Byline: Rob Pegoraro
The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro was online to answer your personal tech questions and discuss the new iPod and iTunes video downloads.
In his latest review , Rob writes that the latest iPod remains a music-first device. He also shared his thoughts on the device in a video you can watch here .
A transcript follows
Want to know what upcoming topics are being covered? Sign up for the Fast Forward e-letter -- get updated information on personal technology news and product demos. Read past editions of Rob's e-letter online here .
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Rob Pegoraro: Good afternoon! I'm here to chat about Apple's new video downloads on the iTunes store, as well as the "don't call it the video iPod" iPod--along with anything else that you're curious about. Let's get rolling...
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Charlotte, NC: With all the NEW hoopla over the latest iPod's, I'd love to see an updated comparison chart/review of ALL of the current market choices (cross-vendor) of portable digi-audio players. (I think the video market is still to limited and too new.)
washingtonpost.com: Here's a story from late August: How Do You Catch Your Tunes? Aug. 28, 2005
Rob Pegoraro: Actually, I think the exact link is this one: Non-iPods Build in the Extras
The short version of that story, BTW, is, "The other manufacturers, for all their occasional creativity, have yet to integrate all the components of a successful audio-on-the-go experience as thoroughly as Apple has."
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Arlington, Va.: Any recommendations for cases that would allow viewing the video? thanks
Rob Pegoraro: Don't know of any yet, but I am fully confident that your local Apple retailer will soon stock a wide variety of cases that allow you to view the screen while protecting the iPod's case.
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Vienna, VA : I need to save a voice mail from my cell phone (Verizon)to my computer hard drive or disc (Toshiba laptop), but no one at Verizon wireless or at any computer stores I have contacted has been able to tell me how. They act as if I am the first person who ever asked how to do this. Can you help? Thanks.
Rob Pegoraro: The easiest way to do that--well, "easy" is a relative term here. If you could get a patch cable to go from your phone's hands-free jack to the line-in jack on your computer, you could easily record that message using any audio-recording program, such as the free/open-source Audacity. But hands-free jacks are smaller than headphone connectors, so you'd probably need to do some looking around to find this cable.
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Arlington, VA: More an observation -- when I first heard the iPods were doing video it sounded like a nice addition (like photo before it). My 3 yr old iPod is still doing fine, but when it comes time for a new one, it will be nice to have extra features that don't seem to have bumped the price much. So, I don't understand why people are acting like it's such a radical change or a new product; isn't this just standard feature creep?
Rob Pegoraro: On the iPod, yes, adding video support is pretty much as you describe it. But on iTunes, it looks to me like an obvious prelude for much more--first TV shows from other networks (and why not cable-only channels?), then, if Apple can ever convince Hollywood to accept that it's now the 21st century, perhaps full-length movies. Once you have that range of video content for sale, then perhaps we'll see a more explicitly video-oriented iPod.
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Fayetteville, NY: Thank you Rob, I'm new to the ipod scene and want to purchase them as xmas gifts for my 2 children. How limiting is the absence of the remote control jack in terms of accessories that can't be used. The ipods will be used exclusively for music, but I thought it best to purchase the newest model. Thank you. Tony
Rob Pegoraro: The lack of a remote control jack on the new iPod maily means that a lot of the current car adapters (i.e., FM modulators) won't work. But every speaker set that I've seen should work fine; the dock connector at the other end of the iPod, how these things connect to speakers, is the same as before.
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Washington, D.C.: I have a third-generation ipod and am registered in the class action lawsuit on battery life. I've never had much better than 2-3 hours life. The settlement is supposed to run its course tomorrow (final appeal date), but I have not been able to find out what the planned settlement is for my situation.
Do you have any information for me?
Rob Pegoraro: Apple's home page links straight to this site: http://www.appleipodsettlement.com/
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Boston, Mass: Why do you suppose that Apple continues to ignore pretty valid suggestions from its existing user base? Not that video isn't a neat trick, but users have been clamoring for years for gapless playback and better equalizers on the iPod itself. Or maybe they just figure that once they've already got a customer they are unlikely to lose them? I think lots of people upgrade when they perceive a 'killer feature'.
Rob Pegoraro: I wouldn't say that Apple has ignored user suggestions entirely--things like the ability to carry around your contacts file, calendar and text notes were all pioneered by hackers, and Apple then built those features in. That said, I am puzzled with gapless playback (something many users don't care for either way, but a minority feel very strongly about) isn't included as one of the options in the iPod's Settings screen. It should not take any great effort to add that, it wouldn't make the iPod any more complex out of the box, and it would be a cheap way to net some added iPod sales.
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Washington, DC: Reading the column on the difficulty on transferring video to the new iPod, reminded me of another potential tranfer problem - the broadcast flag. As a consumer, I am very concerned that the media industry's lobbying will succeed in Congress resurrecting the broadcast flag requirement. Do you have any recommendations on actions consumers can take (beyond the letter to Congress) or organizations we can support to help ensure we maintain fair use rights in the DTV age?
Rob Pegoraro: Write your Congressman, write your Senator, and repeat. Groups like Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have also been active in opposing the (IMHO) idiotic broadcast-flag concept.
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Washington, D.C.: Question about switching to Apple from a PC. I currently own a PC, but want to switch to Apple for a lot of reasons (that I won't get into here). Apple is switching to Intel chips sometime in the next year. Should I wait for the switch? I'm not planning on running any Windows-based software on the new Mac, so not sure I care about the possibility of booting up Windows on the Intel-based Macs. But, if the Intel-Macs will be much better, I might be willing to wait. Thanks for taking my question.
Rob Pegoraro: I'm glad you included your thoughts on whether you want to be able to run Windows apps, or Windows itself, on your Mac--sounds like you want to be completely rid of Windows after your switch :)
For you, then, it comes down to considering what sort of things you'll use the computer for. If those uses include extremely processor-intensive tasks such as editing video, you are likely to get more of a performance boost by waiting for an Intel-based Mac; development of new PowerPC chips seems to be grinding to a halt, to judge from the relatively minor speed boosts offered by the last few new Mac desktops and laptops.
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Alexandria, Va.: Two questions really -
My third generation iPod is starting to fail me (sigh...) Of the two new ipods, nano and video, which is the better option beyond price. Also, did I read it correctly that my itrip will not work on the news ones? If so, it may make sense for me to send in for a new battery....The having to purchase new accessories with each manifestation of the iPod is getting annoying really quickly.
Rob Pegoraro: Correct, the old iTrip--an FM transmitter that plugs into the remote-control jack--won't work with either new model. (Unfortunately, this happens a lot. Ask Palm owners who bought things that plugged into the "universal" dock the company introduced a few years back, and which has now been replaced one or two times already.)
Unless you're really excited about either being able to watch video on your iPod or carry around your entire music collection at once, I think the nano makes more sense.
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Reston, Va.: How do you back up your library in iTunes?
