Video iPod (reprise)

So after seeing our Mac Whore’s video iPod, I rushed out and bought the 60 gig version. I opted for the black version. All I can say is that it’s astoundingly cool.

The first thing I did was checked out the music videos and TV shows available in the iTunes store. I downloaded several videos (Mazzy Star, U2, Everclear, Velvet Underground, among others) and then downloaded the two pilot episodes of Lost, a TV show that I’d heard a lot about but never bothered to Tivo.

It’s massively, mind-bogglingly phenomenal.

During my gauntlet of business trips this week, I put the video iPod through its paces. As soon as the airplane’s wheels went up somewhere above Memphis, I started watching the first episode of “Lost.” It works. Really well. The small screen is very crisp, and when you wear headphones, it really pulls you into the movie. It’s a great way to endure a flight when you’re too tired to read and too cramped to pull out your computer. (And “Lost” is all that; I’m downloading the first season as I write this. I love the fact that there are no commercials and wonder if there’s a business model here for people who are willing to pay for commercial-free content.)

The one thing I’m tripping on is ripping DVDs to my computer so I can put them on my iPod. I downloaded Mac the Ripper and, as the Mac Whore suggested, Handbrake. Both are cool and work well, but I think my G4 Powerbook just doesn’t have the huevos to do this work. Ripping a DVD is mind-numbingly slow (like, all night). So now I’m toying with an upgrade to one of the G5 desktops … Funny how technology has that domino effect.

Now I just need the iTunes store to expand its horizons and start offering A LOT more stuff to chose from — at least until I get a Mac fast enough to rip DVDs for viewing on my iPod.