I  have just finished reading an opinion piece that, even by the lenient standards of opinion pieces, does a severe injustice to Apple, Inc.The sensationalist attack starts with the article’s title: “The Pusher of Cupertino.” The author, James Daley (who apparently works for The Independent newspaper of the U.K., though the piece appears on the MacNewsWorld Web site), goes on to speculate that Apple sabotages its iPods with software updates with the intent of disabling them.

His sources for this very serious accusation are the unfortunate iPod experiences of his wife and the anecdotal stories of friends and people on unnamed Internet forums. No facts, figures or studies, despite his claim of a “growing body of evidence.”

Daley even admits in his first sentence that “there’s no solid evidence that Apple deliberately kills iPods through software updates,” but the entire piece is predicated on the assumed truth of that allegation.

He is upset because his two-year-old iPod has started to malfunction. His wife has had several iPods, including a 30 GB fifth-generation model that went south.

Meanwhile, her iPod Nano still works fine despite being over two years old because, Daley implies, it has never been synced with a computer. According to his theory, syncing iPods exposes them to the deadly software updates.

Oddly enough, Daley says that despite his suspicions about Apple, he will almost certainly buy another iPod because he “loves” it. But he again faults Apple. The allure of the iPod has seduced him beyond reason: “Even though I know I should take my business elsewhere, it’s an addiction.”

Another 30 GB iPod his wife bought “never-used” almost immediately began having issues. “Short of it being a defective unit, the only obvious explanation was that it was struggling to get to grips with the newer software,” Daley says. How could he be certain his wife simply didn’t receive a defective unit, a considerably more obvious explanation than his software sabotage theory?

I happen to have a 30 GB fifth-generation iPod that I bought in January 2006. I sync it with my Mac frequently. I install every software update. Yet it still works.

I’m not saying my experience proves anything, but neither does Daley’s. I can’t say with certainty Apple is not sabotaging iPods to get people to replace them with new ones. After all, the company did brick unlocked iPhones. But as a journalist I’d need solid proof before I’d accuse a company of this degree of wrongdoing.

Perhaps a significant percentage of iPods do fail after two years. But how many last three years? Or four?

For that matter, what’s the failure rate of competing MP3 players? Better than Apple’s? Worse? The same? Daley offers us no data, just unsubstantiated opinion.

I too have read complaints that iPods don’t last much longer than two years, but I haven’t seen any research that gives hard numbers on what customers can expect. And I certainly have never read any suggestions that Apple is deliberately killing iPods.

There’s usually nothing wrong with offering up some opinions based on anecdotal evidence. You want to complain about the shorter-than-expected life span of your iPods, fine.

But Daley is accusing Apple of a criminal act. I think that calls for stronger facts than his wife’s conspiracy theories, his friends’ problems and some rants he read in a few Internet forums.

via http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/appleaday/blog/2008/04/allegation_that_apple_delibera.html

iMuffs headphones from Wi-Gear improve sound, work wirelessly with most iPods

In the world of iPod accessories—4,000-plus and counting—the ones worth the money are those that improve the listening experience. I have two for you today, one that will be great when the bugs are worked out and a pair of headphones that makes iPod portability even better.

Let’s start with the almost-there product. “Almost” because it worked with some iPods I tested, but not all. I often won’t write about a product proving unreliable, but I really like what this does and, more importantly, I believe that the people building it will soon get it right.

It’s called miShare, and the simple, rectangular gadget is smaller than a standard iPod but bigger than the redesigned Nano (affectionately dubbed the “fatty”). At both ends there is a 30-pin adapter to connect two iPods to transfer songs from one to another.

And it works, mostly.

Plug an iPod with the music to share into the source end. Let’s call this the “pitcher.” (Hey, baseball season is here!) At the other end, plug into the “catcher” iPod to receive the music.

Unfortunately, my 80-gigabyte iPod did not work as a catcher. But as a pitcher, it sent songs to my fatty. With the fatty, I was able to share music—as a pitcher and catcher—with a colleague’s iPod.

That’s why I love this little gadget. It’s designed to swap music between friends, so you can share iPod playlists and tips on new artists. This is very convenient and fast; songs move over in seconds.

There are a few reasons why I had trouble with some iPods.

First, it will not work with the Touch and the iPhone, yet.

Second, the catcher iPod must be in “manual” update mode. When you plug your iPod into a computer to sync it, the default setting is for automatic updates, but it is easy to switch to manual. In manual, whenever you add music, movies or photos to your computer and want it on the iPod, you instruct the iPod to pick up that content.

But changing this setting on my 80 gb iPod didn’t fix my problem.

