Apple Reviews

... I settled on the NEC Multisync FE2111SB for my monitor of choice. Why did I choose this particular monitor? I'm primarily a gamer and need the quick response times of a CRT over the up-and-coming LCD's. I own an NEC LCD1760V (on a second system) and its 16ms response time is excellent but it just does not have the same sheer color depth and "quicks" of a solid CRT (expecially projecting greys and deep blacks). Anyway, back to the review.

I had trouble finding what I thought were honest reviews of the monitor but ordered it via Amazon. It arrived some 8 days later and I eagerly sat it in place. I chose black to compliment my desktop setup. I am running a Radeon 9800XT to push the picture so consider that as I continue.

The first thing I noticed was how brilliant the bright the display was. Crisp, clear and a stunning image. Unfortunately, the flat panel glass (which covers the actual screen about 1/4" behind the mask had some specks of dirt upon it (small area just up and left of center). I dutifully attempted to wipe away the specks of dirt but to my horror realized the dirt was BEHIND the flat glass. I just paid for a new monitor, I expect the monitor to be essentially perfect. I was unimpressed.

The second (and final issue) came as I was tinkering with resolution setting. The standard rez I typically run my system on is 1280x960 which keeps things sharp, round and just the right size. A higher setting and things get out of ratio (circles become ovals) and text gets slightly blurry. So, as I began to adjust the image to fill the screen (tall and wide), the monitor could not stretch the image wide enough. At 100% wide, the image still had 1/4" to 1/2" black space on the left and right edge of the screen. Unacceptable. I tinkered with settings but nothing would correct this limitation.

Needless to say, with both issues being, well, an issue, I'm returning the monitor. I have not yet decided if I will repurchase the same monitor. So, the dirt was an aberation however, the resolution situation is a short-fall. Hope this helps, best of luck.

I'm using two FE2111's in a dual monitor setup for one of my graphics rigs. For the price of one 20" LCD display you can buy two of the best CRT's on the market. And this is one of the best CRT's I've ever used and I've used a lot of them. It has rich colors, sharp images (right up there with some of my best LCD displays), three brightness settings (normal, picture, movie), and a relatively easy to use OSD for tweaking the color balance to 'just right.' Although it's listed as a 21" monitor on Amazon, it is technically a 22" with a 20" flat viewing area. It's text quality is awesome at the native 1600x1200 resolution (and at any resolution that keeps the 4:3 ratio for that matter). The previous review mentioned that there was a problem with stretching to the border on 1280x960. I don't know what his problem was but both my monitors can fill the screen (with stretch to spare) at any 4:3 resolution. He might have been running an unsupported refresh rate. This is an awesome monitor for any use and at ~550 it's a great deal.

When i saw this monitor i didnt believe it was possible to put a flat screen on a regular monitor. It just blew my mind, I had to buy it instantly. When i got it home and started running my computer at 1024x760 it looked beautiful. Not to mention playing Quake2 in high resolution was beautiful. Being 17 inches with 16 inches is quite good, and i cant wait to watch DVD's on it, all that this monitor needs is to get rid of the two mounting lines you can see when the screen is white, there are these two lines horizontially across the screen that arent really noticable unless screen is white and your looking for them, the manual says they are "shadows from the damper wires used to stabalize the aperture grille". personally i dont care what the lines are, but all i know is if they were to fix the lines this monitor wouldnt have been affordable to me. So for a final rating i give it a Best Buy!.

Performs as well as any high-end, high-priced monitor on the market. I've owned one for years and that's why I bought another one for my kids. Look's great on high resolution games. Great buy at under $(...).

Over in the 19 inch flat monitor category, the consumer is at an disadvantage. It is because of lack of technology and high prices. All 19 inch flat monitors have quality problems. Each product fluctuates (geometry, moire, color, missing dots etc) So you have to hope for the best.

As for this Samsung it used a Mitsubishi NF tube. In the 19inch flat monitor market this can be compared to the Sony trinitron tubes. Mitsubishi tubes have a less prominent damper wires (two wires that go horizontally across the screen that are visible) but Sony trinitron tubes have more flashy colors. In other words this monitor has is less colorful but could be less a distraction. But as I said each monitor is different. It's like a car, you can get a dud from the factory or you might get one that works fine. Over here in Korea they sell this monitor starting from 500$. US residents are lucky since there is so much competion prices have to be low unlike here where Korean companies have a virtual monopoly. It isn't worth 500$ but at low price it should be given some consideration.

