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Asher
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Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:23
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quote:
Originally posted by nostromo
BS. The last time I checked the iPod minis were less expensive than Zen micros: for the same price as a 5GB micro, you get a 6GB mini. The sound quality doesn't get pwned by most of the competition. In a blind test, with the same headphones, you probably couldn't hear the difference between a iPod and a Zen. You probably could hear the difference, if there's one, on a high fidelity sound system. But I'm pretty sure you don't own a high fidelity system. A friend of mine just spent 4K$ on a amplifier. |
I just don't like Apple's BigBrother approach to music. Look at iTunes' perpetual crippling for example -- what's next?
It's just asking for trouble buying into Apple's fortitified, proprietary media world.
As for the price, the iPod Mini offers significantly less features than the Zen Micro, inferior audio quality (which you claim isn't a factor), and inferior battery life (which is a factor), in addition to locking you into Apple.
5GB Zen Micro: $268
4GB iPod Mini: $249
6GB iPod Mini: $319
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Asher
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Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:23
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If people who buy iPods, aside from rabid fanboys ala Agathon, knew Apple's history and knew the truth behind the iPod's lockin, I doubt they'd be so quick to buy it as a fashion accessory.
Look at what they're doing to iTunes. Slowly crippling it.
They've already crippled the iPod (you can't transfer music from your iPod to your PC w/o hacking it), and they actively prevent iPod users from placing music purchased from other music stores on their player (ie, Real).
It's worse than what MS was convicted of doing with PCs, and far more blatant.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/0...iger_ui_review/
quote:
Tiger also loses points by removing features computer users have long taken for granted. Let's deal with the latter first.
Saving an MP3 that you've loaded from a web page and played in Safari now requires an additional $29.99 payment for Quick Time Pro. That will be reason enough not to upgrade for many. Roxio's Toast no longer burns songs purchased from Apple's Music Store. Right-clicking to download a file from Safari still works, but for how long is anyone's guess. The trend isn't in the right direction - Apple has gradually been removing multimedia features from its software products (see Apple de-socializes iTunes).
It's hard to escape the conclusion that Apple now views the Mac as a platform for a closed home entertainment system - based on iTunes and QuickTime - rather than an open computing platform. AirPort Express is a great example of how a little vision, and terrific engineering, can be spoiled by this new approach. Using Airport Express, it ought to be possible to pipe audio wirelessly from any Mac application to the remote speakers - which should appear as another sound output device in the control panel. But Apple crippled the software, forcing the user to pipe music through iTunes.
The Mac is becoming the incredible vanishing media platform! |
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/15/social_music/
quote:
While Apple has been in the news again this week for its war against the people who promote its products, another of its wars has received much less attention. It may as well be a covert war.
Bit by bit, Apple is tightening the DRM noose, reducing the amount of freedom its own customers enjoy. Last year, the company cut the number of times users could burn a playlist from ten to seven. This time, Apple has chosen to cripple one of its coolest and most socially beneficial technologies - Rendezvous.
Apple actually applied the restriction two months ago, but the passage of time hasn't made it any sweeter. In iTunes, Rendezvous allows users on the same subnet to share their music - although this is limited to streaming only. But the most recent version of iTunes, 4.7.1, restricts that streaming capability even further, and users aren't happy, as this support discussion shows. It used to support five simultaneous listeners, but now iTunes only permits five listeners a day.
Of course, Apple has its defenders, as it always will. "No one is forcing anyone to upgrade," fumes one 'henryblackman' at the MacNN forum, irked that someone should should disturb his digital bliss. But they did - and using a security scare to foist an upgrade on users that's really a downgrade is, well how shall we put it - familiar? |
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nostromo
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Montréal, Québec
Mar 2002
time: 00:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Asher
I just don't like Apple's BigBrother approach to music. Look at iTunes' perpetual crippling for example -- what's next?
It's just asking for trouble buying into Apple's fortitified, proprietary media world. |
I buy CD's, I don't buy tunes online, so its not an issue for me.
quote:
As for the price, the iPod Mini offers significantly less features than the Zen Micro, inferior audio quality (which you claim isn't a factor), and inferior battery life (which is a factor), in addition to locking you into Apple.
5GB Zen Micro: $268
4GB iPod Mini: $249
6GB iPod Mini: $319 |
Like I said before, I hesitated a long time between the Mini 4GB and the Micro 5GB. Both are great products IMO. But I finally bought the Mini because it was cheaper. The Mini 4GB was 220$ and Micro 5GB was 300$. (The 6GB Mini was 300$ also). With the 80$ I saved, I bought myself a pair of Sennheiser PX-100s. Granted, you get an extra GB and some extra features with the Micro, but I never listen to radio and I have no use for the voice recorder. So I traded an extra GB and features I don't need for a good pair of cans. 18 hours of battery life is good enough for me. And, having tried both, I'm sorry to say that I prefer the iPod's click-wheel.
Now lets talk about the sound quality. First of all, I can assure you that my iPod sounds pretty damn good with the Sennheisers. And, as you might have expected it, it sounds a lot better than the Micro with stock earbuds. I never claimed that sound quality is not a factor. Here's what I said:
quote:
The sound quality doesn't get pwned by most of the competition. In a blind test, with the same headphones, you probably couldn't hear the difference between a iPod and a Zen. |
Oerdin was just being silly when he claimed that the Zen's sound quality pwned the iPod. Mind you, I'm not denying that Zen's sound quality is slightly better, but saying that it pwns the Mini is just plain silly. But even if Zen's sound slightly better, its probably so subtle that you would need high fidelity cans to hear the difference. In a blind test, with the same cans, few people would hear the difference.
Last edited by nostromo on 27-05-2005 at 11:00
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nostromo
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Montréal, Québec
Mar 2002
time: 00:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Oerdin
Maybe you missed the quote right under the one you quoted where I said "the sound quality is only marginally better but, with good headphones, the difference is noticable." I then went on to list several ways how the Zen Touch was superior to Apple's Ipod. |
I admit I didn't read your last post. But you'll admit that there's a difference between "pwning", like you said in one of your previous posts, and between "marginally better". But like I pointed out, Zen's aren't always cheaper. The iPod mini 6GB and the Zen Micro 5GB are both 300$ here. On the bottom line, I think I made a good, rational decision. I'm still willing to bet that, in a blind test, with the same headphones, you couldn't hear the difference between a iPod and a Zen 
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27-05-2005 03:49
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