NationStates Jolt Archive

Well I got it fixed, see my edit on this post for my lovely tutorial to fix one's busted iPod and save $59, or at least it did all that for me.

Well, I have a click-wheel iPod that has finally gone kaput. I don't mind so much since I've had a video iPod for a few months now and this belonged to my little brother.

But unfortunatly, I have about 10 or so gigs of files in my iPod.

My computer won't even recognize my iPod.

This iPod won't turn on or anything. It just says http://www.apple.com/support

Dandy, I go to Apple's site, and find out that I'd have to turn in this iPod (and cough up $59+) PLUS all my data goes bye-bye since they don't bother to transfer data.

I've been googling, and I can't find a program that can help me out. Yes there's a program that can retrieve music and files from a formatted iPod, but this iPod won't even be recognized by my computer!


EDIT:


:D

Alright, I fixed the problem all by myself.

I listened closely to the inside of my iPod, hearing the drive make a whirring noise and then stopped suddenly after 4 seconds.

So I beat it. Yes, I beat it on the back 3 times really hard.

Then I got the lovely "Do Not Disconnect" message that meant it was able to be connected to my computer.

My computer still wouldn't recognize it, and when I clicked on the drive my computer would freeze.

So, I beat the iPod some more as the whirring went longer and longer.

Eventually, I finally got to the menu. :D

At first my computer had trouble accepting it, but after one final beat it took. :)

I'm such an American, but for once it feels good.

Back of my wrist (palm...?) wasn't very happy. But whatever gets the job done!

Thanks guys anyway. I gave up checking back here for help after the 3rd post...at which point I laughed and cried.

Well, I have a click-wheel iPod that has finally gone kaput. I don't mind so much since I've had a video iPod for a few months now and this belonged to my little brother.

But unfortunatly, I have about 10 or so gigs of files in my iPod.

My computer won't even recognize my iPod.

This iPod won't turn on or anything. It just says http://www.apple.com/support

Dandy, I go to Apple's site, and find out that I'd have to turn in this iPod (and cough up $59+) PLUS all my data goes bye-bye since they don't bother to transfer data.

I've been googling, and I can't find a program that can help me out. Yes there's a program that can retrieve music and files from a formatted iPod, but this iPod won't even be recognized by my computer!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Them ipod things are overhyped and overrated. Whatever happened to the good old days of tape players?

I can't even figure out how to get my mp3 player to work. I read the directions and they are so vague that I can't figure out how to get the songs on to it.

I can't even figure out how to get my mp3 player to work. I read the directions and they are so vague that I can't figure out how to get the songs on to it.
Did you try pressing the ON button?

I can't even figure out how to get my mp3 player to work. I read the directions and they are so vague that I can't figure out how to get the songs on to it.
Same here, except I got songs on it but the bloody thing wont play um!

Did you try pressing the ON button?

My problem is getting the songs on to the damn thing.

iPods die too quick. I'll be pretty ticked off the day my black video iPod goes bye-bye. Hopefully that won't be too soon as I just bought it the 21st of March.

You could try mounting it in a Linux environment, perhaps a LiveCD dist, and take it from there.

Ipods are rediculously overrated. Almost everyone I know who has had one over a year has had to buy another one. Get a case for the damn things.

The main reason I dislike them though is very simple:

"Would you buy a VCR that doesn't tape anything?"

"Would you buy a VCR that won't spit the tape back out once you put it in so you always have to make sure you have a backed up tape somewhere safe?".

No? Then why would you support a company that purposely leaves out vital features (putting songs from the ipod to the computer) because they are up another companies' ass? Giving money to Apple for an Ipod is supporting the erosion of consumer freedom and technological freedom at the hands of money whores. Hopefully other companies will make better alternatives soon so Apple can go back to it's 4% market share where it belongs until it realizes it has to support technology not limit it.

You could try mounting it in a Linux environment, perhaps a LiveCD dist, and take it from there.
Ehhh I dont think ya will have too much luck at that ... I have never gotten one to work without GTKpod but you need to be able to install it (as I dont know any live CD's that have that included)

And with a live distro your ability to install is limited at best

Ipods are rediculously overrated. Almost everyone I know who has had one over a year has had to buy another one. Get a case for the damn things.

The main reason I dislike them though is very simple:

"Would you buy a VCR that doesn't tape anything?"

"Would you buy a VCR that won't spit the tape back out once you put it in so you always have to make sure you have a backed up tape somewhere safe?".

No? Then why would you support a company that purposely leaves out vital features (putting songs from the ipod to the computer) because they are up another companies' ass? Giving money to Apple for an Ipod is supporting the erosion of consumer freedom and technological freedom at the hands of money whores. Hopefully other companies will make better alternatives soon so Apple can go back to it's 4% market share where it belongs until it realizes it has to support technology not limit it.
such...bitterness

such...bitterness

Very. I hate to see blind comsumers ruin entire sectors of technology by accepting bullshit products. How can they leave out such vital functionality and somehow not even get called out on it?

Ipod's blow...

I've seen quite a few friends tearing their hair out with Apple's technical support and then rebuilding their mp3 collections from scratch when the things go down.

I bought a Creative Zen Touch Mp3 player in september of 2004 and I've never had a single problem with it. It's sitting on my desk right now, having survived bike crashes and still with a 17-22 hour battery life.

Don't be a sheep.

Don't buy an Ipod.

...I bought a Creative Zen Touch Mp3 player ...

That one allows you to reverse transfer songs back onto the computer right? I am currently in the market for an mp3 player but I can't get past the "ipods rule" mentality when looking for one and i won't buy one until they support reverse transferring and non-itunes compatibility.

