iPod

Men’s Health brings you free workout videos for iPod

Posted on May. 1, ’08, 12:55 PM PT by David Dahlquist

Category | iPod

So you wanna get fit, do ya? Getting rid of that excess flab and replacing it with bulging, rippling muscle won’t be easy, but don’t give up your underwear model aspirations just yet. Lifehacker points out that Men’s Health magazine is offering four free workout videos that can be placed on your iPod to help whip you into shape anywhere you go.

The routines range in intensity from the at-home muscle plan to the kinda intimidating sounding “Ultimate Strength-Boosting” and “Marine Corps” workouts. Free registration is required, but once you do that, you can download the videos and drop them right into iTunes.

Keep up with these plans and you should be looking like a 300 extra in no time. Or of course, you could always forego working out and just drink Power Thirst (NSFW).

Adobe drops restrictions on Flash, AIR

Posted on May. 1, ’08, 10:44 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Video

The battle for Internet video continues. Not satisfied with the dominating presence of Flash, Adobe is making moves to spread their influence even further. Their latest thrust in the constant lunge/riposte is the Open Screen Project, which hopes to help extend the presence of Flash and Adobe’s AIR framework to all the devices you use to get on the Internet: your computer, your set-top box, your microwave, etc.

Among the partners Adobe has lined up are device makers like Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson; hardware component makers like Marvell, Intel, and ARM; content producers like BBC, MTV Networks, and NBC; and networks like NTT DoCoMo, Chunghwa Telecom, and Verizon Wireless. Sure, that’s a lot of names, but come on: companies will put their name on pretty much any initiative or alliance that gets bandied about. Where’s the beef?

What’s really important here is that Adobe plans to remove restrictions on the use of Shockwave and Flash formats, publish the device porting layer API and the Adobe Flash Cast protocol, and remove licensing fees for Flash Player and AIR. While Adobe will still be holding back some proprietary info, such as their own implementation of Flash, these developments will significantly lower the barrier of entry for those looking to support Flash video on other devices.

We notice Apple is absent from the list of companies, which is little surprise, since they’re still intent upon pushing MPEG-4/H.264 as the future. Still, in theory, there would be nothing to stop them from creating their own Flash player for the likes of the iPhone and iPod touch, or any other devices they happen to have—you know, if they wanted to.

[via Macworld]

See ya CD: iPods taking over cars

Posted on Apr. 30, ’08, 1:54 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | iPod Accessories

I’ll be honest: I use the cassette deck in my car way more than I use my CD player. In fact, I hardly ever use the CD player, and use the cassette deck every day.

And no, it’s not because I have a bunch of cassettes with old-person music that geezers like Chris Breen probably listen to. Nor is it because I’m one of those “post-modern” analog-loving hipsters who make mix tapes Old Skool style to demonstrate their chic non-conformist approach to the our “evil” consumerist culture.

I actually just use the cassette deck because I have one of those nifty cassette adapters that let you play your iPod music through your car speakers. And these days, most people I know play more iPod music in their cars then they do CDs — either with cassette adapters, or FM transmitters, or integrated iPod player systems.

Seems that car stereo manufacturers are taking notice of this, too, according to a piece at MacNewsWorld by USA Today detailing a few companies’ new stereo products that do away with CD drives entirely, replacing them instead with iPod/MP3-player/USB/SD card player systems (adapters, slots, ports, etc.).

Stereo-makers like Clarion, Alpine Electronics, and Blaupunkt have all jumped on the CD-player-less (it has an iPod jack instead) bandwagon, offering car stereo units sans optical drives. Some, though, like Pioneer Mobile Entertainment, are standing their CD-lovin’ ground until the disk-less concept builds some momentum.

Check the MNW article for more details, and sound off in the comments: How do you listen to music in your car?

[image from Car Domain]

5G iPods to play iTunes videos again, soon, maybe, hopefully

Posted on Apr. 23, ’08, 3:00 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | iPod

5G iPods have never been able to play movies rentals from iTunes. Nothing new. But they were able to play regular videos purchased from iTunes…until recently, when some Apple voodoo magic made the 5Gs incompatible with new video purchases, including Season Pass downloads. The ensuing furor was expectedly prolific, with users mouthing their frustration in long threads at Apple’s discussion boards.

Well, the power of protest once again makes for good blogging fodder… Oh, and gets things done or whatever. Jacqui Cheng at Infinite Loop reports that some grumbling users have been told by Apple support reps that a fix is in the works that will re-enable 5G ‘Pods to play iTunes vids.

Luckily, a number of customers have already been told by Apple support reps that the company is aware of the problem. One user posted to the support thread that he/she was told by AppleCare that a “huge” update would be coming. Since these reports about Apple acknowledging the issue came in as early as last week, it would make sense to see the aforementioned “huge” update hittin’ the streets pretty soon (like, preferably this week).

This is, of course, secondhand information, and thus should be taken more as a “probably” instead of a “definitely, yo.” But it seems to reason that a feature Apple probably-unintentionally broke — why would it just decide that these iPods can’t play new purchases? — would be fixed eventually.

In the meantime, may I interest you in some iPod-compatible video podcasts?

If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat. If you listen to MP3s, I’ll tax your iPod.

Posted on Apr. 15, ’08, 9:21 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Legal

While we here in the US complain about our ability to rip DVDs to our computer, at least we can get by for the most part with ripping our CDs (despite occasional claims to the contrary from the RIAA)—not so for our friends across the pond, where making a copy of something without the permission of the copyright holder is a big no-no.

