Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family
My first iPod didn't have a halo back then
In light of the iPod's 5th birthday, I figured it would be fun to join Scott in some reminiscing about the early days of my first little white music player. I remember seeing them when the 10 and 20GB models completed the 1st/2nd gen lineup, and I knew that thing would rock my world. I had already been trying out other MP3 players at the time, and I hated all of them. The last one I remember before scraping together cash for a 5GB iPod was a Rio (from Creative, I think?), and I hated that thing too. Getting music onto the device was a chore, and flash memory cards were mind-numbingly expensive (I think it took SD cards). The Rio's interface was an exercise in walking barefoot on broken glass, and the moment I saw the iPod I knew someone had finally done it right. After tearing the couch apart for that last penny to cover tax (and after a month of saving some cash by eating nothing but Ramen noodles), I rode my bike as fast as I could down to the University bookstore I was part-timing it at (I wasn't in school at the time), because I could get the discount there which made all the difference. The funny thing is: when I brought that 1st gen iPod home, I wasn't plugging it into a Mac - I had a Windows XP box (funny: 5 years ago, same ol' WinXP). While the original iPods were *officially* just made for a Mac (or so most of us remember), I picked up one of the first Mac+PC versions, so I was using Musicmatch and - I hope you're sitting down for this - an unofficial plugin for Windows Media Player. This admittedly blasphemous configuration worked decently, though it certainly didn't hold much of a candle to the integration of the dynamic iTunes+iPod duo that Apple finally brought to Windows. Fortunately, this iPod helped convince me to hop onto the Mac OS X train before that happened.
I'd like to consider myself one of the early benefactors of the 'iPod halo effect.' While I was using crappy software on Windows to manage my first iPod, I started (finally) getting curious about the company that made such an impressive little device. After all, I was in the middle of a design undergrad (I had to take time off to get in-state tuition in CO, and btw: that's a PITA), and the next semester a fellow classmate sat me down for a crash course in all things Apple and Mac OS X (and I was finally more open to learning about them). When the forces of the iPod halo effect and Mac OS X united, I once again embarked on a Ramen diet, this time of epic proportions. My destination? A RevA 12-inch PowerBook - my first Mac - for which many pennies were sacrificed.
So this blogger has that original 5GB iPod and a classmate or two to thank for making the switch to greener OS pastures. Of course, I can also bring incredible amounts of music along in my pocket now too, which isn't half bad either. It's been a fun musical roller-coaster, complete with scratches, too many wacky accessories to count, and a deeper understanding of my music library that just can't stop - won't stop - growing. Thanks, 1G iPod.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eleventeen said 2:13PM on 10-23-2006
The original Rio's were made by Diamond. I think they got bought out a while after MP3 players really started to go mainstream.
I had one of the original 64 mb Rio's that took SmartMedia cards.
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josephm said 2:16PM on 10-23-2006
This is similar to my story (minus the Ramen.)
I had been saving for an iPod since 2001 when Apple gave my school techies iPods as a thank you gift for working on the help desk for that big, new iBook program. I wanted one. BADLY. VERY. I finally got one the day after the second revision of the 3rd gen iPod. I got, and still have a 20 gig thrid gen. It has a new battery, but I love it. I was one of only a few kids i school that had an iPod. By the time I left school two years later nearly EVERYONE had one. Heck, when I bought my iPod it still had MusicMatch, and they debuted the FIRST sillouette ad!
Two years later, I finally got my dream computer, a 15" PowerBook G4. 1.67ghz of dreamy goodness. I need more ram for my beauty (soon!), but I love her too.
My Apple story hasn't ended yet. I'm now a Campus Rep for Apple, I have a MacBook, and two more iPods. I'm looking into saving up and buying an older iMac G4 for my collection, and I'm converting all my friends to Apple.
When people said there wasn't an iPod halo effect, I had to disagree in full, because I was one of those that made the switch.
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Jason said 2:30PM on 10-23-2006
I remember before going to bed one night (Oct 23, 2001, I supposes) and swung by apple.com. I don't remember the moment I actually saw it, but I was intrigued enough to start reading. I read every word and kept waking up my girlfriend to tell her some new feature I came across.
I couldn't justify buying because I couldn't imagine how often I would use it between driving to work, being at work or listening to music on my (nice) home stereo.
Then I moved to New York, the land of walking and Subways. I traded in my dual-450 G4 tower for a Titanium PowerBook and a 1G 5Gigger before the move, in the Spring of 2002.
I have listened to thousands of hours of beautiful music on it and still have it (along with a black 2GB Nano + Nike). On a road trip about six months ago, I spent an 11-hour drive one day DJ-ing with that original, 4-year-old iPod and the battery lasted all day. That is no lie!!!
I love it. It's beautiful. I'll keep it as a design piece when it dies - if it ever does.
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nick said 2:39PM on 10-23-2006
Ramen can really do wonders when you need to pick up a new gadget.
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Gandhi said 2:47PM on 10-23-2006
I have the 4G 20 gig iPod, and the halo effect worked for me as well - though it took some time. Purchased a Macbook little over one month ago. I remember installing iTunes on Windows XP and plugging in my iPod for the first time - the whole process was SO easy - I kept thinking "Hmm, if thier MP3 player is so easy to use, I wonder how well thier computers work .... "
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David Chartier said 2:58PM on 10-23-2006
"Ramen can really do wonders when you need to pick up a new gadget."
You're darn right it can! I should write those guys a thank you letter, if it weren't for all the fat and sodium they stuff their product with. I gained an iPod, but I also wound up exchanging a 6-pack for a small snack pack, if you know what I mean.
Now, to go put on my Nike iPod kit...
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Steven said 4:35PM on 10-23-2006
I definitely had the original Diamond Rio in 1998 or 1999 (senior year of HS, don't remember if it was the first or second half).
Yes, SmartMedia, no, not 64 megs...32. And a parallel port transfer cable.
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spil said 5:17PM on 10-23-2006
That's funny. I, unlike most people, got an iPod because of how great my mac was. I bought an iBook g3 from my brother, and had about 3 songs on it. Slowly, my music collection grew to about 1000. My friend got a 3g, and when the 4g iPod came out, I bought one. I was fine listening to music on the laptop (with only the built in speakers), but when I got my iPod, everything changed. Now I have a 5g iPod, and its good, but I want a 1g, just for the fun. My brother has one, but he's not too keen on getting rtid of it. Any one have a 1g iPod they don't want anymore?
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ChrisM70 said 5:54PM on 10-23-2006
Not to spit on the birthday cake, but has anyone else had trouble connecting to the iTunes store?
The Apple forum is FILLED with posts about not being able to connect for the last 3 days, but I don't seem to see ONE STORY about it on any Mac site. Anyone having this problem?
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The Jeremy said 8:23PM on 10-23-2006
Considering how many times Apple Records has sued Apple Computer over the use of its brand, I'm surprised the music group Diamond Rio never sued Diamond Multimedia over the "Diamond Rio" MP3 player line.
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Spike said 5:12AM on 10-24-2006
I think he meant beneficiary not benefactor (that means to give the halo effect not receive it)
nice post though, i was a dirty student at that time too and the iPod wasn't even on our radar here in the UK.
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