That one allows you to reverse transfer songs back onto the computer right? I am currently in the market for an mp3 player but I can't get past the "ipods rule" mentality when looking for one and i won't buy one until they support reverse transferring and non-itunes compatibility.
Now I understand your misgivings

And I understand the dislike for ipods (I do not own one myself) but there ARE reverse trasnfer and convertion applications out there. They may not be company suported but they exist

Ipod's blow...

I've seen quite a few friends tearing their hair out with Apple's technical support and then rebuilding their mp3 collections from scratch when the things go down.

I bought a Creative Zen Touch Mp3 player in september of 2004 and I've never had a single problem with it. It's sitting on my desk right now, having survived bike crashes and still with a 17-22 hour battery life.

Don't be a sheep.

Don't buy an Ipod.
I dropped my crappy RCA K@zoo on the ground so much that I broke the lock function (it was rather shoddy) and can't turn it on, but otherwise it still works perfectly.

Very. I hate to see blind comsumers ruin entire sectors of technology by accepting bullshit products. How can they leave out such vital functionality and somehow not even get called out on it?
Well, it is a new product. And it's human nature to seek instant gratification, so you can't really blame them. I suspect in a year or two they will make an excellent ipod that will never break.

Even if they did, I still wouldn't buy it. All the emo kids have ipods, and I hope I get shot before I turn emo.

That one allows you to reverse transfer songs back onto the computer right? I am currently in the market for an mp3 player but I can't get past the "ipods rule" mentality when looking for one and i won't buy one until they support reverse transferring and non-itunes compatibility.

The Creative Software that comes with the Zen range of products does support moving your files onto the player and back onto a computer, *but* the computer must have the Zen software installed to be able to do so, so its almost perfect, but not quite.

For example, I was editing some video clips together at work last week and needed some backing tracks. When I rebuilt my machine recently I moved all my MP3 over to my portable USB secondary drive. I just plugged in my mp3 player and pulled the tracks I wanted down from that. Very handy.

Irip is I believe, the software that allows you to get music back off your Ipod

You need a program? You mean they don't act like fancy pieces of portable drives? If I need to transfer stuff to or from my mp3 player(s), I just plug them in and open them like a normal drive.

All the emo kids have ipods, and I hope I get shot before I turn emo.

F*ckin A :sniper:

Well, it is a new product. And it's human nature to seek instant gratification, so you can't really blame them. I suspect in a year or two they will make an excellent ipod that will never break.

Even if they did, I still wouldn't buy it. All the emo kids have ipods, and I hope I get shot before I turn emo.
Its not ALL that new ... it was unveiled in 2003

Thats a long time for an electronic gadget

Now I understand your misgivings

And I understand the dislike for ipods (I do not own one myself) but there ARE reverse trasnfer and convertion applications out there. They may not be company suported but they exist

Yes I'm aware of this. The damage is already done however. How much better would the products be if consumers had demanded what should have been there in the first place? Also, Apple actively seeks to patch itunes and do anything else they can to disable such applications where possible. They are a dispicable company and somehow have this "we love creativity and innovation" image while doing the exact opposite. Just goes to show how easily you can fool so many people.

Sad, because they lost out on the entire PC market by having the same policies when they were founded. If they had allowed their hardware (which often is pretty good) to use 3rd party apps like every single other manufacturer they would easily be the top maker of home computers.

You need a program? You mean they don't act like fancy pieces of portable drives? If I need to transfer stuff to or from my mp3 player(s), I just plug them in and open them like a normal drive.
Depends ... you CAN mount them as a fat drive in ubuntu at least ... but not sure I have never owned one

You need a program? You mean they don't act like fancy pieces of portable drives? If I need to transfer stuff to or from my mp3 player(s), I just plug them in and open them like a normal drive.
Whatever happened to the good old days of yo-yos and pong?

You need a program? You mean they don't act like fancy pieces of portable drives? If I need to transfer stuff to or from my mp3 player(s), I just plug them in and open them like a normal drive.

My Zen does, but it's kind of old (yet reliable), it's just the explorer front end that you use to load stuff on and onto the player, not a wildly fantastic thing.

What mp3 player(s) you have? Newer Ipod's can do that or do you have something else?

Sucks for you and your over priced pieces of crap.

I'm using an RCA Lyra. It's cheap, runs on a single AAA battery and has a SD memory card slot, though due to its age it can't even cycle through all the 1GB+ of mp3s I have between it and the card. I would assume newer ones have a better range.

Yes I'm aware of this. The damage is already done however. How much better would the products be if consumers had demanded what should have been there in the first place? Also, Apple actively seeks to patch itunes and do anything else they can to disable such applications where possible. They are a dispicable company and somehow have this "we love creativity and innovation" image while doing the exact opposite. Just goes to show how easily you can fool so many people.

Sad, because they lost out on the entire PC market by having the same policies when they were founded. If they had allowed their hardware (which often is pretty good) to use 3rd party apps like every single other manufacturer they would easily be the top maker of home computers.
While I absolutly understand you on a general consumer model I come from an open source background so I guess persdonaly I have more of a "if I can rig it to work its fine for me" atitude

Well, it is a new product. And it's human nature to seek instant gratification, so you can't really blame them. I suspect in a year or two they will make an excellent ipod that will never break.

Even if they did, I still wouldn't buy it. All the emo kids have ipods, and I hope I get shot before I turn emo.

Well they aren't new and you missed the point. The breaking is bad, a design flaw but it happens with sensitive electronics. The main part is that they purposely leave out basic functionalilty. It is sort of like your computer speakers only playing songs that it can verify were bought from a major recording label or at leased licensed under one. By the way, this was kicked around for awhile as the next step in home stereo equipment. Luckily people aren't that stupid. So now they are trying to replace and control the stereo itself and I must say they are definately making some progress with the ipod in this direction.

:D

Alright, I fixed the problem all by myself.

I listened closely to the inside of my iPod, hearing the drive make a whirring noise and then stopped suddenly after 4 seconds.

