It screams for a better means of getting to the volume. It would be awesome
if they would put one one the headphone wire like the PSP has.
Something you can easily find while running.

iTunes: you should be able to simply drag a jpg onto a missing album cover icon.
Missing features like this amaze me. Nope gotta go through a hidden menu to make that happen.

It screams for a better means of getting to the volume. It would be awesome
if they would put one one the headphone wire like the PSP has.
Something you can easily find while running.

iTunes: you should be able to simply drag a jpg onto a missing album cover icon.
Missing features like this amaze me. Nope gotta go through a hidden menu to make that happen.

'Nuff said.

Of course, deep down in its guts, it's very configurable and there are workarounds for everything. But compared to unbelievable easy of use of Creative's software, it's really garbage.

My point is that iPod is about the only player/program that provides a
"join tracks" command while ripping that will produce a seamless audio book
copy. I think some of the Creative players have software that might do that too but am not sure.

Most websites and tutorials center on music but there are hundreds of
folks who use MP3 players for books. By painful trial and error I have
learned how to rip and load a CD book on my m240 with each CD as
an album. I still want a player that will play a ripped book seamlessly
without being divided up. I looked at iPods yesterday but like you I resent the price and most of all the throwaway situation regarding the
battery. My m240 operates on a single AAA battery for 15-19 hours,
came with an armband and a carrying case. I call it MY POOR WOMAN's iPOD! LOL

Here's hoping I have sense enough to listen to my first strong feelings
and not sell out to Apple. Today I needed your post.

'I googled 'Ipod don't wast your money' and looked at the first website that came up. It was a Mac forum. I read the bullshit article. Then the reader comments. I typed in the following comment because everyone seemed to be in favour of the ipod because of it's fashion statement or the fact that they obviously work for Apple. You know those things were you have to enter some scrambled code to be able to submit a comment/message to deter spammers? Well, that picture didn't work. There was a little red X in the box so I couldn't see the code. Bullshit. So I couldn't enter my comment. Looks deliberate. Anywho, here it is…

Well, I totally agree with Ted A. Cal Worthington, itunes is SPECIFICALLY designed for the ipod so of course other portable music players aren't going to be compatible. Apple loves that exclusivity (is that a word?). I'm not 'tech savy' either but I know that I've had 3 40gb ipods and all of them have been fautly and all of them have drained the battery very quickly. The warranty only lasts one year, so if you've had in ipod for 6 months and get it replaced, the new one is only under warranty for 6 months. As well as that, the warranty doesn't mean that Apple will fix the problem. They will replace the ipod which means you could end up with another faulty one, rather than one that was faulty but has now been fixed. And, of course, they come back with no music on them. My last ipod that died lost over 20GB of music! My ipod cost around AU$800. Don't waste your money!'

Does everyone remember when Apple and Dell had to admit that the lithium batteries in their laptops were exploding and they had to send replacements to everyone? Why didn't Apple do the same for Ipods? They also use lithium batteries and ipod owners are having lots of trouble with them. If your ipod battery is faulty and you need it replaced, do you know what happens? They send you a new ipod. I know that is is possible to replace the battery. Why waste our time by sending us a new one with NO MUSIC ON IT? Because Ipods are cheap and crappy. People feel safe when they spend lots of money on something because they believe it to be a better brand. Well, it's not. The joke is on us and it makes me so mad. We have all been sucked in.

I'd just like to add that I have never ever been recommended the IPOD by anyone I know. The only recommendations I have seen are on Mac/Apple websites or on websites/tv programs/magazines that are probably being paid to talk about it without getting technical. I have been recommended the Iriver and a few other portable music players.

Question: Why did Apple tell us that we can jog with IPODS because they have no moving parts?

They do have moving parts and you CAN jog with them if you want them to break!

What you described exists on the nano: the "on the go playlist". Although you have to be playing the list first, and then you can add "on the go". The feature that you are listening to a song (selected in a different way), and start using that as the first song in a new "on the go" playlist, doesn't exist IMO.
Additionally, there is a bug in the 8G nano's, that will not let you add albums/artists/genres to an "on the go" playlist.

That said, I'd not heard of MediaMonkey and will definitely be trying it before I sell (dump) the nano(model) and trade it in for something that actually works and isn't just a work of art.

I have an 80g external hard drive damn near full of my music library. I use media monkey primarily to organize my music collection on my computer. The media player serves only to be my music library on the go.

I have used several players over the years (creative, dell) and they have all had pretty much the same features. And until someone makes a device that acts as a functional cell phone, intuitive PDA, memory rich media player, and has fast internet that weighs a few ounces…I won't be buying a mp3 player for the features.

As long as it plays music intuitively (which Apple does brilliantly) I'm set. Since my home computer serves as my main media center, I only have one criteria for a portable device…sex appeal.

If I'm going to carry it with me it needs to be dead sexy. And the Nano has this in spades over the competition. Think about it. It is a glorified memory stick.

Getting rid of the Nano now will be like dumping that really hot chick you once dated. Every other girl you are with after her may try and wow you, but they are all variations on the same theme. None will ever be as sexy as the one that got away.

On-The-Go Playlists work, as far as I can tell, exactly as you desire. When a song, album, or playlist is selected in the on-screen menu, pressing and holding the select button will add it to the On-The-Go Playlist. This is described on the iPod in the Playlist section, as well as in the manual.

And if you think for a second that I'm not a technologically-inclined person, you're fooling yourself. I chose iPod after doing copious research, handling other players and reading numerous user accounts of software and hardware on Slashdot, DAPReview.net, and other places. Are they a fashion statement for many? Yes. But the iTunes/iPod interaction is the best around, iPods are far more resilient than first appearances might suggest, and the accessory market for them is about 1000 times bigger than any other product. Every feature you mention is available in an accessory, and most can be had cheaply as they frequently get sold by purchasers who never used them like they thought they would.

I think you owe it to yourself to give the product more than a day. I think it will win you over.