Compiled by Charles Moore
and edited by Dan Knight
- 2005.12.01
This Week's iPod News
PowerBook,
iBook, iPod, and other portable computing is covered in The 'Book Review. General Apple and Mac
desktop news is covered in The Mac
News Review. News about Apple's transition to Intel CPUs and
other Intel developments is covered in The Macintel Report.
All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
News and Comment
Products and Services
News and Comment
iPod Demand May Outrun Supply
The Detroit Free Press's Mike Wendland says:
"What is this, an iHoliday?
"If you are among the hordes visiting the malls and big-box
retailers on this Day After Thanksgiving, you can't escape the
displays and marketing blitz for the iPod.
"Getting one, though, may be another matter.
"Although it's been a favorite holiday gift for the past two
years, this year is shaping up as the biggest yet for the amazingly
popular music player, carried along by unprecedented hype and
indications that there may be shortages.
"According to a nationwide survey of retailers by BusinessWeek
Online, many retailers say they're getting fewer iPods than they
requested from Apple. Circuit City, for example, says it expects
demand for the iPod will outstrip availability through the rest of
the year."
Link:
iPod Blitz May Outrun Supply
iPod All Decked Out for Christmas
BusinessWeek says:
"Apple's updates of its wildly popular iPod line this year
didn't just give consumers another reason to buy the music player.
It gave them - and friends and family members who plan to give
gifts - a new bounty of iPod accessories to choose from as
well.
"That's because the design of the iPod nano and the video iPod
means many of the old accessories can't be used with the new
devices. Both require new cases, for example. With the nano, it's
easy to see why. The incredibly thin device is a completely
different shape than the iPod mini, which it replaced. But even its
video cousin, which is the same size as the previous-generation
non-video iPods, needs a new wrap. That's because the headphone
jack on the top of the device moved from the center to the side,
and the screen is a great deal larger than earlier versions. No
owner should go case-less. Consumers have complained about how
easily these devices are scratched, particularly the nano."
Link: The
iPod: All Decked Out for Christmas
Knit Yourself a Pair of iPod Mittens
"Sean's Soapbox has posted instructions for knitting woolen
mittens with a pocket for your iPod.
"You can download the pattern as a PDF file, along with ones for
a cable-knot skull-cap."
Link: Knit Yourself a Pair
of iPod Mittens
Navio to Clone Apple's iPod DRM
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
"iPod compatibility could come to a host of online music and
video shops besides Apple's own iTunes Music Store, if US-based
startup Navio has its way.
"The company this week admitted it is working on a way to allow
third-parties to support Apple's FairPlay DRM system without first
licensing it from the Mac maker. That would open the gates to allow
the likes of Napster and Yahoo! Music to sell iPod-friendly songs
in addition to their existing Windows Media-based catalogue.
"Navio is reverse-engineering FairPlay, company COO Ray Schaaf
told website Playlist this week. Navio sells media-oriented
DRM-enabled ecommerce services, and it's looking to iPod
compatibility to drive interest in its offerings."
Link: Navio
to Clone Apple's iPod DRM
Neuros Updates MPEG 4 Recorder for iPod
The Register's Tony Smith reports:
"Neuros has updated its Neuros MPEG 4 Recorder (NMR), dropping
the original gadget's SD memory card support for the Sony
Playstation Portable-friendly MemoryStick family. It's also added
support for video iPod-compatible content.
"Neuros is specifically pitching the product at PSP owners keen
to get more video onto their handheld consoles. While the first
version of the NMR provided recording resolutions of 320 x 240, the
NMR 2 adds 368 x 208 to fit the PSP's widescreen display. It also
adds a 640 x480 resolution for better TV playback. All three
resolutions are encoded at 30fps."
Link:
Neuros Updates MPEG 4 Recorder for PSP, iPod
Products and Services
The iPod Book Updated for nano, ROKR,
and video iPod
PR: If the iPod family of digital music players is indeed
the hottest holiday gift this year, the second hottest may be a
book that shows you how to use them. The iPod Book: Doing Cool
Stuff with the iPod and the iTunes Music Store was recently
updated and re-released with hundreds of tips and tricks for every
iPod, including the new video-enabled iPod, the new iPod nano, the
new ROKR iTunes-enabled cell phone, and iTunes V.6.
This
isn't the kind of book that tells every little detail about the
iPod. There's no information on compression algorithms, analog vs.
digital equalizers, or exporting your playlist in Unicode
format.
Instead, this book is a "just-tell-me-how-to-do-it" guide to all
the coolest, most requested features and functions of the iPod. And
it's written in the plain-English style that has made Scott Kelby
one of the world's best-selling technology authors.
