Fruggums

It was somewhere in 2003 that I was asked by my Mom's friend to rip a couple hundred CDs to her laptop so she could put it on her iPod. Being completely business-minded since a young age I charged her per CD (at the time this was a skill not many kids my age had). I didn't know what an iPod was. Heck, nobody new. I hardly even knew Apple even did anything other than that Mac thing that so totally failed - and anyone who bought one was an idiot.

So there I was with this PC laptop and a boxed third generation iPod and a big stack of CDs to get onto it. As I un-boxed the iPod, you can't imagine the sort of immense 'wow' you get out of it. They don't package iPods like that anymore. It came in a medium-sized cube which folded out, and one was greeted with the 'Designed by Apple in California' on opening it. The type on the box was glossy silver. It came with a Firewire and USB cable, along with a dock, pouch, case and cloth.

I didn't know how to use it. It only took a few minutes to figure the thing out. The backlight to the four top buttons was red. I liked that. The hold key got me confused for a second (why isn't this darn thing working?!) but then you just click it back to white and it lights up on its own. You scroll around, you punch in the center. Hey these headphones came with it... hey this sounds pretty good! Oh shit this thing lasts 8 hours?! How many GB did you say? I don't even have that much music.... Oh wow the metal back is so shiny... and there's a silver Apple etched right in the middle of it... they muse use lasers to do that...

... Holy expletive who came up with this.

So I spent a few days transferring the music onto it and careful sneaking in a couple hours of listening time in between study breaks. Eventually, since it wasn't mine, I had to let it go but the fascination continued and I found myself on Apple.com a few times a week just reading about what they were up to with all this.

I don't remember how long it was till Mom gifted me one of these. 20 gigabytes. Carry all your music in your pocket. Before this I used to listen to music on my phone or carry around a little pocket radio (those were so popular, and when they started making them look like iPods you knew radio is dying). I was addicted to it. A little treasure. Always carried in the case. No keys in that pocket, ever.

Having an iPod in 2003 was very different from having an iPod in 2009 (wow, six years huh). I'm not talking about it being a status symbol. It wasn't just that. Sure, you had to be quite fortunate to have one, but there was more to it. iPods weren't popular at all. Especially in India. Not many people even knew what Apple was all about (me included). So this exciting new device came fresh without any background and could just stun people. If you had an iPod then, you were unique (and again, not only because your parents could afford it). There was something about it that said you knew what good design was all about. It was almost as if you knew Apple was going to take over the world at that point. And you had the first bits of it. The iPod wasn't a trend, it wasn't cool necessarily, it was what is was because of design and function. No other player could carry as much music. No other player was as thin, sleek and well thought out in doing so. As simple as that.

So there was something special in being part of the Apple culture at the time. Was it because it was so small? That's one of the reasons. Another reason is you had to be smart to have one. This is a time when (in my surrounding humanity) the knowledge on how to properly copy a CD wasn't very widespread (this also because most people didn't have CD burners). Sure the thing came with a manual, and everything you needed - but you just had to be a geek of sorts to really use it (this is how we started - with me getting the work of somebody who didn't have a clue about using it). You had to know how to obtain music (P2P was still quite new back then and CDs were expensive) then get it on the thing and then keep it there while knowing how to avoid breaking this delicate glossy godly creation. Not everyone knew it back then, and at age 13 in 2003. You were, essentially, part of the technological elite. And that was something. To this day I consider the 3rd gen iPod the best design Apple has produced for its iPod line.

Today's iPod has retained nothing of the sort. Now, I'm not saying this in a bad way. If iPods didn't become popular, Apple wouldn't have rejuvenated Mac - and the iPhone simply wouldn't exist today. So it was definitely a great thing to happen to the company. But along with this came popularity. Mass popularity. It wasn't because suddenly everyone knew how to use iPods i.e. they became geeky enough to evolve into the culture, its simply because the average-everyday-daily-Joe-Windows2000user people started buying it, and rattled their way around and somehow got it to work. Then it became cool. Then everyone had one. So it became a necessity. A requirement. Not a choice, a requirement (and how and why is another long story).

