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Yes. I am bummed. I've enjoyed Firewire (aka IEEE 1394) for years now and it seems Apple is really pushing consumers toward USB2. To not include a Firwire cable was one thing. Okay, if I can afford an iPod, then I can afford a freekin' cable. But now with the release of the nano, Firewire is not even supported for song syncing. Even though it uses the same dock connector as previous iPods that can use either Firewire OR USB2, the nano can only use a Firewire cable for charging. WTF? While USB2 may hold an ever so slight advantage in transfer speed (480Mbps for USB2 and 400Mbps for Firewire... ooh big deal), Firewire is iosynchronous. In other words, all devices on the Firewire bus have the full bandwidth, while on the USB2 bus, all the devices share the bandwidth. My other problem with this, USB2 implementation on the Mac has always SUCKED when compared to a PeeCee. There's an article on BareFeats.com that supports this. Sure it's an older article, but you get the gist. The other issue is that older Macs (like mine - G4-533 MHz Dual Digital Audio) do not have USB 2.0, only USB 1.0, which yes... is backwards compatible, but only up to 12Mbps. Even my wife's Mac (G4-1.25 GHz Dual MDD) has USB 1.1. I know we can get a USB2 cards for our Macs. That's not really the point. I DON'T FUCKING LIKE USB!!!! Why not go with Firewire 800? USB can't even hold a candle to Firewire 800.

Apple did not explicitly state a reason for excluding FireWire on the Nano. Presumably, the company wanted to save the expense of supporting both USB and FireWire, as well as any power and space cost to including both connections.

Steve Jobs really should have checked with me on this first.

Source: c/net's news.com.

iPod shuffle vs nano

Originally uploaded by digitalbear.

I've been waiting for someone to post a pic like this. I was wondering about the size difference between the shuffle and the nano. The shuffle, though not as fancy, still does have one advantage over the nano. The shuffle, in addition to being an iPod, without any other cables or adaptors, makes a very convenient USB Flash Drive. In fact, I probably use it more for that, than music. I also have a first generation 10Gb iPod with the movable scroll wheel that I use for music. Remember those? Geez, what a relic. Yes the battery still works, just fine. That nano though... That's the shit right there. See more comparison photos and even some disassembled nano photos here. See the new nano ad here. I must see that thing in person.

Well, it looks like Kanye pulled the "race card" yet again. No, it's not about Katrina this time. And yes, of course it's satire. But it's funny. iPod Nano [ Tempus Fugit | TxFx.net ]

Oh yeah. I almost forgot to mention...

Kanye Tool was there too.

In an Apple Special Event today in San Francisco, Steve Jobs announced the departure of our beloved iPod mini and the arrival of the all new iPod nano. It's completely flash based, comes in two capacities (2GB & 4GB), has a color screen, comes in either black or white, and starts at $199 for the 2GB model and goes for $249 for the 4GB model.

Also today, Apple announced the world's first mobile phone with iTunes, made by Motorola, called ROKR, and it's available now only from Cingular for $249 with a two year contract.

Also announced at today's Apple Special Event was iTunes 5. Take a look at the new features for iTunes 5!

• New Look
  Streamlined design makes iTunes even easier to use.
• Search Bar
  Find stuff fast and refine your search with the handy new Search Bar.
• Smart Shuffle
  Adjust random playback to hear what you want.
• Sync from Outlook
  iTunes now supports iPod syncing for Outlook and Outlook Express on Windows PCs.
• Playlist Folders
  Organize all your playlists into folders.
• Parental Controls
  Limit kids’ access to the iTunes Music Store and sharing features.
• Album Reviews
  Browse over 1,000 album reviews.
• The Complete Harry Potter
  Download all six audiobooks or the Digital Box Set and add the collector’s iPod with Hogwarts crest.
• iTunes for Your Mobile Phone
  Sync music to the Motorola ROKR E1.

Below are some screenshots of iTunes 4.9 vs iTunes 5. Click the thumbnails to enlarge.

iTunes 4.9	iTunes 5

I thought it was cool that someone actually put Linux on an iPod. Now they've gone and put Doom on to them as well. What will those crazy kids think of next? Whatever it is, it'll probably be cool.

small update: Alrighty then... evidently there are a lot of devices that play Doom now. Those hackers have been extra busy.