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Sad To See Him Go

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It’s a sad day at my house. A friend of mine is really sick. We’ve been friends for about 3 years, so it’s tough to see him go through such a rough time. Other than my wife, he’s probably the best friend anyone could ever ask for. He doesn’t talk back. He does what I ask him to do. He remembers lots of things that I often forget. He comes with me to the gym and encourages me during my workout. He never yells. I never have to drive his drunk lifeless body home after a party. If I don’t want to take him somewhere, he doesn’t complain. It’s been a great friendship.

So like I said, he’s sick. It all happened last weekend in a dumpy San Diego hotel room. My friend came along with me and my brothers to a concert. (Phantom Planet, The Hives, and Maroon 5.) (Side note: I’m done with Maroon 5. They were much better when they were known as Kara’s Flowers. Adam Levine is too sexy for my taste.) We had just returned to the hotel after the concert, and it happened. My friend just stopped talking. I tried everything I could to get him to speak up, but nothing worked. I rubbed his little scroll wheel. I gently pressed his buttons. I talked to him. Pleaded with him. Cussed at him. Almost threw him against the wall. All this to no avail. My iPod, I’m afraid, is on his death bed.

After coming home from California, I tried connecting my little white block of musical delights to my iMac. Nothing happened. Not even a glimmer of hope. So I opened up the Apple Support site and read my friend’s eulogy:

In most cases, the sad iPod icon indicates a hardware issue. If you are able to force iPod into Disk Mode, then it may not be a hardware issue, and you should try to restore your iPod with the latest software. If you cannot force your iPod into disk mode and restore it, then your iPod is in need of service. Set up an iPod Service Request or make a reservation at the Genius Bar before visiting your local Apple Retail Store. To make a reservation go to www.apple.com/retail, choose an Apple Store location, then click on the “Make a reservation” link.

I tried forcing my friend into disk mode. Unfortunately, like real people, iPods also don’t like to be forced into doing something they don’t want to do. This clever little tactic didn’t work. I’m debating whether or not I should try to repair my friend. But then I start to think about all these celebrities that have gone to rehab and it never seems to do any good. What if my friend doesn’t get any better? I don’t want to be stuck with a loser.

So while my friend is sick, I decided to look around a bit. (No, not on Match.com.) There are so many new and exciting things in the iPod world these days. The iPod Touch is especially tempting. Me likey multi-touch technology. I could even go for a beautiful, skinny little iPod Nano. (Hope my wife wouldn’t be jealous.)

I don’t know what I’m gonna do. But while I make my decision, I will be browsing a neat-o little section of iTunes that I just stumbled upon. It’s called iTunesU (short for University). ASU has posted a bunch of videos that users can download. Everything from Exercise and Wellness to podcasts from Michael Crow.

If anyone has any suggestions, condolences, or thoughts about my iPod plight, please leave a comment. I’d be happy to hear what you have to say.