Apple

Although I have to admit that some of their products are pretty good I still dislike Apple as a company. I have an older 30 GB iPod, I guess they are calling it an "iPod Classic" now. The battery has always been problematic, I mostly use it in the car where it is plugged in to my outlet and the battery can usually last for the hour or two I am at the gym, though just barely.

It takes, on average, one and a half hours for the battery to go from full to half-empty and when the indicator says half-empty the iPod shuts itself down.

I have replaced iPod batteries myself before, and it is a relatively easy process, but I can't afford to buy a new one right now so prefer to not take any chances.

I know that Apple has a program where they replace the batteries. I call the local Apple store and they tell me that they do NOT replace batteries but I can "recycle" the iPod and get 10% off of a new one.

So then I call the Apple Tech Support. They tell me that they can in fact replace the battery, he tells me it will cost $59 + $7 shipping for a total cost of about $70. The guy then suggests that it would be better for me to just buy a new iPod than to repair the perfectly good one I have. He says that this iPod is old and may break soon. He suggests I trade in my fully functional 30 GB iPod for a refurbished 8 GB iPod Nano, which would only cost me $20 more than replacing the battery. And that I buy an extended warranty on the new iPod Nano.

Really Apple tech support guy? I should pay an extra $20 to get a new, tiny iPod Nano that barely has enough space to store my audio books? I have 80 GB of live concerts on my computer, I have to constantly swap them in and out of my iPod. That seems like a terrible idea to me.

I think after all of this I may just get a replacement battery and do it myself again. I could send it to Apple and have them do it but after hearing two separate people tell me that I should just spend a couple hundred dollars on a new iPod I don't really want to give Apple any of my money.

Improv Everywhere

Potential jumper:

All the Single Babies

Today's viral video, here if you miss it everywhere else it is going to be:

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

GG Allin

Jane Whitney interview with the incomparable GG Allin:

Only in NYC

Wandering around the streets of NYC at 4:30am on Friday morning with some friends after a birthday party we stumble across... Spiderman with a rickshaw? He asks us to get in, and one of us does:



The lighting wasn't great but if you want to see what he does with more light:

I need to find this video again. Woops!

And a short documentary:



Shaun is awesome! People like him are the reason I love NYC!

Regrets: Dave Matthews Band

Verizon Phones

Just got off the phone with Verizon Wireless and I asked about new phones they might be getting. The woman said that there is "speculation" about Verizon carrying the Pre but nothing concrete and I shouldn't count on it.

She flat out said that as far as she knows Verizon will NOT carry the iPhone. She said that was all rumors and it was probably not going to happen.

I asked about Android phones and she said she had not heard about that, but in terms of possibilities it was somewhere between the Pre (a matter of time) and the iPhone (not likely.)

She recommended the Blackberry Tour. I'm not a big Blackberry fan. We'll wait and see I guess.