So I beat it. Yes, I beat it on the back 3 times really hard.

Then I got the lovely "Do Not Disconnect" message that meant it was able to be connected to my computer.

My computer still wouldn't recognize it, and when I clicked on the drive my computer would freeze.

So, I beat the iPod some more as the whirring went longer and longer.

Eventually, I finally got to the menu. :D

At first my computer had trouble accepting it, but after one final beat it took. :)

I'm such an American, but for once it feels good.

Back of my wrist (palm...?) wasn't very happy. But whatever gets the job done!

Thanks guys anyway. I gave up checking back here for help after the 3rd post...at which point I laughed and cried.

I would have suggest kicking earlier, but I wasn't here.

Well they aren't new and you missed the point. The breaking is bad, a design flaw but it happens with sensitive electronics. The main part is that they purposely leave out basic functionalilty. It is sort of like your computer speakers only playing songs that it can verify were bought from a major recording label or at leased licensed under one. By the way, this was kicked around for awhile as the next step in home stereo equipment. Luckily people aren't that stupid. So now they are trying to replace and control the stereo itself and I must say they are definately making some progress with the ipod in this direction.
Oh, I see. Forgive my ignorance great one!

In case you guys missed it...

:D

Alright, I fixed the problem all by myself.

I listened closely to the inside of my iPod, hearing the drive make a whirring noise and then stopped suddenly after 4 seconds.

So I beat it. Yes, I beat it on the back 3 times really hard.

Then I got the lovely "Do Not Disconnect" message that meant it was able to be connected to my computer.

My computer still wouldn't recognize it, and when I clicked on the drive my computer would freeze.

So, I beat the iPod some more as the whirring went longer and longer.

Eventually, I finally got to the menu. :D

At first my computer had trouble accepting it, but after one final beat it took. :)

I'm such an American, but for once it feels good.

Back of my wrist (palm...?) wasn't very happy. But whatever gets the job done!

Thanks guys anyway. I gave up checking back here for help after the 3rd post...at which point I laughed and cried.

:D

Alright, I fixed the problem all by myself.

::snip::

So I beat it. Yes, I beat it on the back 3 times really hard.

::snip::

I'm such an American, but for once it feels good....


You mean Russian? Americans just throw shit away and rebuy it again. The Ruskies will make anything work with enough beatings.

Oh, I see. Forgive my ignorance great one!

I'll mark you down for consideration.

I have a Creative Zen Nano myself. I love it, It holds 1gb of data, will play FM stations, will record off FM, record off CD's, and has a voice recorder, in addition to being able to download mp3 and wma files from off your computer. And it cost half of an iPod with half the memory capacity of my Zen Nano.

Being trendy will cost ya.

I got me an iPod mini. Won it from Pepsi. It works fine. Apple shoulda put in FM radio, though... >_<

Well, I have a click-wheel iPod that has finally gone kaput. I don't mind so much since I've had a video iPod for a few months now and this belonged to my little brother.

But unfortunatly, I have about 10 or so gigs of files in my iPod.

My computer won't even recognize my iPod.

This iPod won't turn on or anything. It just says http://www.apple.com/support

Dandy, I go to Apple's site, and find out that I'd have to turn in this iPod (and cough up $59+) PLUS all my data goes bye-bye since they don't bother to transfer data.

I've been googling, and I can't find a program that can help me out. Yes there's a program that can retrieve music and files from a formatted iPod, but this iPod won't even be recognized by my computer!

EDIT:Seeing as you got it working, ignore this. Someone else may find it useful.

OK, I have had this happen to me before and may be able to help you. Does Windows manage to detect windows as a USB storage device? If it does, it may save you a step. If Windows does not detect it, head here (ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/dist/knoppix/) and DL the Knoppix Live CD (click the filenamed KNOPPIX_V4.0.2CD-2005-09-23-EN.iso). You will need a blank CD-R or DVD+/-R for this. If you do not have one, start ignoring me. When that finishes downloading, burn it to the CD/DVD. Your burning program must be able to burn CD images. Nero supports them, and if you have it use it. If you are unsure, download imgburn (http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download) to burn the disc. Leave the disc in the drive and reboot. You should see some seemingly meaning less text then this, (http://http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=376&slide=1) but in English. Press enter. When the screen looks something like this (http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=376&slide=5), you are done waiting. The icons on the desktop willbe different, and it may not have the same picture. Click the hard drive icons on the desk top, one should be Windows, the other your iPod. The iPod should either be named "iPod" "Colodia's iPod" or "sdb." To check to see that it is your ipod, right click it and select properties. Look under the headings "General" and "Meta Data" for the total size.It should be about 80-85% of your Ipods size. If it is not on the desktop, click the globe that has some gear nobs going half way around( on the bottom panel) when you hover the mouse over it, it will say konquorer. Type /mnt/ in the address bar and press enter. Check all the folders listed to see if it is your ipod. If you can save any files from your iPod, you should see them now. I think with Knoppix you can just drag the files from the ipod to the Windows partition, but it is risky. It would be safer to hook up your other ipod, and transfer the files from the one that doesn't work to the one that does.
Now it is time to start fixing. Click the K at the very bottom left. A menu willpop up and look under the submenus for a program for partitioning. It will have either GParted or QTParted in brackets after the name. The only difference between the two is color, so it doesn't matter which you have, they both work the same. If you cannot find it,click "run command" and type "qtparted" (without the quotes). When it loads, find your ipod on the left (probably /dev/sdb) and click on it. You will either see a partion or two (probably ext3 as the type of one) or it will say Partition Table with the status empty. If it says Partion Table, right click and create a new partion, if it shows some partions, delete them all. Near the top you will see a wide baryou ca click, probably greyish. Click it. This will open a little window that will ask you about the your new partion. Make the size what the maximum is (it should default to max) and set the type to "fat32" or "vfat". A coloured box (or outline of a box) should appear on that bar you clicked, and take up all the space. Click File-->Commit. It will ask you if you are sure then write the changes to your ipod. Click the K at the bottom, click "log off" and click "restart". Remember that meaningless text I mentioned earlier. Before it appears again, you need to eject the CD. You won't be able to do this until after your computer shuts off. You will either see that text and have to reboot again, or you will get the CD out in time and boot to Windows (if you need more time, press Del and F1 (right after it starts up again) to boot to BIOS. Eject the disk and press Esc to exit without changes. Also,unplug your ipods. Boot to Windows and log in. Plug in the broken ipod. It should be recognised as an ipod, but it is not fixed yet. Download iPod Updater (http://www.apple.com/ipod/download/) and install it. Go to the folder you installed to and open a folder named "iPod Updater DATE" open the program iPod Updater DATE.exe and it will install the software to your iPod. It should now be empty but fixed.

