![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Whee! It was my birthday yesterday, so we had a party this last weekend. I got given shiny loot, including a necklace, CDs, perfume, and books. Shiniest of all, Jason gave me an iPod nano! :D
This has led to some discoveries.
1. I have got to replace my headphones. All three pairs I own make my ears hurt after half an hour or so. This means that I need a pair of more traditional headphones that have overall good sound and good bass, ideally are sealed to reduce background noise, and that pack down small. I had been planning to get a pair of these but they're coming out with a new model, so I'll just have to wait and find out if they're just as good or if I need to find another candidate.
2. Now I know why iPods are so popular. Mine just plain feels slick, expensive, and perfectly thought out. It's small and light, but not too light, because it's cased in solid metal, except for the screen. Build quality feels lovely and solid, and every material has its own caressable texture. The controls are responsive but rarely go off when you put it in your pocket without locking it, and it has multiple levels of sleep, from "backlight off" to "hit a button to wake it". It has dozens of ways to slice and dice your music collection, only one of which requires you to make playlists. It has intelligent shuffle: it remembers what came before (and after), doesn't play the same thing again very soon, and not only can it shuffle songs, it can shuffle albums, like a cd changer. You can whirl down a thousand-song list in seconds, but slow down anytime you want a closer look. It comes in a gorgeous little acrylic box instead of a nasty plastic clamshell, even though it's only their second cheapest model. It makes good use of the initial charge time right after you unpack it, to update firmware, select music, and synchronize. It tells you when it's doing something in language that is both clear and polite, not inscrutable or patronizing, like most gadgetry! In sum, it was made for people who love beautiful things, and "working properly" is included as a type of beauty, because thus far every nook and cranny of the thing, both software and hardware, has been lavished with care.
This has led to some discoveries.
1. I have got to replace my headphones. All three pairs I own make my ears hurt after half an hour or so. This means that I need a pair of more traditional headphones that have overall good sound and good bass, ideally are sealed to reduce background noise, and that pack down small. I had been planning to get a pair of these but they're coming out with a new model, so I'll just have to wait and find out if they're just as good or if I need to find another candidate.
2. Now I know why iPods are so popular. Mine just plain feels slick, expensive, and perfectly thought out. It's small and light, but not too light, because it's cased in solid metal, except for the screen. Build quality feels lovely and solid, and every material has its own caressable texture. The controls are responsive but rarely go off when you put it in your pocket without locking it, and it has multiple levels of sleep, from "backlight off" to "hit a button to wake it". It has dozens of ways to slice and dice your music collection, only one of which requires you to make playlists. It has intelligent shuffle: it remembers what came before (and after), doesn't play the same thing again very soon, and not only can it shuffle songs, it can shuffle albums, like a cd changer. You can whirl down a thousand-song list in seconds, but slow down anytime you want a closer look. It comes in a gorgeous little acrylic box instead of a nasty plastic clamshell, even though it's only their second cheapest model. It makes good use of the initial charge time right after you unpack it, to update firmware, select music, and synchronize. It tells you when it's doing something in language that is both clear and polite, not inscrutable or patronizing, like most gadgetry! In sum, it was made for people who love beautiful things, and "working properly" is included as a type of beauty, because thus far every nook and cranny of the thing, both software and hardware, has been lavished with care.