There's a Bad Apple (iPod) Amongst Us!

Alright, I admit it. While I like to think of myself as a free spirit who is able to avoid the temptations of the "it" fad of the moment, this time I have been swept off my feet and unceremoniously dumped back down flat on my face. OUCH!

Have you heard of this neat little invention called the iPod? It's a wonder of a machine that will change your life! You will be cool with those white headphones, you will be so happy to rid yourself of that ball and chain called the compact disc, your friends will join in a chorus of "ohs" and "ahs" when they see your extravagant purchase...you will be the most amazing person you can be!

Just wait until all your family and friends get one. Then you will have iPod swaps and iPod discussions. You will all bring your iPods to parties and display your amazing DJ talents while dancing to your iTunes. You will sing the praises of your growing music library by saying things that you never thought you could like "I listened to my iPod for 17 days straight without hearing the same thing twice!" Life will be so good.

And then one day, while you're secretly listening to "Please Don't Go Girl" by New Kids on the Block the song will stop. OH HORROR! And then you will look down at the screen, the world moving in slow motion around you, and you will see a little dead iPod icon staring back at you. "What's this? I didn't even get to hear Joey Joe sing!" you exclaim. Welcome to the club. You MUST really be the new kid on the block.

I am the proud owner of a non-functioning 20gb black and white iPod that lasted only two-and-a-half months. What a sad representative of its generation -- it's two predecessors lasted at least four! It's probably not news to you that I'm about the 4 bazillionth person who has had a less that favorable experience with their iPod. But I'm constantly taken aback by how the numbers of complaints don't seem to diminish as Apple continues to "update" its product.

Will somebody tell me why Apple being permitted to get away with this?! Just search the Internet for yourself. It's completely amazing that people continue to buy these things at all. This seems to be one of the only cases in recent consumer history that a product has continuously delivered poor reviews and its company poor service, and yet it continues to dominate over 75% of the market! Maybe Steve Jobs has got us all figured out -- maybe we are buffoons!

The good news is that Microsoft will be coming out with a device this Christmas that will supposedly give Apple a run for its money. The bad news is that I'm still stuck with a useless MP3 player in the mean time (oh, and I'm really depressed by the lack of music in my life right now). I have joined the ranks of hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting consumers just eagerly awaiting the moment when we can all give the "royal salute" to the Apple corporation.

To wrap up this rather unstructured rambling, I would like everyone to know that I have written directly to Steve Jobs himself about this matter. I wanted him to be aware that this little lady's not going to sit by and be hoodwinked out of $300 THAT easily! They called me twice last week from Apple headquarters. I'll let you all know how Apple plans to make good.