As some of you are aware, my Titanium Powerbook won’t even boot up anymore. It really is quite annoying now. Especially since the new version of iTunes and the new iPods are out. I am excited by some of the iPod changes, but I’ll need to hold it and play with it a bit before I make any real judgments. I will say this: it is smaller, and holds more, and has backlit buttons, and some new software with Solitaire included. It doesn’t have Tetris yet, but I am waiting… The potential problems are the new button layout (the old layout was near-perfect), and the proprietary connector on the underside for the cradle and connectivity. It now will require yet another adapter to connect via firewire, where the straight firewire connector before was near-perfect (though the move to the underside and the inclusion of the cradle is a good idea.) I think this is because the same model can now be used for either mac or PC, and the only change required physically will be using the USB 2 adapter instead of the firewire. Still, I don’t care about PC connectivity unless Apple lets me share the same iPod and files between my Mac and PC, which I don’t think is a planed possibility. So, therefore, I don’t really care about any decrease in production costs, I want a simple firewire port right on the underside of the iPod so I don’t need any adapter, period.

I have to say, I was hoping for something a little more PDA like with this new release. Maybe a color screen, maybe video and photo playback, maybe camera connectivity (to store photos when your memory stick gets full), and enhanced calendar and contact management. The other thing I hoped for was in-iPod playlist editing, so passengers in my car could create new lists of songs to play for the roadtrip. Everyone who rides in my car complains that the iPod can’t do that. That really would be pretty easy to implement too. It’s pretty disappointing.

Anyway, don’t get me wrong. The iPod changed my life, and I only have the version 1, 5 GB model. I love it. I just wish they made some bigger changes in the new release. I’ll still go by the Apple Store to check it out, and maybe buy one.