Why I Still Love My iPod, Even Though It Died

I knew I was in trouble when the screen on my iPod displayed a little unhappy face...but I didn't know it was fatal. I love my iPod! After I saw the grim-looking black and grey warning screen, I found myself cycling through "The 5 Stages of Grief," as per Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her legendary book On Death and Dying:

1. Denial. Nooooo.... this can't be happening! My iPod works perfectly. This must be a mistake. If it was really serious, the screen wouldn't light up. Maybe I just need to reset it. It will be fine.

2. Anger. Gosh darn it Apple! I love your minimalist design principals, but not when it comes to the instruction manual! Your website tutorial is lame. I'm so dependant on my iPod now! Don't make me have to drive down to the Apple store!

3. Bargaining. C'mon... just work for me. I love you little iPod. Come back to life and I promise I'll treat you really nice. I won't disregard the "do not disconnect" message again. I'll make sure my PC isn't messing with you. Puh-leeeez come back to life.

4. Depression. Oh this is just so sad. I can't believe I have to drive for 90-minutes today without my iPod in the car. What am I supposed to do, listen to the radio? And what will I do when I get up to the house I'm rennovating? Listen to myself think for 6-hours while I work? My day is ruined. Life sucks.

5. Acceptance. Thankfully, there is an Apple store near my new house. These things happen. What?! The hard drive is broken and my warranty is expired? As upsetting as this news is, I'm not leaving here without solving the problem today...even if it means buying a new one. Fine. I like the new one. Now I can watch videos when I'm on airplanes. The new features are pretty cool. I'll just fork over the money and deal with it. There's no point staying upset about it. I still love my iPod.

So my old iPod is now in refurbishment heaven. The Apple store guy took away the corpse, and handed me my nearly $400 purchase of a new 60-gig Video iPod.

There's just no living without an iPod once you have one. Not if you listen to as much music as I do. Not if you travel as much as I do. Not if you get bored waiting in line as much as I do. *Sigh* I still absolutely adore my iPod! And I really hope this one lasts longer than my old one...because I opted out of the extra-year warranty plan. Worse-case scenario: I'll just buy another one. It's totally worth it.

Comments

[AnnaMarie]

You ignored the disconnect, shudder.... I always right click to eject my ipod. My step dad works at Seagate which makes the hard drives for Ipod and frankly, they are fragile so try to eject before you disconnect and this will help.

Glad you got a new one! Now maybe you need a new cover, there's some really cool leather ones out there that can be customized, nice bling for the pod.

http://www.vajacases.com/images/mp3/apple/ipod_60/ipod_60.html

AnnaMarie

[Jaya Savannah]

AnnaMarie, those cases are pretty nifty. Hadn't seen those before.

Before you call the iPod Protection Agency on me, let me clarify that I don't usually disconnect without ejecting. My iPod was already illin' because my computer wouldn't recognize it in iTunes or Windows. The Apple guy said that meant the HD was already cooked. BUT I did finally unplug the feeding tube and that seemed to contribute to it's demise. So it's hard to say if it died entirely from natural causes or not.

But yes, the little hard drive does seem fragile. The Apple guy was saying that exercising and otherwise shaking it around are the worst. I sometimes take mine running, and it's always in my car or purse. I hope the new HD is more sturdy!