Xbox 360 Fanboy

They better wait a long time to announce this. I just made the plunge into the digital music world with my first iPod purchase. I'll be pissed if a week later Microsoft announces something better. Guess it's inevitable that technology will advance, though.

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Damn Richard......That has to be the worst Photoshop job hands down......yet it's so bad its good :0)....lmao

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I know. Technology always gets better, and it drives me crazy. But in responce to the topic, I really doubt. I am in no way a Mac fanboy, but there is a real aura of sexiness that surrounds the ipod. Plus, I think itunes is fantastic. But if Microsoft comes out with something THAT ISNT TOO CROWDED, I just might consider it, if, in fact, the price is right ;)

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I'd agree with that 7-11 analogy. itunes (the music store component)is pretty sucky when you troll thru it. 30-second samples are lousy and have yet to convince me to buy anything. The overidding question to me is do you need a online music store to be anything different than a digital 7-11?

Now if ms setup a store with a better catalouge and then shipped you a disc(for a nominal fee) after you downloaded anyways I'd migrate.

As far as a player goes. If its not a cell-phone or a xboy, no I dont really want another psp, at the same time they might be barking up the wrong tree.

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I'd buy the xPod anytime:)

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Actually, I like to use iTunes to manage my songs. I'm on a mac, and i can't think of a better program to do that.

We're to expect the so-called xPod will sync to the 360 or something, and for that i'd buy a "xPod". But i'd be pretty pissed to move my songs out of iTunes.

I'm in Brazil, we don't have iTMS, and probably won't have the Microsoft service either, so I just care about managing my media the best way possible.

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Richard....paint is bad for you. =)

Why does everyone think that iPods are "so amazing". I don't get it. For those prices, you can get a much better player with more options. Does having an iPod make you cool or something?

I'll take my no-name USB thumbdrive/MP3 player WITH an LCD screen over a crappy iPod shuffle any day. I like the nano's, but you can buy a PSP for that kind of money. Hell, you could get a pocket PC if you play your cards right!

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"Why does everyone think that iPods are "so amazing". I don't get it. For those prices, you can get a much better player with more options. Does having an iPod make you cool or something?"

It's all anyone knows about.. They're pretty much the only MP3 player advertised and advertised all over the place, so thats the only thing people think of when they decide to buy an MP3 player and once they get it, it looks nice, it's easy to operate and use so people think they're great. And they're pretty good, don't get me wrong, but they're way too expensive for what you get. I'm still enjoying my $160 30gb Zen Xtra, sure it isn't as "cool" looking as an iPod, but it does it's job perfectly and was damn near half of the price of an iPod.

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He did that in MS Paint. How Shameful.

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1. The cost of an iPod is not that high if you shop around. I have a 2nd Generation 20GB iPod. You can find these online for around $90 and if the battery is low, you can replace it for about $30. Even 4th Generation iPods sell at the Apple Store for $169 each, refurbished, so don't whine about "expensive".

2. I love my 360, but I wouldn't use a Microsoft music player. I hate MP3 format (13 years old, lossy, clunky) and I don't like WMA (almost as old, and has horrible DRM). AAC is simply the audio version of MP4. It's the standard approved by the MPEG group to replace MP3, and AAC has better compression, better sound, and quicker conversions. Most likely, a MS iPod thing would not support AAC, and would choose (like all cheap knock-offs) to support WMA. No thanks.

3. I'm on a Mac. I have no intention of trying to sync a MS music player to my Mac, and I have no intention of converting my AAC music library of several thousand files into a worse-sounding WMA library. I like MS hardware- I use an MS mouse, and I love the 360- but I wouldn't let their proprietary junk on to my Mac.

4. I love my iPod because of the interface. It's not because it's stylish (it's a 2nd generation! They're not all that cool-looking these days!) and it's not because it's a trend. It's because it controls well, the menus are nice, and when I sync with the computer it does everything without needing a lot of babysitting from me. It's always ready, I always have my library on-hand, and with a new upgraded battery it runs for about 22 hours on a full charge. Files load fast because it uses firewire. It's the whole package that makes it worth owning.

5. Customer service is the key. Apple backs up their hardware, and when you call Apple you're talking to a nice person in Cupertino, and not someone in India named "Chad" or "Heather" reading from a script. Creative, Rio, etc. all have outsourced customer service in my experience, which is why I stopped buying their junk. Apple took care of the battery problem fairly fast, and they've reduced the out-of-warranty battery replacement to a reasonable $49 per incident. They swapped people their black iPod nano for a white one if scratches were a big problem. They troubleshoot on the phone. They are nice and helpful, and don't treat customers like a bother. When my Rio battery wouldn't charge, the people at that company told me I was "out of luck" because the warranty didn't cover battery issues. And with my Creative Labs MuVo, I kept getting the run-around, never getting to the right person, and being put on hold for long stretches. Apple beats them all in this regard.

