Ok, maybe some of you old-timers may remember that I had a bad experience buying an iPod on ebay (about 3 years ago).
Part 1 
Part 2;  
Anyhow, I can't find the entry that said I finally got a refund from this incredibly fishy guy. After all of my threatening to report him to the police, I was just glad to have my money and didn't report him.

Somehow, he got prosecuted, because I'm not sure that he returned everyone's money. Basically, if you don't know the story, he was selling "fake" iPods on ebay and then said, "Oh I sent them." He had a couple different names and addresses in Ohio and it was a big pain.

So I never offered any additional testimony or anything. I had my money so I could get a real iPod from the Apple store. But still. Justice is now being served. He'll be out in 2 1/2 years.

(Moral of the story is to not sell fake iPods on Ebay. They'll find you.)

I really haven't been a fan of the company Apple in my lifetime (albeit short so far...granted), but when the iPod exploded in the U.S. years ago, my flames of hatred seemed to spiral to new heights. MP3 players are all the rage today, but why an iPod? Those devices in my opinion can be so money wasting and useless. Who honestly needs video on their tiny little MP3 player screen? Go watch TV at home. Also, you have to use iTunes to get anything out of this device, and I don't find the iTunes interface as user-friendly as Media Player or Winamp. I don't want to install a bunch of software on my computer to use my MP3 player.
Regardless, I maintain that you can get the same functionality of an iPod on any MP3 player usually at a much lower price.

Since the iPod's debut, its popularity hasn't decreased any and today it's the de facto player of choice for most young adults. Idiotic, I must say. Also over the years has came a stream of similar Apple products, including nearly a dozen different versions of the little device that ignited the spark. We have iBooks, iTV, iMac, and other silly stupid products that either do the same thing as other lower priced brands or do something we don't really need or want to do anyway (such as "beaming television from your Mac to your TV screen"). But the idiocracy reaches new heights with the iPhone.
 
My hopes for how this device might work when I first got all the details a few days a go were actually high. I was glad to hear that Cingular would be the exclusive merchant for the phones. It has an iPod built in, full phone functionality, web browsing, travel directions, and other features all thrown in that will basically make your other electronic devices obsolete. It was announced at a ridiculously high price too, but I doubt that will stop fucktards from running out and dropping the cash for it.

Despite it's already apparent flaws (such as being completely UNNECESSARY!!), there were other things divulged on Attack of the Show that Apple didn't tell you right off the bat. Such as, the battery on the iPhone (although rechargeable) is not removable or replaceable. This means that after the device bites the dust after maybe a year or so (because you KNOW all those features are gonna suck major battery-juice), go and buy another one. Drop another $500+ while you're at it too. Furthermore the device can't even download anything from iTunes on its own which is an extremely odd flaw considering that iTunes is (for lack of a better word) the hub for all of Apple's bullshit. The so-called do-it-all device also lacks any WiFi functionality. Suck it bitches.

The entire reason for this phone's wretched spawning is to increase Apple's tight grip on the consumer electronics market. Their products are all meant to work as one, running your life for you and making you buy anything and everything they pump out to keep from falling behind.

In closing, Fuck Apple and their stupid fucking shit products. I urge you all to find alternative means to acquire your electronics this year. Buying an iPhone or any other 'i' product means you're only part of the problem and you may kindly go fuck a sea urchin.

So, there's this company in Charleston, South Carolina where they will take your CD's and let you trade them in for a new IPod. You would have to send them an original CD (no burned CD-R's), with the original box and liner. Then, they give you an IPod based on the following scale:

45 CDs = 512 MB iPod Shuffle
65 CDs = 1 GB iPod Shuffle
85 CDs = 2 GB iPod Nano
110 CDs = 4 GB Nano
130 CDs = 30 GB iPod
175 CDs = 60 GB iPod  

So, I started thinking about this. I know I've got at least 200 CD's that I just keep upstairs (given that I don't sell them off, even as my interests change). So I could just send them all to this company, and pick up a 60GB IPod. Sweet!

I'd always figured the new IPods were out of my price league, given that some of them cost more than an XBox. It makes you wonder how they could afford to make such a great offer!

Which, of course, makes the old brain-box start churning. The basic CD will sell at a Used CD store for about $2-5 depending on the quality and availability of the music. So, even if we bias the average downward to $3 per CD, that's still $600 for 200 CDs.

The cool thing is, IPods are a lot cheaper than I'd thought. Even if you buy the latest 60 gig IPod Video, from Apple directly (which gives you the worst prices), it still only costs $400!

So, that's how they make their money (I notice that they have an option, if you don't have enough CD's, to just send them money to cover the balance). But while I was working through the numbers, I found myself straying from the overall point.

