the iPod Shuffle
The
iPod Shuffle was one of two major hardware announcements to come out of
Jobs' keynote address today at MacWorld Expo (the other is the
Mac Mini). The iPod Shuffle is a really REALLY cool little gadget; it's essentially a fancy thumb drive with volume control. From the
Apple site:
"Random is the New Order
Welcome to a life less orderly. As official soundtrack to the random revolution, the iPod Shuffle Songs setting takes you on a unique journey through your music collection — you never know what's around the next tune. Meet your new ride. More roadster than Rolls, iPod shuffle rejects routine by serving up your favorite songs in a different order every time. Just plug iPod shuffle into your computer’s USB port, let iTunes Autofill it with up to 240 songs [or 2x that if you get the 1GB version instead of the 512MB] and get a new experience with every connection. The trail you run every day looks different with an iPod shuffle. Daily gridlock feels less mundane when you don’t know what song will play next. iPod shuffle adds musical spontaneity to your life. Lose control. Love it."
I love it from a techno-geeky standpoint; I recognize its coolness. But I could never use it.
Putting aside the fact that I already have an iPod with my entire music library on it, and then room for a whole other one, "random" isn't how I listen to music. I used to make mix tapes back in the day when tapes were used, and I think once I made a mix CD, but those were usually carefully-constructed playlists. Today, I can't make a decent playlist, because no matter how carefully-constructed, I know song A just "doesn't go" with song B. The closest I come to making a playlist is skipping particular songs on a CD, either because I don't like it or I like the next song better.
So in general, I listen to a CD from track 1 through track [end], sequentially. I would never randomize
within a CD, and I don't dig "shuffle my whole music library." But if I weren't a total weirdo like that, I would very much groove on the iPod Shuffle.
