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ZZninepluralZalpha

Today 08:32 AM

251 Posts

Joined Apr 2016

ZZninepluralZalphaToday 08:32 AM

251 Posts

An elegant weapon for a more civilized age... ah who are we kidding, we were so happy when the iPod killed these off

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wherestheanykey

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Today 09:45 AM

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wherestheanykey

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Quote from ZZninepluralZalpha

:

An elegant weapon for a more civilized age... ah who are we kidding, we were so happy when the iPod killed these off

The iPod "killed off" the CD player no more than the CD player "killed off" the cassette player or radio.

Maybe you don't recall, but the early iPods were garbage.

They had mechanical drives (much like some of the Rios that preceded it by a number of years), the battery life was terrible, and managing everything though iTunes with no alternative of treating it like an external hard drive was cumbersome.

Not to mention, they were expensive in a time where CD burning was getting super cheap.

Also, everyone was quick to forget about how Apple continued to try to push FireWire long after it became obsolete. The iPod narrowly escaped being a FireWire only device.

Better revisionist history would be that the MiniDisc would have destroyed CD-R if they could have figured out how to get the cost down. It was more durable and could hold 1GB (vs 650MB) at the end of its life.

Or, perhaps, Blu-ray should have lost to HD-DVD, considering all the recent Sony drama.

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ZZninepluralZalpha

Today 10:00 AM

251 Posts

Joined Apr 2016

ZZninepluralZalphaToday 10:00 AM

251 Posts

Quote from wherestheanykey

:

The iPod "killed off" the CD player no more than the CD player "killed off" the cassette player or radio. Maybe you don't recall, but the early iPods were garbage. They had mechanical drives (much like some of the Rios that preceded it by a number of years), the battery life was terrible, and managing everything though iTunes with no alternative of treating it like an external hard drive was cumbersome. Not to mention, they were expensive in a time where CD burning was getting super cheap. Also, everyone was quick to forget about how Apple continued to try to push FireWire long after it became obsolete. The iPod narrowly escaped being a FireWire only device. Better revisionist history would be that the MiniDisc would have destroyed CD-R if they could have figured out how to get the cost down. It was more durable and could hold 1GB (vs 650MB) at the end of its life. Or, perhaps, Blu-ray should have lost to HD-DVD, considering all the recent Sony drama.

I do indeed recall the early iPods well, since I had one. It had its drawbacks--mechanical HDD, Mac only, fascinatingly uncomfortable bundles earbuds--but it was much smaller than a CD player, held many times more songs, and most importantly, actually kept on improving every year, so that a few short years later the iPod mini and then nano were unassailably dominant. Minidisc (what I briefly tried to use before the iPod) was saddled with Sony's trademark eclectic compression scheme and insistence that having to copy your CDs over at actual playback speed was ever going to be anything but a giant step backward, even without MP3s and the iTunes Store already throwing dirt on the physical media coffin. But I suppose there are always a few holdouts who will insist on living in denial...

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wherestheanykey

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Today 10:08 AM

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wherestheanykey

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Quote from ZZninepluralZalpha

:

I do indeed recall the early iPods well, since I had one. It had its drawbacks--mechanical HDD, Mac only, fascinatingly uncomfortable bundles earbuds--but it was much smaller than a CD player, held many times more songs, and most importantly, actually kept on improving every year, so that a few short years later the iPod mini and then nano were unassailably dominant. Minidisc (what I briefly tried to use before the iPod) was saddled with Sony's trademark eclectic compression scheme and insistence that having to copy your CDs over at actual playback speed was ever going to be anything but a giant step backward, even without MP3s and the iTunes Store already throwing dirt on the physical media coffin. But I suppose there are always a few holdouts who will insist on living in denial...

There's an old adage about polishing a turd...

Apple is just one of those companies for which its fans have given unlimited runway.

The same goes for Tesla, which I have a feeling you'd sing high praises about as well.

Bottom line is, had any other company released the iPod, it would have flopped hard.

The Zune, despite being superior in every way, is proof of this.

