[geeks] fwd: The Seven Phases of Owning an iPod - An Illustrated Journey

[Mark Benson]

On 15 Nov 2006, at 18:38, Charles Shannon Hendrix wrote:

> Same here.
>
> I have had zero problems with my iPod, battery still great at 1.5  
> years,
> no damage... just works great.

Mine only gets light use so I doubt my battery will wear out in the  
next 2 years either. I like mine so much I bought a genuine Apple  
Dock for it off of eBay - well it only cost GBP 6.99 inc. p&p - who  
could resist a bargain like that! I was quite impressed with it  
actually it has a large lump of aluminium in the base that weighs it  
down nicely.

>> I use mine in the car (with appropriate cabling depending on which  
>> car -
>> tape-on-a-string, fm xmit,
>
> Do you find the radio transmitters give good sound?

I got a (quite expensive) Griffin Roadtrip cradle/transmitter (Iv  
don't have anywhere near to hand to put the iPod in my Accord). Once  
you get over the fact it's not gonna be hi-fi quality like it is on  
your computer/stereo/headphones, it's just like, well listening to FM  
radio!

Only problem is in crowded urban areas with lots of radio stations it  
can be hard to find a band where you don't get any interference.  
Living out in the sticks as I do it's not troubled me. My only gripe  
is Honda put the Accord's barbecue squire aerial on the *back* and  
the iPod is in the *front*, so I get a bit of 'snow' in the signal I  
might not otherwise get with a rear window or front aerial position.  
It's hardly noticeable. I also get a teeny bit of alternator whistle,  
but that's to be expected I think.

Oh, they used to be illegal over here too but that was phased out  
this month AFAIK.

> I've seen one locally for about $20 made by MacPlay (I think), and
> wondered if it was any good.

I'd err on the side of caution with cheap ones, it's not something I  
was willing to skimp on.

> I wish more car stereos would ship with a simple 1/4 stereo input. I
> don't need a cradle, just the audio input would be fine.

They are starting to become more common, as are iPod integration  
systems in-car and apparently Apple have now started making moves to  
offer then on flights too.

-- 
Mark Benson

My Blog:
<http://mdblog.68kmac.org>
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