You need a program? You mean they don't act like fancy pieces of portable drives? If I need to transfer stuff to or from my mp3 player(s), I just plug them in and open them like a normal drive.
Same here. I use itunes and gtkpod to put songs on, but copy the songs to my PC by using it like a normal drive.

Depends ... you CAN mount them as a fat drive in ubuntu at least ... but not sure I have never owned one
You can. You need GTKpod or Rythmbox to put songs on (and have them playable).

It is sort of like your computer speakers only playing songs that it can verify were bought from a major recording label or at leased licensed under one.
Funny you mention that. That will be supported to a basic level by the next version of Windows. Of course it will be the OS, Windows Media Player, your Optical Drive and iTunes that verify the music, not your speakers.

I have a sony HD3, my mate has their fourth ipod, im on my first and i have had mine longer (the sony that is, i would never get a pod). It shows as a portable hard drive but for music i have to use sonicstage to transfer to it, for the inbuilt player to play the music on it.something about anti piracy so you cant transfer tracks back to a computer that didnt come from it... just put them on the drive by drag and drop explorer style... anyways ipods suck so much, it wont help to try through linux if the device isnt recognised on connect to windows odds are linux wont recognise it either.

Funny you mention that. That will be supported to a basic level by the next version of Windows. Of course it will be the OS, Windows Media Player, your Optical Drive and iTunes that verify the music, not your speakers.
Im on Vista now as we speak, and it has no problems playing any of my music, none of which i license for it is a pain to license it, then format the drive in a week cause vista screws up with a updated driver then to have to reapply and be refused licenses. But i have not stumbled across anything new like that in Vista that wasn't in media player 10 or on xp itself.

That one allows you to reverse transfer songs back onto the computer right? I am currently in the market for an mp3 player but I can't get past the "ipods rule" mentality when looking for one and i won't buy one until they support reverse transferring and non-itunes compatibility.
I have a iAudio and that allows you to do that. Any comp automatically recognises it as a removable HDD. Then it's just drag'nDrop.I've used it as a temp back-up for files from computers (not just sound files but everything). Has about 15-20hr battery life.
Prices are coming down so quickly for these things. Last year I bought a creative 1/2 gig for my g/f and I now see 6G ipod ripoffs for the same price.

Is using iTunes really such a bad thing? I've been using it for months to play/categorize my MP3s, plus there are podcasts I enjoy listening to/watching and it's more convenient to use iTunes to get them than download each episode individually from a website. I don't have an iPod yet, but I'm ordering one in a week and a half or so. To enable it to be used as a hard drive, you just have to go into iTunes, open up the Preferences window with your iPod plugged in, go to the iPod tab, and click a checkbox somewhere on the screen there. Then it's just a drag-and-drop affair from your My Computer screen.

The reason I won't be swayed from ordering an iPod is this: I plan to get the 60 GB iPod Video, because I'm going to end up storing a lot of things (eg. anime, movies, manga) that I download, since burning them to CD (no DVD burner here) is sort of inconvenient for me, and so I'll really need the drive space. I haven't found a single MP3 player in a Canadian store that compares to the iPod Video's features and price. (The closest is between a 30 GB photo-capable for the same price as the 30 GB video-capable iPod. Other than that, it's basically 20 GB MP3-only for the same price as the 30 GB iPod, and nothing above 30 GB at all.) I also like the fact that I'll be able to watch video (such as one of my favourite series, Firefly) wherever I take the iPod and its charger, which I'm also ordering (although it's not the Apple brand charger), without too much hassle, as I already have a program that will convert most video formats to iPod-compatible. Also high on my "Pros" list is the battery life (up to 20 hours of audio on a single full charge, which takes just a couple of hours in a wall charger? Score!), the look, and the accessories available for different functions as well as the look of the iPod.

Unless someone can find me a 40 GB or more MP3 player that serves hard drive functions and plays video as well as audio for under $500 CND before taxes from a site/store in Canada that I can get things shipped to me from, I'm sticking to an iPod.

Ipods are rediculously overrated. Almost everyone I know who has had one over a year has had to buy another one. Get a case for the damn things.

The main reason I dislike them though is very simple:

"Would you buy a VCR that doesn't tape anything?"

"Would you buy a VCR that won't spit the tape back out once you put it in so you always have to make sure you have a backed up tape somewhere safe?".

No? Then why would you support a company that purposely leaves out vital features (putting songs from the ipod to the computer) because they are up another companies' ass? Giving money to Apple for an Ipod is supporting the erosion of consumer freedom and technological freedom at the hands of money whores. Hopefully other companies will make better alternatives soon so Apple can go back to it's 4% market share where it belongs until it realizes it has to support technology not limit it.
Your backup is on the comp.

having said that I've had mine for three years and the only time I ever read about problems with them are here. I know quite a few people with iPods and everyone seems to love them, including myself.

