My iPod Shipped
For those that listen to the podcast, I mentioned that I ordered one of them there new video capable iPods last week. I have been coping with an incurable gadget fetish, well, for most of my self aware life. I thought I had gotten it under control, recently, settling into a good two to three year cycle with any new computer or gadget.
Well, I suppose that’s not strictly true. After only a year and a half, I had to bump up my PowerBook from 867 MHz to the new 1.5GHz, both the twelve inch form factor. I had to do it, you see, because compiling PostgreSQL from source just took too darn long. Or anything else, for that matter. Don’t get me started on the fact that Fuchikoma’s hard drive was the same size of the ones in both my first two iPods. I mean, how could I conceivably max my iPod when I still needed space on the PowerBook for silly things, like, oh, say, the operating system.
I guess I didn’t do to much better with my last iPod. That also was somewhere between a year and eighteen months with a great 3G, but then the 4G came out. I had to have the click wheel and the promise of shuffling genres and play lists. Well, Apple retracted the language about shuffling selections to match the delivered functionality of shuffling the whole library. Well, still, the click wheel sure was nice, and the improved battery life. I did manage to resist the temptation of the iPod photo altogether, that counts for something, right?
My G5 definitely should go in the plus column, since it replaced a five year old system, that gracefully aged from a desktop through to a headless, dedicated server. That has to count for some good gadget karma, right?
And unlike the iPod photo, the 5G actually has something I’m likely to use, the video stuff. I know the battery life is going to improve for that over the next year, but it’s enough to catch the latest installment of Tiki Bar TV on the train or catch up on some anime (not sure about the subtitles, yet). I’ve managed to resist the whole color screen thing, until now. I deserve to give in, right, even if it will be obsolete by the time it arrives?
Well, rationalizations aside, I was ecstatic to get the email that my iPod has shipped. I am actually really looking forward to the smaller form factor, even though it appears to be at the expense of FireWire…and compatibility with my existing accessories. I really will use it as an audio player, first, and am content that with this iteration, the video is really more of a toy aspect. It lets me cut my teeth on DVD ripping and transcoding without necessarily feeling pressured (yet) to rip my entire video library. That will wait until I build my first MythTV box.
Looks like I’ll have my new little lovely in time for the next podcast, so for those that subscribe, don’t expect much else other than a breathless review. 