You know what was the requirement in 2003? Windows XP.

Funny, isn't it.

So Apple has become immensely popular, people flock to the 'Mac Store' (ugh, idiots), buy up their shiny new gear and profess their genius for choosing 'an Apple'. Why did they choose it? Heck they aren't entirely sure themselves. But they knew that they couldn't go PC. Isn't current requirement.

Then Apple started catering to the mass market. Oh yes, this is optional extra. So is this. Hey, new iPod! Hey look guys, time to upgrade your Macs to this one! Yeah isn't Steve Jobs your childhood hero?

And then every time Apple releases something new the whole world goes 'Oh my... honey, get the car' and dashes off to stand in line so they can get one on the very first day, use it to a quarter of its potential, and repeat the process within the very same year. Apple is my life!

Well, I'm portraying Apple as quite evil here. Far from. They still do make better computers than any other company. A better phone. Best portable music device. The people who deny it are doing it because - Apple consumers are now either a) Normal people who bought a Mac because they're ignorant or b) The ultimate fanboys. Neither of the groups give the culture a very good standing.

You know when I used to drool over new products Apple came out with? When I was sure the entire world wasn't behind me willing to stamp me down to get to it first. Now, I'm content with my Mac (and will be for years), don't plan on replacing my iPod for a long, long time (or my iPhone) and the new releases of iMacs yesterday just flew right by me.

Its impossible to get small-company Apple back. When they were generous enough to present us with the full package rather than have us buy additional bits which should've been in the box. What I'd like to see is companies bringing back that innovative charm to technology that won't have the masses swooning - because they won't understand it. Just like the first iPod.

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

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Of course, not too long ago, there was a point where e-mail wasn't mainstream. But, most people (if not all) who discovered e-mail, tagged along and told everyone else about it. E-mail is pretty simple. Type it out, pick who it goes to, done. 

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Macs have such a plethora of software available for them that it really is hard to find all of the good stuff sometimes. You don't know you need it till you have it. Being the geek I am I troll around looking for programs that just make my life (not only computing life) so much more simpler. I'm mentioning my recent discoveries :

DeliciousSafari

Finally, a great way to post to Delicious in Safari. Similar to Safari140 for Twitter. If you're a Delicious lover like I am, this is for you, hands down the best way to interface with Delicious on a Mac.

Cover Stream

iTunes interfacer thingummy. The usual scrobbling, remote support, searching, all that good stuff. Worth checking out, but CoverSutra is my pick.

ScrobblePod

If you are spiteful at the fact your Last.fm play count would be double what it is if you could scrobble your iPod and your iPhone. The Last.fm client is much bulkier than this. Also provides a nice interface to Last.fm to tag and love tracks quickly.

SofaControl

Control most of your Mac via your Apple Remote. 

And my favorite discovery today...

WriteRoom

Simulates a Typewriter on your Mac. Eliminates all distractions so I can write that paper in peace. Clean mission, achieves it well. 

I can't possibly write about or tweet all my discoveries (but I do sometimes). If you want to keep track of it, I bookmark them, so here's a direct RSS feed (this feed has Mac software discoveries only, not all my bookmarking activities, for that - use this one). Friend me on Delicious too.

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I had to send my ER-4P (according to me, nothing beats it, and I'm not the only one who says that, Google a few reviews) headphones in for repairs a week ago to Etymotic Research. You know what a Head-Fi I am. Kind of a painful experience to go without them for a while.

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I've been on Last.fm and iLike but of course it makes sense to only be on one of them. I noticed that the Last.fm community is far more intelligent/diverse/musical.

   

Click here to download:

Last_I_liked_tag_internet_geek.zip (197 KB)

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I've returned to two pieces of software I thought I'd share, because one requires some convincing for people to hop on.