To the OP: Are you on a Mac? If so, connect it and do this:

1. Eject or disconnect all disks except the iPod and your HD.
2. Open your terminal window in the Utilities folder.
3. Type: cd/
4. Type cd Volumes
5. Type ls
7. You should see your HD and maybe an IP depending on how you are connected to the internet. Is your iPod listed? If it is, then there probably is no physical problem with your iPod. If it is not, you're probably screwed. Rather than go any farther, I'll check this later to see if you got this far. If you have, I'll try to help you farther.

That's if you're on a Mac. If you aren't, go get a Mac. PCs suck ass.

snip
That's if you're on a Mac. If you aren't, go get a Mac. PCs suck ass.
Why? so I can over pay on hardware? And get a watered down expensive version of FreeBSD

Tell ya what build yourself a good solid tower and go right to the source
http://www.freebsd.org/where.html

Why? so I can over pay on hardware? And get a watered down expensive version of FreeBSD

Tell ya what build yourself a good solid tower and go right to the source
http://www.freebsd.org/where.html
I like the GUI and freebsd has no software. I have a freebsd tower that I use for an FTP server but it's impracticle for working in the everyday world.

As for overpaying for hardware, its better hardware. I have never replaced a drive on a Mac, never replaced memory, never replaced a power supply, never reaplaced... never replaced... never replaced...

I like the GUI and freebsd has no software. I have a freebsd tower that I use for an FTP server but it's impracticle for working in the everyday world.

As for overpaying for hardware, its better hardware. I have never replaced a drive on a Mac, never replaced memory, never replaced a power supply, never reaplaced... never replaced... never replaced...
They use industry standard ram and power supply and drives? you can buy them anywhere
Go open up your MAC I bet you are running a Segate or WD or maxtor drive
Bet you are also using big name Ram as well (Crucial Corsair or the like)

And I have absolutly no problem using FreeBSD in the everyday world ... spend a bit of time get XFCE on there all kinds of applications

I mean I even game on it with cedaga I have no problem running BF2 or Call of Duty2 on it

If they're using such big-name stuff, wouldn't it be cheap to replace? Contrary to your earlier argument that you pay out the nose for parts, that is.

THIS is why I don't have an iPod. Get a Creative Zen or an iRiver, because iPod's suck.

If they're using such big-name stuff, wouldn't it be cheap to replace? Contrary to your earlier argument that you pay out the nose for parts, that is.
Replace yes

They over charge on the initial purchace

Which is the problem

(though the Mac mini's arnt too bad)

Is using iTunes really such a bad thing? I've been using it for months to play/categorize my MP3s, plus there are podcasts I enjoy listening to/watching and it's more convenient to use iTunes to get them than download each episode individually from a website. I don't have an iPod yet, but I'm ordering one in a week and a half or so. To enable it to be used as a hard drive, you just have to go into iTunes, open up the Preferences window with your iPod plugged in, go to the iPod tab, and click a checkbox somewhere on the screen there. Then it's just a drag-and-drop affair from your My Computer screen.
Emphasis mine.

What kind of asinine thing is that? That is the definition of user unfriendliness - you have to go into the only program you can use with an iPod and make manual changes in order to use the iPod as a free drive. Now, if it was changing it to a bootable drive, that's a different thing, but requiring that just to use it as a portable drive is ridiculous. I never had anything against iPods until this thread where the people praising them are making me despise the things.

The reason I won't be swayed from ordering an iPod is this: I plan to get the 60 GB iPod Video, because I'm going to end up storing a lot of things (eg. anime, movies, manga) that I download, since burning them to CD (no DVD burner here) is sort of inconvenient for me
You realize a 60GB iPod costs 5x as much as the most expensive DVD+-R drive right? ($399 v $74, newegg.com)

I haven't found a single MP3 player in a Canadian store that compares to the iPod Video's features and price.
Because mp3 players are for playing mp3s. Try a portable DVD player and a DVD burner.

They use industry standard ram and power supply and drives? you can buy them anywhere
Go open up your MAC I bet you are running a Segate or WD or maxtor drive
Bet you are also using big name Ram as well (Crucial Corsair or the like)

And I have absolutly no problem using FreeBSD in the everyday world ... spend a bit of time get XFCE on there all kinds of applications

I mean I even game on it with cedaga I have no problem running BF2 or Call of Duty2 on it
I open my Macs all the time. I'm sitting here in front of a Mac G5, two Windoze PCs, a Freebsd box and a Sun Server.

I'm not a Comp Scientist, but I know my way around most computing environments. This is a fact: I have a way harder time getting anything done on any system than I do on a Mac. Period. I have WAY more problems with Wiondoze and with PC hardware than I do on the G5 in front of me or my G4 at home. Period. That's just experience. The IT guys here have the same experience and know more about it than I do. While the Unix and Sun boxes don't have the kind of stupid problems that the Windoze boxes do, you have to learn a new language just to open a drive. (that's an exageration...) I'd rather spend my time studying for my Geology degree than opening a 5,000 page book to learn Unix or Freebsd. My Mac just turns on and works and everything I need to get done with it just gets done. Reliably, consistently and without having to change my major to CS to figure it out. That's a lot more than I can say for any other configuration.

I open my Macs all the time. I'm sitting here in front of a Mac G5, two Windoze PCs, a Freebsd box and a Sun Server.

I'm not a Comp Scientist, but I know my way around most computing environments. This is a fact: I have a way harder time getting anything done on any system than I do on a Mac. Period. I have WAY more problems with Wiondoze and with PC hardware than I do on the G5 in front of me or my G4 at home. Period. That's just experience. The IT guys here have the same experience and know more about it than I do. While the Unix and Sun boxes don't have the kind of stupid problems that the Windoze boxes do, you have to learn a new language just to open a drive. (that's an exageration...) I'd rather spend my time studying for my Geology degree than opening a 5,000 page book to learn Unix or Freebsd. My Mac just turns on and works and everything I need to get done with it just gets done. Reliably, consistently and without having to change my major to CS to figure it out. That's a lot more than I can say for any other configuration.


