportion. When things get put at 128k or lower, yeah the sound gets very noticeably degraded and its annoying. But you do have to option of actually picking what quality of sound you want. Did you ever have that option with tapes or any other media format that was supposed to be convenient for you to travel with?