Apple adds volume limiting to iPod
Summary: I've been ranting on the effects of loud music on hearing loss for a while now and it's refreshing to see Apple take efforts to help limit the hearing damage potential caused by the iPod - too bad it took a lawsuit to make them do it.
I've been ranting on the effects of loud music on hearing loss for a while now and it's refreshing to see Apple take efforts to help limit the hearing damage potential caused by the iPod - too bad it took a lawsuit to make them do it.
I'm a big fan of live music, concerts and festivals and have been wearing ear plugs to loud music events for almost five years now. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that listening to loud music for extended periods of time can cause damage to your ears. Still, some people insist on listening to their iPods on near full volume for hours at a time. Then they sue Apple claiming that it's their fault that the iPod goes so loud. The analogy is to suing an auto maker because their car goes too fast and it caused you to wreck.
Yesterday Apple released iPod Software 1.1.1 that adds a new "Volume Limit" feature.
The new 1.1.1 software update for iPod nano and fifth generation iPods provides an easy way for you to set a maximum volume limit to prevent the volume from exceeding a certain level. You can also assign a combination to prevent the setting from being changed which is ideal for parental control.
As I have suggested in the past, it would be easy for Apple to avoid the exposure to further litigation by simply shipping the iPods pre-set to a lower maximum volume level and require customers to sign a release before giving them the unlock code.
As I have also said in the past, one of the best ways to protect your ears is to invest in a good set of in-ear earphones with custom sleeves. Sure, they'll cost you some bucks, but in the end they allow you to listen to your iPod at lower volume levels and hear more of your music. I'm currently listening to my iPod with a pair of FS-1 earphones from Future Sonics with custom fit sleeves and I never listen to my iPod above 50 percent volume.
What's your strategy for saving your hearing?
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Talkback
Is this what it has come to?
Agreed.
While I agree
Say I own an IPOD. Say I take personal responsablity for my actions and try to set the volume but low and behold I have no clue what the safe volume is. Say I decide to have head phones instead ear buds the volume setting would be higher in this case. But with Earbuds I'd want to set the volume max to lower. Is this not a good thing to have. Something learned by experience to be good?
Still a lawsuit against Apple should also include every Walkman, Diskman, computer, stereo manufacturer out there. They all allow excessive volumes.
Personally I think a display of harmful volumes would be appropriate. That way if I choose to exceed the time and volume recomended then it's my choice. I'd rather not be in the dark hoping I'm not exceeding either for very long.
Yep...
I agree too
How loud should you turn it up to?
What you're descibing is like car tires the blow out speeds over 180 KM/hr while the car can go up to speed over 200 KM/hr. So what does Ford do? They put govenor in to stop you from going above 180. You can remove the govenor if you want but that's your choice and not Fords fault. With out the govenor Ford can have no idea of what tire you have on and if you can go faster. Your idea applied here of just letting people decide to not speed would not work and did not work here. Why would that thinking work with an IPOD.
OMG
Also I just bought a 3000 dollar amp and some 8000 dollar speakers... I bet if I turn that amp all the way up and blow the speakers my eardrums will go too. So who should I sue the amp maker or the speaker maker for not selling me some common sense as well.
Any argument for the idiots who turned up there ipods all the way with big headphones on should fall on deaf ears... LOL litteraly and figurativly. I can sell you a bottle of water and if you dont drink it and die of thirst is that my fault? on the same hand I can sell you an ipod and some headphones and if you eat it and die is it my fault? or what if you turn the headset up all the way and hurt your ears whos fault is that? You see the argument will never end.
Now to my point I am hard of hearing per say becuase of old age (not in part of the ipod LOL) and now with the new patch I cant turn it up load enough to hear it where I want to... Should I sue apple for making a product I cant use?
You tell me
Clueless
Also I don't believe you did go 280 Mph in a regular Ford Truck. Especially since that faster than the current gas powered land speed record. That's 450 KM/hour, the record is 320 KM/hr. Now if you're talking a jet car then maybe but that's not what we are talking about. Again I call BS.
Maybe if you read the BLOG you see that all Apple did was add a feature that limited the max volume. The feature you set and you can lock it out so say your kids listen only at the volume you want. I think by your description you never have used head phone. Limiting the volume can be good. I should have that control. It should not be set by government but it should be able to set by me period.
your right about tire speed but....
Law suits are extreme
Still the end result is good. Much like in a car that is governored to a certain max speed I can remove that easily. Same as I can limit the volume to what I want it set to not what some tells me to set it too or I can choose to leave it as is. This is smart move by Apple but would they have done with a pending law suit?
Why not sue Sony or BMG
No one is suing Apple for hearing loss
OMG you people
how would you know
Regardless, of course I wouldn't sue.
If your dumb enough to turn up an electric blanket to max, and then just lay there as it gets hotter and hotter, continue laying there as the burns begin, and then STILL continue to lay there as the burns become 2nd degree, no, you should not get to sue, people that stupid wouldn't know what to do with the money anyways.
People need start taking responisibility for their own actions and stop looking for people to sue because they did something stupid.
I'm suing Budweiser because their product MAY make me an alcoholic.
ipod
for the individual's inability to make good sound decisions for
themselves. No wonder the welfare and social security rolls are
overwhelmed. Take some freak'n responsibility for your own
actions. Apple, early on put a volumn control on their ipod. The
one on mine works great.
More than earphones in the audio connection
I like loud audio equiptment because I like to have it turned to 50% or less. Music and speekers seem to sound better when the volume is at 50%. I am not sure why that is, but any higher and you can start to hear a slight distortion.
Some songs are recorded at a lower volume (the mix tape I had converted to MP3 via my line in port on my computer) and the sound needs to be where it would be uncomfortable on a song recorded from a CD.
I liked having a volume control that I could crank up and just lay the ear buds down on the desk and still be able to hear my podcasts. I should probably buy a speaker set for my desk now.
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