Other monitors in the 19inch flat market that are similar are Sony G400, LG 195FT, and a few others. Samsung DF 19 inch flats are not really flat so they are inferior to Samsung NF's. But NF's may not be as focused clearly as DF's at high resolutions. It is best for the consumer to actually "see" the monitors before purchase.

While the technical details are all available, I can't really describe them for the review. I never thought my monitor was bad until I got the Samsung. It's bright, clear, crisp, sharp... beautiful! The pop-down control system is easy to use as well. Plus, it doesn't take up much more room on my desktop than my old 17" monitor. I noticed no distortion, even at the edges. Overall a great buy!

Just got this monitor after my 17"'er keeled over and so far, it's great. It's got great resolution and excellent color at every screen setting I've tried. Dot pitch is .27x.25. Adjusting the monitor settings is very simple and intuitive, though getting the screen just right requires a bit of patience if your a perfectionist about it.
Only flaws of this monitor are 1)The name 'Perfectflat' is somewhat of a misnomer. The screen is not perfectly flat, though it is VERY close. 2) The power button requires a bit more push than most (due to the depth of its travel)- a minor gripe, and one that the user will get used to.
Another good thing though, is that the E90 has a nice flat top. -A good place to stick small notebooks and whatever else (that's important if you've ever had the misfortune of dealing with a rounded top monitor)
Overall it's a great monitor. Can't say much about it's lifespan, I've only had it a few days, but Viewsonic typically has three year warranties on their products, so I'm not all that worried. If your looking for a high quality, economical 19"er, this is it. Just make sure you got enough deskspace for it.

Great Monitor, I've seen a number in commercial use last a long time. I've got one at home I just love. Typical of Viewsonic Quality.

5 stars for the memory itself - 4 stars to the fact that I can't use it all. To explain: I have a blue, 2nd generation iMac, which can be maxed out at 256MB. When I saw the price on these 128ers, I jumped at the opportunity and bought 2 of em. Great, right? Sorta. I hadn't realized that you can only instead one memory module in the iMac. The 2nd one has to be installed by an Apple-licencee, unless you want to try it yourself and void the warranty. So I've got 128 in and 128 sitting on my desk, waiting for me to pony up the cash to pay for the install (which will probably cost more that the memory in total). Sheesh.
So actually, I've nothing to complain about in relation to the memory itself. It's not making my programs fly or anything, but it's doing its job. Nice.

I bought this memory for an iMac rev. D model. I bought two chips and each comes in its own box that's heavily padded for protection, and each chip is inside a anti-static plastic bag to prevent electrical damage. The chips fit perfectly into both slots on the iMac and I had no trouble starting up the computer after installation. I've been using my computer non stop since then and there are no side effects. My next purchases for memory will definately be with Viking products.

The iPod mini is built from the ground up as a portable device for people with fast-paced lives. It's small and lightweight physical dimensions are perfectly suited to be being placed in a pants or shirt pocket without being a burden.

But don't let its light weight fool you into thinking the iPod mini is a pushover. The 4GB hard drive (3.7 GB actual) can hold about 1,000 songs - enough to last almost three full days. The installed software includes four games; calendar; notepad; contact database; clock; backlight with timer; alarm clock; and the abilities to customize the main menu; create playlists; and rate songs. All this is in addition to being able to be used as an external hard drive.

However, the most revolutionary aspect of the iPod mini (aside from it's size and weight) is its control interface. Incorporating the 'Menu', 'Pause/Play', 'Forward' and 'Back' buttons directly to the touch sensitive scroll wheel not only creates simplicity from a design standpoint, but form a user one as well. Accessing these controls is a breeze. Thankfully the touch wheel is designed well enough that accidental pressing of a control is unlikely to occur since you have to press down a bit to activate the button. I'd actually like to see the entire iPod line adopt this interface.

Some people complain that the iPod mini is only slightly cheaper than the 20 GB iPod and offers a lot less storage space. But what you loose in storage space you gain in portability. It is also important to consider that compared to other players of its size and weight, the iPod mini offers much more storage space, many more features, and a better music jukebox in iTunes 4.0.

