# I am pitting the iPod **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 21, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246 "2006-03-21T03:35:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/41 "2006-03-21T18:03:49Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > I suppose you are right. But, I can put 120 songs on my Sandisk which is more than enough for my needs, primarily for the gym. I can set up playlists on my computer and transfer easy as pie. No reason for me to go spend $299 in that case. That’s cool, then! You have what you need and there’s no point in you spending $300 to get something you don’t need. If I work a mile from where I live, I’m not going to buy a car to get to work. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/42 "2006-03-21T18:06:33Z")
> [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > You got me there. iPod’s menus aren’t customizable You can so some customization. Not as much as I’d like, but you can make some changes. The iPod just plain works and is very intuitive. It’s trendy, but it became trendy because it is so easy to use. It’s an elegant peice of engineering and no amount of kneejerking backlash will change that. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/43 "2006-03-21T18:29:26Z")
They’re all basically the same thing, to me (MP3 players). It was great when the Jukebox came out with video, and I never had a problem with it. But my first one was my favorite (_years_ ago!), which used built in flash and a memory card only (so of course held little), something now defunct called the Rave, because it had a built in microphone for making digital recordings, that you could easily transfer to computer via USB. And it was smaller than a deck of cards. I used it to record conversations at work by putting in my shirt pocket, and no one was the wiser. (It also had an address and phone book in it, and FM radio.) The capacity wasn’t a problem for me; I’d just decide what music I wanted to hear that day and reload the thing. And cars now that have “iPod” connections to their music systems? Big deal. I just got one of those cassette things that has a cord on it for about three bucks. The stupid thing about the “iPod” is **its name**! Now we’re all stuck with it. We have to do “Pod casts,” now, even if we’re not using anything made by apple. ---
**Author:** ![Aserrann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/82dd89/32.png) [@Aserrann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aserrann)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/44 "2006-03-21T18:39:57Z")
> [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > Really? So let’s reduce it down. > > We’ll call your Sandisk $50, because that’s the price I found [here.](http://www.esend.com/sandisk/products.asp?value=MECZ&valueIs=dept&mscssid=G7D9S7VT5MEQ9LHE33CENFPUJ91D7R6D) > > My iPod is $299 [here.](http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6384000/wo/oi4seuyQKsfl2dPg2E22dNIefsX/1.PSLID?mco=CC4D3CBB&nclm=iPod) > > Your Sandisk is 512 MB. This is 1/2 of 1 gigabyte. > > My iPod is 30 gigabytes. It is 60 of your Sandisks. Sixty. Sixty Sandisks at $50 per equals $3000. But a much better comparison would be, say the iPod nano with 512 memory, which costs $70 at the apple store. Price per gigabyte doesn’t scale like that… ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/45 "2006-03-21T18:40:28Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > And cars now that have “iPod” connections to their music systems? Big deal. I just got one of those cassette things that has a cord on it for about three bucks. Doesn’t help when one’s car stereo does not have cassette (like mine). I wish I had the “iPod” connection, which I believe will work with any mp3 player. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/46 "2006-03-21T18:44:14Z")
> [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > Though honestly, I think a pencilbox-sized mp3 player made of brass and glass and mahogany and copper wire with vacuum tubes on the end would make a KILLER fashion statement. Maybe with a set of those Princess Leia stereo headphones from the 80s If you go that route you definitely have to use a pair of [Grado](http://www.gradolabs.com/product_pages/sr60.htm) headphones. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/47 "2006-03-21T19:03:17Z")
> [@groman](#): > > You are pretty much forced to use iTunes unless you want to come up with some elaborate solution. That’s like saying, you’re forced to use IE unless you want to come up with a more elaborate solution. Elaborate apparently meaning go download another program. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/48 "2006-03-21T19:21:33Z")
> [@Aserrann](#): > > But a much better comparison would be, say the iPod nano with 512 memory, which costs $70 at the apple store. Price per gigabyte doesn’t scale like that… Shuffle, I think you’ll find. Since the cheapest nano is a 1GB player for $149. Reduced down that’s like $70 for 512 MB, as opposed to the Sandisk’s $50. A better comparison, and what I think you meant to say, is the Shuffle. $70, and it’s almost an exact equivalent to the Sandisk, only from Apple. Now sure, they probably have reasons for charging more, but from a cost-oriented consumer standpoint I’d by the Sandisk. But the question wasn’t “why would someone buy a $70 iPod shuffle when they could get a $50 Sandisk”. It was “why would someone buy a $299 iPod when they could get a $50 Sandisk.” ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/49 "2006-03-21T19:29:17Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > That’s like saying, you’re forced to use IE unless you want to come up with a more elaborate solution. Elaborate apparently meaning go download another program. Um, so you are saying there are so many Mac and PC programs that let you put music on the iPod? I wasn’t aware of that. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/50 "2006-03-21T19:36:16Z")
> [@mrrealtime](#): > > Stop drinking his delicious koolaid people! Yeah, drink out of the toilet instead. It’ll taste like shit, but you’ll be only the one doing it. > [@groman](#): > > Um, so you are saying there are so many Mac and PC programs that let you put music on the iPod? I wasn’t aware of that. Google “ipod software windows” and you’ll find at least four alternatives to iTunes. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/51 "2006-03-21T19:59:53Z")
Anyone who believes an MP3 player will make them “hip” and “cool” is in need of a therapist IMHO. So what if Ipod is the standard? Just go buy a different MP3 player. We vote with our wallets. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/52 "2006-03-21T20:04:10Z")
