the land of ipod
A few years ago magic white boxes started to appear in the pockets of a select group of people. The majority was afraid to drop $400 for the luxury of carrying a fat little white and chrome box around with them. CD players were just fine. And with new mp3 reading capability coming out, things could only get better for the cheap little gadgets…till ipods smashed them. That’s when people figured out the true value of 40 gigs in the palm of their hand. Sure, you could fill it with 11 days worth of music, but wouldn’t it be cooler if, say you dropped an OS in there or a whole pirated movie or two? The revolution was just beginning. In a couple of years, the color screen replaced the red back lighted monochrome screens of old. Then came the video capabilities, not that anyone would be interested in watching a full length movie on a teeny, tiny screen. As the ipod became the ‘in’ thing to have, the gap between those who could afford it and those who couldn’t buy one closed. People wanted it so bad that they would go to any lengths to get one. It’s as easy as getting a job at best buy as a stock boy, and have 2 that “fell out of the truck” when inventory s taken. Now that everyone owns an ipod, it has gone from sexy and in style to the very antithesis of chic, the flagship for the neo-conformist. And that’s not the only impact that it’s had on society. With various ad campaigns, especially billboards, apple has made the dancing profiles of people their trademark. Even if the word ‘ipod’ isn’t physically present or a little box with strings isn’t visible, we know it’s for the ipod. Recently I was traveling via the subways of San Francisco. There was nothing but ipod ads all over the walls; the furthest from subliminal messaging that’s possible.
That’s how apple has changed this country…this world, into a land filled with avid music fanatics who can’t take a moment to take the little white strings out of their ears to notice the world around them. Kinda’ sick isn’t it? If any other company makes a product that could rival the ipod’s quality, I’d buy it!
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