So my parents were up here on Sunday, with my sister Deb, who’d just gotten an iPod Shuffle as part of some promo from Avon. I spent some time showing Deb how to plug it in, discussing whether or not she should get a Mac to replace her current old computer (and telling her that the iPod’d work on Win just fine), and whether she should get a laptop or a desktop.
Mom’s watching this, and asking questions about the iPod, and I’m thinking, “uh-oh…”
Yup. Today I got a call from Mom, the “30 bejillion questions about the iPod Shuffle” call, which one should she get, and whether she should order from Amazon or Apple…
Mom plays “follow the leader” with Deb a LOT; she did the same thing when Deb got her last computer, a couple years ago — Mom had to go get a new one, too (and promptly called me asking how to remove Vista). And bluntly, yeah, the iPods are neat toys if you are going to actually use them — I used my Nano all the time when I was at Discover, and it still gets used whenever I bug out to the coffee shop to write (or when I’m waiting in all these doc offices).
But Mom? She doesn’t have a job. She’s a housewife. She wants music, she tosses it on her stereo. Like Deb put it when I told her about the call: “What does SHE need an iPod for???”
I mean, Dad has an MP3 player (not an iPod, one of the others) and a hookup in his truck for him to listen to it when he’s commuting, so THAT’S understandable; he’s got a good hour commute.
But Mom? :sigh: I’ve already got emails from her calling the iPod her “gift from me to me” and saying she’s gonna have a thousand questions about it — and it’s just a bloody SHUFFLE, with limited capabilities. I mean, you load music on it, you hit play, you listen. It’s not like my Nano, with the screen & all the other features.
Maybe I’ll just send her an iTunes gift card for her birthday. THAT’ll spark another thousand questions for sure.
Across The Shadows 