Yes, I have become an owner of an Apple product thanks to a Christmas gift from my wife. When I replaced my old car I pulled the aftermarket head unit out of it that reads data CDs full of MP3 files, but had decided not to install it in my current vehicle. I was in the process of burning audio CDs to play in it when she decided to buy me an iPod and FM transmitter to be used in my vehicle. What follows is a tale of questionable shopping tactics by my wife, poor decisions by Apple, unexplainable pricing by Target, evil decisions by Apple, and unsatisfactory results from a Belkin product.
My mother-in-law [redacted], so Rachel asked her to pick up a black iPod Classic 160GB. When it became clear that we would not see them before Christmas, my wife went to our local Target and purchased her own black iPod Classic 160GB, with the intent that when we got the one from her mother she would return it using the receipt from the one she purchased. This plan became somewhat murkier when we discovered that not all black iPod Classic 160GB instances are created equal. Specifically, there was a version manufactured from 2007 through 2008 (“sixth generation”) and another manufactured starting in 2009 (“sixth generation, 2nd revision”). The primary difference is that the newer version is slightly slimmer. Although Apple chose to use the same name and model number for two different products, they have different UPC codes and stock numbers. Of course, I had already opened and began using the older model.
Target also charged wildly different prices for the two revisions. Strangely, the older version was sold to Rachel for $350, while the newer one was sold to her mother for $230. Since we could not possibly return the newer version with a receipt from the older version, I reset the older model to factory condition and returned it, the documentation, and accessories to the box, hoping I would be able to explain the situation to a customer service representative. Unexpectedly, Rachel attempted to re-shrink wrap the box using plastic cut from a Ziploc bag and some sort of heat sealing device. It did not look perfect, but close. A Target employee accepted it without question, but I felt terribly dishonest even though it was in as-new condition.
The iPod is designed to work with Apple’s iTunes software, which is fair enough. Since iTunes is not available for my operating system of choice, however, I needed to look into alternative ways to transfer music to it. I would prefer that I be able to simply treat the device as an external hard drive, drop a directory of music onto it, and go, but I understand that having a database of metadata is useful. The gtkpod application looked like a reasonable choice for being as close to what I would want while satisfying the iPod interaction model. Getting it to work, however, was no easy task. You see, starting with the 5th generation of iPods, Apple started attempting to lock them down so that only their software would be able to access the device. Enterprising hackers eventually found a way to fake the application signature by hashing the serial number, but this is a poorly documented, manual process. Eventually I did manage to thwart Apple’s attempts at preventing me from using the device I own in the way I would like.
After having loaded some music onto the iPod, I took it and the Belkin Tunebase FM transmitter on a trip out to Bethlehem. Getting the transmitter to fit into the cigarette lighter in my car was quite a chore; they design it to have a tight fit so that it will not freely rotate while driving, but I had to supply a ridiculous amount of force just to jam it into the socket. The transmitter itself is simply not of high enough power to consistently reach the antenna at the back of my car. If tuned to a frequency on which there is a competing station, you hear a mix of the two sources. If tuned to an unused portion of the spectrum, you hear a mix of your music and static. The device includes what they call ClearScan technology, which is supposed to automatically find a frequency with least interference. In actuality, it seems to do almost exactly the opposite. I live in a somewhat remote area with plenty of unused frequencies, but it always seems to select one of the few on which there is a commercial broadcast. Not that this matters, since I have no particular preference for mixing with static over mixing with other music. It also has settings to apply compression to the sound before transmitting it to help boost the signal, but with modern recordings already super-compressed I found that this had no noticeable effect. There is one way that I could significantly improve the sound, however — holding my hand just above the end of the antenna. With a part of my body in that vicinity the sound comes through relatively clearly. I have not been able to figure out whether my body is being used as a large antenna, or if the radio waves are reflecting off of my hand back towards the car’s antenna, or what. Perhaps someone experienced with RF signals can make a conjecture.