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Mac OS Rumors
News, opinions, and rumours for the macintosh power user
Friday, May 30 5:33 PM
A couple weeks back, we put out a call to get our hands on an iPod,
and the nice folks over at OpenLMS.org answered
generously with a brand new 30GB model. Having passed it around to several
of the staff over that time, and having used it for everything from
backing up servers to powering the office stereo to moving around huge
amounts of home video footage, we can say without a doubt that we were
right to choose this as the first item on our checklist for getting
hands-on with Apple and third-party Mac hardware and software in the
interests of more review-oriented content. As iPod owners know, it's
more functional than most hand-held computers, is a great way to store
your data and make it rapidly portable, and is hands down the best pocket-sized
digital music player out there. Those who haven't had the chance to
at least play around with a demo iPod at the Apple Store are missing
a big part of the Apple picture these days.
The iPod is clearly going to give birth to new generations of compact
digital lifestyle devices -- note Steve Jobs' recent hint that despite
market research at Apple that says things like cell phones, iPods with
built-in video displays, and PDAs just aren't where Apple should be
right now, that he does see demand for a compact video storage device
that connects to existing TVs and displays -- but it's already quite
a machine unto itself. The latest generation is thinner, lighter, and
more rugged than previous incarnations, and we have without a doubt
fallen head over heels in love with this little wonder.
Its transfer speeds as a Firewire 400 hard disk are excellent, nearly
on par with internal ATA laptop hard disks, and although the battery
life is reduced somewhat in the new models for the sake of reducing
thickness and weight, it is still excellent at anywhere from six to
eight hours depending on how often you switch songs outside of the iPod's
generous RAM cache, causing the hard drive to be spun up and read. The
iPod operating system v2.0 is slick, handles its functions well, and
has some fun little games to pass the time.
Having spent nearly 20 days with our iPod 30GB so far, we have come
to the clear conclusion that the iPod is not an accessory, but a key
Apple product unto itself. Without any further evolution, just as it
stands today, the iPod can take over for the day-to-day functions of
many other devices -- in many cases, it can be taken along in place
of a Powerbook for transporting files and proving amusement on the road
-- and do their work in an elegant and high-performance manner.
The new trackpad-type input wheel and control buttons are very sensitive,
yet sometimes won't register a touch at certain angles. We quickly learned
that putting the iPod to sleep by holding the Play/Pause button for
five seconds and then turning on the Hold switch was the only way to
prevent accidental activations of any and all buttons while the iPod
is in your pocket. Still, all in all, we're impressed and will be putting
out more review material on the iPod and several other hardware items
in the weeks ahead.
Thanks to http://www.macosrumors.com/
for this article:
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