Apple iPod Essentials   Tracking the Pulse of iPod

Apple is shipping their new Mac OS 10.4 operating system on April 29. There's over 200 new features in the next major update. They are also taking preorders now. I just picked up my copy. Can't wait!

iPod Battery Tips

Jennifer wrote a piece here a couple months ago about taking care of your iPod's battery to maximize the amount of time before you have to fork over big bucks to replace it. This month I have a few more links and tips related to iPod battery life and battery replacement.

For $79, iPodResq will overnight you a shipping box which the courier service will overnight back to them, they install a high capacity replacement from Newer Technology and send the Pod on another overnight trip back to you.

Apple has an official iPod battery frequently asked questions document which is a good first place to start.

Another page from Apple Computer which is worth bookmarking is the iPod - Charging your iPod which includes such topics as "Maximizing the lifespan and batter life or your iPod" and "using the hold switch to prolong battery life".

"DanH" has a page full of useful information cleverly titled, "The real story on what may (or may NOT) be wrong with your iPod battery. His topic list includes:

1. Is it really the batter (or the meter)?
2. Can I make the meter more accurate
3. What are "cycles"
4. The overnight rundown syndrome
5. When to pop the case (at your own risk)
6. Charging fact & fiction
7. For a better (battery) life

Next up is the iPod Battery FAQ which has some twenty questions and answers, but doesn't cover much new ground. Still though, it brings together most battery-related questions in one place.

Finally there's the Do-it-Yourself-Battery-Replacement option. As someone who's been inside numerous powerbooks on many occasions, you could really screw up your expensive iPod if you're not careful and at least reasonably savvy around electronic components. All of the following companies offer self-service battery replacement kits (generally for around US$29.00):

• iPodResq Battery Replacement Kit (Also offers overnight replacement services by their techs)
• Other World Computing iPod Battery Replacements (includes an instructional video and claims up to 70% longer life -- note: iPodResq uses these batteries too)
• ipodbattery.com (includes a screwdriver and instructions)
  

For Christ's sake! First they're holding hearings on steroid use in Baseball and now there's a Congressional subcommittee hearing on Digital Music Interoperability and Availability. In essence, they're looking at whether to write legislation which will force interoperability onto online music stores and make Apple open up the iPod to other music stores' downloads.

Let me see here... the Republican party is supposed to be for less regulation, correct? And the Republican party more or less controls the agenda these days, right?

I don't think consumers are being hurt by Apple making the ITMS only work with iTunes. People are free to buy downlaodable music elsewhere and load it onto their iPods, and they're free to my other mp3 players if they don't want to use the iTunes/ITMS platform.

Those bums on the Hill didn't seem to think VHS and Beta-max interoperability was so important, or as someone else commented on this topic, that cell phones shouldn't lock you into one service provider as they do now.

Representative Smith is quoted as saying:

"This interoperability issue is of concern to me since consumers who bought legal copies of music from Real could not play them on an iPod. I suppose this is a good thing for Apple but perhaps not for consumers."

Real Networks is the one to blame here, not Apple. They knew they were taking a chance reverse engineering Apple's AAC format to allow music from their Harmony service to play on it, and that Apple would likely block their hacks in the future.

Last year Duke University gave all freshman an iPod (engraved with the school's crest, and "Class of 2008") hoping it would enhance students' learning by allowing them to record lectures, capture oral notes and play language-training recordings. This year though they've decided to scale back the project to include only students in select classes.

Reported on cnn.com