There has been a movement afoot to change this, with Government officials like the Minister of Intellectual Property Lord Triesman having argued that the practice should be made legal (as a sidenote, I’d like to point out that nobody in the US government has either a name or a title that awesome). However, the Music Business Group (MBG), a trade group, has rejected the proposal, which didn’t require extra compensation for creators and copyright holders. They, in turn, have suggested a tax on MP3 players, the rate for which—in the words of 2 Unlimited, y’all ready for this?—they would determine. I know, I know—shocking!

The MBG claims that the transfer of music from physical to digital medium implies value; a Government-sponsored consultation, on the other hand, concluded that in the case of a one-time shift for personal use, “there is no significant harm to the right holder which would need to be compensated.”

Like DVD-ripping, however, I imagine CD-ripping will pretty much continue unabated in the UK. But knowing the record companies, I somehow doubt we’ve heard the last of this.

They don’t make iPods like they used to

Posted on Apr. 7, ’08, 1:48 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iPod

James Daley of The Independent is sure—sure as shootin’—that mischievous invisible gnomes are rendering iPods unusable just after they escape warranty. This is one of those bizarre conspiracy theories that gets trotted out every once in a while, intimating that somehow Apple has designed their devices to die precisely at the moment when you will have to either a) fork over money to pay for the repair or b) buy a replacement.

Though there’s no solid evidence that Apple deliberately kills iPods through software updates when they get to be about two years old, the fact that these expensive devices rarely last for more than 24 months is hard to swallow.

Boggle. Not only is there no “solid” evidence, there is actually no evidence at all. In fact, there is more evidence that I personally faked the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Eleven years before my birth.

Marathoners may have to run silent

Posted on Apr. 1, ’08, 11:23 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iPod

From the “No, it’s actually not a joke as far as we can tell, but we suppose we could be wrong” department comes this story that the IAAF Road Running Commission, which oversees marathons, is considering banning the iPod from its events. The reason? Good old-fashioned safety.

The ban has already been enacted by USA Track & Field, which oversees races in the US:

Jill Geer, spokeswoman for USA Track & Field, said: ‘Being able to hear is a fundamental part of running. If there’s a water stop and you veer over in someone’s blind spot, you’re going to at least inconvenience them.’

She added: ‘Some runners are irate and we understand and respect the thousands who like to listen to music. But we have a fundamental duty to guarantee the safety of participants.’

The IAAF Road Running Commission will debate whether to adopt the rule at September meeting in Rio, but David Bedford, director of the upcoming London Marathon, has said that the ban, which he calls “completely unenforceable,” will not affect that event.

Personally, I get bored running two or three miles even with my iPod on. Not sure I could handle a marathon without it. Actually, not sure I could run a marathon period, so what am I worried about?

[via Macworld UK]

iPod Touch rebranded as the Newton Ivi

Posted on Apr. 1, ’08, 5:39 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | iPod

It’s Tuesday and as we’ve seen more weeks than not this year, it means exciting new announcements by Apple. Due to all the naming confusion of the iPod Touch (being called the iTouch and whatnot), that they’re going to force a brand new name onto the device. It will be known as the Newton Ivi (like the plant, only misspelled).

However, Apple’s found that the profit margin wasn’t up to their normal ridiculous standards, so to make it price appropriate without raising the price, they’ve removed the headphone port. Sound is a rather superfluous function anyway. According to reputable sites like AppleInsider and Think Secret, the screens on these devices has a flaw. They’re greenish. It’s not one or two of the them, all of them exhibit this problem.

I’m going to guess that this is intentional, hence the name. Anway, who’s buying one? Should be good to St. Patrick’s Day.

Buy a plane ticket, get a free iPod

Posted on Mar. 26, ’08, 3:00 PM PT by David Dahlquist

Category | iPod

Eos Airlines, a transatlantic airline, has a pretty sweet deal going on at the moment: book a flight between New York and London, and you get a free iPod.

If you spend less that $4,000, you get an iPod nano, or 15,000 Eos bonus points (which can get you other goodies). If your tickets run you more than $4,000, you can get an iPod classic, or 30,000 points. The purchases must be made between March 26 and April 11, and they need to be round-trip and completed by September 8, 2008.

Funny thing is, the website doesn’t say what kind of iPod nano or classic you’ll get, so they will probably be the lower end models. Still a cool deal, though.

[Via iPodNN]

Free gift card with refurb nano (if you follow the rules)

Posted on Mar. 24, ’08, 8:33 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | iPod

If you’re in the market for a shiny new iPod nano—and as the owner of a beautiful red model that I dropped on the sidewalk this past weekend, I’m hoping not to be—you will be fascinated and delighted to know that Apple is offering a limited time deal where you can snag yourself a $15 gift card to the iTunes Store when you pick up a refurbished nano.

But where’s the adventure in that? No, Apple’s going to challenge you by making the process a little tricksy. In order to reap the benefits of the mighty gift card, you must follow their instructions to the letter. You first have to add the nano, then add the gift card (you can get one gift card per nano that you buy; however, you have to buy different colors/capacities separately).

Why the difficulty? I’m guessing Apple is sick and tired of this “Hey, we’re the easy, friendly company.” Those days are over; it’s all back to byzantine rules and difficult-to-figure-out promotions. Hope you’re ready for a little challenge.

[via Infinite Loop]