Monday
Jan192004
Go Apple!
Monday, January 19, 2004 at 11:59PM
So I've been meaning to write a longer post with my thoughts about the iPod. This is not that post. That's coming up soon but truthfully I'm still getting used to the whole concept. It seems straightforward but carrying around an entire music library carries a lot of implications. Especially for me, where my music and mood tend to have positive feedback loops and quick access to a large selection means I can metaprogram myself easily. And having space for everything means I can dig deeper in my CD collection than I usually do, back to stuff I haven't really listened to since college. Anyway, more on that later.
However, I do have to say that my brand-new-but-already-treasured iPod died this weekend. Sorta. The iPod itself worked fine, but it stopped talking to my PC. It would charge from the Firewire cable, but not do any data transmissions. Tried a couple of different cables, two different PC's and a Mac but no joy. So Sunday I gloomily took it into the Apple store, prepared for them to tell me no iPod for 6 weeks or whatever.
Now, the Apple store is slightly worrisome if you haven't drunk the Kool-Aid. It definitely has cult overtones writ large upon it. And there isn't "Customer Service" in the Apple store, oh no! Karin and I are heading for the "Genius Bar". This is of course all to be regarded with deep suspicion. And the guy at the "Genius Bar", in his T-shirt labelled 'iPod Genius" is just reinforcing all the stereotypes and making me feel cranky and old to boot.
BUT! The story has a happy ending. He poked at it for a while, agreed that it was toast, and went and got a new iPod from stock. At this point it is revealed that his computer can't see my warranty registration. (And I did register it, it's part of the software install.) But he does some voodoo in their computer service database, forces it through and hands me a brand new iPod. Huzzah! I take it home, plug it up and let the PC spew at it for an hour or so and my 3300+ songs are all on it, and I've got my library ready to roll for work today!
So I only have two (well now three) datapoints on iPod reliability. Karin's has worked fine since she got it in September, and I wasted one in about a month. :-) But damn, I'm impressed with the customer service if you do have a problem with your iPod.
I haven't drunk the Kool-Aid yet, but there are some very impressive things about Apple these days. And I'm certainly going to be nice to the people behind the "Genius Bar" (but I'll still make fun of the name!)
However, I do have to say that my brand-new-but-already-treasured iPod died this weekend. Sorta. The iPod itself worked fine, but it stopped talking to my PC. It would charge from the Firewire cable, but not do any data transmissions. Tried a couple of different cables, two different PC's and a Mac but no joy. So Sunday I gloomily took it into the Apple store, prepared for them to tell me no iPod for 6 weeks or whatever.
Now, the Apple store is slightly worrisome if you haven't drunk the Kool-Aid. It definitely has cult overtones writ large upon it. And there isn't "Customer Service" in the Apple store, oh no! Karin and I are heading for the "Genius Bar". This is of course all to be regarded with deep suspicion. And the guy at the "Genius Bar", in his T-shirt labelled 'iPod Genius" is just reinforcing all the stereotypes and making me feel cranky and old to boot.
BUT! The story has a happy ending. He poked at it for a while, agreed that it was toast, and went and got a new iPod from stock. At this point it is revealed that his computer can't see my warranty registration. (And I did register it, it's part of the software install.) But he does some voodoo in their computer service database, forces it through and hands me a brand new iPod. Huzzah! I take it home, plug it up and let the PC spew at it for an hour or so and my 3300+ songs are all on it, and I've got my library ready to roll for work today!
So I only have two (well now three) datapoints on iPod reliability. Karin's has worked fine since she got it in September, and I wasted one in about a month. :-) But damn, I'm impressed with the customer service if you do have a problem with your iPod.
I haven't drunk the Kool-Aid yet, but there are some very impressive things about Apple these days. And I'm certainly going to be nice to the people behind the "Genius Bar" (but I'll still make fun of the name!)
Reader Comments (8)
Please, I can smell the Kool Aid from here. You are sucking on Apple Kool Aid popsicles, my friend.
... I want an iPod. Sniff. And a Super Turbo Deluxe Robo Dancing Bwana Poshy.
It is, in fact, Apple-flavored Kool-Aid, and it's damned fine. I'm sorry to hear you had an issue with your pod, but that it appears to have been a cinch to get addressed.
I was heavily thinking about an iPod before deciding to go with a T3; it seemed more reasonable to get the smaller storage, but broader purpose machine. But every time I see an iPod, I WANT ONE. I don't even listen to a walkman when wandering around, because I like to hear the ambient sounds of where I am, but I WANT ONE.
