Archive for category Apple
Apple’s 6th-gen iPod not all it’s cracked up to be
I’ve always wanted/needed a good solid digital media player (e.g. iPod, Zune, iRiver, etc) – a device that had a lot of storage capacity for the ever-growing media library, had solid performance, an intuitive interface, support for major standards, and of course it needed to look good too. I’d narrowed my selection to two contenders: Apple’s iPod and Microsoft’s Zune.
I wanted the Zune to be honest. I own PCs running Windows Vista and XP, I’ve carefully engineered my music collection for Windows Media Player 11’s amazingly intelligent media library, and I have files scattered across multiple computers in numerous folders. The Zune would have been perfect for my needs since it easily integrates with the technology I already own. I wanted to buy a new or almost new device (and certainly the latest since this thing needs to last awhile), so I started looking on Froogle, Amazon, and eBay for the best deals on Zunes and iPods. I came to this conclusion: I could buy a Zune for nearly retail price or I could get an iPod for $100 less than what Apple sells charges on it’s website. I decided that the iPod had a good enough reputation that it would definitely suit my needs and since 99% of my audio files are in MP3 as opposed to WMA, I could let iTunes catalog the files and transfer them to the iPod. So that’s what I did–I bought the iPod Classic (6th gen) 80GB. And I got a good deal.
It took about a week to receive the unit, but once it finally arrived, I excitedly opened the package and took out a small black box from inside. Wow, I thought. That’s pretty small! It was an open-box item, but looked like to be in mint condition as I lifted it from it’s packaging. I carefully examined it and upon deciding that it was in perfect condition (minus a couple fingerprints on it’s brilliantly reflective back), I removed the quick start guide, headphones, and charge/sync cable from the bottom of the box. A few short minutes later, I was plugged in and waiting for the iPod to charge.
I walked away for awhile and gave the device the recommended 2 hours for a quick charge, deciding that I’d play with it while waiting for the other 2 hours of its 4-hour complete charge cycle to finish. First thing that happened was iTunes launched. I’d made sure a couple days previous that I had the latest version of the software (in this case v7.7) so that it would have the latest bug fixes among other things. At first, iTunes kept giving some strange unknown errors and recommended that I reboot the device. I ignored it momentarily and noticed that it had been run through initial setup by the previous owner, but there was nothing actually on the device. So, like a good tech-savvy individual, I told iTunes to look for a firmware upgrade and then restore the machine to the factory-condition settings. This would reformat the internal drive, reset the RAM, and then upgrade the device software/firmware to the latest revision. All of this went smoothly and a few minutes later I was happily clicking through the initial setup screens within iTunes. Everything seemed to be great!
Now, I decided, it was time for the true test. I had 10GB of audio imported into iTunes, a few video podcasts, and an audiobook or two that I would sync to the iPod directly after the initial setup had completed. Everything was ready and then with great enthusiasm, I clicked “Sync.”
The speed pleasantly surprised me! Everything transferred over in just a few minutes and then reported that synchronization was complete. I unplugged the iPod, popped in the included headphones and started surfing around the device. First I opened a video podcast-the image was crisp and reminded me of HD quality video. Pretty slick. Next I decided to try out the music, since that’s primarily what I’d bought it for. I opened up an album or two and played a few songs. Flawless! I opened a third album and that’s where all my troubles began.
I selected just a random song from the album and waited for the music to start-only when it did, it was the wrong song! Figuring I’d just accidentally moved the selector before hitting ‘play’ I used the click-wheel to go back a track and tried again. That’s when I knew there was a problem. Read the rest of this entry »
Remind me again why anyone would pay $600+ for an Apple Cinema Display…
I once again question the disparity of Apple’s monitor/display market compared with that of other LCD manufacturers. Aren’t consumers and businesses concerned that Apple is ripping them off when it comes to buying a good quality display?
Take for instance Apple’s 20-inch “Cinema Display” (which is quite misleading since there’s nothing “cinema” about it). It’s specs are pretty much par for the course (except for the 16ms response time which is actually below normal standards). 700:1 contrast ratio, 1680×1050 native resolution, etc, etc. In fact, the only feature that makes it special in any way is the touch sensitive controls on the side. Monitors containing USB and Firewire ports are available from other manufacturers as well. The kicker? It’s $599 + tax.
On the other hand, take a look at the new ViewSonic VA2626W 26-inch LCD display with HDMI, DVI, and VGA inputs plus a pair of 2.5 watt stereo speakers, a 800:1 typical contrast ratio (meaning you could probably get better in optimal conditions), and the winning feature: full 1080p HD support. It’s native resolution is 1900×1200, which is actually above the standard HD specs (therefore you get a little more letterboxing than you would on a standard HDTV) and a very low 5ms response time. All this for a price of $529 (MSRP is $650, but expect retail price to be $100 lower). You could buy two of these and be just $150 over the price of Apple’s 23-inch display. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
So do yourself a favor and get a monitor that will save you money, perform better, and is still stylish enough to pair with that silver Mac you’ve got sitting on the floor.