the hard drive blues

iTunes can be a weird program.

Those little exclamation marks means it can't find the file. This is because of one of two things: 1. it tried to play the file earlier this morning/last night while I was asleep and my old external hard drive, though it was plugged in AND turned on, somehow ejected itself; or 2. it was sweeping to see if it could read files while I was listening to the new Death Cab album (which is a purchase that went straight to my MacBook's *internal* hard drive and music folder) without my hard drive plugged in.

Hrm. All I really know what this means is, besides figuring out how to mass-re-import music into iTunes without clicking every single file in my library (10,000+, fyi), I'm going to be watching the Fry's ads a little closer this week. Time to invest in a new hard drive, I think.

Later that night.... What did I learn today?

-iTunes is a finicky program that loads its library on start-up, so that means if you've got the majority of your library disconnected...it won't find them. D'oh.

-MacBook superdrives that burn DVDs don't like DVD+Rs very much. At least that spindle was only $8 wasted.

Dust it off, shine it up

Well, hello there. It's been quite a while - two full months. Sorry, I've been busy — between Duck football season, Rock Band and learning kanji I've had no time to write, which is a shame, because it's something I enjoy doing.

Now, though, I've found something that needs to be shared: I hate videos like this.



There was a whole thread at the GTX back in late 2004 and early 2005 that basically made me buy a PlayStation 2 and pre-order Gran Turismo 4. What was that thread? Photo mode screenshots uploaded. And not just any old photo mode shots, these were made by guys who knew what the F-stops and other settings mean on a real camera.

So, basically, they were the hottest looking thing evar.

Now you're giving me this? A speeding Japanese bullet train with a one-way ticket to the uncanny valley, down to the driver pulling on his helmet? (which looked accurate as, invariably, the guy's probably just 5'3", as all good racers are insanely short or are Boris Said.) How is my mind supposed to take seeing something like that?

The problem's not that the game is pretty. Oh no. It's just that I know where this all leads. Overspending on new hardware; a three-month fling with the game that ends up being not nearly as engaging as hoped; a distasteful breakup that brings up the same old complaints from the previous four games. Lack of good AI, questionable steering and handling feel, lack of customization, ABS on everything, broken single-player treadmill...etc., etc. I know all the problems, but when faced with a teaser trailer like that I get weak.

At least I can take solace in the fact that, knowing Polyphony Digital, if it comes out in 2008 it'll be in time for me to buy the Japanese PS3 version *in* Japan. That'd be kinda cool.

design flaws from the factory

I like technology. It brings me good things, makes my life better. I'm more than comfortable with computers, I like having advanced TVs and video games and computers, and I don't mind the rapid pace with which each of these things advance.

with improvements comes obsolescence; that's just the natural order of technology at this point in time. However, what annoys me like none other is a seemingly built-in obsolescence - or, at the least, a lack of build quality - in some technology products. Let's use the iPod as a case study, partially because it is a very important piece of technology, partially because there *are* many cases of failed iPods, partially because this brings up an interesting argument and dichotomy, and partially because I currently have a broken iPod.



"...with dimes laid on your eyes." Nothing like a good Decemberists quote, especially because A) that's what my iPod is now - dead with dimes upon its eyes - and B) I USED TO BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO THAT SONG ON THERE.

This is the second iPod of that generation that I have broken, seemingly by dropping it and hitting it just right to kill the hard drive. the first one died after 21 months of use this past January, and was replaced under extended warranty; this second one (an older model, identical to the first) lasted but scarcely four months but, crucially, past the warranty. BOO! Boo I say to thee.

I'm not the only one to have this problem: besides my friend Laura being on her fourth iPod of the same generation (most of them dying from hard drive problems) and my sister having her 3rd gen iPod have battery problems (my mom now has that one's replacement), I've heard of many other anecdotal cases from my friends regarding iPods dying.


"hey guess what? that music you bought on iTunes? Only works with apple stuff. CONGRATULATIONS! This is the downside to drinking the kool-aid, kids.

This isn't a problem if you're a garden-variety pirate like my sister is, as replacing MP3s is cheap and easy; it's simply a matter of annoyance. However, for somebody who has played by the rules and bought music on iTunes (why? I can simply drop it onto my iPod and that works most everywhere, including my car, which has an iPod adapter for the CD head unit...), unless I want to lose my music - or, bar the annoying and time consuming burn-and-re-rip-as-MP3 routine (which, frankly, I don't have the time for) - I'm stuck with Apple. I drank their iLife iKoolAid, and now I'm iMarried to their products and if I don't like it, I'm iFucked.

now, we can go into DRMs and all the fun there, but here's a simpler matter: my dad's stereo equipment from the '70s still works beautifully; my iPod from freshman year is long gone. I know advances are advances, but can't something be built to last anymore?

Of course, for every horror story, there's an original-generation one still kicking - like my aunt's iPod from the first gen. But, still...it seems to me there's more than a little planned obsolescence built into these little things, and it's all to bleed more money from consumers from a product that's popular and already probably packing a high profit margin.

I'm considering getting an iPod Nano this week, for a two-fold reason: one, I don't need that much space; two, I think it should survive a bit better because it works off of flash memory. However, if this thing breaks within a few years, I may have to begin rethinking my belief and faith in Apple and their products. Buying new $300 iPods every other year is not a sustainable practice, no matter how much the tech hound in me would love to do it. There is a breaking point in every consumer; I haven't hit mine yet, but what will I do when I finally do reach that?