With iPods, mini model is money

I would like to take this time to publicly thank my fantastic roommate, whom we shall hereby… I would like to take this time to publicly thank my fantastic roommate, whom we shall hereby refer to by the letters JHO, for several acts of great kindness. The first of these is allowing me to play loud, scream-filled music at a high volume, when I know full well that he prefers the softer sounds of bands like Guster. The second is aiding me in my time of need, and this is what has led me to the topic of this column.

If you remember reading my “Ode to an iPod” column some months back, then you will know that I spent many a sleepless night mourning the death of my beloved 40-gig, whom I indecisively named Lance or Bruce.

Having just bought a new one and also acknowledging that it wasn’t healthy for me to be curled up in a fetal position on my bed saying prayers for the soul of an iPod, my roommate decided to donate his old model to me. So after a few months of walking to class and running at the gym without music, my problems were solved, and any other trouble in my life seemed a bit less burdensome.

My new iPod, however, didn’t carry the majestic prowess of a proud 40-gigabyte model, and it weighed about half as much. Nope, this little guy is just an iPod mini. While I never for a second doubted the sheer greatness of this mini from across the room, at first I was a bit wary of using it.

Only a thousand songs? How would I survive with only a thousand songs? Lance or Bruce held 10 times that many. With this thought process, needless to say, I tended to pout a lot.

But as my new iPod and I spent more and more time together, the little bugger really started to grow on me. Though at first the 1,000-song limit seemed restricting, I soon realized that, hell, I’ve never listened to more than a thousand songs in the course of a day, and when I wanted something new, it took just a few minutes to plug the thing in and upload new music.

In fact, I actually began to enjoy the process of, every few days, picking out a new batch of albums and tracks to put on my iPod. It not only forced me to consciously decide what type of music I wanted to hear, but also got me rooting through my iTunes collection to find some things I hadn’t heard in a long time, if ever.

I am happy to say that my new iPod and I now get along fine, and I have successfully been able to get over the death of Lance or Bruce. But the fact that I own and love a mini, the tiny type of iPod I used to scoff at, in comparison to my big 40-gig, made me question what was so great about my original.

So here’s the question: Why do people really need a 30-, 40- or 80-gig iPod? What is the sense in carrying around up to 20,000 songs in your back pocket? And why drop so much more cash when an iPod Nano (basically the replacement model for a mini) can cost more than $100 less? Well, this is certainly not a simple argument.

Because I’m now a believer that smaller is better, I’ll start by defending the huge models. As I felt with my first iPod, there was something great about having such a vast array of music at my fingertips. I could play anything I wanted at any time, because I had just about all the music I owned in this little rectangular machine.

I never had to pick and choose what music made the cut and what I’d have to delete off the iPod, because it all fit. And I liked that if I set it on random, there was a good chance a song would play that I’d never really listened to. And for the gadget head in me, it was cool to have a big, expensive toy to play with, as I’m sure people feel about the new models that can show movies, display graphics and prepare a home-cooked dinner.

But the other side of the argument goes like this: Though I don’t have all my music on my iPod, I certainly can store it all on my computer, which I sit in front of every single day, for one reason or another.

Hence, searching through iTunes for songs to put on my mini recreates the magic of uncovering a long-forgotten musical gem on my deceased 40-gig. Plus, I don’t believe I’ve ever listened to more than 1,000 different songs in one day, so as long as I’ve got an up-to-date collection on my iPod mini, I’m never lacking music that suits my current mood.

Since I’ve lived on both sides of the ‘Pod, I can understand both arguments. But I’ve got to say, the mini has won me over. So if you don’t mind reloading new music every so often, don’t count out a smaller iPod. They’re light, cheap and force you to put some thought into what tunes you carry around in your pocket all day.

And remember, the death of an iPod can cause serious trauma, so please don’t hesitate to look into counseling.

Mourning the death of an electronic loved one? Justin knows how you feel. To set up a counseling appointment or to just provide feedback, e-mail Justin at jhj11@pitt.edu.