Amazon has a new book about iPods called The Cult of iPod. This book, written by Wired editor Leander Kahney, is a follow up to the successful book The Cult of Mac.
From Macworld:
It is a history of the development of the iPod; and looks at the ways iPod’s users respect their devices; as well as the more curious iPod culture quirks, such as iPod-jacking and iPod DJs.
Continue on to Amazon and read more about The Cult of iPod.
GeekTechnique has posted a tutorial on how to power (or recharge) your iPod using a hand-powered flashlight.
Continue on to GeekTechnique and learn how to create a hand-crank power source for your iPod.
The EchoMp3 is a small DIY* MP3 player. It’s cheap and of excellent quality.
View instructions on how to make an EchoMp3 here:
http://www.techdesign.be/projects/020/020.htm
Gadget Spy is reporting that a scratched iPod nano screen can be restored with the help of Brasso, a well-known brass polish that’ll set you back a mere $4 or so.
This innovative way of repairing a scratched nano screen was devised by Todd Dailey. On his blog entry he says this:
“I should emphasize again that I was quite happy with my nano and its condition, even with the slight scratches. I don’t think the nano has a problem with being excessively prone to scratching. That said, it was completely amazing that I could remove every scratch with just a little work with Brasso. If you wish you had put your nano in a case before you used it, you now have an inexpensive way to get a 2nd chance.â€
Continue on to Todd’s blog and read more about how to repair your scratched iPod nano screen with Brasso.
Altec has shipped the inMotion iM5 audio dock, a small, travel-friendly speaker system and docking station that adds “out-loud listening powers to your iPod anywhere from your bedroom to your hotel room. You get big sound with special bass enhancement in a package small enough to tuck in a backpack or suitcase, plus a variety of updates to the original inMotion product.”
Says iPodnn:
The iM5 is a sleek pencil box-shaped unit with a striking new design dominated by a silver grille trimmed in iPod white. The 20-oz. portable device offers both AC and battery power (up to 24 hours of battery operation), a headphone jack, and an auxiliary input port on the back of the unit for connecting other devices. The 20-oz device ships for $150 and includes a deluxe carry case.
Continue on to iPodnn.com and read more about the Altec inMotion iM5 audio dock.
C I Host, a web hosting company, has announced that it will give free iPod shuffles to anyone who tours its New Jersey data center.
WebHostingInfo says this about the offer:
The company claims that visitors will receive their iPod within two weeks of touring the Newark facility. The new center gives C I Host data centers coast to coast reach and will provide its 220,000+ customers unparalleled opportunities for geographic content distribution and geographic load balancing. It also has a direct, private fiber connection to the planned London facility, thus enabling private data transfer between the two facilities.
From iLounge:
Apple Canada has launched a refund claims process for iPod owners who were charged a levy that was applied to the purchase price of the device. Canadian customers who bought an iPod or an iPod mini from December 13, 2003 through December 21, 2004 are eligible to receive a refund on the “iPod tax.†According to Apple, “an iPod with up to 10GB was levied CA$15 and an iPod with over 10GB was levied $25.â€
If you would like a refund, you must have proof of purchase. If you do, then visit the Apple iPod Levy website and download, printout, and fill out the levy refund form. You must send in your refund request by December 31st, 2005.
We recently reported that Motorola CEO Ed Zander had been quoted as saying: “Screw the nano.”
Now, he’s saying that what he said was taken out of context.
“Motorola has a great partnership with Apple. Unfortunately Ed Zander’s comments, made at a conference in California on Friday, were taken out of context,” Motorola said in a statement.
Continue on to Tom’s Hardware and read more about the explanation from Motorola.
Tom’s Hardware had the opportunity to talk to William Bright, who created the website iPodSubwayMaps.com, which has come under fire from officials claiming copyright infringement.
From Tom’s Hardware:
Bright said he was inspired to make the website after reading an article on Lifehacker.com. In the article, a guy planned a road trip via Google Maps and then cut up the route images into small pieces for his iPod. Bright wasn’t going to take a trip across the U.S., but he did adapt the technique for subways. “I thought it was a novel idea, but wholly unpractical for a city dweller such as myself, however the subway maps here in New York would be rather handy on my iPod,” says Bright. After that moment of inspiration, www.ipodsubwaymaps.com was born.
Continue on to Tom’s Hardware and read more about how Bright spent a dozen more hours drawing his own subway maps after transit officials demanded that he remove the old ones from his site.
The iPod LCD flaw that results in the LCD screen failing after simple actions as putting the iPod in your jeans pocket is “limited”, says Apple.
From Macworld:
In one case a 15 year-old boy told the website: “I pulled my iPod out and my heart dropped. The LCD was half destroyed, but there is no visible scratch or mark on the outside of the iPod.”
Apple confirmed the problem exits, saying: “This is a real but minor issue involving a vendor quality problem in a small number of units. Our figures show this issue has affected less than 1/10 of 1 per cent of the total iPod nano units that we’ve shipped. It is not a design issue.”
Affected customers simply need to contact Apple to arrange a free replacement unit.
This is different from the problem that many other iPod nano owners are reporting about the easily scratched screen.