Are I Pods Liberal?

self

[davidtalker]

Pardon the vanity but I believe this will make for an intriguing thread.

I have been following rather closely this I-Pod phenomenon with interest. There was a piece in USA Today last week where they compare the I-Pod users with cult members. One 20 something was quoted as saying "my I-Pod changed my life." IMHO, that means this individual was in serious need of a life.

Now follow me here. Libs complain about those of us in the "radical religious Right." However, it is my observation that the Left is just as religious as any Evangelical,Conservative Catholic or devout Jew. They just worship God's creations not God himself.

They have their own Churches. PETA,NOW,ACLU, Greenpeace,AIM, et al. They have clergy-Shrinks. They have condoms for Rosary beads... Follow. I think I-Pods are now part of their religion. Apple?

Notice I didn't say MP3 player. It has to be an I-Pod. Otherwise, it's like water and Holy Water. Won't work.

Now, I happen to believe MP3 players are definitely nifty gadgets. I am researching the purchase of one for myself. However, they are gadgets not lifechanging experiences. I have no doubt many freepers own I-Pods. I also have little doubt you are more than what is on you I-Pod.

[John Lenin]

Design, OSx is nice and simple but I like XP because you seem to have more control of things.

[durasell]

By design I meant the case/the externals...Apple makes "designed" products, i.e. a powerbook looks more "stylish" than a dell laptop, etc. etc.

[no_mm]

..having some arcane knowledge of decades old *nix commands and infinite switches to those doesn't make you a linux user any more than applying knowledge of DOS commands to now WIN..MASM anyone? -it use to be included in every DOS..

I defy you to fully comprehend the intricacies of RLS's own emacs...you can't. Its a full OS by itself..and hardly necessary for working or even learning linux...unless you really want to.

[HAL9000]

Yes, but how many Mac user know emacs, awk or sed?

They are built-in and ready to go. Just fire up the Terminal app and have at it.

I installed Ethereal for X11 on my Mac yesterday. It works fine.

But I prefer to use the Aqua user interface for most work.

All of the Linux GUIs are throwbacks to the Stone Age. The Windows GUI looks like Bill Gates puked on the screen.

Most computer users would have a better experience with Macs instead of Windows or Linux PCs.

[John Lenin]

Exactly, Mac have the best looking cases and monitors and they are very efficiently designed as far as plug ins. They have some nice mini PC's out now about the size of a lunch box that you could hook up to your TV real nice.

[tiamat]

I'm not sure.

I use one because i don't like wrestling with a beige box trying to make it ssubmit to my will.

( I learned on MS Dos machines, switched to Macs about 14 years ago and have never looked back)

I think a lot of peoplee get up-tight because of the slogan "Think Different", and because a lot of graphics peoplee aand aanimators do use them.
(If you're an artist, you gotta be eeither gay or a commie or both, right? LOL!)



I don't think any of the major universities use Macs anymore..

I know I was dissapointed when they wer taken out of my daughter's new school.

I think a lot of the anti-Mac prejudice is simple elitism: Mac users are too dumb, Mac users are dilletantes, etc. And old-style iMacs came in jewel-like colors, so they look funny and like a toy and therefore can't be a REAL computer.

No, some of us just don't want the hassle and heart-ache of using Windows.

We know what we want the machine to do, we don't want to be constantly maintaining it it, and we want it to perform NOW.

[durasell]

Thanks...I'm signing off now. Time to get to work...

[Bon mots]

I have an i-Pod and use it daily.
I am extreme far right, way out there past Robert Bork...

[SoDak]

Ok, thanks.

[Flyer]

I think a lot of peoplee get up-tight because of the slogan "Think Different"

Ping. . .

[tiamat]

Aw sure.

Get me into trouble, will ya?

:-)

[Petronski]

What would Hank Hill do?

[MadIvan]

You're buggered no matter what you do - Apple is loaded with Democrats, but IBM was an old Democrat bastion from the days of FDR. Microsoft gives some money to Republicans, but also subsidises that awful Patty Murray.

You may as well use what you find appropriate and forget about politics - it's not like French wine, which is easy to boycott.

