Category: Apple

Bored of MacStumbler? Try iStumbler!

I found this via del.icio.us, its a thread at MacRumors.com discussing the iPod when it was first announced back in 2001. Its cracking me up reading the comments, my favorite one so far is “I still can’t believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player? I want something new! I want them to think differently!
Why oh why would they do this?! It’s so wrong! It’s so stupid!” [Link]

When I pre-ordered my iPod Video I also looked around for a case for my iPod. From the start I decided I wasn’t going to get a case where I would have to keep my iPod in it the whole time. I wanted to enjoy the sleek iPod in my hands and not via some case. I also didn’t want to get an iSkin since although it would allow me to keep the iPod scratch free it completely destroys the iPods sleek look and feel. I also had one for my original iPod and I hated it. In the end I decided I would get an iPod sleeve. The sleeve would protect my iPod while I carried it in my bag or pocket but when I wanted to use it I could take out the iPod from it. I searched around for various sleeves and in the end if settled for the foofpod.

The foofshop has a whole lot of different materials for the sleeves but in the end I decided to go with the Red Fire Engine (vibrant corduroy). Since my iPod was going to be black I figured red would look good with it and I was right, it does. I got the foof before my iPod so when my iPod arrived I quickly shoved it into the foof and it was a perfect fit. My iPod felt really safe and at home in the foof. The foof also quickly grabbed the attention of my employees at work since it really doesn’t look like your average everyday case. Overall I am very satisfied and it only cost me around $15 for something that was handmade all the way in Australia, pretty cool.

Click here for more pictures of my iPod with my foof
Click here for the foofshop

… in a drop test. According to this post the N91 passed the drop test 300 times while the iPod mini only survived the same test 12 times. Nokia rulez? I don’t think so. [Link]

I was just talking to TivoGuy and asking him about his iPod Video since we got both ours yesterday. He told me it was great except the interference from the cell phone messed the ipod up. So I tried it myself, I made a call while holding my phone next to the iPod Video and the thing went crazy, the volume just kept going up and down quickly non-stop. I can’t believe this, now every time someone calls me on my cell phone my ipod is going to go crazy. Sucks.

Update: Here is a crappy video showing what I am talking about. Will shoot a better video in the evening with a better camera.
[Video 3GP 260KB] Right click and save as

Update 2: Just renamed the video file because some sites have been linking to it directly. Sorry for the inconvenience.

With all the cool shows on TV I no longer have enough time after work to watch them all plus have enough time to go biking and shopping. So now that my iPod Video is here I will be able to watch TV while I am at work working. I love working while watching TV, its really comfortable. I currently have season 3 of Arrested Development, season 1 of The Office and 1 episode of Magnum PI all on my iPod. iPod video rocks!

iSquint an iPod video conversion application. It’s up to 5 times faster than Apple’s method, works well with AVIs and MPEGs, and it’s free. [Link]

I was informed earlier that you can find the iPod Video in Kuwait. zMacShop is selling the 60GB White iPod Video for KD150 while Mac & More is selling it for KD195. The 30GB White iPod Video is being sold at zMacShop for KD130 while Mac & More is selling it for KD175. zMacShop have already sold out all the black iPod videos.

zMacShop
116 Walla’a Complex – Basement
Hawalli, Ibn Khaldun Street
Kuwait City – Kuwait
Tel: +965-261-7575
Email: [email protected]

I just picked up my iPod from Aramex. Tivo Guy was there picking up his also. So far first impressions is that its big.. but thats comparing it to the Shuffle I have been using for the past few weeks and the iPod mini I had before that. I can’t compare it to my original iPod because I don’t remember how big and heavy that was. Compared to the Sony PSP the iPod is tiny and its way slimmer then my K700 Sony Ericsson. The screen is huge and the iPod looks really slick. The packaging is crap and tiny but atleast I saved on shipping weight that way. Here is the same picture as above but at a much higher resolution. [Picture]

A while back I posted about ffmpegx on the Mac and how you could use it to convert movies you download to a format the iPod could play. Well many people haven’t been able to setup ffmpegx correctly and the videos are coming out messed up. So here is my preset file with the right settings. [ipodvideo.ffx]

If you have an iPod Video and you don’t want to spend time converting your movies to work on the ipod then just download them in the iPod format via torrents. You could try search sites such as torrentspy and thepiratebay for ipod videos but an easier way would be to go to Podtropolis, a 100% pure iPod Video tracker. Its a bit quiet there now since its still new but it should start getting more popular soon. [Link]

Update: Here is more ipodvideotorrents.com and videoipodder.com

This article discusses exactly WHAT hardware you want, WHERE to find the software, and HOW to install it. [Link]

Use an extended dektop with your iBook, iMac or eMac, not mirror mode, thats done by default, this link is to show you how to make it extended mode which Apple doesn’t allow you to do by default. [Link]

The Black 60GB iPod Video is now available on Amazon.com and ships within 24 hours. I had preordered mine over 2 weeks ago and the shipping status hadn’t changed when I noticed today the iPods were shipping within 24 hours. So I cancelled my pre-order and reordered it again and now it shipped and I should have it on Monday. Amazon is fucked like that sometimes. [Link]

PS: The white 60GB and both the black and white 30GB have been available on Amazon for a while now. Only black 60GB wasn’t available.

An easy to use “how to” on how to setup your Mac so that you can access it from anywhere. If you have an IP address that isn’t fixed then I would suggest the Dynamic DNS service from DynDNS which they mention because it allows you to basically keep track of your most recent IP while you are away from your home. I have been using it for some time now and its pretty cool. [Link]