I want to carry the most music I can in the smallest possible device that offers the best interface and features. For me, that device is unquestionably the iPod mini. If you have similar demands of a portable music device, the iPod mini is sure to become a permanent accessory to your lifestyle.

The iPod mini is built from the ground up as a portable device for people with fast-paced lives. It's small and lightweight physical dimensions are perfectly suited to be being placed in a pants or shirt pocket without being a burden.

But don't let its light weight fool you into thinking the iPod mini is a pushover. The 4GB hard drive (3.7 GB actual) can hold about 1,000 songs - enough to last almost three full days. The installed software includes four games; a calendar; a notepad; a contact database; a clock; backlight with timer; an alarm clock; and the abilities to customize the main menu; create on-the-go playlists; and rate songs. All this is in addition to being able to be used as an external hard drive!

However, the most revolutionary aspect of the iPod mini (aside from it's size and weight) is its control interface. Incorporating the 'Menu', 'Pause/Play', 'Forward' and 'Back' buttons directly to the touch sensitive scroll wheel not only creates simplicity from a design standpoint, but form a user one as well. Accessing these controls is a breeze. Thankfully the touch wheel is designed well enough that accidental pressing of a control is unlikely to occur since you have to press down a bit to activate the button. I'd actually like to see the entire iPod line adopt this interface.

Some people complain that the iPod mini is only slightly cheaper than the 20 GB iPod and offers a lot less storage space. But what you loose in storage space you gain in portability. It is also important to consider that compared to other players of its size and weight, the iPod mini offers much more storage space, many more features, and a better music jukebox in iTunes 4.0.

I want to carry the most music I can in the smallest possible device that offers the best interface and features. For me, that device is unquestionably the iPod mini. If you have similar demands of a portable music device, the iPod mini is sure to become a permanent accessory to your lifestyle.

It's So awsome!!!!! I listen to it all the time and love the sound quality. It is so light and durable compared to the regular ipod. I have loaded 400 songs on it and my biggest problem is which song to pick. Loading cd's and downloading songs are also very easy and dont take very long. Overall it is awsome!

The iPod mini is built from the ground up as a portable device for people with fast-paced lives. It's small and lightweight physical dimensions are perfectly suited to be being placed in a pants or shirt pocket without being a burden.

But don't let its light weight fool you into thinking the iPod mini is a pushover. The 4GB hard drive (3.7 GB actual) can hold about 1,000 songs - enough to last almost three full days. The installed software includes four games; calendar; notepad; contact database; clock; backlight with timer; alarm clock; and the abilities to customize the main menu; create playlists; and rate songs. All this is in addition to being able to be used as an external hard drive.

However, the most revolutionary aspect of the iPod mini (aside from it's size and weight) is its control interface. Incorporating the 'Menu', 'Pause/Play', 'Forward' and 'Back' buttons directly to the touch sensitive scroll wheel not only creates simplicity from a design standpoint, but form a user one as well. Accessing these controls is a breeze. Thankfully the touch wheel is designed well enough that accidental pressing of a control is unlikely to occur since you have to press down a bit to activate the button. I'd actually like to see the entire iPod line adopt this interface.

Some people complain that the iPod mini is only slightly cheaper than the 20 GB iPod and offers a lot less storage space. But what you loose in storage space you gain in portability. It is also important to consider that compared to other players of its size and weight, the iPod mini offers much more storage space, many more features, and a better music jukebox in iTunes 4.0.

I want to carry the most music I can in the smallest possible device that offers the best interface and features. For me, that device is unquestionably the iPod mini. If you have similar demands of a portable music device, the iPod mini is sure to become a permanent accessory to your lifestyle.

The iPod mini is built from the ground up as a portable device for people with fast-paced lives. It's small and lightweight physical dimensions are perfectly suited to be being placed in a pants or shirt pocket without being a burden.

But don't let its light weight fool you into thinking the iPod mini is a pushover. The 4GB hard drive (3.7 GB actual) can hold about 1,000 songs - enough to last almost three full days. The installed software includes four games; a calendar; a notepad; a contact database; a clock; backlight with timer; an alarm clock; and the abilities to customize the main menu; create on-the-go playlists; and rate songs. All this is in addition to being able to be used as an external hard drive!