> [@groman](#): > > Um, so you are saying there are so many Mac and PC programs that let you put music on the iPod? I wasn’t aware of that. Yeah, there a several programs a download away that can replace the functionality of Itunes. Winamp is probably the best known. Lots of Linux programs too. ---
**Author:** ![Aserrann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/82dd89/32.png) [@Aserrann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aserrann)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/53 "2006-03-21T20:14:54Z")
> [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > Shuffle, I think you’ll find. Since the cheapest nano is a 1GB player for $149. Reduced down that’s like $70 for 512 MB, as opposed to the Sandisk’s $50. Oops… of course, your right. > [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > But the question wasn’t “why would someone buy a $70 iPod shuffle when they could get a $50 Sandisk”. It was “why would someone buy a $299 iPod when they could get a $50 Sandisk.” I didn’t see him specifically comparing it to a $299 iPod, just “iPods” in general, but i could be been wrong… He just commented that iPods were more expensive, and i agree, for same/similar product, they are. ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/54 "2006-03-21T20:23:03Z")
I used to be a big supporter of my Creative Zen. I swore if I’d buy another mp3 player I’d buy a Zen because I loved it so much. Then I dropped it while I was kneeling to get something out of my bookbag. I was only able to hear out of one ear after that and the warranty had expired so I couldn’t get it fixed without spending some cash. At the time I thought no big deal, and I kept using it until I lost it somewhere at school. I compared 5 gig Creative Zen Micro with a 6 gig ipod mini. 5 verus 6 gigs 3.8 oz versus 1.5 oz 12 hr versus 14 hr battery life $200 versus $250 To me the extra $50 was worth the lighter weight, 2 extra hours and 1 extra gig. I’ve played with both the Creative Zen and Ipod and to me, the Ipod was easier to navigate and use after I figured it out (Creative was more intuitive). Since I’ve had my Ipod for a year, I’ve dropped it while walking at least 10 times and I haven’t had a problem with it. My best friend used to give her ipod tons of abuse (didn’t even give it a cover) and it took about a year and a half before it finally malfunctioned. We looked at mp3 players again for her before finally deciding on a nano. It’s all a matter of prefence. ---
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/55 "2006-03-21T20:27:48Z")
> [@mrrealtime](#): > > \So I propose a boycott of Ipods in the name of individuality and self expression! Buy one of those RCA jobbies and spray paint it florescent orange and draw on it with a felt pen… I have “one of those RCA jobbies” and a couple 1-gig SD cards for extra room. It’s all I need. I’ve never seen the point of putting every single CD I’ve ever owned onto a portable thing. My friend has a 40-gig iPod, and she doesn’t even know what’s on it. And I hate that all the accessories for mp3 players are white. They all say “compatible with iPod” in big letters and “or other mp3 players” in teeny-weeny letters on the back of the package. I have an FM transmitter for driving and a portable dock with speakers for hotel rooms and such. They’re both white. My player is dark blue. I’m going to have to get some stickers or something. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/56 "2006-03-21T20:35:46Z")
> [@Quasimodal](#): > > Anyone who believes an MP3 player will make them “hip” and “cool” is in need of a therapist IMHO. Same can be said for a BMW 7 series. It’s called conspicuous consumption. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/57 "2006-03-21T20:36:15Z")
> [@kimera](#): > > It’s all a matter of prefence. You fool! Haven’t you been reading this thread at all? The _only_ reason you chose the iPod was because you were hypnotized by their slick advertising campaign! Any other reasons you give are _obviously_ self-delusional excuses made up afterwards, facts be damned! :mad: :eek: 😉 (Personally, I find the reflexive factless iPod-bashing to be more amusingly sheeplike than the detractors’ claims against iPod owners…) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/58 "2006-03-21T20:45:16Z")
> [@riker1384](#): > > You have to use Itunes, but you don’t have to use their store. You can rip CDs or play any unprotected mp3s, or convert wma files. You don’t have to use iTunes. I didn’t install it for year or more. Programs like Anapod Explorer and Yamipod do very nicely, plus they let you copy music OFF your iPod, not just onto it. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/59 "2006-03-21T23:48:45Z")
I personally do not like portable music. Music, for me, is a special thing, to be listened to in a specific setting - either at a concert or a show, or in the car, or socializing with other people. I am against the idea of having a constant soundtrack playing in your ears wherever you go. We’re not living in a movie. People need to hear more silence in their lives. I’m sick of seeing masses of college students with the white earbuds in their ears walking aroung like fucking cattle - walking through lecture halls containing exquisite paintings, sculptures, interesting photographs, biological specimens on display - and walking right past it all and not even stopping for a second to look at any of it, because Kanye West and DMB are blaring in their ears from their iPods. I have no plans to purchase an iPod. I use Winamp, not iTunes, on my computer because I hate the ugly interface of iTunes and the fact that it hogs memory like hell. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246/60 "2006-03-22T00:12:31Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > I personally do not like portable music. Music, for me, is a special thing, to be listened to in a specific setting - either at a concert or a show, or in the car, or socializing with other people. I am against the idea of having a constant soundtrack playing in your ears wherever you go. We’re not living in a movie. People need to hear more silence in their lives. Where is the silence in our lives? There’s never a moment of silence here, cars and trucks constantly crossing over the most-used border crossing between Canada and the US. Excuse me for using music to relax and to escape to a place that isn’t this. Lecture halls containing exquisite paintings. Damn, now there’s a university that I want to attend. Not everyone gets to enjoy the privilege of attending as fine an institution as you do. So, if I had an iRiver, I wouldn’t be a part of the “fucking cattle”? Fuck off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-ipod/349246.md?page=4)