If I glue an iPhone to my face, does that count as a “wearable device”?
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Someone got mad… You stated, bluntly, “these are good products”. Not these products are “good for me”. Which makes me ask, how are they good? In my response, I opened every sentence with “to me” or “in my opinion”. The only sentence I didn’t do this for is the last one.
Right now, on my computer, I can change the GPU, CPU, RAM, hard drives, sound card, wiring, operating system, and monitor with little expense or skill. My last computer was well over 10 years old, with my occasionally replacing single bits of it as they broke or needed to be upgraded. The only reason I replaced it was because I had some spare cash, and one of my parents needed a computer.
I’m sure today is better, I wouldn’t know since I don’t consume their products any more after being burned a couple times. But I remember “upgrading” from a PPC laptop (hard drive failed, Apple didn’t care, and it wasn’t user serviceable) to one of their first Intel versions, and realizing I spent a ton of money on something slower, hotter, and (at the time) less supported than what I was replacing.I remember my girlfriends laptop spending more time being fixed at the Apple store over its life, than actually being useful as a laptop (until they decided “not our fault, go spend another 1500 on a new one”). Sure both of these experiences were 6-7 years ago, but it was enough to keep me from going back. Though, over the time we both use Apple, OS X generally got worse after 2008 or so, losing all the nice things that made it worthwhile (adherence to a design philosophy, unified controls, stability).
The only Apple product I still commend is the HDD iPod. It still is a marvel. And is one of the only players that can hold my cumbersome music collection in its totality, and be mostly easy to use.
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My favorite line so far: “We invented new intimate ways to communicate with your wrist.”
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So let me see if I understand your two really deep counter points:
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You don’t care about corporate marketing circle jerk sessions and don’t mind tech journalist getting all lathered up about them.
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You are concerned that my day was unpleasant because I explained why I find a corporate marketing circle jerk target specifically at tech journalist to be distasteful.
Let me address your two really interesting points. First, my day was just fine. I actively find it fun to write about how nauseating I find to see tech journalist jump in feet first into corporate marketing circle jerks. I wrote what I wrote because it brings me pleasure and find it to be a quick and fun creative outlet, so please, have no worries about the quality of my day. I can assure you that it was excellent.
As to your indifference to watching tech journalist get all frothy over a multi-million dollar corporate announcement about some really boring ass mundane proprietary tech, uh, good for you? Thanks for letting us know you don’t care. I’ll, um, keep that in mind. Great contribution.
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Let me bluntly state that again: the iPhone is a good product. How is it good? It’s well designed where it matters (like the screen and touch), it works well and lasts a long time. Most people who use iPhones think they’re good (go look up consumer satisfaction reports if you need to hear it from stodgy consumer product experts to believe it). And to finish it off, I use it (a 4S model I haven’t felt the need to upgrade yet) and what do you know, I also think it’s good. There are many good smartphones out there nowadays! And by a great deal of sane standards the iPhone is one of them. It’s a fairly mature technology and we’re spoiled for choice.
Maybe you think there are better products out there. Sure, why not. Maybe it’s not right for you because for personal reasons, or it’s a fine screwdriver to you but what you really need is a hammer so it’s worthless. Maybe you do think the thing is ‘bad’ somehow and and every positive opinion and experience out there is utter bullshit because people are stupid (but not you, no). It could happen.
But you’re the one who appears to be ‘getting mad’ because my ‘good’ judgement didn’t come with enough disclaimers and qualifiers to fit your own worldview.
Too bad about the iPod, huh? They’ve just killed the last thing you liked about them.
ps. Here’s a nice take on ‘good’ and ‘bad’ smartphones I happen to agree with.
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I might have jumped the gun a bit, to be honest… Today is one of the days where the internet verges on being nothing but annoying (Apple Announcement Day, and April Fool’s Day…). I always get peeving when people elevate mass produced consumer products, and well orchestrated PR into a frothy frenzy. I don’t mean to question your enjoyment of your phone, or point and you and scream “wrong!”. If I verged on that, I am sorry. The Apple/Android, PlayStation/Xbox, Linux/OS X/Windows, pissing contests bring out the crusader in me. Basically, use what works for you, and ignore what everyone else does.
My dad still pities me for my Nexus 7, and thinks I got it just because I was too cheap to buy an iPad, no matter how many times I tell him that I love it because it fits in a cargo pocket and doesn’t weight as much as a Buick. I suppose I fall into that trap, from time to time too…
Gah, they discontinued the iPod Classic? Really? Do people not realize that all the cool iTunes/Google library streaming stuff is great, except that in the real world everyone has data caps these days? An afternoon bike ride or morning commute 6 days a week, would cost as much a a iPod brick every month, for some of us…
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Ick. Anyone recommend another large capacity music player?
No, but you will technically be a cyborg and it will be legal to hunt and delete you. 
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Creative Nomad?
:ducks:
An old smart phone with a large micro-SD?
edit: never mind – was not thinking of dedicated, iPod classic-style, player.
edit2: I used to use a Sansa Clip for outdoor activities until I crushed it… (I think that there are even custom ROMs for them now).
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Most of those tend to have some caching system in place; I use AmazonMP3 for my music collection and it can download anything I want to my phone if it’s something I’m going to be listening to. I don’t even have a high/unlimited data package and we manage okay.
The old iPod spoiled me I guess, it was the first portable music thingy where I didn’t have to sit around the night before and try to figure out what I might be in the mood for the next day (tomorrow will definitely be a The Clash day… for sure!). Also, my iPod was a bit above $200, which means that it paid itself off several times (compared to streaming services) over during the last 6 years.
It makes me sad that MS failed at the Zune, it was really the only competition (and it wasn’t as bad as it seemed). Now we’re back to kludgy interfaces and dubious hardware again, just like we were before the iPod. Oh well.
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There’s still plenty of great little mp3 players if that’s all you want it to do, and with SD cards getting bigger and portable memory, you can even get them in large sizes without the iPod HDD’s propensity to die because it had a platter drive in there.
How about a Sony Walkman?
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You can put Rockbox on it. I have one with a 64GB microSD in it. The software is slightly flakier than the OEM load was, but more capable; I think it’s a good tradeoff overall. The original firmware has an 8000 file limit, which translates to a something-less-than-8000 song limit, and the Rockbox load takes seemingly forever to index its DB on a really large SD card… battery life is OK but not superlative either way… you do need reasonably good eyesight to read the screen regardless of software.
Edit: Oops, Gigglebites, not Mooshubites!
Kevin Warwick first,plz.
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