Way, way way off topic - Apple, ipod, itunes, etc.

[shawnc]

Bear with me on this one, as this post should probably be made in another forum. Problem is, this is the only one I use and my experience has been that it is a pretty open-minded community.

I've been so blindly loyal to everything Microsoft that I simply have not been open to competing products. Well over the past few years, as my frustration with their seeming arrogance or incompetance has approached the boiling point, I have gingerly tested other waters. As I'm sure you've gathered by the title, I just made my initial foray into the Apple waters. OH MY GAWD! I purchased a Nano even though I recently purchased a Rio. It was so sweet and priced so moderately (4GB Black) that I couldn't resist the temptation. The first thing I noticed with both the Nano and a seperately shipped wristband, is that with Apple there is no shipping material in the packages. The boxes fit and secure the product perfectly. No big deal, but it definitely adds to the elegance of the presentation. Customer service is so much better than anything I have EVER experienced with electronics. Keep in mind that I own an HP so the bar is set pretty low in this area. But where this thing shines is in the little touches that you only see here, the stunningly ease of use (it's not just that you can customize your main menu, it's how easy it is to do it), and the incredible performance. The volume and sound quality on this thing is simply incredible. Whereas I consistently listened to my Rio at full volume, the nano will rarely go above 75% of it's capabilities.

I came very close to trying a MAC when I purchased my Fujisu S seried laptop around a year ago. All I can say now is that based on my experience so far with the nano (and I love my Fujitsu), I wish I had been a little more open-minded.

Moral of the story, don't be as close-minded as I have been. Each time I step away from MS, I get excited about my electronic products in a way that I haven't for years. And I have yet to experience any of the frustration that seems to be an ongoing thing with anything MS.

[TopDog]

I bought my first Mac in April, an iBook 14".

And I love beond anything else (gadget-wise, not beond people).

Apple is "tha KING" in making easy-to-use and good-looking technology.

I haven't tested syncing my PPC yet though... downloaded a demo of PocketMac, but it didn't work at all. I've heard MissingSync should work a lot better, but without a demo-version, I'm not sure I'll bother buying it, I can live with just syncing my PPC with my work-PC.

[Janak Parekh]

Moral of the story, don't be as close-minded as I have been.
A moral everyone should adhere to. :) I love my 15" Powerbook. In general, I let my requirements drive my purchases, and try not to let fanboy-ism influence my decisions. Apple has a "closed platform", and while that means less variety it means every piece of the puzzle is very carefully engineered. I don't like the OEM model for Microsoft as much, especially with the WMA devices. I hope it will improve, but OEMs like HP are often a bad name for MS as much as ODMs like HTC are a good name.

That said, always carefully weigh your requirements before choosing a platform. Before I adopted my Powerbook, I went though every app and made sure I had a solution on the Mac. There's only one I haven't managed to give up, and that's wallet software. I'm living with running eWallet under Virtual PC now, but it's a pain. :(

Enjoy your purchase. BTW, the one nit I've heard about the nano is that it scratches too easily. You can get cases or screen protector-like covers (www.theinvisibleshield.com) for it.

I haven't tested syncing my PPC yet though... downloaded a demo of PocketMac, but it didn't work at all. I've heard MissingSync should work a lot better, but without a demo-version, I'm not sure I'll bother buying it, I can live with just syncing my PPC with my work-PC.
Missing Sync works pretty well. The Entourage sync isn't perfect, but it's getting better, and iCal+Address Book works reliably. FWIW, ActiveSync on VPC works perfectly as well.

--janak

[shawnc]

Enjoy your purchase. BTW, the one nit I've heard about the nano is that it scratches too easily. You can get cases or screen protector-like covers (www.theinvisibleshield.com) for it.
--janak

I'm not big on cases because one of the main criteria for my electronic purchases is size. Right now I still have the protective plastic that the unit ships in on it. However, this appears to be a perfect solution. While I'm not to worried about cosmetic scratches, it would be nice to protect the screen. Thanx for the link.....and the insight :wink: .

[Janak Parekh]

I'm not big on cases because one of the main criteria for my electronic purchases is size. Right now I still have the protective plastic that the unit ships in on it. However, this appears to be a perfect solution. While I'm not to worried about cosmetic scratches, it would be nice to protect the screen.
True. If you're feeling enterprising, you could probably adopt a cheaper solution to protect just the screen, using something like a PDA screen protector. Any which way, enjoy your toys. :P

--janak

[PhilH]

I agree about Apple. They produce stunningly good stuff. Really, the only reason I don't have one is because all my software is for Windows.

Even that might not stop me soon.

Best bit about the iPod? The fact that I can control it (volume up/down, next/previous track/pause/play) without taking it out of my pocket. You don't need to see it to control it!

[shawnc]

Best bit about the iPod? The fact that I can control it (volume up/down, next/previous track/pause/play) without taking it out of my pocket. You don't need to see it to control it!

Oh, you're good. I'm still into my maiden voyage on this and must look at the screen to get around (except adjusting the volume of course). Hopefully I'll get to where you are quite quickly.