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Adventures in Technology - the Ipod
Aug. 2nd, 2010 09:01 pmHi all,
This time around when it comes to discussing electronics I always carry with me (normally in my purse) it's my Ipod that I'm going to talk about. It's an 8gb classic that I bought 2 or more years ago (and yes, I'd like to upgrade to a model with more memory, but I don't really need or want a Touch).
Let me back up by saying that I'm not really a big music person. It's not that I dislike music, I just only listen to music in the background when I'm working, and a lot of time, growing up, I wasn't really allowed to have music on at all because my Dad didn't like the noise. Also, I was a kid during the time of actual records and cassette tapes -- both of which I actively disliked -- records because they scratched easily and I always had trouble getting the record player to work right, and cassette tapes because they started wearing out from the first minute you played them. Not to mention pulling out of the cassette and getting all over the place. Or breaking. Etc.
So really, I didn't collect a lot of music as a kid.
When CDs came out, it was a bit better -- at least they lasted, didn't scratch AS easily as records, didn't wear out like cassettes, were portable, etc. And, although I bought CDs, I still didn't buy that many, maybe six or so a year. Ten or twelve at the most.
But a few years ago I discovered iTunes -- and what I really liked about it was I could upload the CDs I already had to iTunes. No need to re-buy stuff. This made me happy. I also found I was listening to music more often, because I could just run iTunes while on my computer.
After having iTunes for awhile, I started a job where it just made sense for me to have an Ipod to take my tunes with me. I really like listening to music while typing on a computer or working, and it wasn't practical to bring a radio or CD player to work. And I would only use it while in the teacher's area grading papers and writing lessons anyway -- when I was in the lab or teaching, no Ipod (and certainly no CD player).
So after using iTunes for a couple of years I bought my first (and so far only) Ipod. As I said, it's a classic -- and I like it, simple controls, easy to use, etc. It's 8gb, so it no longer holds my entire music library - I need to check and uncheck stuff when I sync my Ipod, especially after adding music to my library.
Oh, by the bye -- I don't like the way iTunes organizes music at all, but I've been able to overcome that by designing playlists that work for what I want.
But to dispel a few myths:
Using iTunes or an Ipod means downloading music and not buying CDs.
This is COMPLETELY FALSE -- I still buy CDs. In fact, I buy more, because I'm listening to more music, and I buy the CD and upload it to iTunes and then sync it to my Ipod. But I actually buy more cds that I used to before having iTunes or an Ipod. The CDs just tend to now be my backups - once I've uploaded the CD, I put it away and don't really use it.
.mp3s are killing music by letting kids share music.
Again completely false -- I've bought an entire CD or two after hearing ONE track I liked in a music vid or gotten one track passed on to me by a friend. I like having the entire CD. Sometimes someone gives me a .mp3 I don't like and I don't buy the CD, obviously, but that's a whole lot better than wasting money buying a CD I don't like (and some of those really awful tracks get deleted eventually anyway).
So, overall, iTunes/Ipod/.mp3s -- causing me to buy MORE music and more CDs.
(I probably have less than 30 bought-and-paid for single song downloads, btw, because as I keep saying, I prefer getting the whole CD. I do find that buying a single song or two from iTunes or Amazon is useful for getting one-hit wonders and the tracks that were released on old out of print cassettes that never came out on CD).
Anyway, I really like my Ipod. I also have an Ipod alarm clock that wakes me to the track I choose. And I recently bought a little gizmo at Radio Shack that lets me listen to my Ipod in my car through the radio. (I wanted one of those for awhile, but I had a real hard time finding one that would work with the car I drive).
--Olivia
This time around when it comes to discussing electronics I always carry with me (normally in my purse) it's my Ipod that I'm going to talk about. It's an 8gb classic that I bought 2 or more years ago (and yes, I'd like to upgrade to a model with more memory, but I don't really need or want a Touch).
Let me back up by saying that I'm not really a big music person. It's not that I dislike music, I just only listen to music in the background when I'm working, and a lot of time, growing up, I wasn't really allowed to have music on at all because my Dad didn't like the noise. Also, I was a kid during the time of actual records and cassette tapes -- both of which I actively disliked -- records because they scratched easily and I always had trouble getting the record player to work right, and cassette tapes because they started wearing out from the first minute you played them. Not to mention pulling out of the cassette and getting all over the place. Or breaking. Etc.
So really, I didn't collect a lot of music as a kid.
When CDs came out, it was a bit better -- at least they lasted, didn't scratch AS easily as records, didn't wear out like cassettes, were portable, etc. And, although I bought CDs, I still didn't buy that many, maybe six or so a year. Ten or twelve at the most.
But a few years ago I discovered iTunes -- and what I really liked about it was I could upload the CDs I already had to iTunes. No need to re-buy stuff. This made me happy. I also found I was listening to music more often, because I could just run iTunes while on my computer.
After having iTunes for awhile, I started a job where it just made sense for me to have an Ipod to take my tunes with me. I really like listening to music while typing on a computer or working, and it wasn't practical to bring a radio or CD player to work. And I would only use it while in the teacher's area grading papers and writing lessons anyway -- when I was in the lab or teaching, no Ipod (and certainly no CD player).
So after using iTunes for a couple of years I bought my first (and so far only) Ipod. As I said, it's a classic -- and I like it, simple controls, easy to use, etc. It's 8gb, so it no longer holds my entire music library - I need to check and uncheck stuff when I sync my Ipod, especially after adding music to my library.
Oh, by the bye -- I don't like the way iTunes organizes music at all, but I've been able to overcome that by designing playlists that work for what I want.
But to dispel a few myths:
Using iTunes or an Ipod means downloading music and not buying CDs.
This is COMPLETELY FALSE -- I still buy CDs. In fact, I buy more, because I'm listening to more music, and I buy the CD and upload it to iTunes and then sync it to my Ipod. But I actually buy more cds that I used to before having iTunes or an Ipod. The CDs just tend to now be my backups - once I've uploaded the CD, I put it away and don't really use it.
.mp3s are killing music by letting kids share music.
Again completely false -- I've bought an entire CD or two after hearing ONE track I liked in a music vid or gotten one track passed on to me by a friend. I like having the entire CD. Sometimes someone gives me a .mp3 I don't like and I don't buy the CD, obviously, but that's a whole lot better than wasting money buying a CD I don't like (and some of those really awful tracks get deleted eventually anyway).
So, overall, iTunes/Ipod/.mp3s -- causing me to buy MORE music and more CDs.
(I probably have less than 30 bought-and-paid for single song downloads, btw, because as I keep saying, I prefer getting the whole CD. I do find that buying a single song or two from iTunes or Amazon is useful for getting one-hit wonders and the tracks that were released on old out of print cassettes that never came out on CD).
Anyway, I really like my Ipod. I also have an Ipod alarm clock that wakes me to the track I choose. And I recently bought a little gizmo at Radio Shack that lets me listen to my Ipod in my car through the radio. (I wanted one of those for awhile, but I had a real hard time finding one that would work with the car I drive).
--Olivia
