Arrrgh! I Lost My iPod!
Posted by Harry McCracken | Wednesday, September 28, 2005 5:42 PM PT
I recently returned home from a neat visit to Athens (Greece, not Georgia), during which my 40GB iPod, and the 3000 songs it contained, were essential equipment during the plane trips back and forth, which were nasty, brutish, and anything but short.
When my plane landed back in San Francisco, I removed my earphones, dumped everything back into my briefcase, and sped home.
And then, when I looked in the briefcase later, I discovered that the iPod wasn't there.
I'm still not positive where it went, but the most likely scenario is that I somehow left it on the airplane. (Rule #1 of plane travel, which I sometimes violate: Never put anything in the seatback pocket. You'll leave it there, inevitably.) The airport and Air France were alerted to my tragic loss, but I haven't heard back from them. (Which makes this a bigger deal than when I
left my laptop at airport security and was eventually reunited with it--hmmm, maybe I should just stop traveling.)
It's possible that my poor iPod is languishing in lost and found somewhere. But I'm resigned to the notion that someone found it and kept it. Given that I flew Air France, I have these completely unfair (and most likely inaccurate) visions of a French stewardess glomming onto it.
I also keep assuming that whoever has it is listening to my music--which seems
really unlikely unless that person doesn't know that buying a USB or FireWire iPod cable will let him or her wipe the player clean and download new music to it. (Or, alternatively, if the iPod happened to be found by someone with a fondness for obscure pop music from the 1960s--and come to think of it, I did have a handful of songs in French on it.)
There aren't many things more personal than one's taste in music, and so the notion of a stranger listening to my tunes is a little unsettling. (I was creeped out in the reverse direction once during a hotel trip when I plugged into the hotel's broadband and found that my copy of iTunes was picking up the music collection of, it seemed, some other person who was lodging their and using the network. I was fascinated...but I also felt like I was invading the privacy of some random stranger.)
All of this is an artifact of the digital age, of course--until recently, it would have been an awful lot harder to misplace your entire music collection.
The good news: I had multiple backups of all my audio (thank heavens), so I'm out only money and a little time. And I managed not to lose my semi-pricey Shure E2C earphones.
I can't be the only person who's ever been dumb enough to lose an MP3 player--in fact, my guess is that the lost-and-founds of America are loaded with 'em...
Hi Harry,
I am sorry to know about the loss of your i-POD, even I have one with me and taking cue, shall make doubly sure that it remains entrenched on my person, whenever I am on a long haul.
Nonetheless, I pray you get it back, a bleak possibility somehow.
BTW isn't it a wonder of this digital era, that sitting here in Tokyo I can share your loss, but awfully, someone's gain..
Cheers
Goldy
sucks for you!
That's mean. Show some respect for the fallen IPod.
Hey Harry...I've had a 1 week old Treo vanish into thin air once and I think I can understand how you feel. Lessons, lessons & more lesons! All we've got to do is learn & go on. Thankfully, the digital age has mde it easy to have back-ups. So in the worse case scenario, your wallet will be a shade lighter. If your pod was meant to be yours; it will come back! (My Treo didn't). Cheers mate!
Just thinking about losing my iPod again makes me wince. My entire harddrive had to be replaced on my computer and some 2400 songs of mine were simply gone. It was comforting to know that Apple has no way of letting you put the music from your iPod back onto your computer. But trust me, I'm sure that the lost and founds of America are not full of iPods, they've been hijacked by people with horrible tastes in music and kleptomaniac behavior. But don't worry, the nano is here, you're in for a treat...best of luck!
Chris
Yeah, but as you might know, there seems to be a problem with the Nano Screen, even Apple accepted it today. So better hold on to the original i-POD.
Good Luck...
Goldy
This is an opportunity to free yourself, Harry. Seriously- it's getting excessive. Everyone moves through the world to the tunes of their own personal soundtrack, insulated from everyone around them. I even see people wearing their signature white headphones while driving- and it could easily be because they forgot they had them on- it's part of their attire, and the music the neverending thump-bada-thump-bada-thump of their life.
Break free. Return to humanity.
Actually you can put the music on your iPod back onto your computer. It's somewhat tedious though.
If you've got Winamp, then install the Winamp IPOd Plugin, and manage the IPod using the Media Library.
If you're a Linux user, then GTKPod should prove useful
Feel your pain. I lost my Creative Zen Micro recently on a Frankfurt - Vancouver leg. Blaming it on excessive jetlag, but maybe I should call it gadget fatigue.. too many *%^$# things cluttering our lives.. How about an ipod treo??? Of course, a healthy dose of disconnecting from the digital detrius is probably what we all really need...
You should re-read Ray Bradbury's FAHRENHEIT 451. Totally predicted iPods, as people moved thru life with tiny seashells in their ears, playing music constantly.
They learned to lip read as they never removed them.
So Monsieur McCracken, it was your iPod I found under the airsickness bag.
I find your choice of music, shall we say, interesting.
Sacre Bleu! Who is this Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich?
le Beatles I know, but what is this sad story about the chef leaving his cake out in the rain in Macarthur Park? I do not understand.
I am glad the Ballad of the Green Beret's is wearing praising our national headpiece, and I was happt to hear about the Elusive Butterfly of Love once again.
Thank you for providing me with many hours of listening pleasure.
Jean
obscure 60's pop songs in French
aieee, don't tell me, Doris Day singing "Que, Sera Sera"?
Harry i am soory you lost your i-pod and i hope you get it back. Once i lost all my pictures from a trip to the grand canyon along with the 40gb extrenal harddrive they were all on. But thankfully i had a back up of the pics on my laptop.
