Hadley Stern lists his 5 wishes for the next generation of iPod on his O'Reilly weblog. (Apparent Hadley can't count because he lists two wishes as number 3. ;) He nails my number one gripe with the iPod…
Quick, what's one thing a ten dollar cd player can do that a six hundred dollar iPod can't? That's right, play gapless audio. Don't get me wrong, I love my photo iPod. Showing pictures is cool and all and the album cover integration is sweet. Still, more than seeing the cover of Kind of Blue, I'd love to be able to listen to it in the original way it was intended. It is outrageous that a $600 iPod can't do this.
I have to agree, though I'd term my reaction more as disappointment rather then outrage though. Rather then a lack of capability, it is more of a design flaw in the iPod, that iTunes shares.
I listen to quite a bit of music that is part of a continuous mix set. When I first started working with iTunes and ripped some of my own (legally purchased) discs I almost immediately experienced the jarring effect of this design flaw. While listen to the first track of one of these continuous mix recordings I started hearing different parts of the same song and the beginning part of the next track all overlapping into a mash that in DJ terms would be the equivalent of being off key. Yikes! Ouch!
Hearing this track after track was too much, prompting me to trash those recordings and redo the import using iTunes' Join CD Tracks under the Advanced menu. Using this method the track transitions remain seamless – the way they were supposed to be heard. There are two drawbacks to this approach though.
Before I import any CDs I have to listen to it and watch if and when the disc advances track transitions warranting a join. For instance, one of my all time favorite electronic music discs, Orbital 2 has a glorious run of tracks that flow from one into another. When imported into iTunes the same playing off key
effect occurs. I ripped that run of tracks as one continuous 30 minute track and left the others as individual tracks. So this becomes quite annoying.
The other drawback to importing these recordings into one big file is that I can't easily jump to any part of the mix or determine what track I'm listening to. I recently got around to getting Kruder and Dorfmeister's K&D Sessions into my iTunes library. Hearing a track I really was digging, I had to leave the jacket in front of me, count how many different tracks I thought I heard while reading the track titles hoping to hear something that clues me into its title and then count back to the one I wanted to know. This isn't my idea of fun either.
Another option I could have tried would have been to disable the Crossfade Playback preference. I didn't though because that preference applies to all music playback. I rather like that effect when I'm listening to individual tracks especially in a mix of my own and switching between modes seems even more annoying to me then dealing with joining CD tracks in my imports. From what I can tell, this crossfade playback control cannot be modified at all on the iPod.
The most disappointing part of this design flaw is this all seems avoidable since CDs have the necessary information encoded on it. During import its a matter of noting if any spacer precedes or follows the track during import. With that information, the player has the know-how to automatically adjust its mixing capabilities.
I want more then a fix though. In my dreams what I wish for is the ability to program crossfading cues and levels into my playlists. I think of it as making iTunes the GarageBand for DJs. That would be pretty innovative and cool. The real trick comes in making the interface easy and intuitive for the average user.
UPDATE: Catching up on my O'Reilly weblog reading, I see Bob DuCharme notes a similar use of remixing and advanced playlists.
Returning to Stern's post, I don't share his enthusiasm for the other 4 items on his wish list.
The current EQ settings in the iPod are fine by me and, for most people I know, a big help since they have no idea how to adjust a fully adjustable equalizer. I'd accept a way to load your own EQ settings, but think a fully adjustable one would detract from the iPod's simplicity that most users enjoy.
Likewise with the adjustable UI he suggests. I find myself occasionally doing something on an iPod I'd like to automate or have as a menu item, but doing so on the play would be so difficult it may as well not be there. I'd be fine if such things could be created elsewhere and synced down to the iPod, but I'm not going pout if it never comes along.
Stern also calls for a sports iPod which sounds fine, but isn't that pretty much the Shuffle though? It is ultra-light, plastic and without moving parts or a screen which makes it more durable the most other digital music players. Encasing it in rubber as suggested sounds like a cheap little accessory more then something Apple should worry about. Sure the Shuffle can't hold close to the amount or variety of music as other iPod players, but really how much do you need for your workouts? (How many tunes could a Sony Walkman hold in its prime?) As much as I love it, I doubt I'll ever want to listen to Kind of Blue while out for a run or pumping iron.
And radio? I hate commercial radio in general and find it more then dull and predictable – its plain grating on my nerves. Besides, if I really wanted to listen to radio I wouldn't be carrying a music player that can hold a significant portion of my music collection. This is another that really should remain an accessory for the few that really want a radio to go with their digital music player.
