“I’ve discovered two things in my time with the mini iPod. The first is that if this Apple thing ever catches on, I’m going to be looking for a new job. What is there to write about when the software and the device just plug in and start working? The second thing is that I’ve got shocking taste in music. Sad but true,” Paul Brislen writes for The New Zealand Herald.
“Installation of the mini iPod is a breeze, even on a PC. The box contains one CD that works with Windows and Macintosh,” Brislen writes. “Follow the installation instructions to end up with what has to be the nicest interface to a music management application I’ve seen. The software, iTunes, may be the secret to iPod’s success. It just works.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: That’s right Paul, it just works. Like the Mac. Like we’ve all been telling you Windows-only guys and gals for years until we’re blue in the face! You like the iPod mini? You should give a Mac OS X machine a spin. And, don’t worry, you won’t need to look for a new job, you’ll just have to change your mindset a bit. You can stop writing about problems, viruses, worms, spyware, adware, monopoly abuse, waiting for patches, etc., and instead write about the wonders of personal computing, the promise of being more productive and just having fun; you can write about the Mac instead of Windows! Read the full article and it sure seems like the iPod Halo Effect has reclaimed yet another lucky soul.
Good take, MDN. Short, and to the point. A bit like OS X.
Nuff’ said.
One of these days people will understand.
“Plug in the mini iPod and it detects the new songs and begins the transfer to the device. I used my PC’s Firewire port for the first time, and it was very quick.
Mini iPod also supports USB 2.0, so if your PC is new you can transfer music even more quickly.”
Maybe i am wrong, but, as far as I know, even with promised bandwidth of 480Mbps, USB 2.0 is slower than FireWire 400.
http://www.macopinion.com/columns/macskeptic/02/02/08/
It happen to be like the Megahertz mith.
“Maybe i am wrong, but, as far as I know, even with promised bandwidth of 480Mbps, USB 2.0 is slower than FireWire 400.”
You are not wrong about that. It has been confirmed by more than one independent published test. I saw one in a Wintel magazine.
USB 2.0 has faster theoretical maximum throughput than FireWire 400, but when you get past the system overhead and bus inefficiencies, FireWire 400 has faster actual throughput.
Paul writes a good article. I read it in the Herald yesterday since it was written for the Friday (NZST) Herald Connect section.
All I can say is that with glowing reports like this being written the iPod mini cant help bu t be another winner. I havent yet seen anybody with one in Auckland though. Might be a bit early yet. I will keep a look out.
Incidently they do use Macs at the Herald with Quark 4.1 for the layouts and the writters use Win NT. Just like anywhere else I guess
great stuff..
there truly is a santuary in mac software.. when installing anything to do with apple on a windows PC there is a feeling of *PHEW.. at least THIS works..
when the PC guys see Panther.. they.. I’ve seen it.. tend to go into convulsions..
In NZ you can’t even copy music from your own CDs onto your own computer/iPod!!??!!
H*ly Cr*p!!!
It’s also technically illegal in the UK (to get a CD to the iPod required two ‘mechanical’ copies. Fair use is a US curiosity. Though in practice in the UK, it’s tolerated because the record companies know they’d be prosecuting their customers. They’re more concerned with commercial piracy.
iTMS I guess is OK because the license explicitly allows for use on an iPod.
From Mac User
In NZ you can’t even copy music from your own CDs onto your own computer/iPod!!??!!
H*ly Cr*p!!!
The law governing this was introduced originaly to stop people recording from vinyl to tape back when tapes first came out. There was a big promo regarding “burn and get burnt” back in the late 90’s to discourage people from buying CDs and making 100’s of copies of them and then selling them for $5 a copy at the weekend markets around town. Unforunately the law is still existing ( in Australia as well) although it is going through the motions of government for a possible revision or law change between now and next year. Hopefully this will allow for limited use copying but with Microsoft and and music industry advising the government I doubt that anything sensible or enforceable will come with the new law….when it arrives. In the mean time we will just keep buying iPods and ripping our CD collections on to them (illegaly)
I sent Paul a message (Reader Services>Contacts>way down the page to Paul) thanking him for the positive review, reminding him that this is the total Mac experience, and correcting the USB2.0 vs FireWire speed thing.
To review, according to LaCie, the numbers are:
USB2.0 FireWire
rating 480mbs 400mbs
sustained 34mBs 35mBs
Of course, most operations are sustained. I didn’t bother to look for any tests, but my recollection is that 34mBs is a best case scenario for USB2.0.
I hope this formats OK!
Mike
Isn’t the inclusion of USB2 primarily intended for those souls not fortunate enough to possess (any) FireWire port(s) at all? That’s what I always thought.
If usb 2 is fast at sustained data transfer…
HOW COME THE FILM INDUSTRY USE FIREWIRE AND NOT USB2 THEN!!
Also you cannot get wireless usb2 – so wireless firewire will be the only way to go for fast wireless data transfer – not USB1 or 2.
Have you tried downoading a movie off a dv camcorder by USB2 – GOD ITS BLOODY SLOOOOOOWWW!.
Our whole newspaper uses Macs — even the writers �- although some are over 10 years old!
I use a firewire connection to download video from my camcorder to an external USB2 hard drive (to avoid using up my laptop drive space). If there was much difference between them this surely wouldn’t work.
Download speed is realtime playback and writes to the disc without fault.
I got a reply back from Paul. He blames an editor for (incorrectly) collapsing a longer paragraph about USB 1 and 2 and FireWire into the incorrect sentence which was published.
I’m working on him to give a Mac a try….
Mike
it’s not mini ipod it’s ipod mini!
When it comes to USB 2 and Firewire for digital transfer, especially inthe film industry, there’s more to it than just speed. Firewire has built into it the ability to transfer fim codecs and other information that USB doesn’t. Presently, if you see any digital camera that uses USB 2.0 to transfer data then you know it’s not geared towards the professional or even semi professional market.
When it comes to USB 2 and Firewire for digital transfer, especially in the film industry, there’s more to it than just speed. Built into Firewire is the ability to transfer fim codecs and other information that USB doesn’t. Presently, if you see any digital camera that uses USB 2.0 to transfer data then you know it’s not geared towards the professional or even semi professional market.