The book covers importing your music collection, basic operation
(including some cool tricks), using your iPod in the car, the new
photo and video features, using the iTunes application to create
playlists, popular accessories and much more. If you're looking for
a book that focuses on the most important and useful iPod stuff,
this is it.
In addition to being the world's #1 best selling computer book
author, Scott Kelby is the president of the National Association of
Photoshop Professionals, editor-in-chief of Photoshop User and
Layers magazines, technical chair of the Photoshop World Conference
& Expo, and a principal in KW Media Group.
The iPod Book: Doing Cool Stuff with the iPod and the iTunes
Music Store, 2nd Edition
Price: U.S. $19.99, CAN $27.99
ISBN: 0-321-42228-7
iPod-Ready Stories for Kids
PR: Stuck on a car journey with your children? Not sure
how to keep the kids amused on a long train ride. Or just looking
for something to play during the school run?
Storynory.com has the answer. You can download our growing
library of classic and original children's stories to you iPod, any
other MP3 player, or just burn them onto a CD from your own
computer.
Storynory will deliver iPod-ready stories for kids - and they
are absolutely free.
It is a new concept in entertainment and education for children.
We offer hours of classic children's literature, read by actresses,
to educate and entertain children - there is no better way to
introduce them to books and learning.
From this week, parents and children will be able to go to
storynory.com to listen to classic and modern children's stories.
You can download them to your iPod, either direct from the site, or
via the iTunes website.
Or else you can download the stories to any other MP3 player.
You can listen to them on your computer or burn them onto a CD.
There is no charge for any of the stories. No longer need you
pay $10 or $15 for a story on a CD or a tape. All our stories are
absolutely free.
And they all draw upon classic children's literature.
In its first week, Storynory features such classic fairy tales
as Little Red Riding Hood, The Snow Queen, and The Frog. Or you can
listen to our brand new Christmas story.
Storynory will feature at least one new story every week.
"We all know how stressful it can be trying to keep the kids
amused in the car or on a long train journey," said Storynory
spokeswoman Angharad Lynn. "Storynory is the perfect answer. Just
download some stories, and let the kids listen to those. They are
all educational - and great fun as well."
Link: Storynory
PopTune 5G Wrapper for Video iPod
PR: PopTune 5G is a clean removing, wearable wrapper for
Apple's iPod 5G series digital music players. PopTune 5G comes in a
pack of 12 stylish patterns including: , dreamy "Liquid Pink",
solid "Technotic Green", tropical "Aloha", fierce "Dragon", pretty
"Sakura" and more. PopTune 5G provides protection for your iPod
5G(r) against dirt and scratching. The PopTune wrapper is removable
so you can remove it from your iPod 5G(r) and replace it with
another of your favorite PopTune patterns. PopTune 5G has a extra
clear patterned wrapper which covers and protects your iPod's
sensitive mirror finished back side. The back wrapper is designed
so that you can see any engraving that you have had done. PopTune
5G keeps your iPod as beautiful as it was when it was new.
PopTune for shuffle comes in a pack of 12 stylish patterns:
Liquid Pink, Technotic Green, Zebra, Sakura, Dragon, Aloha, Polka
dot, Tropical Camouflage, Neon Pink, Neon Green, Neon OrangeNeon
Yellow.
Link: PopTune 5G
Wearable Wrapper for iPod 5G
iWriter iPod Notes Utility
PR: iWriter allows users of all experience levels to take
full advantage of the iPod Notes feature. iWriter is an extremely
open-ended utility that has a wide array of uses ranging all the
way from entertainment to education. By allowing users to create
iPod projects with linked pages, iWriter helps you design and
construct elaborate interactive text documents that effortlessly
allow people access to endless varieties of information.
Multi Page notes
iWriter let's you create multi page notes that link to each
other so you can get past the 4k size limit on iPods. You can also
link to audio files which can play while you reads the text
Built in Preview
You can preview your notes without the need to transfer to an
iPod with iWriter's built in preview.
Export to iPod
iWriter let's you export your notes straight to the Notes
folder of your iPod so there's no need to drag several files over
via the file system.
Export as a Website
If keeping your notes on your iPod isn't good enough, then
iWriter lets you export as a website, using one of several themes,
so that you can share your notes online with the rest of the
world.
System requirements: Mac OS X 10.3 or later.
$12 Shareware - Try iWriter's features for free for 15 days
before you decide to buy
Link: iWriter
iPod Deals
For current iPod prices from a variety of sources, see our
Best iPod Deals.
