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Changing times Indispensable

What ever their intentions, they’ve certainly succeeded in inventing and marketing a device that’s a favourite from Hyderabad to Honolulu. They’ve also succeeded in creating a new world order of sorts – a generation of music junkies who are plugged-in, hooked and addicted to i-Pods!

Jonathan Brainard, a sound engineer in the making says: “The i-Pod is Apple’s best invention ever! It can store tons and tons of music and videos, you don’t even have to think of a computer for that because this in itself is a computer dedicated to music.”

The i-Pod has certain features that makes it the largest selling portable music device today.

First, it is sizeable enough to snugly fit in either pocket or palm. One feature that users admire most in the higher i-Pod versions is the touch sensitive jog-dial that navigates you through myriads of multimedia.

All this being said, it must be asked if the i-Pod is just another gizmo that youth want to posses to be ‘in sync’ with their generation or to be recognised among their peer groups.

Most i-Podders say that these companions serve a higher purpose than that.

“Music to me is a means of relaxation not only after a tiring day, but even while I’m working. So, having an i-Pod is really convenient because I have a whole menu of music variety laid out while I work,” reveals Vinay Abhishek, a young office-goer. With so much of music being listened to, one wonders how much of a beating the ear drums take.

How much of this auditory intake is actually meaningful? The more pedantic lot might term most genres of music from the i-Pod generation as ‘rubbish’. However, these genres of music are what fill the waking hours of most teens. Says audio enthusiast Sudhakar: “My i-Pod has stuff like Soft Rock, Soul, Hip-Hop, R&B, Reggae, Heavy Metal and of course Desi stuff too. I do understand and relate to some of what I listen to, but what’s important is that my i-Pod keeps me engaged when I’m bored.”

So much in vogue is the i-Pod nowadays that people must be seen carrying one around, even if it’s a counterfeit one that looks like Apple’s i-Pod. However, “any ordinary mp3 player or fake i-Pod won’t match up to a real one,” boasts Jonathan again. All in all, the i-Pod seems to be the perfect digital companion to have. Says Alisha Rallan, a student: “I carry my i-Pod Nano around with me everywhere - even in the classroom,” And that sums it up for music and the i-Pod generation.

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