After nearly 5 years of service, the very first iPod I ever owned has reached brickdom. I’d since upgraded to newer models, and this particular iPod had been passed on to others. I determined its brick status this afternoon as I ran some diagnostics on it. It had already been on the outs for a brief while, and today I made the last ditch effort to save it for one of my housemates. It’s destined for recycling in some fashion for the time being.

Elsewhere:

• Bird dogs are up for adoption. (Okay not really, but the photo there is priceless.)
• Wired published some new disturbing and scandalizing photos from Abu Ghraib (NSFW)
• A shopper at the Home Depot on Rhode Island Avenue NE here in D.C. both filed a complaint on D.C. police and fired off a lengthy email to Home Depot’s CEO after he was illegally detained for refusing to show a receipt to the guard upon exiting the store.

iRing bonds Apple fan, gadget in holy matrimony: “The iRing is the brainwork of Victor Soto. It’s a fairly stylish ring with a lot of added functionality. The band acts as a touch-sensitive function strip. Swipe your finger across the band to control media playback and volume.” (via IM from Trevor)

Among the announcements at today’s “The Beat Goes On” event at Apple (Yes Virginia, there really is a revamped iPod line.), the iPhone is getting a price drop.

Surprise!

And Dan Cederholm called it out on twitter about an hour ago.

The 8GB iPhone drops to $399, a $200 difference from it’s release date price. No word on 4GB pricing, though given it’s $499 price point there’s no doubt that it too will see a price break.

Sigh. This happened to me last year too; not long after I bought a 60GB iPod, Apple upgraded it upped the capacity and dropped the price.

Update: I should clarify something here. The fact that the iPhone’s price dropped doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, I expected it would… eventually. A $200 price break in just over two months since release is a bit of a burn, though. Such is the price for early adoption, I guess.

As for last year’s iPod incident, the 60GB model had been out a while, but I didn’t pay attention to speculation that a bigger model would soon be out.

In nearly two months of iPhone ownership, I’ve decided that the iPhone needs to support three things: song lyrics, iPod games and the Camera Connector.

Ron posted this survey (which he found elsewhere) and for lack of anything better to do, I thought I’d take a crack at it. I find it interesting that all my answers are rather short, save for the answer to question 2. One could argue that I wrote the most on a subject I’m passionate about, but I think that would be overthinking it.

I needed to pick up some batteries on the way home, and eyeing a special I grabbed this 8-pack of Duracells.

Included in this package is a free set of earbuds. White ones. That closely resemble the original iPod earbuds.

At least at the part that goes in your ear.

• Ledo name of ‘nerve center’
• Apple reportedly angered by ‘iGasm’ ads | Tech news blog - CNET News.com
• The Evening Class: QUEER CINEMA Turner Classic Movies Broadcast of Screened Out: Gay Images In Film
• DC Metro Rider - Recording of the Old Metro Voice?
• Machines give kids lessons in food, finance

Apple is not turned on by the ad for a naughty accessory. The ad closely resembles Apple’s silhouette campaign for the iPod.

The iGasm (link totally NSFW) is a device that attaches to the iPod and allows the user to “take your appreciation of music to a whole new level.” Yes, it vibrates.

I wonder what kind of playlist one would set up to listen to while using it. I’ve got a few ideas for inclusion:

• “I Touch Myself,” by the Divinyls
• “Gett Off,” by Prince
• “Sex and Candy,” by Marcy Playground

Anything else to add to the list? (image: CNet via Ann Summers)

• The Secret of Apple Design - Apple, Inc. has made an art of not talking about its products. Fans, journalists, and rumormongers who love it or love to hate it have long had to practice a sort of Kremlinology to gather the merest hints as to what is coming next out of Cupertino.
• Cool business card designs
• Oral sex can cause throat cancer - People who have had more than five oral-sex partners in their lifetime are 250% more likely to have throat cancer than those who do not have oral sex, a new study suggests.

Apple announced today that it sold 100 million iPods. The digital media device was introduced in October 2001.

I’ve owned a total of four iPods since 2004: a 15 GB third generation model; the HP-branded 40 GB fourth generation model; and currently a 60 GB fifth generation model in black — purchased just before the 80 GB model was released — and a 1 GB second generation iPod shuffle.

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