Third, the miShare developers—two guys working from a Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment—are working out some bugs. My big iPod, for instance, has too much data on it, causing transfer problems. But the fatty, which can hold up to 8 gb worth of content, did not have that issue.

This issue and some others—you can share video and photos too, but not seamlessly—will be addressed in a software upgrade set for release in a few weeks, said co-founder Nathaniel Wice. He called my issue an “intermittent problem” related to the iTunes database.

Another update will follow to address compatibility issues with the Touch and iPhone.

Wice called the development of miShare, which runs on the open-source Linux platform, a “constant” work in progress. “Designing something that’s easy to use is a process.”

When it works, it is easy to use. The device has one function button. Just make an “on-the-go” music playlist on the iPod and press the function button. The songs move over.

But not all songs. To address the obvious legal issues of sharing music between iPods, songs protected by digital rights management software—primarily those bought at Apple’s iTunes store—won’t play on the catcher iPod.

Some people might question the ability to share music so freely, but this is a legal device designed for one-to-one sharing. It’s not a piece of file-sharing software where thousands of people can get a copy of a song.

Despite the early flaws, I recommend miShare. It will only improve, and the software on the device can be upgraded so you won’t have to buy another. It is sold for $100 at www.miShare.com, and discussions are under way with a major brick-and-mortar retailer, Wice said.

A sound enhancement

Regular readers know I often recommend iPod buyers improve the sound with new headphones.

The iMuffs do that plus provide a great wireless connection via Bluetooth. They are made by Wi-Gear and can be bought on the firm’s site, Wi-Gear.com.

The model I tested sold for $150 and paired easily and quickly with each iPod I tested, except one, the iPod Touch. Wi-Gear has introduced a new model, the $180 MB210, which works with the Touch.

I also tested the iMuffs on a TV-playing phone, the Verizon Voyager, and was quite pleased that I could watch live games from the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament while listening with the iMuffs. Beautiful.

So, yes, these work with music-playing phones, except the iPhone. That’s Apple’s fault because it didn’t include a profile in that music phone for stereo Bluetooth headphones.

You might think the price for these headphones is high, but the iMuffs ship with a Bluetooth adapter for the iPod. That’s usually a $40 item sold separately.

Via  http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-mon-tech-buzz-ipod-mishare-imar31,0,7036862.story

You’d never know it living in America™, but there’s an Apple out there that’s edgier and more colorful than the company’s work-a-day iPod advertising and marketing would lead you to believe.

The mothership’s US iPod TV ads and print ads (advertolog) still regularly receive praise for their look and content, but there’s more to their image than silhouettes.

Examples of Apple thinking different, riffing on itself, can be found in South Africa.

In fact, these ads are so cool, innovative and, well, just completely different than anything else out there, that Apple going ’round the web asking anyone who displays them to remove them, creativebits.

Of course, Cupertino has a strong interest in maintaining consistency. In truth, it’s one of the company’s hallmarks and that’s to be respected.

But neither a strong sense of brand identity nor an active legal team can keep us from looking…

Got links to cool, “non-standard” Apple advertising? Drop us a line and / or post ‘em in comments!

via  http://www.itunesmuse.org/files/460863153b5b036432fce2f57ab78ca1-17.html

A study from May 2007 claimed that IPods interfere with the function of Pacemakers. However, a new study that will appear in April’s issue of Heart Rhythm found otherwise. But are Ipods or music to blame?.

In the study which included 55 patients, researchers found that mp3 players did have an effect on the computerized device used by doctors to check and recalibrate a heart device.

Which makes me wonder? Has anyone actually felt a disturbance while using an Ipod near a pacemaker and could the interference be caused by another technology? What is the effect of music on the heart? Can music change your heart rate?

An October 2005 study claims that it can. In this study, Italian and British researchers found that listening to music can influence your heart rate and how fast you breathe, especially if you’re a trained musician. So what were the scientists at Michigan State really measuring?

Check out the 2005 study on music and heartrate.

Check out the 2008 study by Children’s Hospital Boston.

Check out the 2007 study by the Michigan State University.

via   http://www.melissa-mcavoy.com/abilityedge/2008/03/27/can-ipods-mess-with-your-pacemaker/

Attention teenagers: There are many ways to see naked girls. Many. Even when I was a teenager, before there were terabytes of porn on the Internet, I found ways, and none of them got me arrested.

This guy from Iowa, though, he had different ideas. He stole a classmate’s iPod, then demanded that she video record herself doing some filthy, dirty sex things and send it to him to get it back.

