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April 7, 2008

ipod

They don’t make iPods like they used to

Posted Apr. 7, ’08, 1:48 PM PT by Dan Moren
Category | iPod

Sad iPodJames Daley of The Independent is sure—sure as shootin’—that mischievous invisible gnomes are rendering iPods unusable just after they escape warranty. This is one of those bizarre conspiracy theories that gets trotted out every once in a while, intimating that somehow Apple has designed their devices to die precisely at the moment when you will have to either a) fork over money to pay for the repair or b) buy a replacement.

Though there’s no solid evidence that Apple deliberately kills iPods through software updates when they get to be about two years old, the fact that these expensive devices rarely last for more than 24 months is hard to swallow.
Boggle. Not only is there no “solid” evidence, there is actually no evidence at all. In fact, there is more evidence that I personally faked the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Eleven years before my birth.

After two years of stellar service, my beloved iPod suddenly started giving me gip last week — crashing three times in an afternoon. Although I managed to restart it each time, I couldn’t understand why it should suddenly start malfunctioning now — after all, I’ve only had it for two years, and I’ve been careful to look after it.
Look, everything dies: it should be no more surprising that it gives up the ghost two years after you bought it than right after you take it out of the box. This reminds me of that bit we see trotted out every once in a while about how the iPod’s shuffle isn’t really random, because sometimes it’ll play two or three songs in a row by the same artist. As mathematicians usually go on to point out, that’s just as random as playing three songs in a row by different artists: it’s your brain that perceives the pattern.

Likewise, I imagine there are a number of people whose iPods have died while in warranty. Or, for that matter, years after their warranty expires. I know people in both of those camps—heck, I’ve been in both of those camps. So, in other words, there’s a good chance that your iPod suddenly dying and the warranty expiring are statistically independent.

My wife has been an iPod devotee for much longer than I. She has an old mini, a 30 GB model and one of the new fancy nanos. About a year ago, when her old 30 GB machine began to pack in, she managed to persuade Apple to send her a new one, as she’d bought an extended warranty that was still just in date.

Interestingly, however, the replacement — a never-used 30 GB iPod, which was no longer available in the shops — began to run into difficulty just weeks later — regularly crashing, until it eventually stopped working altogether. This didn’t make too much sense. After all, the problems couldn’t be blamed on wear and tear. Short of it being a defective unit, the only obvious explanation was that it was struggling to get to grips with the newer software. [emphasis added]

Or it was a defective unit. See above. Also, and I’m not totally sure about this, but if they’re sending you a replacement unit for a model that’s no longer produced, I think there’s a good chance it’s a refurbished model (I realize he describe it as “never-used,” but with the Apple refurbs, you may not be able to tell).
At the same time, her iPod mini — which by then was over two years old and which she never synchronized with her computer — was continuing to work just fine.
Duh duh DUHHHH.
With so many rival MP3 players on the market, I’m sorely tempted to go for a different brand this time round — especially after I recently discovered that the albums I’ve bought from the iTunes store can’t be copied onto CD. Not so long ago, I paid pounds 13 ($26) for a new release off iTunes, yet I can’t copy this album on to a CD to play in the car, and I don’t even have a cover to show for my purchase.
Well, either you’ve tried to make more than seven copies of the same CD, or you haven’t met the “Burn Disc” button. James, Burn Disc. Burn Disc, James. Talk amongst yourselves.
The problem is that as much as I’m frustrated with my Apple experience, I still love my iPod — and I don’t like the look of any other players nearly as much. I’m sure Apple’s well aware of this. Its products are very cool — and if customers get two years’ good service out of them, that’s probably just enough to keep them hooked.
Because, you see, Apple is like heroin. Which, incidentally, also comes at a premium, is easy to use, and available in black and white.
So, unfortunately, I think it’s too late for me. When my current iPod finally gives up for good, I’ll probably reluctantly go and replace it — even though I know I should take my business elsewhere. But if you haven’t taken your first steps in the addictive world of Apple, my advice is to steer clear.
That’s right, kids: Apple is for addicts. If you want to stay clean, stay away from Apple. TMYK.

While I think Daley’s suggestion that iPods are programmed to self-destruct is utter rubbish, it does shed a light on a problem of today’s technology: transparency. Fifty years ago, if something you owned broke, it was easy enough to tell: your washing machine would start to clank because a screw wore out, everything in your refrigerator would spoil because the compressor fan died, the TV would only show everything in evil-tinged red hues because it was possessed by demons, etc.. And then you’d call a repair man and they would come and put a new widget in and everything would return to working like gangbusters.

