[Luca]

This is so shameless. Link

Some of the suggestions make sense, but taken as a whole this page is clearly a feature-by-feature iPod bash meant only to spread FUD.

1 - Flash memory is good, hard drives are bad!
2 - A voice recorder, FM radio, stopwatch, and armband are must-have accessories!
3 - You MUST have a display on ANY MP3 player!
4 - Did we mention that FM radios are great? Yeah, there's so much worthwhile music that doesn't insult your intelligence on the radio!
5 - Encode your music in WMA at 64 kbps!
6 - Buy your music from several dozen different online stores, each of which requires you to maintain an account and pay attention to a different set of prices and usage terms. If you choose one and stick to it, you're locking yourself in!

So ridiculous. The funniest part, though, is the little list of "popular options" to the side:



Yeah! Free arm band! Oh and a stopwatch! Definitely a must-have.

[cyrusmekon]

Courtsy of Maddox of course.

PS, not directed at you Luca

[Alexia]

I just bought a pink iPod mini yesterday.

I had looked at the Creative Zens and Rio Karma with favor on the Karma. Both very good deals... but...

The iPod interfaces directly with iTunes, a great music management program. The control interface is nicely done as well. "It just works."

[onlyafterdark]

Im not surprised by it. It seems everyone and their grandmothers are making new FUD trying to stop the iTMS/iTunes/iPod runaway train.

I cant really blame them for trying to stop Apple, but it is getting a little tiresome. The boat has left the dock, quit your whining and just drown with dignity already.

[alcimedes]

reminds me, maddox has a new bit on Orbitz. good read.

[Brad]

Im not surprised by the Maclots. It seems everyone and their grandmothers are making new FUD trying to stop the Windows/x86/PC runaway train.

I cant really blame them for trying to stop Microsoft, but it is getting a little tiresome. The boat has left the dock, quit your whining and just drown with dignity already.

[scratt]

I love the fact that the best critisism they could come up with was the fact that moving parts in an mp3 player will cause your music to skip!!

It shows their level of understanding of the hardware out there, and their research into the hardware is about as well rounded as there skills in writing OSs with solid security and flashy non-flickery graphics!!

Do they not read their competitions specs?

Do they not know about the pre-loading in an iPod?

Or are they just lieing and trying to spread false rumours?

Jeez!

[bostongeek]

Why wouldn't they be aiming their sights at Apple? Apple's dominance in MP3 players is only matched by Microsofts dominance in OSes.

Shameless? Maybe thru the eyes of a mac-zealot. I love my iPod, and I think the ITMS is acceptable (probably could be improved a bit). I also think that the best way to ensure that Apple keeps innovating in the face of a near-monopoly is competition. So, I welcome this bit of MS marketing. I also welcome competition from manufacturers and other online music stores.

[Luca]

Originally Posted by scratt I love the fact that the best critisism they could come up with was the fact that moving parts in an mp3 player will cause your music to skip!! It shows their level of understanding of the hardware out there, and their research into the hardware is about as well rounded as there skills in writing OSs with solid security and flashy non-flickery graphics!! Do they not read their competitions specs? Do they not know about the pre-loading in an iPod? Or are they just lieing and trying to spread false rumours? Jeez!

Obviously they know the iPod has skip protection. For some people, even 20 minutes of skip protection isn't enough, because their own style of jogging will cause the iPod to constantly skip, thus cutting out after 20 minutes. It's not a problem for most people, but it is an existing problem.

It's also funny that they say flash memory is more durable than a hard drive, which isn't exactly true. You can probably do more to flash memory than to a hard drive before it breaks, but on the other hand flash memory is limited in how many times it can be read from and written to. Hard drives are only limited by how long it takes for the internal components to wear out - sometimes a very short amount of time, but sometimes they can last 5-10, even 20 years.

And the reason I say this is shameless is not because it's attacking the iPod period, it's because it's attacking the iPod in a backhanded manner by posing as a "buying guide" when it's really just a "guide to useless features the iPod doesn't have." They never mention the iPod of course, but the entire guide is sharply focused on dissecting it and saying why everything about it is bad.

