Operation Gadget

Category: Portable Audio

  • “iPod and iTunes: Missing Manual, Second Edition” Fills Information Gaps for Recent Purchasers

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteMacMinute reports that O’Reilly and Associates has released “iPod and iTunes: Missing Manual, Second Edition”, an important update to the best book about the iPod. Reportedly, J.D. Biersdorfer has deepened the coverage of iTunes and iTunes Music Store on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. He has also added information about…

  • Guideline Research Survey Finds Some People Want to Keep Wireless Devices Simple

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteGuideline Research released a report on the America’s appetite for multifunction wireless devices. According to the news release, 49 percent of those surveyed have “no desire” for devices that allow them to multitask with their gadgets— either make phone calls, in the case of mobile phone, or hold data, in the…

  • Cannibalizing an iPod mini Can Be Profitable

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteBoing Boing reported on an unlikely benefit of taking apart an iPod mini: embedded inside is a Hitachi 4GB MicroDrive, available at Amazon.com separately for between $479 and $499. Reportedly, the only thing that has to be done in order to use the extracted MicroDrive in a digital camera or another…

  • Wired News Interviews Academic with Background in Personal Stereo Use Research on the iPod

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteSlashdot pointed out an interesting interview that Wired News conducted with Dr. Michael Bull, a lecturer at the University of Sussex in the UK, about the cultural impact of the iPod and the iPod mini. This is up Bull’s alley because he has done extensive research into the cultural impact of…

  • iPod Taken Apart by Popular Science

    Reading Time: < 1 minutePopular Science decided to tap into the recent iPod battery controversy and publish a how-to article showing the do-it-yourself battery replacement process. The article includes step-by-step instructions and photos. The article also suggests other mods you can make while the case is open– some more interesting than others. Remember, this will…

  • Mossberg Likes Everything about the iPod mini Except the Price

    Reading Time: 2 minutesI was on a flight from Baltimore to Austin this morning, and got a chance to read the “dead trees version” of The Wall Street Journal. In it, Walter Mossberg did a rather comprehensive review of the iPod mini, just in time for its initial shipment to resellers around the country. It’s…

  • “The Gadget Factor” Talks About the iPod and its Impact on the Recording Industry

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteA new initiative at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society called AudioBerkman is creating a series of recorded programs about Internet law and technology. They are planning to release a report in MP3 format every Friday through May 2004. The second program in the AudioBerkman series is called The Gadget…

  • Radio YourWay Lets You Record Talk Radio Programs Like TiVo

    Reading Time: < 1 minuteI find ideas for products to feature on Operation Gadget in the strangest places. Who woulda figured that the National Federation of Independent Businesses monthly magazine would have some really interesting gadgets in it? I opened the February/March 2004 edition, and found the Pogo Radio YourWay MP3 player and radio receiver.…

  • Blogger that Works at Microsoft Suggests Holding Off on Buying iPods and TiVos

    Reading Time: 2 minutesA fairly well known weblogger named Robert Scoble has posted a relatively long article making the case for Windows Media and strongly suggesting that people who have not yet purchased an iPod or a TiVo think twice about doing so. Scoble suggests that by 2006, Microsoft will have a comprehensive set of…