Philosophy and the iPod

The iPod is part of the family of the modern man. We instantly recognize it where ever we are. But what exactly do we recognize- shape, color, coolness factor. There's a huge difference between the iPod wheel to the iTouch screen. Also, why do we come so accustomed to the damn things. We all belong to the family of Steve's greatest gift. The iPod is a rapidly changing beast - amphetic change almost bi-annually. Comparing the original block with a wheel that collects grime to what we have now - touch sensitive screen - with which we can wear globes to keep the screen spotless and smudge free.


We are still recognizing the ipod- no matter how drastic the change. A guaranteed quality and style that always changes yet remains the same thing that makes us in the family of the ipod-ness hovering over the world. How do you define an iPod? By screen, by wheel, or maybe by white ear phones.
The creation of a definiton seems impossible. Rather than hunt for the perfect definition, we must find what family it belongs to. We need to look for connections and over laps not some eternal defining thing, as the iPod changes every other week. A shuffle has click wheel, a iTouch has a screen, the classic has both, and the new Nano is a new smaller sleek version of the classic. The classic, I think, is the fundamental essential form, from which all other forms of the iPod evovle into different paths. What is the iPodness that makes the iPod. One standing in an Apple store will find that they are inexplicably drawn to the hardware, the surface, the interface and texture. It's kind of like the friend you made in college you can instantly sync with, such is our relationship with the ipod.

Now we can flow through covers as if the records are weightless, LPs sliding like water under your fingertips. But this is an impossibility--- yet cover-flow feels soo right. Might it be related to the way in which humans relate to the world? I do not know. The floating seas of LP's (something of which only people of holy Steve's generation can remember) shows me the future of music familiarity, an effortless slide of the finger tip over hundreds of cover art stopping where ever you like, or where ever the highest star ratting (made by you the user) is.

Within this iPod, familiarity is effortless. You can make you ipod familiar with your PC and seamlessly syn the device. Someone might be able to imagine a future when all our devices become"familiar" with each other - even make the entire world familiar to each other. As long as you have you eye pod you have a familiar song scape on which to rely on. Wherever you are the iPod can make an environment familiar. Put on the white buds and stick to you predefined play-lists. Ready made familiarity makes the world more distant yet ourselves more comfortable. We all turn up our foreign song-scapes and forget the environments around us. And this behavior is everywher ; the iPod is used by American farmers as well as Russian middle managers - sold in airports and even vending machines. Join the family of the ipod, making you familiar to the iPod and the system behind it. Rating songs and genius play lists even makes the iPod more familiar with you the user. scary... Agency in the machine. Can you trust the shuffle button? Should you trust the shuffle button? Enter into the iPods sentient world. The iPod is hard wired to become friendly with you. Connecting you to the Apple store, to "top songs," or "listeners also bought." The more you use the iPod the more you become familiar to the iPod, but really maybe the iPod is becoming more familiar to you. =))