The iPod turns 10 Today marks the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the iPod. Touted in a low-key
presentation as a player that would let you carry 1000 (!) songs in a player the size of a pack of cards (!), the 1st gen model didn't really impress
techies (or
mefi), though consumers quickly fell for the stylish white and stainless player. In the ensuing years, Apple kept plugging away at new
models, and today, few even remember that Apple was late to this game. (
previously)
posted by Gilbert
on Oct 23, 2011 -
318 comments
You are in a warm, dark, comfortable place. This has been your place since you became aware that you are alive. It's almost time to enter a different world now.
In 1986, Activision published a roleplaying computer game called
Alter Ego. Unlike the action and fantasy titles that ruled the day, this game simulated the course of a single ordinary life. Beginning at birth, players navigated a series of vignettes: learning to crawl, reacting to strangers, getting a first haircut. The outcome of each scenario subtly influenced one's path, and with every choice players slowly progressed through infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age.
Graphically minimalist -- one's lifestream is represented by simple icons, and the scenarios are all text -- the game was nevertheless engaging, describing the world in a playful, good-natured tone tinged by darkness and melancholy. And it had quite a pedigree; developer and psychology PhD
Peter Favaro interviewed hundreds of people on their most memorable life experiences to generate the game's 1,200 pages of material. Unfortunately for Dr. Favaro, the game didn't sell very well. But it lives on through the web --
PlayAlterEgo.com offers a full copy of the game free to play in your browser, and the same port is available as a $5 app for
iPhone and
Android.
More: Port discussion group -
Wishlist -
Vintage review - Original game manual (
text or
scans)
posted by Rhaomi
on Dec 31, 2010 -
46 comments
“You can’t roll a joint on an iPod” or how the iPod killed the music industry. First the music biz overlooked the computer CD rom when they put copy control on cd burners. Then they eliminated the single. Shortly after that "mp3" replaced "sex" as the most popular search term. Apple has become the largest music seller largely against the wishes of the music biz, but 99 cents beats free. Yesterday
Apple announced they were eliminating DRM. The questions remains, who needs Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, and EMI, does Apple? When is Apple just going to replace them? There were rumors a year ago that they would
launch a record label with Jay-Z but that does not appear to have come to fruition.
posted by caddis
on Jan 7, 2009 -
105 comments
iCruel: "Even if it does live it's not [a] life worth living ... it's really just a torture box."
posted by james_cpi
on Dec 18, 2007 -
62 comments
"The difference between BJ and AJ, Before and After Jobs, is not the process," [Don Norman] continues. "It is the person. Never before did Apple have such focus and dedication. Apple used to wobble, moving this way and that.
No more."
posted by Blazecock Pileon
on May 8, 2007 -
26 comments
Ghost In The Machine "I have a murderer's music on my iPod and, almost reflexively, I couldn't help but think of him while listening to these songs—they were his songs, songs he gave me. [...] Listening to his music put me inside [his] head. [...] I wanted to throw up." [more inside]
posted by rossination
on Apr 13, 2007 -
41 comments
More and more authors are turning to podcasting to find their audiences after being rejected by traditional book publishers,
it seems. Interested in hearing some of their stories for free (or if you're feeling generous, a suggested donation of $9.99)? Check out
PodioBooks, where there's a tonne of free literature just waiting to be downloaded to your iPod.
posted by Effigy2000
on Mar 8, 2007 -
9 comments
iTheory is a unique, free program designed by a music student that turns your iPod into a portable learning tool for ear training of music theory. Quiz yourself on intervals, chords, or scales, or train yourself to have perfect pitch.
posted by hydropsyche
on Mar 2, 2007 -
17 comments
Top 'BRANDS' 2006, 2005, 2004 - Current List and Achive Overview on How survey was done.... What BRANDS have the most recognition and are the most popular with Americans? Here are the results of the current annual survey and achives from the past two years
"With the multitude of brand choices available to consumers, this survey is an important indicator of consumer activity and its correlation to social behavior .... Companies that can provide a clear and consistent brand to consumers, as well as harmonize with social changes
will find themselves in a promising position, as illustrated by top-ranking brands..."
posted by Bodyguard
on Jan 8, 2007 -
16 comments
The idea of treating everyday, ambient noise as music is
not terribly new, but
Noah Vawter's device
turns ambient sounds
into music
(in a somewhat more traditional sense of the word):
Ambient Addition is a Walkman with binaural microphones. A tiny Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip analyzes the microphone's sound and superimposes a layer of harmony and rhythm on top of the listener's world.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas
on Dec 18, 2006 -
33 comments
"The OhMiBod vibrator is a whole new way to enjoy your iPod® or any other music player. Everyone loves music. Everyone loves sex. OhMiBod combines music and pleasure to create the ultimate acsexsory™ to your iPod." Keep in mind that if you try to use it with
Damien Rice or
Bread, your girlfriend will leave you.
posted by jbickers
on Nov 30, 2006 -
47 comments
Fed up with old-fashioned boards and planchettes? Want to contact spirits the 21st century way? Try
iPod Ouija.
(not responsible for any possessions or nightmares. try at own risk.)
posted by divabat
on Oct 31, 2006 -
2 comments
Straight Dope on the birth of the iPod from the sharp pen of WIRED's
Mac maven Leander Kahney. Quoth Steve Jobs: "Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. That's not what we think design is. It's not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
posted by rdone
on Oct 17, 2006 -
35 comments
Peter Gabriel has introduced a new iTunes plugin for Windows XP called
The Filter. Using the All Music Guide in a fashion similar to
Pandora, the software builds playlists from your library for you after you select a few tracks. Their marketing copy tells you that you should "Prepare to be reengaged and reinvigorated by your iTunes library."
OS X, WinAMP, and WMP versions are slated for the near future.
posted by beaucoupkevin
on Oct 16, 2006 -
55 comments
FairPlay is turned about. "DVD" Jon Lech Johansen, of
DeCSS fame, has reverse engineered Apple's
FairPlay DRM technology, which has thus far prevented 3rd-party digital music players from playing music purchased from the iTunes Store. RealNetworks did
something similar in 2004, but Johansen is licensing it to whomever wants it.
posted by mkultra
on Oct 2, 2006 -
41 comments
Blogmusik is just what it says it is: a free internet virtual ipod. Search, find, play, save, make playlists. So good I feel like I am missing something.
posted by BrodieShadeTree
on Sep 9, 2006 -
35 comments
Your iPod is Doomed! Or it can be, it can also be
Zelda'ed if you prefer!
ipodlinux.org has ported Linux to the iPod (for Linux, Windows and Mac) and, once its installed, you can load up all
kinds of good stuff including the aforementioned Doom, as well as the entire
Wiki or use your iPod as a
Gameboy! And all without screwing up your existing music files (though there are no guarantees).
posted by fenriq
on Jun 21, 2006 -
32 comments
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is pumping out a pile of podcasts that have covered
the importance of offensive comics to Art Spiegelman,
600 bands over 54 shows,
Captain America versus the American government,
Amy Sedaris and geekdom,
the journey of young immigrants,
French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut and Harper's publisher John MacArthur discussing Europe and America perspectives since 9/11,
the after life,
sex with monkeys,
what radio producers do,
the french word "corps",
Bonnie Fuller's "The Joys of Much Too Much: Go For the Big Life — The Great Career, The Perfect Guy, and Everything Else You've Ever Wanted (Even If You're Afraid You Don't Have What It Takes)",
Veteran Washington reporter Helen Thomas and some other bits & bobs [Breakdown inside]
posted by boost ventilator
on Jun 5, 2006 -
25 comments