Yah, he’ll be popular in Juvie Hall. Don’t be like this guy. Just use Google.

via  http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/03/27/dumbass-teen-holds-ipod-ransom-for-sexy-sexy-video-of-schoolmate-goes-to-jail/

ANTIOCH - A 17-year-old Antioch resident was robbed of his iPod at gunpoint Monday night behind a Wal-Mart store, police said. The teenager was walking home behind the store, 4893 Lone Tree Way, around 9:30 p.m. when he was confronted by four young men, Antioch police Sgt. Diane Aguinaga said. One suspect pulled a gun and stole the victim’s iPod.

No one was injured during the robbery.

The suspects were described as 18 to 20 years old, Aguinaga said.

The portable listening devices and cell phones have become popular robbery targets, police said.

Reach Matthias Gafni at 925-779-7174 or mgafni@bayareanewsgroup.com.

via  http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8693103

Mitchell Henderson, a 13 year old boy, (died April 20, 2006) was an hero (not to be confused with no hero) who supposedly killed himself over losing an iPod, listening to Morrissey, and getting bullied for being a wimpy white kid. The phrase an hero has since become a term for a person that causes a lollercoaster via suicide.

In wake of Mitch’s death are hundreds of misspelled comments from his supposed friends calling him “an Hero”. Mitch also happened to die on Hitler’s birthday; the anniversary of the Columbine massacre, an epic feat of an heroism by Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris; and also happens to be April 20th. 4/20 will be known as An hero day from now on. NEVAR FORGET

via http://theofftopic.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=105

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A 26-year-old woman was sexually battered Saturday by a stranger as she listened to her iPod and gave him directions.

The woman said a man walked up to her near the intersection of 21st Street and Castro Way, asked for directions, and then inappropriately touched her after she responded.

The victim’s name is being withheld as the investigation continues.

via http://www.kcra.com/news/15646885/detail.html

A 17-YEAR-OLD male in Melbourne’s outer north was punched and had a weapon held to his throat by two teenagers who demanded cash and his iPod.

The 17-year-old was waiting at a bus shelter outside the Westfield Shopping Centre in Airport West about 7.15pm (AEDT) yesterday when a male and female, both aged about 18, approached him and demanded money, police said.

The female punched him in the head and demanded he hand over his iPod. The male then punched him in the face a number of times before placing what appeared to be a knife at his throat.

He suffered two minor cuts to neck in the incident and had a pair of earphones stolen.

 via http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23400846-1702,00.html

Hybrids? Pfft. Clean diesel? Who cares. Americans want cars with iPod integration, photochromic glass and capless fueling systems - whatever the hell those are.

Give people a choice between a fuel-sipper with a map in the glove box and a gas guzzler with in-dash navigation and most of them are going home in the car that tells them how to get there, according to a “snapshot” survey by MyRide.com.

Forty percent of respondents said features like iPod connectivity and GPS navigation were a factor in choosing a car, and 16 percent said it was  a “significant ” factor. Asked whether high tech or green tech would be most important when choosing their next car, 30 percent said they’d go for the gadgets - more than twice the number who said they’d go green. And 12 percent said high-tech features like Ford’s Sync are more important than the price, performance, cargo room and fuel economy combined.

The pollsters don’t think people are dissing hybrid drivetrains and fuel-efficient cars. The way they see it, consumers take green technology for granted and place a premium on advanced communications, safety and “lifestyle” features.

“What it says is green technology has reached a consciousness level where people see it as a standard part of the automotive landscape,” said Brian Chee, editor of MyRide.com. “People see hybrids as just another car. It’s not considered new and trendy.”

So what are the hot technologies people want to see?

Photochromic glass that gets darker as the light gets brighter was by far the hottest tech. People also love Ford’s capless fueling system and want to see vehicles with hidden external lockable boxes. Most of them found temperature-controlled cup holders almost as lame as external stereo speakers, swivel-and-go seating and scented tires. Yes, Kumho makes aromatherapy tires in orange, lavender and jasmine. We have no idea why.

Just 130 people responded to the online poll, so it can hardly be called scientific. But it underscores the trend underway in the industry as automakers try to duplicate Ford’s success with Sync. Ford’s sold twice as many cars with Sync as without, and the company hopes to knock another one out of the park with its Work Solutions in-dash computers.

Yet only 9 percent of respondents considered Ford the most tech-savvy automaker. That honor went to Toyota. Microsoft is the company they’d most like to see co-design a car - an idea that, as we noted in “Microsoft Wants Sync to Control Much More Than Gadgets,” isn’t at all outlandish.

Photo by Ford.

 via http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/03/american-consum.html