Floppyhead – Digital Media and Streaming

The Washington Post is running a a series of articles today on the iPod to celebrate its 5 year anniversary. Most of the articles praise the iPod but a couple highlight some problems with the omnipresent device. Overall, I think it is a good read though nothing too groundbreaking. In some ways, I think the iPod’s dominance is hurting the digital media “market.” Everything revolves around the iPod and very few innovative products have been released recently though that is not Apple’s fault.

In the “cheers” section, Scott Sternberg talks about his conversion to the iPod and Macs in general. In the article, he praises the iPod:

The critics have launched their salvos, but five years later, the success of the iPod single-handedly has shown us there are other options beyond bug-ridden Windows-based PCs and the bulky music players that once dominated the market. You also can’t beat Apple’s unyielding service and support.

This is pretty standard praise for the iPod. I think he overstates how good Apple’s support is in their support. The iPod battery fiasco is still fresh in my mind.

In the “jeers” section, Neal Mueller talked about his experiences with the iPod while on an expedition to Mount Everest. In the article, he talks about how the iPod kept breaking down on him:

On our expedition, we brought enough electronic gadgetry to outfit an army. What broke first? The iPods. The batteries croaked, the cases scratched and the hard drives seized from the rarified air.

He goes on to talk abut the Creative Muvo and rugged that player is and that it can stand alot of abuse. I would expect a flash drive based player to be more rugged than a hard drive based player like the iPod. I do like his quote about how the iPod is overpriced bling:

When a device is priced at a considerable premium and derives the majority of its sales from chic mystique or verve, I say it’s a fad. My climbing friends agree, making our team 100 percent anti-iPod. Buying an iPod for its musical value is like buying a BMW for its high-speed cornering. The iPod is conspicuous gadget consumption. It’s bling.