iPod updates
wow, there’s a lot of cool stuff in the iPod world to write about today! first off, there’s a great article from Newsweek about the recent history and evolution of the iPod from a Jobs/Apple point of view. the article articulates a lot of observations and thoughts i’ve had on the subject such as the ubiquity (and powerful symbolism) of the iconic white headphones in urban cultures, the superiority of the iPod mini interface, and the human-to-computer connection the iPod makes with you because it “understands” what music you like. very cool article – great focus and good writing.
next up of course would be the new iPods themselves. My cousin (who has been contemplating an iPod purchase for the last year and a half) asked me last week, “I hear there are new iPods coming out – what will the new features be?” I didn’t actually know the answer but my guess was “probably thinner, and probably w/ the iPod mini controls… no need for color screen or video yet.” it turns out that was pretty much all that changed. the prices are cheaper which is great for everyone, and it might be possible the new models have some internal hardware differences such as a faster processor or a larger memory buffer. the new iPod sports some software enhancements (longer battery life, new shuffle feature) that aren’t available on the existing iPods yet and i wonder how much those features actually depend on hardward changes in the new iPods.
finally, the best surprise of the day was discovering that my alma mater is pioneering a new program that will encourage undergraduates to use iPod technology in innovative new ways. this program begins by distributing new iPods to every new freshman on campus and providing iPod hookups in computer labs throughout campus. this is fantastic – probably the coolest thing Duke has done to advance technology since creating campus-wide computer labs. every student will have a 20GB hard drive at their disposal that can playback audio and display notes. what will they do with it? the most exciting possibilities are the ones I can’t even imagine. who will be the most innovative users – the CS students or the sociology students? will their usage behavior have any significant impact on me or anyone else outside outside of campus? all these are very cool questions to ponder. what technological experiment would you initiate in your community if give the necessary resources?