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Apart from the problem with the recording quality there is also a hidden problem with the iPod which potentially  makes it unsuitable for long term strategy. You may recall that Apple was heavily criticized for poorbackup for repair when iPod was initially launched and customers experienced serious problems with the battery life. Fortunately the battery problem was resolved but in my opinion the main issue of backup has not been sorted satisfactorily. There are currently very few service centres that can handle the repair of iPods and as yet we have not be authorised to carry out any repairs to these despite being the premier Apple rrepair partner in the South. The iPod is based on the old harddisk technology which means the unit is likely to suffer damage to the disk from shock or other physical affects. This potentially means students will lose their entire year's recording in a flash and unfortunately there is little one can do to recover the lost data. Also these units come with 12 month warranty and hence for long course durations the chance of failure is reasonably high and suppliers would be unwise to offer extended warranty.

Like some of you I personally prefer the DM20 and Sony MZ-B10 because of their ease of use and high reliability but if the requirement for an iPod type of recoring device is essential then I would suggest that you consider alternatives such as the iRiver (see http://www.iriver.com/eu/index.asp) which offers you the ability to plug in external microphones such as ECM-Z60 directly and they also offer 2 year manufacturers warranty. The price also seem reasonable and you can also transfer and save word documents as well as other data including voice file for Dragon Dictate (so they claim).

I hope this is useful information

Dudley, Jane wrote:
[log in to unmask]" type="cite"> Message

The iPod is also useful for carrying files around and working with them on and off campus.  I wasn’t impressed with the quality of voice recording from the iPod but given the flexibility of its use and if there is a need for transporting large files, recording information etc then an iPod is a good solution and cost effective if supporting more than 1 need.   

 

From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bryan Jones
Sent: 14 April 2005 16:14
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: i-pods

 

As Bernard says, the quality of the recordings using a mic is poor.  Not as good a digital voice recorder, anyway. If you want to avoid fiddling around with discs and have decent recordings the Olympus DM20 is your gadget, with Sony Z60 external mic.  And let's keep the LEAs happy by not recommending iPods for lectures a little while yet.

 

 

Bryan Jones,
Manager, Disability Support Services
& North London Regional Access Centre,
Middlesex University
Tel: 020 8411 5366

-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bernard Doherty
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 4:02 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: i-pods

I do where the lectures may include audio information other than speech, e.g., music or drama courses.  Digital recorders are generally set up only for speech and noise out of that range will be hugely distorted.  However, this is very much a compromise and I am not greatly impressed with the quality of iPod recording generally (nor with the Griffin mic).  On the other hand, it is pretty easy to use; the eventual choice will depend on how willing a student seems to be to engage with the technology and look for work-arounds to improve performance from imperfect systems.

 

Regards, Bernard

 

 


Bernard Doherty
Assessor
East Anglia Regional ACCESS Centre
Anglia Polytechnic University
East Road
Cambridge CB1 1PT

 

01223 363271 x2534
[log in to unmask]

----- Original Message -----

From: [log in to unmask]">Roz Catlow

To: [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]

Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 3:51 PM

Subject: i-pods

 

Is anyone recommending these are used for recording lectures?

 

Roz Catlow
Disability Assist Services
University of Plymouth
Drake Circus
Plymouth, Devon. PL4 8AA
01752 232278

 

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