However, the most revolutionary aspect of the iPod mini (aside from it's size and weight) is its control interface. Incorporating the 'Menu', 'Pause/Play', 'Forward' and 'Back' buttons directly to the touch sensitive scroll wheel not only creates simplicity from a design standpoint, but form a user one as well. Accessing these controls is a breeze. Thankfully the touch wheel is designed well enough that accidental pressing of a control is unlikely to occur since you have to press down a bit to activate the button. I'd actually like to see the entire iPod line adopt this interface.

Some people complain that the iPod mini is only slightly cheaper than the 20 GB iPod and offers a lot less storage space. But what you loose in storage space you gain in portability. It is also important to consider that compared to other players of its size and weight, the iPod mini offers much more storage space, many more features, and a better music jukebox in iTunes 4.0.

I want to carry the most music I can in the smallest possible device that offers the best interface and features. For me, that device is unquestionably the iPod mini. If you have similar demands of a portable music device, the iPod mini is sure to become a permanent accessory to your lifestyle.

It's So awsome!!!!! I listen to it all the time and love the sound quality. It is so light and durable compared to the regular ipod. I have loaded 400 songs on it and my biggest problem is which song to pick. Loading cd's and downloading songs are also very easy and dont take very long. Overall it is awsome!

The iPod mini is built from the ground up as a portable device for people with fast-paced lives. It's small and lightweight physical dimensions are perfectly suited to be being placed in a pants or shirt pocket without being a burden.

But don't let its light weight fool you into thinking the iPod mini is a pushover. The 4GB hard drive (3.7 GB actual) can hold about 1,000 songs - enough to last almost three full days. The installed software includes four games; calendar; notepad; contact database; clock; backlight with timer; alarm clock; and the abilities to customize the main menu; create playlists; and rate songs. All this is in addition to being able to be used as an external hard drive.

However, the most revolutionary aspect of the iPod mini (aside from it's size and weight) is its control interface. Incorporating the 'Menu', 'Pause/Play', 'Forward' and 'Back' buttons directly to the touch sensitive scroll wheel not only creates simplicity from a design standpoint, but form a user one as well. Accessing these controls is a breeze. Thankfully the touch wheel is designed well enough that accidental pressing of a control is unlikely to occur since you have to press down a bit to activate the button. I'd actually like to see the entire iPod line adopt this interface.

Some people complain that the iPod mini is only slightly cheaper than the 20 GB iPod and offers a lot less storage space. But what you loose in storage space you gain in portability. It is also important to consider that compared to other players of its size and weight, the iPod mini offers much more storage space, many more features, and a better music jukebox in iTunes 4.0.

I want to carry the most music I can in the smallest possible device that offers the best interface and features. For me, that device is unquestionably the iPod mini. If you have similar demands of a portable music device, the iPod mini is sure to become a permanent accessory to your lifestyle.

The iPod mini is built from the ground up as a portable device for people with fast-paced lives. It's small and lightweight physical dimensions are perfectly suited to be being placed in a pants or shirt pocket without being a burden.

But don't let its light weight fool you into thinking the iPod mini is a pushover. The 4GB hard drive (3.7 GB actual) can hold about 1,000 songs - enough to last almost three full days. The installed software includes four games; a calendar; a notepad; a contact database; a clock; backlight with timer; an alarm clock; and the abilities to customize the main menu; create on-the-go playlists; and rate songs. All this is in addition to being able to be used as an external hard drive!

However, the most revolutionary aspect of the iPod mini (aside from it's size and weight) is its control interface. Incorporating the 'Menu', 'Pause/Play', 'Forward' and 'Back' buttons directly to the touch sensitive scroll wheel not only creates simplicity from a design standpoint, but form a user one as well. Accessing these controls is a breeze. Thankfully the touch wheel is designed well enough that accidental pressing of a control is unlikely to occur since you have to press down a bit to activate the button. I'd actually like to see the entire iPod line adopt this interface.

Some people complain that the iPod mini is only slightly cheaper than the 20 GB iPod and offers a lot less storage space. But what you loose in storage space you gain in portability. It is also important to consider that compared to other players of its size and weight, the iPod mini offers much more storage space, many more features, and a better music jukebox in iTunes 4.0.

I want to carry the most music I can in the smallest possible device that offers the best interface and features. For me, that device is unquestionably the iPod mini. If you have similar demands of a portable music device, the iPod mini is sure to become a permanent accessory to your lifestyle.

