# What's the big deal with iPods? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 2, 2005, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-ipods/329094 "2005-11-02T16:19:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-ipods/329094/21 "2005-11-02T21:22:07Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > iTunes is a big part of it. Most of the other software SUCKS. iTunes is painless. iTunes software is great and iPods interface seamlessly with it. The iPod is essentially a “lifestyle product”. Functionally, there are other devices that are comparable, but many people feel a sense of community just by having one. iPod has almost become a generic term for all portable MP3 players. I own an iPod shuffle (free gift from work) and a Dell Pocket DJ. The Dell Pocket DJ is comparible to the iPod Mini and surpasses it in many ways - battery, storage. It’s rugged. In a fit of rage (over glitchy software) I bashed the thing against a brick wall. Other than a minor dent in the metal casing, it works perfectly (especially after the firmware upgrade). The Dell DJ’s Explorer-like interface also allows me to drag and drop songs right from iTunes. The smaller size of the iPod Nano, however, makes it the superior product now in many ways. I’m kind of torn between having a single device that holds all my music or a small device that I can take anywhere but have to cherry pick songs. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-ipods/329094/22 "2005-11-03T18:39:18Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > Or if it crashes while your using it on an airplane or something. Does “press the pause and the stop button for ten seconds” sound “intuitive”? Palms (PDAs) are about equally inscrutable to reboot. Is it just “press the secret button under the back lid?” Or is it hold the power button for 5 seconds? Press the secret button and Power? Do be sure to get it right, or you’ll very easily wipe the whole thing clean. I don’t see anybody whining about them. FWIW, my iPod has not crashed or otherwise gone wonky in over a year. > [@Only Mostly Dead](#): > > 1. User-friendly gentle-learning-curve idiot-proof software (both on the iPod itself and on the computer for transferring files).\* Your grandmother can pick one up and know how to do what she needs inside of five minutes. Very true. My 70 year old mother is somewhat afraid of VCRs and it took her a couple months to get used to the idea that DVDs don’t need to be rewound, but she was able to pick up an iPod and use it very quickly. The usual mantra with Macs when trying to find out how do do something is to think of the most obvious way it could be done. More often that not, that’s what works. Apple just seems to put a lot more thought into pure usability than most companies. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-ipods/329094/23 "2005-11-03T18:54:58Z")
> [@Skipper Too](#): > > For me I didn’t want an apple product because I didn’t want to be locked into their service and their format. I also have several computers, desktop at home, laptop, and desktop at work and want to be able to manage the mp3 player from all three and to my knowledge you can’t do that with an Apple product with out wipping it clean each time, something I don’t want to do. Not that this helps in anyway now, since you’ve already bought the other player, but in case anyone else out there is looking at iPods… You’re not locked into Apple service or format. iPods will play multiple standard file formats. You’re not required in any way to use iTunes to manage your iPod. There are several 3rd party pieces of software (some freeware, even) that you can use. Unless you’re using iTunes & purchasing your music from iTunes, you’re not locked into any specific PC to use your iPod with. For example, I can manage my iPod from multiple PCs using software called EphPod. I just need a firewire port and EphPod installed on whatever machine I decide to hook up to. You cane ven manage your iPod on one machine using iTunes, on another using MusicMatch (retch!), on a third using EphPod and so on and so on. iPods are much more flexible that people give them credit for - even more flexible than Apple advertises. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-ipods/329094/24 "2005-11-03T19:00:02Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > Unless you’re using iTunes & purchasing your music from iTunes, you’re not locked into any specific PC to use your iPod with. Probably need to clarify this statement. If you’re purchasing songs fromiTunes, you can only play those songs on up to 2 PCs you’ve registered with Apple. You can still play those songs from the iPod and manage other non-iTunes songs from any PC & using any compatible software. Does that make more sense? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-with-ipods/329094.md?page=1)