I admit it: I own one of the fetish objects we call iPod® Normally I’m not a fan of Mac technology. Yes, yes, I know: the MacOS is much more stable, much less susceptible to virus, Trojan horse, and spyware-based attacks than Windows. (Have we ever thought that perhaps this is because there are about three-dozen people in the world actually using Macs? I digress…) In the case of the iPod®, however, I must admit that the good folks at Apple got it right.
The gizmo itself is like a little gold brick in your hand, all sleek and rounded corners and elegantly functional in a way that makes your eyes narrow and your mouth make that little O of pleasure. The interface for the iPod® itself is sleek and easy to use, and iTunes, the software that helps you load all of these glorious musical interludes onto what is essentially a dressed up hard drive with a minimal operating system loaded on to it, is even easier. But what Apple does that is so revolutionary has more to do with the purchasing of music than anything else.
Apple has taken chunking – the basic principle of writing for the web – and applied it to media. Gone is the album side. Gone is the idea of a sequential album that needs to be listened to from cut #1 through the end in order to get the full story contained therein. Music has been broken down once again (for I truly believe that this is not a new phenomenon) into tasty, bite-sized chunks that now, thanks to digital technology, you can arrange in any order you like. TimeLife Music…this is your wake up call. The beauty part, though, is the way they haul you in.
Every Tuesday Apple offers a free download. They give away one of their base units of commerce as a loss-leader in the hope that you’ll explore their well designed store and purchase an appallingly high number of those base units of commerce before you realize that holy, crap, you’ve just spent $22 on cheesy singles from the 1970s and discovered a scary affinity for neo-country music.
But while the iTunes store is very well organized and their Beta “recommended for you” functionality is alternately scarily prescient or completely off base, there’s something I just don’t understand.
Could someone please explain to me just what the big deal is about the Black Eyed Peas?
As usual darling..your post hits the nail on the head.
As as object they are beautiful. Makes my Creative Zen Juke Box look like a relic from the 20th Century!
Couldn’t agree more about the whole PC vs. Apple “drama.” Who cares. Just make it so the damn things talk to each other without all this baloney.
STB
I am one of those three dozen people who use a Mac. And I also one of the only three dozen people who don’t have an iPod. I don’t really want to get sucked into the iTunes music store, because my money would just fly away then.
I can’t explain the Black Eyed Peas, but for some reason, I can’t stop listening to them.
The appeal of the Black Eyed Peas? They’re fun and uncomplicated.