Comments on: Mini iPods, $100, and the joys of iMovie http://www.nonfamous.com/wp/2003/12/23/mini-ipods-100-and-the-joys-of-imovie/ commentary on the world around us, with an effort to keep paranoia at the lowest healthy level Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:42:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 By: paulette http://www.nonfamous.com/wp/2003/12/23/mini-ipods-100-and-the-joys-of-imovie/#comment-363 paulette Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000 http://www.nonfamous.com/wp/2003/12/23/mini-ipods-100-and-the-joys-of-imovie/#comment-363 Ok, it may not be nearly as cute, but my Creative Zen Ultra MP3 player has a 30GB hard drive in it, so I'm not feeling so bad about choosing function over form. The first day I had it I copied nearly 2000 songs to it. Ok, it may not be nearly as cute, but my Creative Zen Ultra MP3 player has a 30GB hard drive in it, so I’m not feeling so bad about choosing function over form. The first day I had it I copied nearly 2000 songs to it.

]]> By: Gary http://www.nonfamous.com/wp/2003/12/23/mini-ipods-100-and-the-joys-of-imovie/#comment-364 Gary Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000 http://www.nonfamous.com/wp/2003/12/23/mini-ipods-100-and-the-joys-of-imovie/#comment-364 There's an article on Steve Jobs, Apple, and innovation in the current issue of Fast Company. It talks about Apple history, including a group of developers who worried in '89 that Apple needed to expand its customer base to remain competitive and designed in their spare time a Mac LC—a "low-cost" Mac with a parts cost of about $340. However, between their design and the LC that was finally sold, marketing and management had turned it into a $2400 machine. Ah, my point: that cheaper iPods might demonstrate a lesson learned. The end of the article talks about iTunes and the iPod and how these are great offerings, but they might yet again fit into a pattern of Apple innovating and even creating a market that competitors are set to take over. Another part of the repeated pattern with iTunes and iPod: a closed system. I picked up a Creative Labs Nomad Zen. I certainly considered an iPod, but they are pricey, and they wouldn't play the 80 GB of WMA files I have without file conversion. I also installed iTunes the other day, but when I figured out that I could only download tracks in Apple's AAC format and would need to convert those files to MP3 for use on my Nomad, I removed the software. I feel like maybe I should value design so much that I'd pay a premium for Apple's products, and I might get there pretty soon, but I'm a well-paid corporate drone with no dependents. How do they sell the rest of the country? Incidentally, I bought a used Nomad Zen of the first version, because some of them were available with FireWire, which I have on my PC. The Zen II comes only with a USB 2.0 interface (which I don't have) so I guess Creative isn't expecting to sell any Nomads to Mac owners. Maybe we could view this as a race to the bottom, as we have with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart, in fact, is planning a downloadable music service. Can you imagine them not importing the cheapest portable players they can? Combine that with the fear of not doing business with Wal-Mart... There’s an article on Steve Jobs, Apple, and innovation in the current issue of Fast Company. It talks about Apple history, including a group of developers who worried in ‘89 that Apple needed to expand its customer base to remain competitive and designed in their spare time a Mac LC—a "low-cost" Mac with a parts cost of about $340. However, between their design and the LC that was finally sold, marketing and management had turned it into a $2400 machine.

Ah, my point: that cheaper iPods might demonstrate a lesson learned.

The end of the article talks about iTunes and the iPod and how these are great offerings, but they might yet again fit into a pattern of Apple innovating and even creating a market that competitors are set to take over.

Another part of the repeated pattern with iTunes and iPod: a closed system. I picked up a Creative Labs Nomad Zen. I certainly considered an iPod, but they are pricey, and they wouldn’t play the 80 GB of WMA files I have without file conversion. I also installed iTunes the other day, but when I figured out that I could only download tracks in Apple’s AAC format and would need to convert those files to MP3 for use on my Nomad, I removed the software.

I feel like maybe I should value design so much that I’d pay a premium for Apple’s products, and I might get there pretty soon, but I’m a well-paid corporate drone with no dependents. How do they sell the rest of the country?

Incidentally, I bought a used Nomad Zen of the first version, because some of them were available with FireWire, which I have on my PC. The Zen II comes only with a USB 2.0 interface (which I don’t have) so I guess Creative isn’t expecting to sell any Nomads to Mac owners.

Maybe we could view this as a race to the bottom, as we have with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart, in fact, is planning a downloadable music service. Can you imagine them not importing the cheapest portable players they can? Combine that with the fear of not doing business with Wal-Mart…

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