MS can keep their player. They won't sell it to the Mac users, and the people who already have iPods are more likely to buy another iPod than to switch companies. We're impressed because Apple did almost everything right with the iPod. It's not because it's cool... It's because it's GOOD.

Hell, I'm 35 years old. I stopped being cool ages ago!

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Oh, and who uses iTMS or MS music anyway? The Russian sites are still legal, still cranking, and still 10x cheaper than the American sites.

When they become illegal and the Russian sites have to shut down, I might go back to iTMS, but I don't like DRM telling me I can't play music I pay for on my other players or computers. I'm not selling it or sharing it, but within my household it should be free to play on any device.

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Here is a photoshoped version of what it will probably look like
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrissiedoss/168494999/

Here is the link to the blurry pics
http://flickr.com/photos/chrissiedoss/169327376

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Uh...Zero...IDK if you know this buuuuttt....the RIAA can still sue you AND WIN even if you download from a certain non-DRMed Russian mp3 site. It may be legal in Russia's copyright law, but here in America you are still liable.

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I only DL stuff that I already own on CD or Cassette anyway. I put my originals in storage and use the digital versions around the house.

Here's what I found regarding these sites and the legality of downloading from them in the USA:

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Now for the country that may well have the strictest rules on copyrights, the USA. A thread in the Fatwallet forums brings some light in his confusing subject. We will not bother you with all the details. Here is a concise version of the interesting parts:

“MP3's, OGG's, etc are not illegal in the USA and therefore can be imported. There is also no law against importing music from other countries (including Russia). Because you are buying this legally in Russia and then importing to the USA, this should be 100% legit. For example, assuming that Russian Vodka is illegal to buy in the USA on Sunday, but you buy the Russian Vodka in Moscow on Sunday, then you import it into the USA, you have done nothing wrong. Again, this assumes that 1) it is illegal to buy Russian Vodka on Sunday in the USA 2) it is legal in Moscow and 3) it is legal to import Russian Vodka.”

Title 17 Chapter 6 Sec. 602 of the U.S. Code covers “Infringing importation of copies or phonorecords”. You can find this title here

Subsection (a) tells us:

“Importation into the United States, without the authority of the owner of copyright under this title, of copies or phonorecords of a work that have been acquired outside the United States is an infringement of the exclusive right to distribute copies or phonorecords under section 106, actionable under section 501.”

So it's illegal you may think. But take a close look at sub (a)(2):

“This subsection does not apply to importation, for the private use of the importer and not for distribution, by any person with respect to no more than one copy or phonorecord of any one work at any one time, or by any person arriving from outside the United States with respect to copies or phonorecords forming part of such person's personal baggage;”

If MP3’s, OGG’s etc are in fact considered phonorecords, U.S. citizens can legally buy these as long if they are for private use and not for distribution. If MP3s, OGG’s etc. are not considered phonorecords, no import laws apply. The sections of digital audio recording and sound recording have no mention of importation.

So in layman's terms the bottom line of this discussion is:

Downloading from Allofmp3 is legal for U.S. Citizens, as long as the files are for private use and not for distribution.

Please note – This is in no way a legal advice. -- please see our disclaimer.

This is what a more law educated person like the Tech Law Advisor has published regarding this issue:

Additionally, assuming they have legitimate licenses to distribute the music, they probably are restricted to a certain geographic are via their distribution license. The end user wouldn't be violating any laws but the distributor would. If they don't have legitimate distribution licenses then they obviously have no right to distribute at any price. If they claim to have the licenses the end user might be seen as an innocent infringer if not on notice.
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Here's more on the legality of Russian music sites, from Slate.com :

http://www.slate.com/id/2115868/

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I would not buy a device from Microsoft like this. Microsoft is always pushing their own formats, and if you've had any experience with the 360 Media Center trying to play anything other than WMV(the worst format EVER!) you know what I'm talking about. And if they can't deliver something as simple as playing an .avi over Media Center to a 360 then I do see why anyone would want to trust them with their media devices. This is simply MS's way of trying to monopolize all media devices and then watch us choke on the formats/codecs they force upon us. If MP3 wasn't the standard it is I could see MS trying to make it .WMA only. Booooo MS stay away from my media!

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