Three Mac Pieces, #1: The iPod Story

I used to have a bad habit of acquiring and selling gear constantly. My gadget portfolio was ever-rotating, though through deft eBaying I never managed to come out more than $20-30 behind when swapping one toy for another. Nonetheless, it’s a habit I decided to break a year ago. I’ve had the same laptop, the same phone, and the same iPod since. Though I knew the bulky 40GB clickwheel iPod didn’t make as much sense for ambling around San Francisco as an iPod shuffle, I decided to wait until it bit the dust to replace it, just to stick to my resolution.

The planned obsolescence gods heard me, I guess. Shortly after moving, my iPod went on the fritz, doing all kinds of weird disk stuff. I reflashed the firmware, did all the diagnostics the Genius Bar would do, and finally broke down and went over to the big Apple store downtown.

Genius: “Well, we can replace it for a $30 processing fee, or you can buy Apple Care for $60 and that’ll get you a replacement and and an extended warranty.”

Me: “Uh. I don’t really want a new clickwheel iPod. Don’t you guys give a credit for bringing in dead iPods so the batteries can be recycled?”

Genius: “Only for iPods out of warranty.”

Me, head in hands: “I know that wasn’t your decision, but if you get the chance to talk to a superior, please tell them that is a stupid policy.”

Genius: “Yeah. So, what do you want to do?”

Me: “Just replace it, I guess. I’m only going to turn around and sell it on Craigslist, buy a shuffle.”

Genius: “Yeah, I’m a big shuffle advocate. The clickwheels aren’t the most… robust iPods we’ve made.”

My replacement came in, and I bought a shuffle earlier today. Haven’t used it yet. My conversation with an Apple store checkout clerk leads me to believe it’s more robust.

Me, grabbing a 1GB shuffle out of a stack placed right by the registers for maximum impulse buying: “Yoink!”

Clerk: “Have you considered buying a protective case?”

Me: “I have considered it, and came to the conclusion that the shuffles are built out of a durable, high-density plastic.”

Clerk: “One night my girlfriend was in a mood because I told her to get out and she went for a walk and was having a cry I guess and threw her shuffle against a brick wall and it still worked perfectly. So you probably don’t need a case.”

Me: “Neat.”

I’d like to not go back to the Apple store downtown for several weeks.