Regards, Ivan

[HAL9000]

I also have little doubt you are more than what is on you I-Pod.

Apple's iTunes Music Store has lots of good content to download and put on an iPod. For instance, here is an audiobook:

James Earl Jones Reads the Bible: The New Testament, King James Version (Unabridged)

Narrator: James Earl Jones
Audio Length: 18 hours 33 min
Year Published: 2002
Category: Religion & Spirituality
Provider: Topics Entertainment
Presented by Audible.com

$18.95

Audiobook Description:

In a voice as rich as it is recognized, James Earl Jones lends his narrative talents to the King James Version of the New Testament. In over 19 hours enhanced with a complete musical score, James Earl Jones interprets the most enduring book of our time utilizing the acclaimed actor's superb storytelling and skilled characterizations. Hailed as the greatest spoken-word Bible version ever, and with almost a half a million copies sold, this exquisite audio treasury is certain to enthuse and inspire.

What Others Say:

"[James Earl Jones'] performance is beautiful; he reads the entire work in a gentle tone that is so compelling that the listener will find it hard to switch off... A truly inspiring production." (AudioFile)

"Somehow that voice of his, calm, deep, powerful...makes the words seem more thrilling than ever" (Washington Post)

There is a large category of "Inspirational" music that you can browse through and purchase.

You can download iTunes for free from Apple - without buying an iPod. Then you can listen to the audio samples, compare it against the competition and decide for yourself. Maybe an iPod could change your life.

(Of course, there is a lot of bad music at the iTunes Music Store too.)

[orangelobster]

no, I don't think you need to be 'liberal' to enjoy the ipod. I do think you need to be something of a masochist though. The ipod and apple in general are extraordinarily proprietary. They are well designed, but they are ruined by compatibility issues. There are hundreds of other mp3 players to choose from that aren't so fussy. I think people that go weak at the knees for ipods like the idea that they don't have a choice. They have to buy their music from apple. Once you're locked into apple computers you are a slave to the company. Some people like that. No stressfull thinking if you don't have any choices.

[HAL9000]

They have to buy their music from apple.

That's not correct. The iPod will play standard MP3s from any source. You can also copy your existing CD collection to an iPod, which is where iPod users get most of their music.

However, you cannot play files encoded in Microsoft's proprietary WMP format locked with their Digital Rights Management. And you cannot play music purchased from the iTunes Music Store on non-iPod portable players.

[no_mm]

"..it's not like French wine, which is easy to boycott."

---

haha...spot-on!

[SamAdams76]

The iPod has changed my life in that I've been able to box up my CD collection for future Ebay action and now I can build my music collection by the song instead of having to buy a CD full of filler tracks to get the two or three songs I really wanted. Also, I can take my entire music collection with me anywhere I go, for a serious music fan like me, that is huge.

I'm constantly creating, modifying and fine-tuning my playlists and collections. Once a song falls out of favor, I just uncheck it on iTunes and it disappears off the iPod. Yet it stays on my computer hard drive in case I ever change my mind later.

But I think it's a stretch to say that the iPod is a "substitute" for religion or that it defines whether you are from the left or the right. And for me, it didn't have to be an iPod. It just so happened that the iPod was the best product out there. Shame on Sony and the rest for missing the boat on this. I could just as easily have bought a Sony had they come out with something first.

[orangelobster]

whatever. the fact that they won't play WMP format is good enough reason for me not to buy one. You also can't buy music from the REAL music store if you have an ipod. You can't switch batteries unless you send it back to the factory. Basically you have a $300 disposable music player. I heard someone refer to the ipod as a 'hard drive in hot pants.' That's really all it is - a hard drive. You're paying purely for design. There are plenty of other better designed players. I'll stick with iriver, creative or rio.

[listenhillary]

I seem to rememeber hearing Lynn Cheney say that Dick Cheney likes to kick back and listen to tunes on his I-Pod.

I picked up an Archos Jukebox w/20GB HD that records MPEG4 video, has a color display, will act as a digital photo storage all for about $170.00. It is a discontinued model and it's not sleek and slim like the I-pod though.