Now that I'm looking at my collection as a $600 cash reserve, an IPod just doesn't sound that cool anymore. I mean, $600 gets me a long way toward an XBox 360 . . . . And besides, I don't want to buy an IPod anyway, because it would be like supporting their restrictive DRM. . . and I really did want the "Complete Calvin & Hobbes Treasury". . .

Screw it, I'll just keep the cash. 

NOTE TO EVERYONE READING

Let me state that I, otacon120, did not write this article, and I don't necessarily agree or disagree with the opinions found therein. Even though I provided a link to the original source at the bottom of this entry, many people seem to have missed it completely. This article was originally written by T2 from Poprocks and Coke. Thank you.

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They're everywhere! As more and more whiny kids get what they want, the American frontier continues to be overtaken by goofy 'trendy' kids sporting these things:

Apple really has come through this time! Apple is sort of like Sega for contemporary times. Sega in its prime always came up with some pretty awesome things, they seemed to be quite ahead of their time. Alas, things just never flew right for them, until they gave up the console thing and developed games for everyone else's systems.

Apple doesn't think that proper. I suspect Apple will continue to have their own way of doing things, and just hope it goes their way. It's quite admirable they kept trying, and it seems to have paid off a tiny bit. Now, with the unstoppable force that is college kids with rich parents/financial aid to blow, Apple has an ego that will not be stopped. Couple that with some 'cool' kid declaring one of their products is trend-worthy, Apple isn't going to stop anytime soon.

Included with the iPod is iTunes, apple's little music player that could. Personally, I like the iTunes, it's quite a nifty little program. It's quite simple. What I don't like is the fact I HAVE to upgrade and install Quicktime for iTunes to work That is just trapping you in for the future.

iTunes isn't the greatest when it comes to file formats either. As part of the inflated ego, Apple decided it was going to come up with its own file format for music, just ignoring the already present mp3 format for its own gain. Sure, it's easy, just pop in, rip, and play, but what music program doesn't do that? (One could argue Windows does that with wma, but for the sake of argument, STFU!)

When it comes to sharing a song or two with friends, hope that everyone included has iTunes, or the shit ain't goin down. Computers don't read m4a formats by default, and guess what? Anyone who hadn't gotten iTunes yet, now they are obligated to get it, if only to listen to the music they just acquired.

Well, personally, I'm not into the fad. I don't walk around with the standard white headphone wires, and the iPod itself attached to my waist, as proof as I own one and I fit in.

This is not to say that I abhor portable music age alltogether. I simply think that iPods aren't the smartest investment ever created by man. Sure, if you get one of the more expensive ones, you can store not only your music selection, but everyone else's in the tri-state area. Why on earth would you want to carry that much on you at all times? I recently bought a new mp3 player that holds a gig worth of music, and aside from flash drive dual use, this is simply to forsee any travel needs. In all honesty, 256 or 512 mb worth of storage should be plenty for any music lover of today, as it provides 4-8 hours worth of music ripped at standard quality. I don't need 23490873 gigs worth of 'tunes' on my person at all times. This is what hard drives and backup discs are for, you don't need to have your entire music collection on you at all times.

One question might be, why is my player so great? People love iPods for a reason! They work well, look spiffy, and are overall great products! Let me just do a comparison between my player, and the closest equivalent, the iPod Shuffle to try and persuade you otherwise. (I'm going to compare the shuffle that is closest, price wise, to mine).

iPod Shuffle 512 mb version	DMP 100 1 gig mp3 player
MFSRP 99.99	49.99 (After rebate, 119.99 RP)
Looks like a tampon.	Looks like an F-Zero racecar.
1.26 cubic inches	About 3 cubic inches
No display whatsoever	Small backlit screen, so you have at least SOME idea of what is going on.
One play mode, random.	Random, shuffle, or strict playlist
Fights being used as a flash drive.	Drag and drop ease.
No Radio	FM Tuner
Verdict:	Verdict:
Overpriced, overrated, skinny little mp3 and m4a player..	Affordable, underrated, a little bit chubby, but still quite worth it, piece of portable music heaven.

There you have it! I know a wee bit about the shuffle, as my roomate has one, and even he was suprised I found this deal, and I'm sure he's even a wee bit envious. Whatever, he has the 'COOL KID' toy. I'll be the loser kid who can buy 50 bucks worth of booze, rent, or twinkies.

I can't be completely biased though. So, here to argue in favor of the iPod Shuffle is Joshua T from Warwick:

its really cool. the downside is that u have to keep on skipping songs to find your song u want to play. im 12 and i luv it

If this isn't an equal argument, I don't know what is.

In the long run, All I ask is that you just look at options before diving into trend items, people. Brainiac was right, Impatience is such a pathetic human trait. Grow up, do a spec of research, and don't follow into the goofy trends. I'm sure pretty soon I'll see guys wearing girls jeans or something because it's cool.

---from Poprocks and Coke