Where as in my experience in tech support we have as many if not more Mac problems (relitive to ownership here)
My department suports 13,000 students at 98 percent registration (meaning 98 percent have registered a computer of some sort to our network)

We have had DHCP irregularities (from the *nix and windows standards) to problems with new VPN client interfaces (it doesd not like 168 bit tripple dec)

Also Mac roming profiles blow

Anyways I know I am comming at it from a geek standpoint but where I am at now it costs too much ... does not do what I want (and to get it to do such requires as much if not more work then me in a standard *nix envyroment). And has no real advantage at all from the support end one way or another

I have an iriver H10 5gb.

It's perfect. It's small, easy to use, and it looks good. As well as playing music very well (better sound than a Creative Zen I had), you can store photos on it and show them to people, you can store text files on it and read them. FM radio, line in, microphone, and you can use it just as an external drive if you want.

The only problem is that 5gb is no longer enough...

Emphasis mine.

What kind of asinine thing is that? That is the definition of user unfriendliness - you have to go into the only program you can use with an iPod and make manual changes in order to use the iPod as a free drive. Now, if it was changing it to a bootable drive, that's a different thing, but requiring that just to use it as a portable drive is ridiculous. I never had anything against iPods until this thread where the people praising them are making me despise the things.


You realize a 60GB iPod costs 5x as much as the most expensive DVD+-R drive right? ($399 v $74, newegg.com)


Because mp3 players are for playing mp3s. Try a portable DVD player and a DVD burner.
It's not as though it's a complicated process. Install, restart, name your iPod, open iTunes, click two Menu selections and one tab, click a little box, and presto! all done. They probably did it this way because the original iPod was just an MP3 player, not really a hard drive for storing other files, as far as I know.

If I'm going to buy something like an MP3 player or a DVD-recording drive/player, I'm going to buy it quality, not just the cheapest no-name brand I can find. You get what you pay for with electronics. On top of that, a portable DVD player isn't convenient for me. I like carrying small bags, and DVD players will get up there in size with hardcover books. Also, the battery life on portable DVD players isn't even available on a product description for most models, so I think it's safe to assume it's pretty crappy. I doubt you could hook up headphones, conveniently and safely store it in a purse or pocket, and go for a long walk while listening to your music with a portable DVD player.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to change their minds, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't try to make me change mine. iPod means quality, to me. I've known people with iPods, and they were all very happy with them. I can also personalize it to be my own, not some generic silver box. It has all the capabilities I want on the go, except possibly a little food replicator for snacks. :P I'm sure my iPod and I will be very happy together, and that's all that matters to me. Bye now!

It's not as though it's a complicated process. Install, restart, name your iPod, open iTunes, click two Menu selections and one tab, click a little box, and presto! all done. They probably did it this way because the original iPod was just an MP3 player, not really a hard drive for storing other files, as far as I know.

If I'm going to buy something like an MP3 player or a DVD-recording drive/player, I'm going to buy it quality, not just the cheapest no-name brand I can find. You get what you pay for with electronics. On top of that, a portable DVD player isn't convenient for me. I like carrying small bags, and DVD players will get up there in size with hardcover books. Also, the battery life on portable DVD players isn't even available on a product description for most models, so I think it's safe to assume it's pretty crappy. I doubt you could hook up headphones, conveniently and safely store it in a purse or pocket, and go for a long walk while listening to your music with a portable DVD player.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to change their minds, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't try to make me change mine. iPod means quality, to me. I've known people with iPods, and they were all very happy with them. I can also personalize it to be my own, not some generic silver box. It has all the capabilities I want on the go, except possibly a little food replicator for snacks. :P I'm sure my iPod and I will be very happy together, and that's all that matters to me. Bye now!
While I understand but I have worked in best buy ordering department

I have been majory disillusioned to the quality of an ipod

But I dont really care to own any mp3 player at all

You had the dreaded Hard Drive heads lock. Hitting it on the sides, or putting the hard drive in the freezer sometimes unlock the heads long enough to let you copy it's contents, but you shouldn't keep using that hard drive.

Anyway, you're not meant to use the iPod or any other portable device, including laptops, as your main storage, since they're subject to more wear and damage. I prefer SD cards to carry information and music because they're far more reliable and last much longer than hard drives, even if they don't have the same capacity.

I feel stupid for buying an iPod, now. :( I decided to get an mp3 player last year because my growing collection of music was starting to justify one, and admittedly, there were only two reasons I chose the iPod: I got $50 off because I was able to buy it with an educator's discount (my dad is a college professor), and I like to support Apple (I'm a big Mac fan). That's it. Kinda shameful, really - although at the very least I don't have to live with knowing I bought it because of any sense of an attempt to conform.


EDIT:


:D

Alright, I fixed the problem all by myself.

I listened closely to the inside of my iPod, hearing the drive make a whirring noise and then stopped suddenly after 4 seconds.

So I beat it. Yes, I beat it on the back 3 times really hard.

Then I got the lovely "Do Not Disconnect" message that meant it was able to be connected to my computer.

My computer still wouldn't recognize it, and when I clicked on the drive my computer would freeze.

So, I beat the iPod some more as the whirring went longer and longer.

Eventually, I finally got to the menu. :D

At first my computer had trouble accepting it, but after one final beat it took. :)

I'm such an American, but for once it feels good.

Back of my wrist (palm...?) wasn't very happy. But whatever gets the job done!

Thanks guys anyway. I gave up checking back here for help after the 3rd post...at which point I laughed and cried.

I actually fixed my iPod the exact same way a month or two ago! It had accidentally slipped and landed on a tile floor, and it had the same whirring with no response problem. Although I think I was able to get it to work again with fewer whacks.

