Disappointment Sucks
I, like many others, am feeling somewhat let down by Apple’s latest releases. I’ve been anticipating the Macworld Expo for quite a while now, especially with the rumors of a new “mini” iPod, so I’ve been checking Apple.com regularly. Today, when I arrived at Apple’s site, I was greeted with a banner for the brand-new (and all-too-ugly) iPod mini.
I’ll admit, I was happy to see that the rumors were true (as if I even doubted them), but the iPod mini is far less than what I expected. Excuse my rant, but I think the shape is unattractive, the colors are hideous, the price is outrageous, the new wheel and screen are unaesthetically placed, and what Apple calls a “product gallery” seems to be nothing more than five equally disturbing digital renderings.
“The reason that I’m so put off by them is not that they’re sky blue, baby pink, and tacky gold.”
OK, time to be optimistic. So, the colors aren’t terrible. I suppose they could be worse. I think the reason that I’m so put off by them is not that they’re sky blue, baby pink, and tacky gold; I’m put off because they don’t follow the cleaner, simpler scheme that Apple has maintained over the past couple years. Dropping the candy colors of the old iMac for the opaque white and transparent plastic of the new iMac was a smart move. Bringing in these metallic “blah” colors was not. Still, I’m going to try to remain optimistic, and save my final judgement for when I see one in person. I’ll admit, there are a few photographs of the iPod mini in real environments on the site, and they look somewhat promising. I will give Apple props for the stylish iPod mini Arm Band and the new In-Ear Headphones, both which can be found among the other iPod and iPod mini accessories.
My next disappointment was iLife ‘04. I was greatly looking forward to some substantial improvements, but in my opinion, Apple didn’t exactly deliver. Yes, GarageBand seems like an awfully cool application, but for who? Musicians. No offense to musicians; I think it’s great that Apple has targeted the musically-talented with the new iLife release, but it’s definitely something I’d never use on a regular basis, or even on a “just playin’ around” basis. Especially because if you want to use the application realistically (read: not use the mini “built-in” keyboard), you have to own a USB keyboard that you can plug into your computer. Anyways, I’m being negative, and I’m sure there are plenty of people out there that will thoroughly enjoy iLife’s newest member.
Continuing, iTunes has nothing new, which I can’t complain about, as they recently released a free update, and iPhoto is now “faster” and has new transitions (whoop-dee-doo). iMovie and iDVD have more noticeable improvements. At least Apple kept the iLife ‘04 affordable, unlike the iPod mini, at only $50.
Anyways, I don’t want to be too much of a party-pooper, so congratulations, Apple, on all of your new releases. Perhaps the only reason I’m acting so bitter is that previous Macworld Expos have brought forth what, in my opinion, were more prodigious products.
I’ll leave you with a few links to some of the newer stuff at Apple.com:
iPod Frustrations
When my sister first got her iPod and we tried to connect it to her Dell Notebook, we were met with what seemed to be a tunnel with no light at the end. A window would come up saying “connect your iPod, and then click OK to configure it,” so we would do so, and her computer would not recognize it. I was really peeved because Apple advertises the iPod as being just as easy to connect to a PC as it is to connect to a Mac.
“The computer simply DOES NOT recognize the iPod…”
So, today I go with my mother to buy an iPod, we bring it home, I begin installing everything on her Dell PC, and what do you know, the same problem! The computer simply DOES NOT recognize the iPod when it asks to configure it. Apple Support gives a long list of things to try, and of course none of them work. After about an hour and a half of random troubleshooting, I gave up. Now I sit here, typing this, frustrated as all hell.
Tomorrow my mom is heading back to the store to get a dock-to-USB cable so that she can try to connect via USB instead of the just-installed FireWire ports. I’ll let you know how everything goes. Until then, has this happened to anyone else? I can’t imagine that we’re the only family that it has happened to… twice!
I Love Thee, Apple
Apple has an awesome way of giving the public more than what it expected. For example, when it was announced that iTunes for Windows would be launched today, most people simply thought, “Awesome, iTunes for Windows!”
But, Apple took us by suprise by not only launching a version of iTunes for Windows, but an updated iTunes version overall, iTunes 4.1, including the “second generation Music Store.” New features include the ability to share music between Macs and PCs, sync voice notes and On-The-Go playlists from your iPod, burn large playlists onto multiple CDs or DVDs, and drag and drop links from the iTunes Music Store into emails, instant messages or web pages. Also, audiobooks are now available in the Music Store, a new Power Search feature using more options is available, you can set up allowance accounts so children can access music legally, without giving them a credit card, and finally, you have the ability to send gift certificates to friends and family via email. Wow. Did I mention that I love Apple?
To further stress their “go beyond what’s expected” attitude, Apple completely recreated the iPod webpages into beautiful, understandable layouts, released new accessories for the iPod, including a voice recorder attachment and an external media reader, posted a brand new iPod TV ad, featuring “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet, and have left us, the public, wanting more by publishing a small advertisement that reads “100 million FREE songs Coming Feb 1,” seemingly sponsored by Pepsi.
Apple, you are a blessing!
inMotion
Altec Lansing has created the ultimate iPod accessory: the inMotion portable iPod speakers. Features include a powerful digital amplifier, MaxxBass technology to produce deep bass, a built-in dock for the same synchronization and data transfer as the original iPod dock, AC adaptor for power, an alarm clock, integrated controls (power and volume), a headpohone jack, and finally an auxillary input jack. All of that in an ultra-portable, lightweight design that folds for storage or travel.
I’ll be adding this to my Christmas list. Oh, Santa…!