Apple iPod FTW
I finally caved and bought an iPod. After plugging it in and dumping some songs using iTunes I was a little confused with the menus -- too many options, and why read the manuals... It quickly became apparent I'd be using the playlists option a lot. :)
iTunes allows you to create smart playlists, these things are insane. You can filter out and not listen to songs you've skipped twice (or once) before, or only play songs you haven't heard in 30 days. It's simple, but powerful. I was really impressed by this.
When you plug it into your computer, the iPod (If properly configured) can act as a hard drive that you can just dump data too, however, to actually playback music and video you need to register it with the iPod's internal database (Use iTunes -- Turn off that auto sync stuff though) it's VERY handy to have mass storage everywhere you go (Providing you bring your USB cable)
Movie playback is good, but you for best results rip and encode your own DVDs, the quality comes out pretty good. I've compressed a full DVD into about 550mb, not bad. :)
I decided to get the 30gb. Mostly because it was what was available (I'm impulsive like that) I figure, if I want a bigger drive, I'll just shell out for a 120gb "replacement" drive and get a new back cover (the 30gb is a thinner profile than the 80, but I believe the back for the 80 will fit the 120gb drive)
I really like the scroll wheel I believe they call it, it's odd looking and kind of wierd to use at first, but it's quite innovative. You can fast forward, backward, volume up, and down, vote on a song, all without looking at the screen. (Helpful for when your listening to different kinds of music and/or a drastic change in volume from one MP3 to the next)
I dislike how the screen stays on while it's playing MP3s, unless I'm missing a setting that's in a manual somewhere. :)
I have an inexpensive set of Sennheiser M@H 80's, but music sounds crisp and clear, but then, so do the standard iPod headphones.
I should have bought one of these things earlier. :P
iTunes allows you to create smart playlists, these things are insane. You can filter out and not listen to songs you've skipped twice (or once) before, or only play songs you haven't heard in 30 days. It's simple, but powerful. I was really impressed by this.
When you plug it into your computer, the iPod (If properly configured) can act as a hard drive that you can just dump data too, however, to actually playback music and video you need to register it with the iPod's internal database (Use iTunes -- Turn off that auto sync stuff though) it's VERY handy to have mass storage everywhere you go (Providing you bring your USB cable)
Movie playback is good, but you for best results rip and encode your own DVDs, the quality comes out pretty good. I've compressed a full DVD into about 550mb, not bad. :)
I decided to get the 30gb. Mostly because it was what was available (I'm impulsive like that) I figure, if I want a bigger drive, I'll just shell out for a 120gb "replacement" drive and get a new back cover (the 30gb is a thinner profile than the 80, but I believe the back for the 80 will fit the 120gb drive)
I really like the scroll wheel I believe they call it, it's odd looking and kind of wierd to use at first, but it's quite innovative. You can fast forward, backward, volume up, and down, vote on a song, all without looking at the screen. (Helpful for when your listening to different kinds of music and/or a drastic change in volume from one MP3 to the next)
I dislike how the screen stays on while it's playing MP3s, unless I'm missing a setting that's in a manual somewhere. :)
I have an inexpensive set of Sennheiser M@H 80's, but music sounds crisp and clear, but then, so do the standard iPod headphones.
I should have bought one of these things earlier. :P
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