That little white box

So.. I finally gave in and updated iTunes to version 7. I was more than a wee bit hesitant after reading Wil's horror story concerning his legally purchased DRM laden music (notice that? I mentioned Wil Freakin' Wheaton casually like we actually know each other). But I considered the risk slight since I have so few Music Store purchases. I have yet to really embrace the new music model of simply buying individual tracks and I happen to like having the full artist's work (album art, etc.) tangibly in my sweet little hands, and able to do anything I want with the files.

But update I did. And it's awfully pretty.

It was all in an attempt to fix my broken little iPod 512mb Shuffle which has served me faithfully for the last one? two years? But the attempt failed with the little flash memory unable to clear tracks I had previously updated it with. C'est la vie. I ended up discovering that all that uber cool Apple marketing with shadows dancing around at the commands of the little white box was well, kindof true. The Shuffle was to digital media what marijuana is to social ills; a gateway and this latest episode merely places a higher importance on the Shuffle's replacement. Probably a Creative Zen V or V Plus in 4 GB, which is cheaper than a comparable Nano, lets me use some of the subscription services (Napster, and yes, I don't own the music there either) and features a direct line-in recording capability which I think is rather nice.

Say what you will of fashion accessories and the disadvantages of DRM, Apple is still King Of The Hill when it comes to any sort of digital player or online music store. It will be interesting how Microsoft's new Zune with WiFi could change that. Wait and see.