iPod Shuffle: I am in love!!!!

My old 5 GB (original) iPod mysteriously died the week before Spring Break, even a flat reformat of it did not restore its functionality. As an iPod addict, going basically nowhere without my iPod, I have been like a lost sheep wandering in the wilderland far from his flock and shepherd.

Tonight, my vision has been restored, I have reconnected, I again am one with my musical soul. I am the type of person that, for some unknown neurological reason, always seems to have a song in my head. I wake up in the morning generally with a song in my head, that has likely been in a dream I just had, and always seem to carry a different tune with me during the day.

I loved my iPod, but compared to the Shuffle it was so heavy, klunky, and awkward. The Shuffle is sleek, light– featherweight even. True to its Apple design tradition, it is sexy and pure in function. Simple to use: no instructions required. Plugged it in, synced up a couple hundred random songs from my iTunes library, and then started jamming.

I feel already qualified to star in one of the well known iPod video ads– except my small Shuffle would hardly be visible on its lanyard around my neck.

Has there ever been a cooler way to carry computer files than on an iPod Shuffle, which doubles as a functional USB thumbdrive / keydrive? I think not.

Oh my. Life was good, but now it is going to be reeeeeeeeeeeeeal good! Thank you Steve Jobs and Apple!!! This is musical and technological bliss!

The principal disadvantage I see to the iPod Shuffle is that it takes away the main excuse I have used (besides extra money) to put off my young children who have asked for their own iPods. I have insisted that they at least be able to read before they get their own iPod– my oldest can now read, but with the Shuffle there is no reading, only listening and adjusting volume and song selection.

My children will never know the experience, as I did for many hours growing up but especially in college, of transforming a stack of CDs into a 90 minute casette tape mix of favorite songs. Now with a few mouse clicks, they can have the equivalent of about 10 casette tapes on their iPod Shuffle, in a specified order or in a randomized playlist order. Digital music at their fingertips, available on demand, moving at the speed of light through technological gadgets so light, cool and sexy that you feel like you must be the new James Bond of the 21st century to sport such a device.

And from here, the technology is only going to get cooler and more affordable, for the power and capability which the devices provide. At least I am confident that will be the case with Apple products. 🙂

And to think this iPod Shuffle would even work on a Windows computer…..