:D

Alright, I fixed the problem all by myself.

I listened closely to the inside of my iPod, hearing the drive make a whirring noise and then stopped suddenly after 4 seconds.

So I beat it. Yes, I beat it on the back 3 times really hard.

Then I got the lovely "Do Not Disconnect" message that meant it was able to be connected to my computer.

My computer still wouldn't recognize it, and when I clicked on the drive my computer would freeze.

So, I beat the iPod some more as the whirring went longer and longer.

Eventually, I finally got to the menu. :D

At first my computer had trouble accepting it, but after one final beat it took. :)

I'm such an American, but for once it feels good.

Back of my wrist (palm...?) wasn't very happy. But whatever gets the job done!

Thanks guys anyway. I gave up checking back here for help after the 3rd post...at which point I laughed and cried.

Ah, good old fashioned percussive maintenance. Well done.

You had the dreaded Hard Drive heads lock. Hitting it on the sides, or putting the hard drive in the freezer sometimes unlock the heads long enough to let you copy it's contents, but you shouldn't keep using that hard drive.

Anyway, you're not meant to use the iPod or any other portable device, including laptops, as your main storage, since they're subject to more wear and damage. I prefer SD cards to carry information and music because they're far more reliable and last much longer than hard drives, even if they don't have the same capacity.
I use a 4 drive 160 gb Full RAID5 as my primary secure storage :)

Also, the battery life on portable DVD players isn't even available on a product description for most models, so I think it's safe to assume it's pretty crappy.
What are pretending the battery life of a video iPod is?

Playing standard MP3s, as in 128 KBPS, at least 10 hours, up to 15 on the 30 GB model and up to 20 on the 60 GB model. What do you "know" it to be?

it wont help to try through linux if the device isnt recognised on connect to windows odds are linux wont recognise it either.
Sometimes it will. For example, my iPod. If the filesystem gets screwed up, Linux will still mount it even if it cannot read the disk. Trust me, I know this from experience.

Im on Vista now as we speak, and it has no problems playing any of my music, none of which i license for it is a pain to license it, then format the drive in a week cause vista screws up with a updated driver then to have to reapply and be refused licenses. But i have not stumbled across anything new like that in Vista that wasn't in media player 10 or on xp itself.
It will be easier for people to set up DRM software. Apple will probably use DRM for iTunes, WMP will use DRM, and HD-DVD/Blue-Ray will too.

I use a 4 drive 160 gb Full RAID5 as my primary secure storage :)
NERD!

How does RAID5 work? I get RAID0, 1, 10, 0+1, JBOD but RAID doesn't make much sence. Stupid wikipedia. If I ever get in the situation were my 80 GB (which everyone said would be too small) is full, I would probably buy another, a floppy, and RAID0.

In re: Updated OP== Congrats on beating the little machine into submission- remember- MAN is the master, Machine is the servant....at least for now.

NERD!

How does RAID5 work? I get RAID0, 1, 10, 0+1, JBOD but RAID doesn't make much sence. Stupid wikipedia. If I ever get in the situation were my 80 GB (which everyone said would be too small) is full, I would probably buy another, a floppy, and RAID0.
http://www.acnc.com/04_01_05.html

Nice little diagram (if I remember right explained it well but I dont have flash on my ubuntu box yet)

The basics is a full redundant system with multiupull drive read capability

Minimum of 3 drives required

Their discription is fairly accurate except on the disadvantages side ... The "Medium difficulty to rebuild after drive failure" is BS

I had one drive drop and with my controller all I did was drop the replacement drive in and it rebuilt on its own ... took about 20 minuits with NO intervention on my part and she was rebuilt and humming

http://www.acnc.com/04_01_05.html

Nice little diagram (if I remember right explained it well but I dont have flash on my ubuntu box yet)

The basics is a full redundant system with multiupull drive read capability

Minimum of 3 drives required

Their discription is fairly accurate except on the disadvantages side ... The "Medium difficulty to rebuild after drive failure" is BS

I had one drive drop and with my controller all I did was drop the replacement drive in and it rebuilt on its own ... took about 20 minuits with NO intervention on my part and she was rebuilt and humming
So it writes across all disks, but with redundency? How much of the combined disk space you you get in return with your four disks?

So it writes across all disks, but with redundency? How much of the combined disk space you you get in return with your four disks?
http://www.ibeast.com/content/tools/RaidCalc/RaidCalc.asp

480 GB if you are curious :)

*pats SLVR*

Best cell phone ever. ipod, video, camera, sex toy.

s'all good in tha hood.

I hate those damn regular ipod that go crazy when you touch.. no no, breath on em..

http://www.ibeast.com/content/tools/RaidCalc/RaidCalc.asp

480 GB if you are curious :)
What do you need somuch space for?

What do you need somuch space for?
Whole host of reasons ...

I not only do data backup and recovery (you have to have space to store a clients complete machine) to video editing to all my *nix work. Also have crafted server images for work as well as a bunch of other large scale projects (Large scale network simulations ... 3000-9000 node)

Also large scale mail server (Well size intensive) for 3 local busniesses

I have 480 in that machine with another 500 in my internal file server and I use all bout 80 gb on that machine and 100 or so on here (space for the backups)

And if you want to count on my desktop *nix machine there is another 80 on there and another 100 on my laptop :)

Whole host of reasons ...

I not only do data backup and recovery (you have to have space to store a clients complete machine) to video editing to all my *nix work. Also have crafted server images for work as well as a bunch of other large scale projects (Large scale network simulations ... 3000-9000 node)

Also large scale mail server (Well size intensive) for 3 local busniesses

I have 480 in that machine with another 500 in my internal file server and I use all bout 80 gb on that machine and 100 or so on here (space for the backups)

And if you want to count on my desktop *nix machine there is another 80 on there and another 100 on my laptop :)
I have full 81 GB of space, including my iPod. Only about 20 full.