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Kevinnumbnuts

Today 10:14 AM

887 Posts

Joined Feb 2007

KevinnumbnutsToday 10:14 AM

887 Posts

thanks

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rly723

Today 10:37 AM

11,399 Posts

Joined Jun 2004

rly723Today 10:37 AM

11,399 Posts

Quote from wherestheanykey

:

There's an old adage about polishing a turd... Apple is just one of those companies for which its fans have given unlimited runway. The same goes for Tesla, which I have a feeling you'd sing high praises about as well. Bottom line is, had any other company released the iPod, it would have flopped hard. The Zune, despite being superior in every way, is proof of this.

I remember buying a brown color zone from woot for $80. Being able to upload YouTube videos on it. And connect it to Xbox 360 and play your songs and videos on the zune onto the TV was amazing at the time. I put episodes of bear geylls show on it. I still have it in a drawer somewhere but been at least 5 plus years since I attempted to power it on and it worked.

wherestheanykey

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Today 10:53 AM

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wherestheanykey

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Quote from rly723

:

I remember buying a brown color zone from woot for $80. Being able to upload YouTube videos on it. And connect it to Xbox 360 and play your songs and videos on the zune onto the TV was amazing at the time. I put episodes of bear geylls show on it. I still have it in a drawer somewhere but been at least 5 plus years since I attempted to power it on and it worked.

There's some upgrades you can source on AliExpress or Amazon if you're looking to revive it.

The battery is obvious, but they also have a drive adapter so you can use micro SD cards.

A lot of people on Reddit are still rocking theirs because it has a really good hardware DAC that holds up alongside modern high end headphones.

The same cannot be said for all these Bluetooth headphones everyone has gotten used to.

Going back to wired is a major eye opener.

atout5

Today 11:18 AM

105 Posts

Joined Jun 2019

atout5Today 11:18 AM

105 Posts

Quote from wherestheanykey

:

There's an old adage about polishing a turd...

Apple is just one of those companies for which its fans have given unlimited runway.

The same goes for Tesla, which I have a feeling you'd sing high praises about as well.

Bottom line is, had any other company released the iPod, it would have flopped hard.

The Zune, despite being superior in every way, is proof of this.

ipods were around for 5 years before Zunes were even available, the zune had no effect on the popularity of ipods. If you weren't around at the time, you may not know how revolutionary the click wheel felt at the time. It wasn't that so many folks were fans of Apple that the ipod became popular, it was because the ipods were good, easy to use and the click wheel felt like a real innovation that people became fans of Apple (and the great marketing during those years).

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wherestheanykey

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Today 11:30 AM

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wherestheanykey

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Quote from atout5

:

ipods were around for 5 years before Zunes were even available, the zune had no effect on the popularity of ipods. If you weren't around at the time, you may not know how revolutionary the click wheel felt at the time. It wasn't that so many folks were fans of Apple that the ipod became popular, it was because the ipods were good, easy to use and the click wheel felt like a real innovation that people became fans of Apple (and the great marketing during those years).

Again, there were plenty of other MP3 players on the market long before the first iPod.

I mentioned the Rio, which influenced the iPod quite a bit.

Nowhere did I say that the Zune predated the iPod.

What I said was that the Zune was a superior product and it failed... predominantly because Microsoft doesn't have the same fanbase as Apple.

Moreover, I'm deliberately ignoring all your click wheel talk. That cookie-cutter rhetoric has been guerilla marketed from the start. It's one of the earliest examples of astroturfing.

Last edited by wherestheanykey July 6, 2026 at 04:38 AM.

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JollyLanguage120

Today 12:03 PM

6 Posts

Joined Feb 2022

JollyLanguage120Today 12:03 PM

6 Posts

Quote from wherestheanykey

:

Again, there were plenty of other MP3 players on the market long before the first iPod. I mentioned the Rio, which influenced the iPod quite a bit. Nowhere did I say that the Zune predated the iPod. What I said was that the Zune was a superior product and it failed... predominantly because Microsoft doesn't have the same fanbase as Apple. Moreover, I'm deliberately ignoring all your click wheel talk. That cookie-cutter rhetoric has been guerilla marketed from the start. It's one of the earliest examples of astroturfing.

I, personally, was a Creative fan. The Zen Vision was my baby. That 60GB physical drive and 2.5in screen that I loaded seasons upon seasons of "Scrubs" on, got me through many a commute. I was so anti-Apple at the time (still am), that it wasnt even funny. It was a simple device that got the job done. Even if it was the size of a small brick

$9.99 | Deluxe Portable CD Player at Woot!

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