cooltunes

See previous post. The more I think about it, the worse I feel. Because today I got an email from the person who can’t stand to have things in her ear. She thanked me for being understanding about how the iPod was a ‘bad fit’ as a gift for her.

I had been so taken aback by her remarks the other day that I didn’t think to tell her how she could just plug her iPod into her stereo system or her car, thereby getting around using earphones. And it wasn’t that I was understanding, it was more that I was. . . silent.

But I’m not sure I could ever tell anyone their present was inappropriate. Perhaps she saw endless iTunes gift cards in her future. (I did explain she could put the music on CDs.) But can you imagine? Endless iTunes gift cards?

Last Christmas I gave iPods to two people I felt would never buy one for themselves. One recipient has no computer and no access to one, so I added 200 songs from my music library with the stipulation that I would remove any or all that were not wanted.

The other recipient does have access to iTunes. Both are incredibly difficult to buy gifts for, and selfishly, I had in mind very easy future gifts of iTunes gift cards, at least for the computer user . Hah.

Both were initially pleased with having a nifty Apple gadget. However, the first giftee soon made it clear that he did not want any more songs added (his nano has a 2,000 song capability), nor did he want any of his music collection on the iPod. I got what amounted to a lecture on why he felt this way, and how the gift was basically useless. He said he didn’t want to hear songs over and over again.

The other person bought one iTunes song, and that was that. She also gave me a lecture on why it was an inappropriate gift, although she did give consideration to my feelings. So I got to see someone hold an iPod in their hand, and go on and on about how they can’t stand to have something in their ear. Or how they could never do yard work with something like this because they want to know if someone is coming up behind them. And I think maybe I should just ask for it back and hold a giveaway for Cooltunes.

I’m going to assume that she did not appreciate the iTunes gift card I just gave her for her birthday. Pre-lecture.

Does she tap her toe or bob her head back and forth discreetly when she has the earbuds on? Did a committee decide what to put in the playlist?

Today when my iPod quit playing via the stereo speakers, there was an battery icon I hadn’t seen before. After hurriedly checking to make sure it could be revived, I set about recharging. Apparently I had never let it run down to this level before, wherein it ‘is not able to connect with your computer or appear in iTunes’. Well, at least for 30 min. or thereabouts.

Whew!

At least I didn’t get the sad iPod icon.

A family member was given both by family members who were unaware of what the other was doing. Mine was the loaded iPod.

A theory about the massive Zune failure is here.

Speaking of people stuck in a musical rut, a friend falls in the same category as the relative. The shuffle I got her is only a little bigger than my camera’s memory card. But she has a Mac, newer than mine even.

So I’ll put a bunch of music on CDs and let her son do the loading. Because she’s kinda fearful of computers, even Macs.

After learning recently that a relative has not been exposed to music much past the 60s, I decided to get him a nano 8g. He does not have internet access, and chooses not to sample music through headphones in a record store due to his fastidious nature.

Over the next few days, I will load up the nano with a wide variety of music, the likes of which he has never heard. He’ll probably hate a lot of it, but then there will be happy discoveries.

And because he doesn’t have a computer, I will also have to buy a wall charger.

This promises to be lots more fun than filling up a basket with various foods as I did last year.

Maybe. But the rumor is that users would expect to pay a high price when they buy iPods and iPhones in order to get the free pass to the iTunes library.

So how high are we talking about? How will other companies compete?

Incoming freshman in the fall will receive new tools to help them through their college years. Other university reps attending the ACU information officer’s presentation at Apple headquarters in Cupertino include those from UCLA, Oxford, Princeton, MIT, Yale and Harvard.

Talk about a nifty welcoming packet.

Info via Briefing.com

Is he the Fred Astaire of our generation or what.

In a new report, researchers find that iPod users seldom buy from iTunes. Where does all that music come from then?

According to the study, most of it hails from the owner’s CD collection or from file-sharing. File-sharing?

More on this later.

And many other ways in which to pamper your music player.

Mostly hits from the 60s and 70s with the Stones, the Beatles, Aretha and the Eagles.

If your iPod has a dock connector, Blinkit turns it into a blinking flashlight.

If only this were available when I used to take night walks. But turning an iPod into a safety device is a nifty idea.

If the post title starts that awful song looping in your head, please put on something else. And fast.

Shortly after getting an iPod for graduation, a son spent the better part of a Saturday adding album art. Now Specere has come out with Art Collector 1.0, an application that simplifies this process.

Plastic City is teaming up with Apple to offer an 512 MB iPod Shuffle preloaded with 35 tracks from the label.

Nice idea, although I wouldn’t personally buy it. Now, if they had a regular iPod with the entire Plastic City back catalogue, or maybe stuff from the entire UCMG New York or UCMG Germany label conglomerates, I’d be all over that.

In a story from the Beeb, Apple is checking into reports that workers at their iPod factories are toiling under sweatshop conditions.