I Have 4 iPods

Oh, yes. The prudent might ask if 4 iPods are necessary for one person and the mature response would be “no.” However, maturity rarely makes an appearance in my household, so it’s opinion is disregarded.

In total, I have 5 mp3 players. My first was a 8-gig Creative Zen. It was ok. I must admit that I never warmed to the player, although I put forth my best effort. It functioned with due diligence, but something was lacking in our relationship. That certain je nais ce quois…

One day, while perusing TechforLess, one of my favorite online tech shops, I saw an “open box” 60-gig video iPod. The color requirement, black, was met and I did a bit of hurried research to investigate the product. Seemed like a wonder. Movies, music, etc. Input credit card information into correct form fields and it is sent across the country to my waiting hands.

Of course, all was not perfect in mp3-land. First, my music service was Rhapsody. Rhapsody does not like iPod and the feeling is mutual. My beloved monthly subscription service was useless! No, no, no…there’s a way around every problem. A quick tour of the internet produced the required software to convert my Rhapsody files into plain, friendly, mp3’s. Yeah! The second bump in the road was video. I wanted movies and this was before iTunes started selling them. iTunes would rip cd’s, but wouldn’t touch DVD’s with a 10-foot pole. Another quest. Another grail. Software to rip DVD’s and perform the required conversion for the iPod. Oh, the DVD’s are copyright protected? No worries, software to take care of that also.

So the 60-gig goes into service and it is a little dream. Of course, all the accessories must be had to outfit the beast and it goes everywhere I go. Then, one fine day, an 80-gigabyte version appears on the market and I snap at it like a fish at a worm. 20-gigs more storage. Yes! That thing has as much disk space as my laptop. Piled high with movies and all the music to which I ever could listen. And Bejeweled 2. And Season 1 of Eureka and the only season of Firefly. And some Henry Rollins spoken word stuff. Did I need an extra 20 gigs for this? Of course not. The 60-gig was nowhere near full, but that is completely irrelevant.

But, the video iPods are a tad large and their price tag made me leery of carting them around like car keys. Back to TechforLess. Ahh…a refurbished 4-gig blue iPod Mini. Cheap and ready to ship. Mine. Perfect to toss in the purse, it lives between my car (with the appropriate FM transmitter) and my classroom (with the appropriate iPod speaker setup). Its only problem is a problem that plagues Mini’s. The battery. It sucks in a large way. It is absolutely perfect for car and school use, where it can be charged while playing, but it is not good for extended walks with the dog. I could replace the battery, but the Mini is the iPod model that is the most frustrating to battery replacers. Do I spend light funds and perform surgery on the Mini, or accept its limitations and look elsewhere for another to take around with me when I am unplugged from the electrical grid?

Enter the Nano. The beautiful, 2nd generation 8-gigabyte black Nano. Got that puppy off eBay. Great battery life and light to carry around. Dogs and I promenade around town and I am lost in the sounds of heavy metal, Eddie Cantor or some Broadway musical. And, off course, the 80’s crap thrown in for nostalgia.

This is my father’s genes causing mischief. He was of the mind that anything worth owning one of was worth owning three of. His toolboxes bore witness to this obsession with multiples. If he bought one item, he bought two others just like it. And, there was a good chance that none of them ever made it out of the package. I have that streak a mile wide running through me. I cannot honestly wrap my head around the fact that duplicates and multiples are a “bad thing.” I take the concept of file back-up into the non-virtual world and believe that everything should be backed up. I have bought multiple sets of dishes, get Tiki mugs in two’s, when possible, own 3 laptops, 2 dogs, etc. The only thing that exists singly in my house is me and I know that science will remedy that soon.

My iPod army – each member called to duty in its own time and for its own specialty. They’ll work until they drop. That reminds me. I did want to look at the new iPod Shuffle as a back up in case of emergency. Wonder if anyone’s got one on sale?