Yesterday I picked up an iPod Shuffle 2G. Just to hold it, to see. The pictures don’t really prepare you for just how small the second generation device really is and despite my best intentions I bought it. For myself. The crazy part is that I love it. I’ve realised that the lack of a screen or ability to see and select what you listen to isn’t really a drawback. Unlike hard drive players, 1GB of music is so little that there’s really no need for the hassle of navigating menus and the simplicity of this player is just stunning. In some ways it almost gives you too much control — a single play/off button would have been enough. You see the Shuffle is not so much about playing the music as experiencing it, and that journey is imbued with greater significance outside of the user’s hands. Being unprepared for the next song makes it that much more powerful as a result. As you can see I went for the blue/turquoise model. I felt the silver one was a bit dull, and while colour coordinating turquoise might be problematic given my wardrobe, at least I won’t be losing it!

The clip is also inspired. I never realised how reliant I was on pockets before, but they are constantly stuffed with junk every time I leave the house. Now I can streamline my appearance by clipping my music on the outside, and of course bragging rights are far easier when your iPod is on full display rather than hidden away in some pocketed crevice. No jacket in the summer? No problem — clip it to your shirt. Want music while lounging around the house? Easy — clip it to your boxers!

I know I’ve given Apple a hard time in the past and I may not be changing my views entirely, but this experience has definitely opened my eyes. I doubt I’ll be subscribing to AppleTV any time soon, but I am eyeing up those Mac Minis. While they might be limited in components and upgradeability, I am realising that in the modern household form is more important than function. We have become so focused on specifications and technicalities that we fail to realise we already have what we need. Technology only adds to that, and so we should only embrace to the extent that it looks stylish enough to enhance our lives beyond those basic needs. Understanding that is Apple’s triumph and now I can’t wait to see what Steve Jobs is able to accomplish with the iPhone.

EDIT: As many of you realised this was indeed an April Fool’s joke. I have not bought an iPod Shuffle, which remains one of the most moronic technological devices on the market. The entire commentary is very tongue-in-cheek except for the problematic nature of colour coordinating a wardrobe with turquoise electronics. It’s hard and I don’t recommend trying it yourselves. The photo is by Daniel Morris via Flickr.

I fail to understand the apparent secrecy surrounding Ball themes up until their launch parties at which the spilling of their respective beans occurs. Aside from particularly gimmicky choices the theme has relatively little impact upon the overall experience of the average Ball, merely being a well from which its aesthetics may draw inspiration. As such the level of secrecy seems somewhat defunct. Sure, in 2005 Emma’s Monopoly sponsorship came out of left field but you’re not actually going to surprise people into buying tickets. You have to ply prospective guests with alcohol at the launch party like every other self-respecting Ball Committee. All this secrecy really does is make it more difficult for people to plan their Balls in advance, since the websites inevitably remain content-free until “all is revealed” or “soon has come” or whatever. Obviously everyone here is going to Downing, that’s a given. A bunch of us are toying with the idea of dining tickets at the moment, but that requires enough interest — the food looks good so now it’s just the company we need.

Luke has written a short (no, really) piece on the moral hazard created by Apple’s new ads. They are certainly creating a major risk for the future should their market share increase as they have educated users to believe that security-wise they are “safe” because, as he puts it, “they’re using a white computer”. I am also bemused by people who try to convince me to “switch” for this reason. On this reasonably locked down machine (NOD32, Norton Personal Firewall, Windows Defender) over the past 3 years I have experienced exactly zero virus infections and the one instance of spyware was firmly my own fault. I am sure it is a relevant consideration to some people but they are not me.

I finally acquired a webcam two days ago. It was largely by chance really. I had only been looking for a headset since several people have been encouraging me to use Skype, which I’ve had installed for years but never really used. I had just realised that a half-decent headset was going to set me back about £18 when I stumbled across a combined Logitech Communicate STX package including a webcam for just £29.99. It even came with a nice back-of-the-head design headset so I could have both voice and hair at the same time.

Logitech have cemented their reputation for being fantastic with hardware and awful with software. On first using the set I watched both Toby and Jane tear off their headsets and glare at me, apparently attacked by a loud, hissing feedback noise. The intermittent issue was clearly something at my end but I had no idea what could be causing it. Bizarrely it had nothing to do with the headset but was a problem with the camera’s driver. Replacing the boxed software with a newer version from the Logitech site solved things and I’ve had no complaints since.

I’ll be honest, I was expecting virtually nothing from the camera but was pleasantly surprised to find that in decent light it produces a pretty sharp 640×480 image. Good enough, in fact, to record videos. Ciao! are currently encouraging members to contribute video reviews by paying a substantial sum for each short clip. My first attempt garnered a tidy £7 so if I can manage the same again the webcam will actually have paid for itself within a couple of days! Not bad for a chance purchase.