I have full 81 GB of space, including my iPod. Only about 20 full.
If I did not use all the space for busniess purposes as well as project purposes I would probably use about 60 or 70 gb total

(you got to figure I am running like 6 machines so even the os's on average take about 12 - 15 gb lol)

If I did not use all the space for busniess purposes as well as project purposes I would probably use about 60 or 70 gb total

(you got to figure I am running like 6 machines so even the os's on average take about 12 - 15 gb lol)
Most of my used space is linux iso images.

Most of my used space is linux iso images.
That as well

My problem is I am running so many distro's for so many different hardware setups I got to keep lots of them.

FreeBSD i386 amd64
Ubuntu PPC i386 AMD64
Fedora i386
Slackware i386

As well as 6 or 7 live iso's
Ubuntu Frisbee knopix Nubuntu PlanB and a few others

That as well

My problem is I am running so many distro's for so many different hardware setups I got to keep lots of them.

FreeBSD i386 amd64
Ubuntu PPC i386 AMD64
Fedora i386
Slackware i386

As well as 6 or 7 live iso's
Ubuntu Frisbee knopix Nubuntu PlanB and a few others
I got:

Ubuntu Dapper 5 i386 (What I use now. Installed KDE and the Kubuntu package)
Kubuntu Dapper 5 i386 (network setting tools is too buggy to set up my connections, installed Ubuntu then KDE after, in hindsite, I could have popped in my Ubuntu disk and installed network-admin).
SuSE 10.1 Beta 8 (maybe 9) i586 (need an internet connection to set up my internet connection :rolleyes:)
Gentoo and RR4 x86 (installer likes to crash)
Mandriva 2006 i586 (Couldn't get madwifi driver working; drifting away from a truely free distro)
Fedora 5 i386 (Couldn't get madwifi going, even with a step by step guide. Very pretty)

EDIT: I forgot Mepis x86 (very easy and noob friendly, ugly as hell, doesn't mount devices to desktop)

I got:

Ubuntu Dapper 5 i386 (What I use now. Installed KDE and the Kubuntu package)
Kubuntu Dapper 5 i386 (network setting tools is too buggy to set up my connections, installed Ubuntu then KDE after, in hindsite, I could have popped in my Ubuntu disk and installed network-admin).
SuSE 10.1 Beta 8 (maybe 9) i586 (need an internet connection to set up my internet connection :rolleyes:)
Gentoo and RR4 x86 (installer likes to crash)
Mandriva 2006 i586 (Couldn't get madwifi driver working; drifting away from a truely free distro)
Fedora 5 i386 (Couldn't get madwifi going, even with a step by step guide. Very pretty)

EDIT: I forgot Mepis x86 (very easy and noob friendly, ugly as hell, doesn't mount devices to desktop)

Forgot all my Freebsd are both 6 and 5.4

And mandirva

Curious ... why kde?

Forgot all my Freebsd are both 6 and 5.4

And mandirva

Curious ... why kde?
Used Mepis for a while. KDE is the default and used it because Mepis annoyed me and I wanted to ditch it. Figure no point on dling gnome if Mepis might be gone the next day. However, by that time, I had started to like KDE, even though it is ugly as sin in Mepis.

What's the dif between 5.4 and 6?

Used Mepis for a while. KDE is the default and used it because Mepis annoyed me and I wanted to ditch it. Figure no point on dling gnome if Mepis might be gone the next day. However, by that time, I had started to like KDE, even though it is ugly as sin in Mepis.

What's the dif between 5.4 and 6?
New core ... next public release ... I have not knoticed any majors off hand right now but my main servers are still back on 5.4 ... no reason to migrate them yet

And for gui if you have not check out XFCE ... light but not as frigging unusable as lightbox or fluxbox or some of the other "ultralights"

I personally love it

New core ... next public release ... I have not knoticed any majors off hand right now but my main servers are still back on 5.4 ... no reason to migrate them yet

And for gui if you have not check out XFCE ... light but not as frigging unusable as lightbox or fluxbox or some of the other "ultralights"

I personally love it
I've heard the core system in release 7 will greatly improve SMP support. Have not read much about what makes 5 diffeerent from 6.

Why would I want a light GUI? KDE only lags when transparancy is enabled because I have to use the vesa driver so my CPU is doing all the graphics rendering.

Cannot wait for the radeon driver project to figure out the radeon R5x0 series. The driver unnoficial works with the R3x0 series as of now. That just means they gotta do the R4x0 series and the mobile series, then the R5x0 series.

Same here, except I got songs on it but the bloody thing wont play um!
Tried plugging in the headphones yet? :P

I've heard the core system in release 7 will greatly improve SMP support. Have not read much about what makes 5 diffeerent from 6.

Why would I want a light GUI? KDE only lags when transparancy is enabled because I have to use the vesa driver so my CPU is doing all the graphics rendering.

Cannot wait for the radeon driver project to figure out the radeon R5x0 series. The driver unnoficial works with the R3x0 series as of now. That just means they gotta do the R4x0 series and the mobile series, then the R5x0 series.
Yeah just stepped one of my machines (laptop) back to the vessa driver

I like the interface better then all the others light or not

Actualy besides the rather bare desktop area reminds me sorta of osx with the dock (does not behave quite the same)

Also like the right click menu (and the design of it)

Yeah just stepped one of my machines (laptop) back to the vessa driver

I like the interface better then all the others light or not

Actualy besides the rather bare desktop area reminds me sorta of osx with the dock (does not behave quite the same)

Also like the right click menu (and the design of it)
Meh, I like the pure, overdone eyecandy of KDE. Lets you know your hardware is getting a workout. Not a very strenuous one however, my CPU load only tops 20% when I am updating my system, and my swap area has yet to been needed.