AppleInsider
Talk about having too much money: "Coinciding with the release of Hewlett Packard's iPod digital music player, rap recording artist P.Diddy (aka Puff Daddy, Puffy, Sean "Puffy" Combs) reportedly arrived at his MTV Video Music Awards after-party with a customized 120 diamond Apple iPod from HP."
MacCentral
Hewlett-Packard's online store, HPshopping.com, on Friday introduced "Apple iPod from HP," the company's long-awaited version of the iPod...and appears to be identical to Apple's own fourth-generation iPod.
The new Apple iPod from HP will be available online and through major retailers across the US, according to HP -- including Circuit City, CompUSA, Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, Radio Shack, Fry's, Amazon.com and Costco.
If you're not using iTunes' Smart Playlists, you're missing out on a powerful (and fun) feature. Learn how to create a Smart Playlist with Apple's tutorials: for Macintosh or Windows.
Not sure what a Smart Playlist is or how to use them? Check out Using Smart Playlists in iTunes on Dummies.com.
SmartPlaylists.com is a site dedicated to Smart Playlists and includes many ideas, such as one for creating a live music playlist.
NY Times
Some people claim that the iPod's 'shuffle' setting doesn't really shuffle the songs randomly:
These people are not the only ones who think that iPods have minds of their own. IPod enthusiasts are throwing all manner of Shuffle conspiracy theories around on Internet message boards, ranging from the somewhat plausible to the absurd.
According to [Apple Computer's director of iPod product marketing Stan] Ng, there is no way that an iPod can be a "fan" of a particular artist or band. Rather, he asserted, the anthropomorphizing of the iPod is "just another example of how much people love them."
I don't know why you'd want to read the Bible on your iPod, but now you can if you want to: "This is simply a free collection of specially formatted text files of the King James Version of the Holy Bible for viewing on the iPod."
What Do I Know
This week I installed Airport Express -- that magical all-in-one gadget from Apple that bridges the gap (wirelessly) between your computer and stereo, shares a USB printer, and extends the range of your wireless network. I successfully set the unit up, and am now able to stream music from my G5 in the office to speakers in my bedroom on the opposite side of the house, as well as access my local network and surf the internet at much higher speeds on my PowerBook than before.
Technically, the product (like almost everything Apple does) is elegant, simple, and provides a clear solution for many consumers' wireless needs. At its heart Express is simply a trimmed down wireless router with some very tantalizing utilities (stereo, USB) thrown in... All that said, there are a few caveats, including two very important *gotchas* I wasn't prepared for.
Business Week Online
An open letter to Steve Jobs: "I thought a smaller, not-much-cheaper iPod [Mini] would be a bust. I sure was wrong...and I apologize here and now in front of millions of online readers, as promised."
Daring Fireball
Apple didn't license the Macintosh, Microsoft did license their operating systems, and that's why Microsoft won and Apple lost. And now Apple is doing the same thing with the iPod and the iTMS. I'm here to tell you this is utter bunk...
Apple's full support for MP3 and other non-protected audio formats is curiously and significantly underemphasized in the mainstream media... Apple exerted itself to make it as easy as possible to transfer your music from CDs to your iPod. You put an audio CD in your computer; you click one button in iTunes; you connect your iPod. That's compatibility... (Compare and contrast to Sony, whose latest supposed "iPod-killer" stubbornly only plays songs in Sony's proprietary ATRAC format.)
Griffin Technology
Griffin Technology has announced a new iPod & iPod Mini accessory called RoadTrip that combines an FM transmitter, charger and cradle.
Wall Street Journal
We have been testing Sony's would-be iPod killer -- a sleek, slim, silvery, magnesium-clad gadget inelegantly called the "Network Walkman NW-HD1"...
Our verdict: While the new Sony is smaller than the iPod and has much better battery life, it is markedly inferior overall. It has a confusing, complex user interface that makes it hard to use; weak software for the PC; an oddball music format that makes loading it with songs tedious; and a companion music download service that offers less than Apple's. The iPod wins this round, and remains champion.
If you love the Sony name, or the Walkman's size and design, or if you regularly take flights lasting more than 12 hours, you might be willing to pay $100 more for this new Walkman over an iPod. But, for everybody else, until Sony fixes the multitude of sins in this product, steer clear of it.
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