Tag Archives: iRiver

Why iPad is a joke

It’s not just because of the name’s congruence with a certain brand of female hygiene product. The real joke is that it hasn’t got the features of a 10-year-old, ebook reader bought on eBay for $60. Which doesn’t surprise me. Apple has always been about style and buzz, not about features.

When Mrs. C. got her iPhone, she gave me her old iPod shuffle. It’s nice. I filled it to the max with Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and old swing tunes. But it’s neither as convenient (needs a computer to recharge) nor as easy-to-use (has no display to tell you what’s playing) as my old iRiver MP3 player which I bought used for $20. Haw.

UPDATE:  Well, I see the new shuffle tells you, in a voice, what the tune is and who’s playing it. But it still needs a computer to recharge.

Free music

Little revolution underway this morning in the music industry. We’re trying to sort through our technology here at the rancho to decide what it all means to us. For instance, we had not upgraded our CD player. Now we’re glad, as CDs apparently will not be made in the same quantity as before. Mom has an MP3 player in her car, but Dad doesn’t. But Mom has an iPod, and Apple is trying to hold out, whereas Dad has an iRiver, which presumably will not. Confusing to us. More to musicians, I’m sure.

UPDATE:  Well, it would be free, for the "price" of suffering through a little advertising, but the purveyor apparently is still trying to convince the music companies. But if they can’t sell CDs, and they admit they can’t in the quantity they need to, and the young will turn to independents before paying for MP3s, then something has to give sooner or later.  Meanwhile, we’ll put our CD upgrade on indefinite hold.