Renegade Folk Hero

Apple’s recent update to iTunes brings a few new features, some good, some bad.

-_-;; Some of you probably noticed a while back when Apple completely ditched FireWire for their iPod line as the default means of syncing. I’ve had a 1G iPod and a 2G iPod, both firewire. Today I got a 2G iPod nano and I’ve finally realized why. The flash writing processes for this thing is so god-awful slow compared to my 2G iPod. Writing to this thing is painful. It makes sense though, NAND flash ain’t the speediest writing medium. Anyhow, writing only happens occasionally so It’s not a show stopper. I’m still miffed it took me more than a half hour to sync my music library.

^_^ There’s a firmware update on day one??? Version 1.0.1 is available for the 2G iPod nano, the day after it’s released. As WTF as this is, it does bring up a new feature of iTunes 7. iPod firmware update is now built into iTunes. From a consumer standpoint, this is a big plus. No more weird dangerous utility thingys to download and find. Click, done.

b^o^d Useless 3D effects! I like useless features. Now iTunes has a browse cover art mode where it renders your music library as a fan of CD inserts. This is well integrated with a less useless feature: Get Album Art. CD-Ripping users can now leverage iTunesMusicStore’s vast catalog of album art to automatically add cover art to their CD-Ripped songs. I was surprised to see (well, in a nostalgic sense) many album CD covers to MP3s in my collection for CDs that I’d lost long ago.

@_@ Broken User Interface. Apple keeps doing this. It’s getting ridiculous now. They keep applying custom UI elements to their first party software. Gee, lets make our Apps better by totally breaking system UI conventions! iTunes now has these stupid custom scroll bars that don’t look like the rest of the system, and all the UI widgets are now custom, non-aqua, sheenless grey. Since version 4 iTunes has gotten a progressively more muddy UI with every release. In iTunes 7, all the buttons look the same, are all grey, and all inconsistent. WTF Apple. WTF.

x_x Lanyard headphones: not compatible with 2G iPod Nano. Stupid Apple Store salesguy!! ARG!

Oh, no you didn’t. Oh, yes I did!

I’ve always wanted an iPod mini. I like the metal, I like the small form factor. With Apple’s new 8GB Black Metal iPod nano I bit. So, today I was at the Apple Store today looking for a new backpack to relieve my contorted spine. It seems like every time I go there, the sales people are less and less friendly. None of the black shirts even stopped to ask if I need anything. Both occasions where I needed help, I had to ask and wait and wait for it. After finding that they no longer stocked their once wide variety of notebook computer backpacks I was a bit bummed out. I was thinking about getting a bluetooth Mighty Mouse too, but after trying the BTMMs in the store, I decided they suck hard.

So I got a black iPod nano instead.
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