The World is Flat

[DaveinOlyWA]

they do have non servicable LiIon batteries in them and i have no idea how long they last since ive only had mine for a short time.

i got mine because i want something small enough that i can work out with it and have it not break on me. only time will tell me if the unit is durable enough

just to let you know, previously, i've had 3 sony walkmans, and a few off brands and none of them lasted any real length of time.

i am at 2 months and counting right now.

the ipod can transfer CD you have or several other formats. so for portability you cant beat it.

[prius04]

For the record. I use a Sony Clie NX70 PDA that also has an mp3 player.

It is indispensable to my work, and on the way to work I listen to music, audio books and now podcasts using a cassette adapter.

Unfortunatly, I have to convert all my mp3 to 128kbs or the clie won't play them. So a 2 hour radio show takes up about 105 mb of a 128 mb memory stick.

I think the convenient thing about iTunes and podcasts and the iPod is all you need do is set iTunes to download and the iPod will have all your programs on it automatically every morning for the drive to work.

My podcasts download automatically with iPodder, but then I have to manually move them to the correct folder on my PDA. And if they are not already 128kbs, I have to convert them first.

It's a pain, but I've already got the PDA.

[DaveinOlyWA]

105 MB for 2 hours? that is a lot. but still doable. the reason mine isnt full is that as soon as i listen to one i delete it. the 44 i have now are ones i have yet to listen to. i must say that the podcasts was a very cool idea. there is just a ton of stuff there that is free.

it does take me back to the days when late night talk radio was big. of course this was before cable, satellite and everything else. had several jobs working graveyard and it was a great way to make an otherwise boring shift fly by

[prius04]

The reason the files are so big is because they have to be 128kbs. This is probably necessary for music, but is a waste of memory for a radio show. But that's that the Clie makes me do.

I've found that many podcasts download as small as 20,000kb for a 2 hour program, and the fidelity on my computer seems fine.

I doubt the iPod has this limitation.

My daughter has had an iPod for about 18 months and has never had a problem. And Lion batteries are supposed to last 10 years. I suspect the iPod will be obsolete before it breaks.

Like the Prius.

[prius04]

Back in the late 1970's I worked the evening shift and late at night I would listen to this colorful guy with a nationwide syndicated call in radio show. It came on about midnight.

I had about an hours drive. His name was Larry King. You may have heard of him.

And you are right, it does bring back memories. Normally it's hard to find thoughtful radio on my commute. With podcasts, it can quite easy.

(Though a bit cumbersome with my PDA. YOu must have "a breeze" with iTunes and an iPod.)

[engunneer]

I've got a mini 4GB as well. (And I listened to that particular podcast when it came out (via Doppler)) Using the iPod in the Prius is great with a tape adaptor. I use the"Dolby mode" button on the audio screen to get rid of some of the hiss from the tape.

As for the battery, there was an issue on some early minis. You can tell if your mini is the newer model because it has the size labeled on the back.

back to the topic, that was a really good interview! I really enjoyed it.

[DaveinOlyWA]

well i tunes does incorporate a new compression format that is supposed to retain most of the quality and for much smaller space.

ya i wonder if offering free podcasts was Jobs way of trying to derail the XM sat radio movement. i cant help but notice the similiarities between the types of programs on the podcast list and some of the playlists ive seem for XM and you notice, like XM, podcasts have no commercials either

[prius04]

I'm not so sure that Jobs did this out of any long or short range plan.

Podcasts kind of crept up on all of us. I suspect it was no different for Jobs. Had he not incorporated podcasts into iTunes, he'd a been left behind.

Now he's apparently coming out with an iPod cell phone.

I'm waiting for a PDA, ipod, cell phone, high resolution color screen with 100 gb space, voice activated, bluetooth and wireless high speed internet, with modem back up via the cell phone, and a 5 megapix camera with at least 3x optical zoom.

That will fit in my shirt pocket.

For less than $500.

And not Windows based.

And you know what, I have no doubt I'll get one in the next 20 years. Oh, and it would be recharged just by sitting withing 4 feet of the charger. And it would also be a programmable FOB for my Prius and front door and the door to my office at work.

With GPS.

[DaveinOlyWA]

well did you hear that Samsung is working on a 100 GB flashdrive that will be incorporated in to the next gen Mac laptop?

more than 10 times faster than current hard drive technology, but more important, less than 25% of the power needed.

now that will be cool