idud

A tad less than two years ago, YM plopped down over $300 of his hard earned buck-a-roos on one of the millenniums symbols to cool, Apple's ipod (and accessories). When he arrived home with this treasure, you could have knocked me over with a feather duster. Not, mind you, that Mr. YM wasn't the epitome of cool, he just wasn't into gadgets and what's happening now, you know?

There he was. Getting all jiggy with digitized music. Spending hours on Saturday mornings downloading, building and customizing play lists. He has having a rocking good time. He became deeply invested in the process and the results. He was loving the research for songs and artists as much as the songs themselves. He was hooked.

The he got problems.

The unit started to mal-function. YM determined a software upgrade was in order. Done. All is right in digital land, again.

Then he got more problems.

This time, a trip to the Apple store is the proposed remedy. Friends advised he go on-line to reserve a spot with the Genius Bar, Apple's tech support reps.

Reservations made, YM went in to meet with a resident genius. A 30-minute wait later, (why make a reservation?) it took 30 seconds for a t-shirted (with genius emblazoned across the front-in case you forget?), ear-studded techy to proclaim, "you need a new one." Genius told YM he could buy a new unit for $250, suggesting the two year warranty and offering 10% off if he traded in the old unit.

YM considered, $300 less than two years ago and the thing is toasted. $250 for a new one, plus the cost of a two warranty, (minus 10%)....it took all of 30 seconds to tell genius, "nope, I'm good."