It's So awsome!!!!! I listen to it all the time and love the sound quality. It is so light and durable compared to the regular ipod. I have loaded 400 songs on it and my biggest problem is which song to pick. Loading cd's and downloading songs are also very easy and dont take very long. Overall it is awsome!

Everyone seems to like this mouse, but not me. The optical tracking is fine, but the size of this thing is ridiculous. The ironic thing is that I'm rather large myself, so I'd guess that I have a larger hand than most people.

For 15 years, I've used mice and other input devices frequently for pixel art, higher-level painting, and I'm a skilled gamer and professional game programmer. But my technique, like many good artists and gamers, is to keep the corner of my palm planted on the desk, as I do when using a pen or pencil. The two advantages are that it takes the weight and strain off my the arm, and it puts the mouse entirely under the fine motor control of my fingers. Obviously, this is impossible if the mouse is so huge. I'm pretty much limited to cupping my hand over this thing, meaning I can't leverage any coordinated muscle groups to steer this Titanic.

Other complaints: the shape isn't really that good either, it feels hollow, the side buttons are hard to reach, and the buttons feel loose instead of solid.

So I sold it and got the Logitech optical wheel mouse instead, and it's the best mouse I've ever used. (And I've used around 50 different mice in my time.) The Logitech is also a lot less expensive.

I bought this mouse when they were first launched a few years ago. After years of using non-optical mice, it was fantastic having a mouse which I didn't have to clean out every month or so and which tracked extremely well, and although I didn't think I'd use the extra buttons, I've found that because of the excellent software which comes with it, they have actually been quite useful as you can assign them to different task depending on the application currently running.

The mouse tracks very well, except if your surface is too polished (which isn't often a problem for me). Also, it's pretty comfortable to use, even though it's rather large, it's pretty lightweight, which says to me it's not built that well, but then structurally I've never had a problem. However the shape will not make left-handed users very happy.

My only real complaint is the reliability of these mice. A friend on mine has got through 2 of them so far, seemingly because of dodgy cable connections, and mine seems to occasionally fail for no apparent reason. When it fails, the light comes on and flashes 4 times, then nothing. If I leave it unplugged for a while, sometimes days, it seems to magically start working again. Another colleague has had one for a similar amount of time, but has never had any issues, but then looking at the condition of it, he obviously doesn't use his mouse as much as I do (not even his keyboard has a smooth patch on the space bar, something my keyboards develop in the space of a few months).

Overall, I like this mouse, but the unreliability of it makes me want to give it a lower score than it should really deserve. MS have done a nice job with the Mac and Windows software which comes with it and have made a good all-round mouse, but when it stops working and I have to resort to a single button Mac mouse for a few days, it's just not fun. Although that new black leather wireless looks nice, I have a feeling I'll be buying a Logitech next time around.

I've been using my IntelliMouse Explorer since March, with only one complaint: I can't buy another one to install on my system at work. This mouse has seriously spoiled me. No more sticky or sluggish operation like with my conventional mouse, and the programmable forward and back buttons make surfing the net much smoother and faster. I was suprised to hear that some people have trouble hitting them by mistake, because my thumb lies very naturally underneath the buttons, until I need to use them. It really is very intuitive in the operation. I also really enjoy the wheel scroll feature. You can actually click on the wheel itself, and then use the mouse to scroll through long web pages at lightning speed. All this, plus it just looks so darn cool on my desktop. I shopped all over, both in my home town and online last spring, because after I saw one in person, I had to have one. After much searching, I found one for $69.99, which was $5 less than anywhere else. Now I find it on Amazon for $15 less than the "sale" price. I'm going to get one for my parents for Christmas, mostly for them, but also because I hate using their dinky little mouse when I go over to help them out with PC problems. All around an excellent tool, and now at an even better price.

I wrote a previous review about this product before even using it, complaining about the extra expenses that came with it. I regret not using the product first, to determine whether or not the hidden expenses (sales tax ($20.00), USB 2.0 card ($30.00), and USB plug ($19.00 plus $5.00 shipping and tax), total $374). The Apple iPod, despite its setbacks in price, is an amazing little product.