But nowadays, the majority of our devices are black boxes: we know that we press a button on our little pocket-sized iPod and music plays, but most of us probably can’t explain, in gory technical detail, how. Devices use components that are so small that it’s far beyond the ability of us ordinary mortals (or even us mildly technologically savvy mortals) to see what the devil’s gone wrong. Instead of a faulty knob, frayed wire, or a burnt-out vacuum tube, we have to deal with a microscopic broken connection on a teeny tiny circuit board.

All this miniaturization comes at a price of reliability. The smaller you make devices, the smaller and more precise all your components must be, and the narrower the tolerances for failure. If your headphone plug is a millimeter out of whack, you might get some noise on your earbuds—if your hard drive’s read/write head is a millimeter out of whack, then you’ve got a problem. It’s commonly accepted—if largely anecdotal—that notebook computers fail more frequently than desktop computers (i.e., your more traditional Mac Pro-style towers, not your iMac or Mac mini, which increasingly use notebook-sized components). I know plenty of people who insist upon buying Apple Care for the notebooks, but not their desktops.

Sure, sooner or later, every piece of technology you have stops working, even if you painstakingly avoid dropping it down the stairs or pouring a bucket of water over it. The lifespan of these devices has probably gotten shorter, though, because of all those slimmer tolerances and smaller pieces. You can thank/blame Moore’s Law for that. As your grandpa is constantly muttering, they quite literally don’t make them like they used to.

There’s good and bad in our breakneck speed of technological progress, but you can’t have one without the other. Or, to paraphrase another old saw: if you want to make an iPod, you’re going to have to break a few transistors.


10 Comments

Dave-O said:

It's actually an undocumented fact that wearing a tin foil hat prevents burning iTMS purchases to CD. That might be the problem with his iPod too.

April 7, 2008 2:25 PM
Shannon said:

My ipod 40GB, which cost $450 run-out model, died after about 2 years. I cannot, never again, bring myself to buy something for $450 that's going to last 2 years. Therefore, my current strategy is to use a solid-state ipod shuffle, and only transfer those items from itunes that I want to listen to. The ipod shuffle, with no moving parts, won't break down so easily.

April 7, 2008 5:19 PM
Isaac said:

Going on three years with my ipod photo... and still about 6 hours of battery per charge!!!

April 7, 2008 7:12 PM
Cygnus X-1 said:

I have to argue that this is total bunk. I have a iPod 2G 10GB that is still alive and kicking. I wish it had Podcast support (I hate digging for them) but otherwise it works fine. I had the hard drive and battery replaced under warranty about a year ago under 4 year extended from Best Buy but I know I caused the single bad sector on purpose (I was hoping for a new one).

I think it is more a comment on how people treat their stuff. I think after about 2 years people just don't care for their iPods and they tend to get dropped.

It may also be that people look for an excuse to buy the new iPod with new features around that time. I think the battery starts to run down around then as well.

April 7, 2008 7:25 PM
Marc Lucke said:

BUGGER!

Both my boss' and my wifes' ipods broke outside of warranty and we all are really pissed off about it.


Apple, we won't be buying another iPod & I myself have decided to give Windows Vista a go - it isn't that hard

April 8, 2008 6:06 AM
edward said:

My mini has worked flawless for 4 years, now it's dead but 4 years 4 hours everyday, hatt off.

April 8, 2008 7:04 AM
Soul of Wit said:

Four different model iPods in the family, going back to the Mac-only days. No repairs. No issues. The oldest was tested a year ago and still gave the rated battery life.

My guess is that usage patterns vary and that some people beat the 7734 out of their iPods.

April 8, 2008 9:04 AM
a nonymous said:

I have had an iPod mini 4Gb for 3 - 4 years, dropped it numerous times, including a particularly bad drop in an airport which jammed the play and FFWD buttins, even had it thrown at me by an exgirlfriend (when it bounced off my head it magically unjammed the aforementioned buttons! but dont tell her that!). I have left it in the heat, in the cold, in my car. while the battery life is down to about 5 hours, it still works well. For me, this iPod nano has exceeded all expectations.

April 8, 2008 11:31 AM
thayeriv Author Profile Page said:

I had a first generation iPod that got run over by a car and sat out in the rain overnight. Once it dried out it kept working. Changed the battery a couple years ago and gave it to my dad who still uses it.

My first generation nano still works great too. I use it mostly for sweaty running.

April 8, 2008 1:53 PM
Russell said:

"I cannot, never again, bring myself to buy something for $450 that's going to last 2 years."

I bet if someone offered you a car for $450 and you knew it would last two years, you'd think about it. :-)

But yes, it's a shame all the current disk-based iPods cost $450 ... oh, wait, no, they don't.

How would you feel about a new iPod that held twice as much (80 GB) and cost a little more than half as much ($250)?

(Or wait a few months for a 16 GB nano, if you must have solid state.)


April 8, 2008 8:33 PM

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