A Death in the Family
My iPod died tonight.
Its expiration was swift, but not without warning. A little more than a week ago it had a little fit of skipping when I had it connected to the speakers playing some music; then, when my new computer came and I connected it for the first time I had to restore it because iTunes couldn’t read the disk. Then it froze while syncing with my computer, and I had to erase the disk entirely with Disk Utility. A few days later, I had to restore it, then erase it, again. Tonight the little white beast finally caused every program associated with it to clench its buttocks and crash, including Disk Utility while it was trying to erase the disk, and iTunes while it was trying to restore the disk. It made everything and everyone sad, and then it started displaying only a sad folder icon with an exclamation point next to it when I powered it on, before immediately whining, clicking, and turning itself off. It had a short senescence, but clearly senility comes on fast in small electronic devices whose designers work from the principle of planned obsolescence.
Still, it lasted a good three years. And a bit. Now it’s on eBay. May it sell well.
The only questions left are,
1) How will I entertain myself while I am cleaning the bathroom? This may mean significantly dirtier floors.
2) How will I educate myself while I am traveling to and fro by bus? This may mean being significantly less well-informed.
I am off to weep silently (see? How fitting.) into my tea and compose a eulogy.
November 7th, 2007 at 2:47 am
oh no! no portable music!
maybe its sale on ebay will subsidise a nano or something?
November 7th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
I know exactly how you feel. I’ve temporarily (until the holidays) replaced it with a shuffle, which is not nearly as good, since I’m subject to either the set-in-stone order of the playlist I programmed, or the fickle randomness of the machine. (But for some strange reason, podcasts are never played in random mode.)
You’re eBaying your dead iPod? People want that? If I send you mine, do you want to sell it (and keep the proceeds)?
November 7th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
I don’t think I’ll get more than $15 or $20 out of it on eBay, but it seemed like the best and most responsible way of getting rid of it. I’m sure it has parts people can use. Erica, if mine sells for anything worthwhile, I’ll let you know. :-)
The only thing stopping me from getting a new nano (besides the fact that I’d need some checks to come in from my clients first) is the fact that my old iPod did, in fact, work brilliantly for more than three years, but I’ve heard stories (like yours, Erica) about crazy wonky iPod breakdowns. And I am annoyed by the fact that the 4GB nano only comes in silver, so in order to get the pretty red one you have to go one up. Apple is so fiendishly clever like that.
November 7th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Tragedy of tragedies! Are you having a “last rights” or farewell service, like the white mouse and the rabbits? My condolences and sympathy! But, hey! look on the bright side, your eardrums will get their much needed rest till the next contraption and next paycheck comes along. Gabriel’s ipod broke down too when he connected it to his new Bose sounddock, but he managed to revive it.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Avi emailed me a NYTimes link about how to revive your dead iPod, but the trick it mentioned didn’t work. Oh well. I canceled the eBay auction because I prised it open in an attempt to fix it, and decided it wouldn’t be fair to sell it in that condition. I’m Freecycling it instead — someone’s coming to pick it up tomorrow.
Erica, you should try that. I love Freecycle for getting rid of little things.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
was yours the 4th generation ipod? because those did suck. i had one and it carked it for no rhyme or reason too.
if you want a 4gig red nano i’ll swap you mine for a silver one, if you like. i got it when i bought my laptop in august though, so it’s one generation older than the current ones.
November 9th, 2007 at 11:10 am
It was, but mine didn’t suck! :-) It worked awesomely for three years! That’s longer than some of my computers have lasted.
That’s okay. I’ll hold out as long as I can. I just gave Apple enough moolah for the year.