Apple Releases Software to Set IPod Volume

ap & nyt ^ | 3/28/06

[mathprof]

Owners of recent iPods will now be able to set how loud their digital music players can go. Apple Computer Inc., facing complaints and a lawsuit claiming the popular player can cause hearing loss, made the setting available as part of a new software update Wednesday. The free download applies to the iPod Nano and the iPod models with video-playback capabilities.

Parents also can use the feature to set a limit on their child's iPod and lock it with a code, the company added.

[mathprof]

This update is welcome if you have kids with an iPod. I'll update my son's iPod and put a volume cap on it.

[Izzy Dunne]

Need one of these for the cars on city streets...

[CarrotAndStick]

Need one myself, and was actually looking for a fix right now.


I hate it when the volume shoots up while picking the iPod up, and my skin accidently rubs fast against the ClickWheel.

(And no, the 'lock' button is not too much fun to use, when one has the habit of skipping songs frequently).

[ShadowAce]

Apple Ping

[Obadiah]

This is specifically aimed at the DOLTS who apparently fail to understand how to ooperate the VOLUME CONTROL that is standard on every single iPod. Nanny stateism.

[Yossarian]

This is specifically aimed at the DOLTS who apparently fail to understand how to ooperate the VOLUME CONTROL that is standard on every single iPod. Nanny stateism.

Actually, it's a convienent way to make sure you don't accidentally blast the volume up to a point louder than you really want it. I can't tell you how many times I've tried turning up the volume during an unexpectedly soft section only to get my ears blasted when something loud kicks in.

[martin_fierro]

What's that you say?

	iPod
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[Terpfen]

If anything, it is specifically aimed at warding off further frivolous lawsuits. If we, the users, get an additional feature for free, why complain?

[Glenn]

This is specifically aimed at the DOLTS who apparently fail to understand

I wear my iPod on my belt. Just this morning the volume was turned all the way up when my seatbelt triggered the control on accident. This is a good feature. I could have been in an accident, eh?

[FoxInSocks]

Nanny stateism.

It appears to be optional, so it's hardly "nanny stateism." Nothing wrong with a free extra feature. Unlike the iPods sold in Europe, which are all volume limited. But of course there's software available to bypass that control.

[Swordmaker]

Apple updates iPod to provide parental control of Volume settings... PING!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[antiRepublicrat]

Nice, but unfortunately it shows weakness, possibly admitting the stupid lawsuit has merit.

[afnamvet]

Installed update and it works OK.

[August West]

You drive while using earphones?

[Glenn]

You drive while using earphones?

It's the only way I can hear. I am completely deaf in the left and mostly deaf in the right. If the sound isn't piped through an earphone, I can't comprehend what I am hearing at all because of distortion. Okay?

[VeniVidiAuferi]

I'm sure the cop and the judge will be most amused when you use that to explain why you didn't hear the siren and cut-off that ambulance/firetruck...

[Glenn]

I'm sure the cop and the judge will be most amused when you use that to explain why you didn't hear the siren and cut-off that ambulance/firetruck...

Is that why deaf people aren't permitted to drive? I wondered about that. Should I voluntarily give up my license, or is there some way we can split a crimebusters reward if I let you turn me in?

[VeniVidiAuferi]

I just think it would be quite interesting in the courtroom if the prevailing belief amongst the jurors was "so, you decided to use what little hearing you had left for music rather than for safety concerns?". In CT 'phones for music are illegal (one ear or two), 'phones for one ear are permitted for cellphones; hearing-deficient cases are judged individually - degrees of incapacity & a regard for (public) safety over convenience.

CT lately (few months) enacted a driving-with-cellphone ban (headsets mandatory for drivers if they wanted to talk - asinine since the truth is that many just canNOT concentrate on driving AND a conversation at the same time; though I have seen idiots with headsets STILL gesticulating with BOTH hands while driving) and I seem to remember some mention of the hearing-impared and the discussion was concerning the 'safety-over-convenience' argument. One staggeringly stupid discussion was about a cellphone in one ear and an iPod (or equivalent) in the other.

It's more important to hear the horns and sirens around you then even talking on a phone, let alone listing to the radio - cellphones and radios aren't rights; they're privileges, as is driving.

[Glenn]

It's more important to hear the horns and sirens around you then even talking on a phone, let alone listing to the radio - cellphones and radios aren't rights; they're privileges, as is driving.

Where to start?

I'll be totally deaf soon and there is an urgency to use all I have left while I can. Having adapted to the life of a deafie, I use a lot of visual clues that you'd never see. I'm no danger to society or my fellow drivers.

Radios have been a 'must' in American vehicles since Elvis got hot. People are able to listen to them and drive just fine. Your argument would stretch to banning personal radios on public transportation because you might miss someone saying, "Coming through". It's all silly, you understand. The deaf among us have the same rights and privileges that others do, eh?

[VeniVidiAuferi]

As the operator of a motor vehicle it is incumbent upon you to use whatever senses you have left to properly operate your vehicle among the public. If it is impossible for you to forgo the use of a radio or iPod even for the small amount of time spent driving somewhere to use the remaining extent of your aural capabilities to listen for sirens/horns then it will be wonderful to see a civil court jury have a field day with you if, god forbid, you f!-up big-time when even your limited and waning sense of hearing could have prevented you from hurting someone.
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