I had an iPod once but I dropped it in the toilet. Now Apple has done the same. It’s probably the only time I’ve ever been ahead of the curve.
Even as they were announcing their new products—the Apple Watch and the iPhone 6—Apple was quietly removing the iPod Classic from its website, 13 years after its debut. You can’t buy a new one anymore, despite the fact that I was still making up my mind. I like to approach these purchases cautiously.
The one I had previously was a gift from my sister—an old leftover that she passed along. One day it detached from my ear buds and plunged to its watery grave. (Yes, just toilet water, luckily. The contents of the bowl would have finished off the iPod either way but at least the poor thing kept its dignity. As Russell Crowe said in Gladiator: “Give me a clean death.”)
At the time of my iPod’s demise I was still figuring out if I liked it. I don’t feel comfortable walking around the city oblivious to the soundscape—if there’s a runaway vehicle coming at me I’d rather the horns I’m hearing not be of the Motown variety—so I was unsure of just how this portable, formerly-new gadget would fit into my life. I still haven’t decided but now it’s too late. I thought I would have more time. I didn’t realize the iPod was going to be like the Zeppelin—a technological innovation marked by distinct chronological boundaries. Like the Zeppelin era (but with fewer casualties) the iPod era has come and gone. The pace of obsolescence is just too quick for those of us who are slow adopters.
How slow am I? My television is thick. I have a land line. Connected to it is an answering machine—an actual box with a speaker that sits on a desk. Maybe it’s not the best but I only had to pay for it once. I travel with folding paper maps, not GPS. Downside: Awkward. Upside: no roaming charges.
I’ll probably get an Apple Watch eventually. I figure I’ve got at least 13 years.
