iPod Touch

Jun 05, 2008 19:48

This week we gained possession of a pair of 8GB iPod Touches, through a surprisingly generous rebate program ( Read more... )

perl, podcasts, rss, amarok, hhgg, itunes, last.fm, ruby, ubuntu, apple, software, linux, iphone, gadgets, ipod, music

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rfunk June 6 2008, 11:06:01 UTC
Yeah, it's pretty cool that the Touch is so useful as much more than just the usual iPod, and it's interesting that the College of Medicine has recognized that. The wi-fi and web browser make it amazingly useful without any music on there, and in many ways it's what a modern PDA should be, minus the phone. There are some indications that Apple has tried to cripple the Touch software slightly compared to the iPhone (beyond the limitations of the hardware), though they may be relenting on that.

I have really mixed feelings about Apple. On the one hand they're amazing at paying attention to lots of little details to make things work well and easily. But on the other hand they do a lot to keep things under their control, stifling things a bit. Of course, the two are related; they can be assured of making the experience consistently good (and preserving their reputation for that) only if things are under their control.

I was continually reminded of this situation as I got started with the Touch. First I was repeatedly impressed with the details that Apple had taken care of. But at the same time the functionality was somewhat limited (though still much greater than the traditional iPod), sometimes intentionally. Then after I broke in and started installing third-party apps, I was first impressed at the many options available that were not provided by Apple, and then repeatedly disappointed that those other programmers hadn't paid as much attention to the details as Apple.

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