My iPod Story

[Shawn]

I'm catching up on the Oct. 26 show because I got the corrupted version last week and had to download it again. You wanted people to send you their iPod stories.

I had about 250 CDs when I bought my first iPod in 2003. I never listened to music "on the road". I hadn't listened to the radio for years because of the large amount of ads and recycled popular music that didn't appeal to me. I didn't listen to my CDs much at home despite having good equipment with which to do so. Music had become so background that I wouldn't think to put something on. Then there was the effort of getting a CD out, playing it and putting it back.

I rediscovered music with my iPod. Being an organised person, I found it a joy to rip CDs and organise them, then put them on my iPod. I took my iPod everywhere and suddenly music became a constant in my life again. I've always considered music to be an investment because it brings pleasure to my life and that makes my life better, or when feeling down, bearable. With an iPod of music I was using it again and thus I felt I was getting value from my investment. Since the first iPod (and I've had 7) my CD collection mushroomed to over 760 titles.

Things changed drastically when iTunes 4.9 was released and now about half my listening time is devoted to podcasts. When the iPod with video was released, I started getting value (as described above) from not only my CDs but also my DVDs as I began to rip them as well. I was juggling two iPods, a Nano on the way to work and at lunchtime for podcasts and a 5G on the way home for video. I've now ordered a 2nd gen Shuffle which I'll use for podcasts and audiobooks while exercising.

I never feel better while "on the road" than when I've got my sunglasses on to protect against the light and my headphones in to block out the external world. A perfect cocoon of solitude in a sea of humanity.


Jason Painter, Sydney Australia