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Let me take the liberty to create a stereotype out of the average (by average, I mean 300+ tagged photos, wall postings of 'hi, wts up! hvnt spken to u in ages!' and bumper stickers and what not) Facebook user when it comes to design trends.
 
As expected Facebook revamped their home page design, and tweaked individual profiles. As a person who knows that there exists an internet outside of Facebook (ZOMG, REALLY?), and happen to use other websites (and not Googling 'Facebook login') I welcomed the changes thoroughly, everything became cleaner, usability shot way up. Much less noise than the old one.
 
But of course, as with any design change, Facebook users revolted, suicided and all that tosh.
 
Why?
 
Well, not only because they don't have much design sense. There's more to it, and believe it or not they're right, in a way. Facebook addicts are on the site so much, constantly, that any interface change sends them flying. Their (now innate) muscle memory on where everything is and how to get there goes for a toss. Some go into anaphylactic shock, even.

Furthermore, as the users adapt (I mean physically, finger length/strength ratio and such, developed for P&S camera shutter release optimal speed) to the new changes, they'll end up loving it as much as before. Do you really think, I mean seriously, is anyone going to leave Facebook because they changed the design? And it isn't like they made everything pink or disabled the ever-so-grossly popular <3 symbol. Of course not. So quit whining retards.

 
So even though these design changes are for the better, any design change Facebook will ever make will send these people off bridges. This is where Facebook is guilty - releasing a somewhat complete revamp in one fell swoop can cause these people a bit of pain and sorrow. Gradual changes should be employed instead, and maybe these people would pay a bit more attention to their lives instead.
 
Twitter addicts, on the other hand... next time, next time.
 
Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

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After my intensive reading of Head-Fi, I realized that regarding my current rig, there is one major flaw - source.
 
Taking output from the headphone jack of an iPod is actually quite an 'average' source. Its nothing special and because the sound is going through all those el-cheapo components right out of the DAC (Digital to Analog converter), quality suffers.
 
So I realized that I needed to get a Line Out Cable.
 
What this cable does is let me get pure line-out audio from an iPod. It bypasses the tiny mediocre amp and circuitry leading to the headphone port and gives me unaltered pure analog signals straight from the source.
 
So I went out, did my research, and settled on a Qables Performance Line cable (Other great makers are ALO Audio and Moon Audio. There are a lot of people who make their own. The most expensive cables cost around $300 or more). Here's my mini-review.
 
After listening to just a few songs (without burning-in the cable) - the difference is bloody obvious, and I only expect it to get better as proceed to burning it in.
 
From the iPod (ALAC), to the Qable, to a Headroom AirHead, to the ER-4Ps, let me tell you, it sounds miles better.
 
I don't even have to delve into specifics, the overall sound itself is far richer, crisper, warmer, cleaner. The most pronounced improvement is in the mids - they seem to pop a lot more than before. The bass is much more well-rounded and a wee bit stronger (appearance of even lower frequencies). Taking the boom of a bass drum as an example, instead of being a single sound occurrence, like a little singular pop, it has a beginning fade-in, the pop, and an end fade-out - there's a little more resonance and impact. Overall, the sound feels a lot more balanced, everything seems to blend together in harmony (warmer) - I especially love this because the ER-4Ps tend to lean toward the clinical/cold side sometimes. The soundstage is also extended by a bit, but this one took a bit of time to realize. Really, it is a very large difference from the headphone port.
 
Overall, an LOC (especially a quality one) is a fantastic investment. Don't worry Mom, I paid for it myself.

Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com

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Today I spent most of my day (wait... all of my day) reading Head-Fi. (Sparked my my post yesterday and the fact one of my friends is buying new headphones.)

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Anybody who knows me beyond a How Are You knows I'm a total audiophile (not a hardcore guy who knows every single thing there is to know, just someone who truly appreciates and longs for great sound). And while I may not fork up the cash for dreamy audio equipment, I try my best to squeeze the most out of what I can afford (and I'm not complaining, I've been privileged with some quality sound and am thankful for every moment of it)

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