* self-pity, self-destruct...?

...
So, last week Apple announced the revamp of the ipod nano and launched the ipod touch:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6980451.stm

And because I have itunes, I got the email announcement and I also got a mail from Amazon about their pricing and release dates for all the new ipods


And all I can think is "...waaaaaaaaant one of eeeach...!"


I've always, always liked the wee matchbox sized Shuffle, although it did take me a while to get my head round the concept of not having full control of your music (you know, it... shuffles... that's what it does... and to be honest, I usually have my ipod on shuffle anyway...)

But I've always fancied one - small and light, ideal for commuting or for when I go out for a plod (I don't actually run or even jog all the way, plus those terms make it sound all proper and like I know what I'm doing... I just kind of plod along at various speeds for a while)

And the new nano plays videos and looks just gorgeous - all futuristic and sleek-looking and wee and 8gb

And as for the touch - oh mama, what's not to like... video, touch screen, browser, lovely lovely lovely...


And all I can think is "...waaaaaaaaant one of eeeach...!"


But I've got my wee pink ipod mini, it works fine - and I've also got a minidisk player, my phone has an mp3 player, and I've still got a tape walkman and Calvin has an mp3 player I can borrow, too.

I have NO NEED for any kind of new "plays music" doohickey, it's just want and greed for newness, pure and simple

So on the Saturday, I get ready to go out for one of my plods: trainers on, sweats on, hat to keep my hair out of my face, and running jacket, because it's kind of overcast and looks like it might spit, if not rain.

Now, I've already asked Mum the previous weekend if she has any suggestions about the pockets on my running jacket - they don't have a zip or a fastener or anything, and I'm concerned about things falling out when I'm able to run better and am focusing on that rather than on the pockets.

I've already tried the stick-on Velcro stuff, but it's so powerful that it sticks to itself and comes off the fabric.

The problem is finding a way to fasten the pocket without damaging the fabric or putting it at risk of tearing when the pocket is opened: we've not been able to come up with any real ideas to try and I'm just a wee plodder so it's not that much of a worry yet anyway.

Or is it...

I'm plodding along, 5 min brisk walk warm-up then run-walk-run-walk at 1 min intervals, and about 15 mins in, my ipod falls out of my pocket.

Now, it doesn't completely fall and hit the ground, the headphones acted like a bungee cord.

My poor wee ipod mini fell from my waist-high pocket to the height of my calf, got a wee bit of a jolt when the headphone lead ran out of slack and stopped it totally crashing to the ground, then the headphones jack popped out of the ipod and the thing fell at the very mostest 30cm/ 12inches.
And it fell onto its bottom, where its little protective rubber sleeve is thickest.

So I pick it up, reconnect the headphones, and keep going (surreptitiously glancing around to see if anyone saw my tragedy/stupidity)

It plays to the end of the track, and then freezes.

I stop and examine it, thinking that the jolt has damaged the headphones, you know, broken the wires or something.

But no - the ipod has stopped playing.

After a lot of clickwheel shenanigans, it moves on to the next track, but still won't play.
It's frozen, and the battery power is draining much faster than usual, especially since the d@mn thing isn't even playing!

So I keep on plodding, holding the silent thing in one hand and my house keys in the other (pocket problem confirmed, no music is one thing; locking yourself out of the house is a whooooole different thing...)

By the time I get home (a plod of about 5km in about 45mins, if you must know) the ipod is no longer frozen...

Instead, this is on the screen...

It has 'x's for eyes, that's never good...


There’s a website address underneath the icon, so I log on and go to the ipod itunes support site and look up what to do…

By now, my poor wee ipod is cycling between the dead ipod one, the start-up Apple one, and this one:

It’s not charging at all, and it’s not showing up in itunes any more, either…

And no matter how often I try the advice on the support pages, it’s not working. It’s cycling through the icons and occasionally making a high-pitched beeping sound, like a lorry reversing far away…

So I guess my ipod is officially dead
#sniff#

Outside of trying a new battery (which will not be cheap and might not even work…) or getting it serviced (it’s a mini, it’s obsolete, it’ll cost just to get someone to look at it let alone fix it…) my wee ipod has passed on…

I’ve looked on ebay, and mini’s are going for a minimum of about £50… Amazon are selling the new nano for £130… which would be brand new, fully supported, and come with a warranty… even the old nanos are aren’t much cheaper than that…

So this is what I’m wondering – isn’t the timing of the whole thing just a little bit interesting…?

My ipod didn’t fall from a great height: it’s fallen from higher off the couch onto the hardwood floor and didn’t have a headphone bungee cord that time, so what was so different about this fall that Donald-Ducked it once and for all..?

Did my wee ipod know I was ogling other models and commit suicide?

Did it give up the ghost when it realised it was old and past it and there were newer better options available from within its very own family?

Or, even more sinister…

Was there something in the most recent itunes update that programmed the oldest ipods to die when the new ones came out, so that they would HAVE to be replaced…?!

Creepy, huh...?

The only thing I can be sure of is that from here on in, whatever I use to play music while I go for a plod, I’ll put it in my wee zip-up-able armband thing…