UGH. IPod for dummies

God, iPod software drivers for Windows is STUPID. First the thing almost crashes my system on reboot and later gives me the first serious Windows boot up error in 3 years.

After an hour & a full system restore, the damn iPod wouldn't get detected on my USB. Now I've got tons of USB devices; from my $50 Rio MP3 player to my $1000+ Olympus camera. Webcam, headset, external harddrives, playcontrollers, tablets, etc etc. All have installed within seconds and I have no problems.

THIS damn thing doesn't work. You know what the online manual says to solve this problem? "Reset, reboot, retry" . Later it says "if it doesn't work, try it again. Third time's a charm" Ha ha ha ha. I'm so amused. Damn Apple comedian bastards. I want to slap them right upside the head see how funny their manual is after that.

Two hours later, resetting the iPod and a couple of software upgrades later I finally get it working.

Now I'll be the first one to admit when there's a well designed product. Contrary to popular opinion about me, I'm not anti-Apple at all. I think the hardware for Apple products are awesomely designed. I mean, look at their monitors, they're gorgeous. MacOSX looks like a beautiful OS too. I can only wish Windows looked that good.

The iPod itself is beautiful. It's so simple. And I must say the click-dial is about as well designed as you can get.

BUT (you all knew there was a "BUT" didn't you?): (a) the chrome back of the iPod is a fingerprint magnet. I mean, you'd have to wear surgeon's surgical gloves not to leave any marks on the thing when you pick it up. The PSP suffers from the same problem. How hard is it to design a matt faced back that doesn't pick up fingerprints? Does the shiney chome look nice.....not with 10 billion fingerprints all over it.

(b) The integration with iTunes is idiotic. Just give me a drag and drop interface...I don't need this thing with playlists and auto updates. I don't need this damn thing trying to guess what I want on my iPod or not. UGH. Turned that off first chance I got.

Yeah, I'm in a pissy mood after fussing with this for 2 hours. BAAAH humbug.