I Heart My iPod

When the first generation of iPod came out, I thought - eh.  Ho-hum.  This coming from a music fanatic who has spent decades of hours creating mix tapes and burning mix CDs.  I felt I was in control of my playlist, it was 90 minutes of my inner DJ coming out to shine.  The iPod was a foreign creature to me that wanted to steal my DJ spotlight. 

It wasn't until the 3rd generation that it truly became a mainstream must-have.  That was when my husband waited impatiently one time too many - we were late for an event because I was waiting for my cd to burn that would accompany us on our drive.  That Christmas, Santa left a brand new toy beneath my tree.  It was small, white, fit in the palm of my hand - and held one thousand songs all at once! 

Then came the tricky part - how to play it in the cars.  The hookup wasn't easy, I didn't have a cassette deck so that adapter wouldn't work.  Over the years we tried FM transmitters, which weren't too bad - the staticky sound coming through reminded me of the days when FM radio was a new but timid trend.  But, that got old after several road trips where it simply wasn't audible enough.  Soon it felt like having a Slinky and no stairs. 

Another issue came in the form of my growing digital music collection.  I spent two years ripping my thousands of songs (only a fraction of them would fit - how the heck do I choose?!) into a hard drive, and transferring them to my iTunes.  It was quite a chore; I meticulously filled in all of the information about each song, including the year of its release and the original album artwork - not the 'Greatest Hits' that iTunes so lazily downloaded.  So many hours scouring the net for those images.  Anal retentive, perhaps, but when it was done I had the biggest, baddest iTunes in the history of Apple. 

I was hooked, and have been with every generation since.  There was the iPod Photo - oooooh, a color screen!  In came the Nano - so tiny, and then came the rainbow of colors!  Then there was the Video iPod - I was enamored and promptly set about converting my own DVDs to transfer to my little black gem (oooooh!  Black!  So glamorous!).  The 80 gigabyte hard drive was more to my liking, but still not big enough.  It was the iPod Classic that I settled into nicely with the 160 gigabytes that, at last, could handle my media collection (ten thousand songs!).

I decorated my iPods with colorful decals, each one unique.  I tend to bond with my electronics, and Apple ranks as one of my greatest love affairs.  I didn't use Mac computers, I didn't drop tons of money on Apple-brand accessories like the die-hards did, but my iPods and I were like blood-brothers.  Bonded at the fingertips.  With the iPod Touch, a skin graft couldn't have brought us closer.

Like with all relationships, the sizzle eventually becomes a simmer, as has been the case with me for the last few years.  The iPad garnered much anticipation, but it was simply a larger version of the iPod, and frankly very clunky in appearance compared to the sleek candy-coated look of its smaller counterparts.  But, now we're back down to a wimpy sized drive, and Apple's snit with Adobe rendered their lack of compatibility with Flash video very inconvenient for me.  The iPad didn't have the convenience of slipping into my pocket or purse.  My netbook worked quite nicely for any task the iPad boasted.  I've also not invested in an iPhone because the cell companies want to be greedy and clean my bank account with their data charges. 

Now that times are tighter and purchases require more thought, I look to the future that will include an iPhone and an iPad, but my standards are higher.  But.. we'll get there eventually.

My iPod Touch remains the crown jewel of my collection of various sized players.  Some I keep in a drawer for nostalgic moments.  Some I've managed to part with but never to sell - they were gifted to those in need of such a miracle.  I have devoted an entire Nano to just my holiday collection; a pretty purple one that reminds me of blue Christmases.  I nickname each of them.  My seductive red Nano - The Little Sleep Machine.  There's Blackie, Whitey, The Big Kahuna.  Each holds a special place in my heart because of the gift they've given me; a song for every possible moment.

This gift came from a man who was as unassuming as he was innovative.  A man who saw the digital future and gave the jaded internet a new life.  Music for me, and millions of others, became exciting again - not an easy task but made to seem effortless.

Rest in peace, Steve.  Your legacy is the map of a generation, and the bond that brought generations together.