Any thought on the new iPod Mini that Apple will offer?
I don't quite understand the iPod Mini. Pricing-wise it makes no sense. It's 4 Gig for $50 less than the 15 Gig iPod. So the only thing going for it is the size. My iPod fits in a pocket, and that's as small as I need it to be. I'm CLOSE to saying anything smaller is TOO small. And I've got my doubts about putting the buttons under the wheel, but I'd have to play with one to make a final call on it. The biggest issue I have about the iPod is accidentally pushing the buttons already, so further overloading seems like it will aggravate the situation.
And why didn't they offer the fruity colors on the regular iPods? That seems like a no-brainer (heh, originally typed no-brianer, which seems to fit your comment) to me. I like the white, but obviously I don't get the fruity colored Mac thing and never have.
As for the Kool-Aid, I've partially redeemed myself by mocking the mouse on another comment. Apple mouses suck. Period. One button is stupid, and the shape of most of them is terribly unergonomic. (A hockey puck? That new oblong transparent block? They look cool, but my hand almost IMMEDIATELY cramps.) I find it telling that they sell Microsoft mice at the Apple store . . . .
I like the milk-white plastics on the iBook. I think they're the same as on the iPod. The translucent blue and white iMac defined a couple years' worth of knockoff electronics. If metallic-pastel is the next big thing, I want off this fucking planet, pronto.
So far most people think the iPod Mini's size/price difference is foolish. I agree. The iPod blitzed the world because it offered SO much more space, and a MUCH better UI than any other portable player.
These days there are a number of mini HDD based players available, many of them aping the UI of the iPod. Cost will become an issue, but it's one that Apple frequently ignores. Sometimes they take it in the shorts for ignoring it, and sometimes not.
Apple Mice: Although some apps support multibutton mice, the Apple Developer's bible apparently seriously frowns on requiring one. Maya for Mac /does/, but what can anyone do about the only /real/ modeling package available for OS X?
I bought one of those clear lozenge mice when I got my iBook. The trackpad implementation on the iBook is so well thought out, I've only used the mouse three times or so in as many years.
I can't stand trackpads. Never seen one I found remotely acceptable. I liked IBM's little thumbstick in the keyboard much better, but you have to pay beaucoup bucks for a Thinkpad to get it.
I don't find the trackpad on Karin's Powerbook any better than what I have on my Vaio, or she had on her older Compaq. (And I can't resist pointing out the lack of the right button :-) And actually that's a bigger deal for me, who would be drawn to OS X due to the UNIX underpinnings, and X wants THREE mouse buttons.) However, I don't like her mouse acceleration settings, so I don't like using the external mouse on her Mac. And I don't use the thing enough to make my own account and configure it separately. So that might influence my opinion of the pad.
Mac stuff is built around one-button operation, or chorded with keys (usual RMB stuff is commonly click-and-hold, or CTRL-click in OS X).
The largely-required integration of RMB in Windows is one of the reasons that the Trackpad on PC's doesn't work well for me; I commonly will reach to do something with my off-hand, and the LMB/RMB doesn't make the flip for my left hand.
Until I started using OS X enough to compare it with the UI of Windows, OS X just annoyed me. Now I like it a lot better than Windows, and better than pre-X MacOS. You may be feeling the same UI dissonance that I had.
Hmm. My annoyances with trackpad's have nothing to do with the buttons, I just don't like the actual moving the cursor around.
My comment on OS X usage was that I don't like the motion the mouse makes on Karin's laptop specifically. In fact, it's about the exact same of a Windows installation out of the box. Setting the mouse acceleration is proably one of the first five things I do when setting up an OS. I haven't done it to the Mac, since it's not mine, and I don't use it that often. So evaluating the Trackpad on her Mac is difficult for me.
So what I'm TRYING to say is that I don't like trackpads. I have not found the one on Karin's Powerbook to be an improvement, but concede that I haven't given it a fair shakedown cruise. Since my dislike of them has nothing to do with mouse buttons, I wouldn't expect the Mac OS single button ethos to come into play here.
If you're thinking that the movement-via-pad itself is the problem, then my assumption may not apply. Simply: If the issue is manipulation, which involves cursor movement and button usage, the one-button difference is key. If the problem lies simply in moving the cursor from point A to B onscreen, the problem may lie in the sensitivity of the pad.
I think OS X uses a similar relative speed of movement setting. Like mice have.