[scratt]

Originally Posted by Luca Obviously they know the iPod has skip protection. For some people, even 20 minutes of skip protection isn't enough, because their own style of jogging will cause the iPod to constantly skip, thus cutting out after 20 minutes. It's not a problem for most people, but it is an existing problem.

I tried getting mine to skip once.. I just couldn't keep it up that long... Besides my Wife thought it was freaky when I came into the bedroom totally naked apart from my white headphones and arm-band!

But seriously.. Oh I am sure M$ know about it.. But like you I find it amusing / annoying (depending on my mood) that it is such a one-sided and misleading document...

[Kiren]

I just have to say that of their list of 'popular features' the only one I even half way care about is a display, and to be honest, I've found that even when using a player with a display, I almost never look at it.

[BlueRabbit]

Originally Posted by Kiren I've found that even when using a player with a display, I almost never look at it.

But...how do you play Solitaire/Bricks? To me, that is definitely the most important feature to look for in an MP3 player.

[ALDER259]

Thats hilarious, its basically conceding defeat.

[Kiren]

Ah well, I don't... you see, I use my mp3 player to (drum roll please...) listen to music! Nothing more, I can see where you might want one with a display for a large capacity player, so you could make playlists I suppose, but to be honest, I don't even use playlists in iTunes, I just leave it on random, sometimes within a genre, but more often not

[atomicbartbeans]

I read the "buying guide".



This helps me better fantasize about the day where Apple dominates the OS/computer market, and competitors try to spread FUD (with "buying guide" propaganda and groundless accusations), but nothing would be able to shake Apple's lead. I'd like to see the look on uncle Bill's face when HE has the 3% market share.

[sCreeD]

Stopwatch...

Symptoms of Monopoly #173: Naked agitprop. FUD in the form of friendly consumer guides.

Stopwatch?

Whatever happened to the claimed "iPod-killer" from MS? And what will people say if said device does not itself follow these guidelines?

Stopwatch!?

Screed

[atomicbartbeans]

By the way, if you search for "iTunes" on microsoft.com, it comes up with a list of other music download sites, but no mention of the word iTunes on the page. I'm sick of Microsoft and their pitiful attempt to show up Apple.

Notice that Microsoft never mentioned any iPod features, such as alarm clock, click wheel, firewire, etc. And HD players skip? When's the last time your iPod has skipped?

I'm proud to have a stopwatchless music player with a hard drive, that seamlessly integrates with iTunes and iTMS.

If I ever need a stop watch, I'll carry a f***ing stopwatch. Using an MP3 player as a stop watch would be quite cumbersome anyways. When is the last time you've looked at your iPod, and said "Damn, I wish this thing has a stop watch"?

Damn, I hate Microsoft! I love to walk by Microsoft people with my iBook in hand, listening to Apple's trademark white earphones. Microsoft can take its FUD and shove it.

[Franz Josef]

Originally Posted by atomicbartbeans Damn, I hate Microsoft! I love to walk by Microsoft people with my iBook in hand, listening to Apple's trademark white earphones. Microsoft can take its FUD and shove it.

I've taken to going into my local computer store (which doesn't sell Macs) just to feel sorry for the poor bastards shopping there

[onlyafterdark]

Hahahahaha, thats funny. Search for iTunes at microsoft.com and what do you get? A page full of windows media links. I guess they got tired of too many people searching their site for apple stuff or something......

At least they are thinking up new innovative was to advertise and cram their shit down peoples throat. Now what would really be funny is if they did it with the msn.com search. That would be a riot.

[BlueRabbit]

Originally Posted by Franz Josef I've taken to going into my local computer store (which doesn't sell Macs) just to feel sorry for the poor bastards shopping there

It's even more fun to read the weekly "Tech Help" column in the paper. Who knew that there could be such complicated solutions to computer problems?