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12/24/09
There are two downsides - One, the software is really shaky - I had to dole out music into the player a gig or two at a time, lest it freak out on me (they might have fixed that problem by now, but I'm not holding my breath) The other downside is that data stored on an SD has to be accessed on its own. In other words, you can't build playlists with songs from the SD card (actually one of the nice things about the SD is that by dropping files directly onto it from your computer you can get around the software headaches if you want to).
12/25/09
I almost bought the current Gen Zen, but Creative dropped the ball on their X-Fi (making it software rather than hardware), and the Zune beat it out. Keep in mind, I was testing out off-the-shelf MP3 players that had great SQ. My top picks were the Zune and the Sansa Fuse, and the only reason I went with the Zune was the Fuse didn't have the internal storage. Cowan was out because I didn't want to buy online.
I guess my point is there are a LOT of Apple alternatives, I think people aren't shopping the market as well. I could name 20 alternatives in each of these categories, some better or equivalent for cheaper.
12/23/09
Best alternative to Apple mice: Every other mouse out there.
Also, I'd say that the Sony Walkman A series is the best (And IMO superior) alternative to the Nano. Better sound quality, good design, great build. Sure, it doesn't have a gimmicky video camera, but everyone and their grandma already have cellphones with cams.
12/23/09
Where can i pick one of those up i don't think that is out in America
12/23/09
[www.sonystyle.com]
I think the only feature missing in it is the S-master amplifier (Which actually does work) that's present in the X and A series of Walkmans.
12/23/09
12/23/09
Do you guys know how to use google to look up shit before you squat down and drop it all over gizmodo? Are you commenting from 2001?
12/23/09
12/23/09
12/23/09
12/23/09
Dumping OSX and iTunes is win not a lose, and in anycase last I saw iTunes worked on Windows XP and up.
12/23/09
12/23/09
12/23/09
12/23/09
12/23/09
What are you running?
12/23/09
12/23/09
Stand alone MP3 Players are so last decade.
12/23/09
12/23/09
Let me know what functionality your comp loses the next time there is an update of OS X and how many hoops you have to jump through to get it back.
12/23/09
There's hardly anything in the apps dept though. For me, apps have little value.
12/23/09
12/23/09
The only reason Windows is dominant is because business predominantly use PCs because they are affordable.
12/23/09
12/23/09
If you equate hipster with Apple then your a moron and a douche canoe.
12/23/09
12/23/09
2. Windows has its good and bad, as does Mac OS X, as does Linux. It's down to what you like. I love Mac keyboards, but overall I like Windows better, especially since Win7 (probably because it did the smart thing and copied good bits of OS X). And I can't explain why I like it more; that's kinda the nature of this un-winnable argument.
3. Because it's bothering me, it's "you're", not "your". Your pinky finger is your friend.
12/24/09
12/24/09
That doesn't happen very often.
12/24/09
12/24/09
12/24/09
And for the record you don't have to be a "hipster" to use a Mac. My first computer was a Mac. I have also owned a few Windows machines in the past as well.
12/24/09
12/23/09
can someone say touchè?
12/23/09
12/23/09
Also yes to the Droid. Words are insufficient to describe the joy it has brought me.
12/23/09
12/23/09
12/23/09
12/23/09
N900 > everything else imho
12/23/09
Yup, i guess so.
12/23/09
Have any Apple TV owners tried installing aTV Flash on it? It would appear to really boost its capabilities, but my experience with Boxee suggests it wouldn't exactly run very fast.
12/23/09
12/23/09
12/23/09
#suggestions #iPodNanoisNotAVideoCamera
12/23/09
iPhone, iPod touch, iPod shuffle, iMac, Macbook Air, and Mac Mini definitely beats their non-Apple counterparts, no doubt.
the iPod nano is supposed to be a damn MP3 Player, not a camcorder _.
don't care about Apple TV.
Macbook/Pro is arguable, but they trump most laptops.
comparing an iMac to a pathetic Touchsmart is...well...just pathetic, as most of them are powered by Atom to keep the cost down.
that pathetic nettop doesn't compare with Mac Mini.
Apple fanboy, out :P.
12/23/09
The only Mac I can get for that price is a Mac Mini or a low end Macbook for another hundred bucks. The closest equivalent desktop requires me to spend double that to even approach the specs on an iMac. As usual, if you want a specific thing Apple offers, yes you will have a hard time finding the same thing from another company. If you want the most flexible or powerful device within a reasonable budget you can usually find a better deal elsewhere.
And there is no way an iPod Shuffle is better than a Sansa Clip. Both are very basic but at least the Sansa has drag and drop and no iTunes requirement...also a display albeit simple. Better than the annoying talking iPod.
12/23/09
the iMac is all-in-one, yours isn't.
the iMac is made of aluminum, and i think aluminum is more expensive and stronger than steel?
is your monitor HD?
is your computer like 2 inch thick?
does it run OS X?
does it not get viruses?
and i dunno about you, but i only put songs i listen to on my shuffle (then again, i listen to like 2000 songs at a time _). the screen doesn't matter to me. it is very much the smallest MP3 out there, and i like that. like you, i don't like iTunes either, but its a small price to pay.
12/23/09
don't want an all in one, I need expandability options.
Aluminium is weaker than steel, but more expensive and lighter.
Yes my monitor is HD
again, need to be able to expand when needed
Yes it does run OS X, along with Windows 7, Windows XP, and Ubuntu.
no it does not get viruses.
12/23/09
I didn't know that we were comparing structural strength of a desktop computer that will never see the physical punishment that would even come close to cracking the aluminum housing.
Besides a Unibody design offers far more structural rigidity than any steel frame with plastic body panels. Go pick up a MacBook Pro then a comparable PC laptop, and try to tell me that MBP doesn't feel like the most solid consumer computing device ever made.
12/23/09
12/23/09
Then I directed him to try out a MBP to see how strong and sturdy a computer made from aluminum can be, weather its a portable or desktop it matters not.
12/24/09
12/24/09
12/23/09
12/23/09
I had been using my wife's old laptop, but it just died, and I'm looking for a replacement.
12/23/09
12/23/09
12/23/09
12/23/09
It's not necessarily a mac vs pc thing for me but a Mac vs manufacturer/line for me (though to a certain extent OSX as well.). For me, there are just very few laptops that I would consider buying. Desktops I don't care as much about, and I want to build a gaming PC sooner than later.
And usually the alternatives end up being not much less than the Macs anyway minus the Mac Pro.
Though the 27" iMac is pretty good price-wise given you have a pretty high res IPS panel in that and typically IPS panels can be crazy expensive. (some of them don't look too expensive but their resolution is also a lot lower. The ones that are higher, cost a few grand) [www.google.com]
12/23/09
12/23/09
And for the Mac Mini I would consider Dell's Zino instead.
12/23/09
12/23/09
Sure, the Mac Mini can work as a HTPC but that's not it's intended use. The new models made that very clear: the Mac Mini is supposed to be an affordable but sufficiently powerful development machine for the hordes of aspiring iPhone developers out there.
The Revo doesn't even get within shouting distance of mini's 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor pared with 2GB of DDR3 RAM in the base model.
12/23/09
And on a separate note, isn't it easy enough to recommend automated backup alternatives to TM? I just started using it again, and now not only is my TC acting up, but so are all of my external backup systems, so I don't trust it at all.