Chris, just download "copypod" software and you can copy all the music you have on your ipod back onto your pc
Goldy are you illiterate? Its iPod you fracking noob.
it was the devil!
Dont Hate ME are you illiterate? Goldy was referring to the post above her you fracking noob.
hah u guys r crazy....its |\|00|3
btw ur ipods gone dude...every1 buys them for the name brand..and to that guy who was talking about the nano...its pretty fragile and if u scratch the screen ur not gonna be able to see nethin...happened to a friend of mine....
l8tr
now that you have and open wallet, why not look around ar some other things, ipod's aren't the only thing out there
that WAS you! i was on the same flight, but even further in the back. the dude in front of me picked up something as we were getting off the plane, and later (at the luggage thing) i saw him trying to use an iPod but using those stupid free headphones from the plane -- it was very memorable in its ugly mismatchedness (he wasnt an ipod type of guy, either.)
maybe he'll return it, if it was him.
Sorry Harry! I recently dropped mine and it crushed into oblivion... Greet your brother Zak.
Geee whoptie do, people lose electronics everyday, just because it is a ipod doesn't make it any more importart or column worthy.
There's no way I'll ever buy an iPod Nano--especially for my kids. There's a reason some USB key drive makers sell them in packs of two or more--because you're going to lose at least one of those tiny buggers...or put them through the wash in your jeans pocket.
There's no way I'll ever buy an iPod Nano--especially for my kids. There's a reason some USB key drive makers sell them in packs of two or more--because you're going to lose at least one of those tiny buggers...or put them through the wash in your jeans pocket.
Have found IPOD please post list of obscure 60's music to identify. Don't we both wish that were true. But it really would be neat to see that list.
Love my iPod, love my Nano. Would have bought them reguardless of who made them. Form factor is great, interface is great and price/performance is good. Looks good, sounds good and reasonable price what more can you ask for?
price is good??? I think it's outrageous. You could almost buy a whole computer for that!!
No offense to iPod users here, honestly, but I live on a very limited budget, and while I like techy gadgets as much as the next guy, I can't see myself paying $200 for just a little mp3 player. There's no way the level of technology in those things is worth that, at least not to me. Oh, and Apple? NEWSFLASH: smaller is NOT always better. The Nano is ridiculous. I would much rather have a solid, decent-sized player cased in oh, say, stainless-steel (for durability AND style) than a fragile, plastic postage-stamp of a player. There's something to be said for practicality. That said, I'm very sorry you lost your favorite gadget. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost my cell phone (which is merely a contact list, no music or pictures or whatnot; I have a digital camera and CDs for those things ^_~). Oh, and Steiny, I have lost my only USB drive several times and run it through the wash once. I found it every time, and it's now squeaky clean and works great! =D
i wish i could wire up a USB port into my skull. then just stick a little USB key with a bunch of music into my head. Headphones schmedphones!
just about copying music back to the computer,
any one can do it without any software. just enable viewing of hidden files and disk support in itunes. then you see the ipod in my computer and a hidden folder called ipod_control. open it and inside there is a folder with all your music.
the ipod gives it wierd names but the metadate
of the song is sill kept. I have done this one numerous times when reinstalling windows if i have to. any way, you can do it like this for free.
ebay sells a lot of stolen ipods.
I lost my iPod too - on the beach in Santa Cruz, CA. I'm hoping that if I buy a replacement, that I can easily "update iPod" with my existing library.
Exactly the same story here.. I brought my iPod (40GB with about 3000 songs) on the plane to Copenhagen. Used it for appx. 15 minutes. Then, when the plane landed, I somehow managed to bring my headphones with me.
About 2 hours after leaving the airport I discovered that something was missing..
This was three months ago.. ..and I've more or less put it behind me. It still hurts though.
I lost my mini a few weeks ago did any of you guys buy a new one I think I might get a 20G this time?
I have actually found a new ipod last night walking across campus in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. I don't know how to track down the owner without any tags, and they did not include their name or phone number anywhere on it. Is there any way on the apple site that it is registered and i can find the owner?
I read on one of the apple sites that the maximum operating altitude is 10,000 Ft, for a nano, an aeroplane travels 3 times higher... is it still ok? because of the whole cabin pressure thing? im thinking of getting a nano
I've lost my phone brand new and my mum and dad are angry with me ive looked everywhere wot shall i do?
Hey guys! Have any of you viewed lostipods.com? People list ipods they've lost and the ones they've found. You never know you might get lucky and maybe someone has found yours. My pink ipod mini was just stolen i so I feel your pain. good luck guys
It is sad when a fallen man is left behind as in a war. An MP3 player becomes a part of you. Each track and playlist is a part of you. Each little nuance of your player from the scratch on the screen or the scuff on the edge makes that machine uniquely your own. When you come home you see that MP3 cradle sitting there empty...Will it ever return back to its home?
i am thinking about buying an ipod nano...it is my first ipod and i was wondering what the reaction is to an ipod nano? anyone have comments?
To answer lilhomie10's question about the airplane altitude and the iPod, ya, its fine cuz the plane cabin is pressurized to what is equivelant to somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000 feet.
don't feel stupid i lost mine ipod nano two days after i bought it.....yeah it sux!
i love my ipod but i lost it yesterday, had it for 3 years, cudnt leave te ouse withoput out it, now i feel empty!!! fck the world!
I know how it feels man, lost my 80gb ipod yesterday. I feel like an asshole because that ipod has been with me through good and bad times and I didnt take care of it. I miss my ipod
is there a way to attach a locator device to an ipod?
preferably one with gps. ha.