[Mallrat]

I recall looking at my iPod 15gb and getting made that it coudl only take half of the songs that I have on my iMac harddrive. Then I realized I had like 400 CDs on a single device and I remembered the days when a CD player and two or three good albums where enough.

Maybe a mix tape in the good old walkman days.

Now, for some reason, 500 songs seems pathetic, when in reality it's more than plenty for any length of trip under a week.

If you just go to work and back, how many songs do you actually hear? 4?

My point being, I think I like the idea of limiting myself and excited by getting a smaller capacity HD that will make me have to update my iPod more often.

Maybe having to limit myself will recall the old days when I had to carefully decide which alubms I would be taking with me on my trip before I left.

I think going for 15gb to 4 gb would actually help me LISTEN to my music and not obess about haviing it with me or being able to carry it.

Sometimes I think I (and I'm not alone) get lost in the technology and forget to step back and realize that bigger isn't always better.

[wilsonng]

I actually have a 20GB iPod Photo but I only fill it up with 6GBs of music. I usually encode at 192 AAC so I end up with about 2.5 days worth of music. So that's about 60 hours. If I calculate that one CD is approximately an hour long (I'm simplifying it greatly for my poor math skills), then I'd have about 60 CDs on my iPod.

I have seen some folks that want "the ultimate jukebox" and carry their entire library on their hip. Well, good luck listening to 60 GBs worth of music.

I use my iPod the same way I used my discman. I would gather up all the CDs I wanted to listen to for the week and stuff them in a portable CD binder. I would listen to those CDs for the week. When I got tired of one CD, I'd return it to my shelf and grab another CD.

Nowadays, I'll download the songs or albums I want to my iPod. Sometimes a fancy just occurs and I hear a song on the radio. Then I'll go home and download that whole album to bask in the cheesy 80's, the rockin' 70's, or the psychidelic 60's. So I'll have a a bunch of albums I want to listen to. When I'm finished playing that album, I'll erase it from my playlist and sync a new album.

I no longer have to remember to return my CDs back to the shelf. I just sync with my Mac whenever I want to switch albums. This helps me manage my music collection.

I do update my iPod every few days so that I can explore the rest of my music. There are CDs that I would never have brought into my car but now I find myself downloading it to the iPod and listening to it on my daily commute just to see if it was a worthwhile purchase.

The iPod has helped me appreciate my music collection. I laugh when my friends try to download 5000 songs onto their massive iPod yet they don't listen to even 10% of it.

Even though the iPod nano's price point is all #$%&^ up when I could get an iPod 20GB for only $50 more, I still like the iPod nano. The 4GB will change a person's listening habits greatly.

I have a friend whose 60GB iPod jukebox is full of Apple Lossless 'cuz he wanted higher fidelity. He doesn't have his entire library but he will sync to his Mac whenever he wants to download an album to his iPod. So in that sense, his 60GB iPod made more sense to him.

In another somewhat related point, I have about 80 days of music on my hard drive. But I like creating smart playlists that says:

70's music
80's music
90's and beyond music
Acoustic set
Headbanger set
In the mood for love

I also have a playlist called "iPod Current Rotation". This holds all the songs that I want to explore and download to my iPod.

I love my iPod....

[DigitalEl]

I recall looking at my iPod 15gb and getting made that it coudl only take half of the songs that I have on my iMac harddrive. Then I realized I had like 400 CDs on a single device and I remembered the days when a CD player and two or three good albums where enough.

Maybe a mix tape in the good old walkman days.

Now, for some reason, 500 songs seems pathetic, when in reality it's more than plenty for any length of trip under a week.

If you just go to work and back, how many songs do you actually hear?

<snip>

Sometimes I think I (and I'm not alone) get lost in the technology and forget to step back and realize that bigger isn't always better.

Great analysis, Mallrat. I think your line of thinking is pretty insightful. Seriously.

Since buying my Shuffle, I've literally barely touched my 40GB iPod photo. The Shuffle is just so small and handy and... perfect. I don't sweat keepin' it around my neck when I'm out doing yard work or whatever. I take that relatively disposable little thing all kinds of places I'd be too uptight to take my "real" iPod.

I'm buying a ROKR because I've been dreaming of that One Device to Rule Them All. Now that I've seen screenshot proof that it syncs with .Mac (on another site, don't remember where), I'm in! People poo-poo the somewhat dated design and the 100 song cap, but as you said... How many songs do you really need for daily use? As for its looks, so it's no RAZR. In a year, something cooler will come along. I like gadgets, so I'll probably upgrade then. So the ROKR isn't Miss Right, but she is Miss Right-Now.

I took my 512 MB Shuffle on a Vegas roadtrip from Phoenix. For the 5+ hour drive there and back, I was thoroughly entertained by my own music and some kick-ass desert scenery. What more could I want?

Man, I'm rambling. Bottom line: The ROKR is gonna rock for my daily use. I'll probably get a nano to replace my photo... And the Shuffle I'll keep around for workouts, yardwork and poolside.

(Sorry to be so long-winded)

[Mallrat]

With the release of the Nano 1gb.. maybe apple realizes that that many people are thinking like us...