As soon as the USB connector cord arrived in the mail (quickly, even, I ordered late Saturday night and recieved my order the following Wednesday) I proceeded to download the software (took about 10 minutes, very easy set up), and record about 12 CDs using the MusicMatch Jukebox software that came with the iPod. This proved to be slightly frusterating...MusicMatch is not very user-friendly, and very flawed; I had to restart my computer between every 5 or so C.D.'s, and a few C.D.'s didn't record at all. Each C.D. took about 3 minutes to record. After recording the discs, I synced my iPod to MusicMatch (my computer failed to recognize the iPod, but for some reason MusicMatch did, so I had no problem) and downloaded the files; an amazingly fast process with USB 2.0. After that, I had a slight problem in that the iPod didn't remove the "Do Not Disconnect" message from the screen after the songs were downloaded. I decided to be brave, and unplug the little machine, and had no problems.

As far as the iPod itself goes, I was amazed. The controls are a bit confusing at first, but it too me no time at all to become accostomed to them. The overall layout of the files is easy...from the main screen you can go to the playlists option (a list of your playlists, or mixes, of songs...you could do "Happy Songs", "Favorite Songs", "Classical Music", "Songs that Start with the Letter B", etc.), the browse menu (look at songs by Artists, Albums, Songs, Genres, and Composers) the Extras menu (the clock, contacts list, calender, notes and games- Solitare, Brick, and Parachute. note: although you can enter info onto the contacts list, calender, and notes from your computer, information can no be entered on the go and the iPod is absolutely no replacement for a PDA), the settings menu, the backlight button, or the "Now Playing" option if you have music going. The sound quality of the player is excellent, however, I'm not a fan of the earbuds...they're a bit too big and uncomfortable. If you really, really, really want to get the most out of your iPod, you can use it as a portable hard drive- to transfer large files from one computer to another- or to download text onto like recipies, driving directions, and maybe a short story. The touch controls make the iPod more durable-no buttons to break-but are easily pressed, so you never know when you may accidentally brush against something and stop you song, or worse, cause the volume to rise to earsplitting levels. I reccomend using the hold switch so nothing will accidentally be pressed. The only problems I have are with the batterry status indicator...its very approximate.

So, in short....

Pros:
Put all your CDs on one player...throw out the clunky CD case
Small and portable
Easy to use
Doubles as a calender, address book, text displayer, and portable hard drive
iTunes Music Store (Mac) lets you purchase individual songs for $.99 each
Looks totally spiffy
Will make friends jealous

Cons:
Battery life indicator is approximate
MusicMatch is slightly difficult to use

Scratches very easily
Kinda screwy with the "Do Not Disconnect" messages
EXPENSIVE

My Sony mini-disc player died after a short life (moment of silence). So when I got a new job, the toy of choice was an iPod. What a difference!

The bad as compared to the mini-disc player is that the iPod doesn't have an LCD display remote control. So with so many songs, it's hard to blindly navigate if your iPod is stashed away. Hopefully Apple will create such a remote. Otherwise, it wins over the mini-disc player hands down!

The new mini-discs hold 5 hours of music. 2 years ago that was a big deal. My 20 Gig iPod has 17 hours of music already and I am using merely 390 MB. That's less than a fraction of its capacity. The iPod's looking at me like, "When are you gonna REALLY add some music?"

The 3 lines of music data display the song title, artist, and even album! And the sound...oh boy. I feel like I'm at a concert! Excellent sound! You can also tweak the sound with the equalizer.

Once they make that LCD remote to make navigating easier, it'll be perfect.

I recently purchased a PowerMac 12" computer and got a great deal on a 10GB iPod. I absolutely love it! I'm currently in the process of backing up my entire CD collection and putting my favorites on the iPod to use in the car; much easier to use the iPod on the road than shuffling through CDs. There are a few things that don't thrill me about its design: it is rather difficult to change settings on the fly (i.e. EQ). It'd be nice to have the EQ sync with the genre on the mp3 tags (if this is actually available I haven't figured it out). It takes a while to become comfortable with its navigation, however once you do there's really no problem getting around.

PROS:
firewire powers/charges/syncs device (no needless, excessive input ports)
sleek, slim design
backlight VERY handy
stores other data files than just mp3/AAC/wav/etc.
screamin' fast firewire connection (compare to USB)
durable; no problem jogging w/ it on a belt clip
solid state buttons/wheel
many features (calendar, games, clock, etc.)

CONS:
proprietary Firewire cable (which, in apple's defense, is included)
fairly expensive compared to other mp3 systems (high $/GB ratio)