Stick with iPod, Microsoft's "Zune" is horrible

Post by **garylspolar** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 7:25 am

I've read negative reviews on the Zune, but trust Leo LaPorte even more with his review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZXiLY4bo80

Post by **sjbmw** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 9:49 am

Get an Archos. Better than Ipod and Zune combined.

Post by **wncbmw** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 10:32 am

Never heard of an Archos but my youngest is getting an iPod for Christmas and I have to say I am impressed with the unit and all the coolly engineered accessories for it. All the ones I priced cost the same for the same memory, so might as well buy the original!

Post by **yjleesvrr** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 10:52 am

Steve Jobs is a visionary of first rank in the computer world. He just needs to get his ego out of the way. With some practical thinking, he could have kicked Bill Gates butt up and down the West Coast. But those days are past and Microsoft owns a nice chunk of Apple. No matter. Ol' Bill's hand in the till induces Mr. Jobs to approach business more from a businessman's perspective. The iPod and iMac are the results of the alliance.

Post by **sjbmw** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 11:54 am

Archos pioneered the digital video player years before anyone else.
The problem with Ipod and Zune is the proprietary marriage of software and hardware that paints one into a corner with content.

Archos is not trying to sell any content, so their devices support industry standards for connectivity and content.

http://www.shoparchos.com/product.aspx? ... ture=en-US

Here is a little baby I am coveting. 30gb for up to 8000 songs (MY codec of choice) or 25 full length DVD movies, 300,000 photos, and can record TV like a Tivo. All For $300. Why limit yourself to ITunes or Zune Tunes?

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 4:44 pm

Thanks Herb...that Archos looks brilliant..I would have to get one of theses accessories to go with it (helmet camcorder)..I wonder if we get them down under.

DJ

Post by **MattPie** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 3:21 pm

sjbmw wrote:The problem with Ipod and Zune is the proprietary marriage of software and hardware that paints one into a corner with content.

Only if you buy stuff from the content provider. I've had an iPod for a year and have yet to buy anything off the iTunes store. I have plenty of CDs to feed it before I get to that.

Besides, while you can, you shuold just buy CDs anyways. They are better audio quality than any of the download formats and there will always (for the next decade, anyways) be a way to import a standard CD onto any new media device. If you have WMVs or AACs, you might have to perform some magic to get it onto a future device.

Archos is not trying to sell any content, so their devices support industry standards for connectivity and content.

I'm confused. Reading the spec sheet, it looks like it supports AAC, WMV, and MP3. That's not exactly a huge range, since every other player supports two of those three. Do they have Ogg support or something I'm missing?

Here is a little baby I am coveting. 30gb for up to 8000 songs (MY codec of choice) or 25 full length DVD movies, 300,000 photos, and can record TV like a Tivo. All For $300. Why limit yourself to ITunes or Zune Tunes?

That's pretty slcik, but too big. I don't think it'll fit into my pocket, which makes it of limited use for me. The DVR functions are rather cool though, and the Open Source software on the download page is nifty.

How do you manage music and playlists and such though?