The Perfect Thing (pg.51-91)

* Just so the readers may know, Steven Levy, author of this novel is the narrator.
Summary
Chapter 3: Origin (Part 2)
In only four months SoundJam converted into what we know today as iTunes. iTunes can search songs in lightning speed. Now, the iTunes team made sure that it is possible to connect a portable MP3 player to the Macintosh. It did work, but the devices were not that great. Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president of hardware called in Anthony Fadell, who is not in the Apple company to help out. So when Fadell accepted the job, he started  researching on MP3 players and its hardware pieces to create a better MP3 player, Apple style. When it was time for Fadell to present his ideas, he showed 2 models. One model is that it had a big slot where it can accept hard drive or a flash memory card to hold music. When the battery dies, the music has to be reloaded. Steve Jobs did not like that idea. Fadell then showed another idea and Jobs preferred the second idea. Paul Schiller brought out a variety of models if a playback device. There is a circular pathway on the wheel so it can be easy to search for songs. Fadell said he can build a model like that. the project was a go and that is how the iPod came about in 2001.
Chapter 4: Cool (Part 1)
Dr. Carl Rohde is a professor in the Netherlands who studies coolness. Dr. Rohde says that the iPod is a cool product. However, it is the quality that is important in the marketing world. While talking with Bill Gates on coolness, Gates says in order for something to be cool, it has to have high market share. So the question that comes up is how the iPod acquired its coolness. Jobs tried to make the iPod great, not cool or trendy. Apple does not care about coolness. However, Levy makes a point that the fruit logo is a cool indicator in itself.  In 2003, Apple released a cooler campaign that had to do with silhouettes. Silhouettes are still being used today.  Then in 2004, Apple promoted the windows version of iTunes. The iPod was listed as one of Oprah Winfrey's favorite things of 2005. Studies show that people can get a little too attached to their iPod because the design looks attractive.

Quote:

Once I directly asked Jobs whether he had tried to make the iPod cool. 'No,' he said, ' we try to make it great. We try to make it great'" (Levy 80)

Reaction:
I agree with what Jobs said. I am not saying that design is not important, however the quality of the iPod is more important than the looks or design. I want an iPod so I can listen to my music. If the iPod only looked good but did  not have good qualities, I would not have bought it. So, I am glad that Jobs put quality before design. Quality will make the iPod be in the markets, the Apple company selling millions of dollars.

The Perfect Thing (pg. 1-50)

Summary:
Chapter 1: The perfect thing
The iPod as the narrator described, is 6.4 ounces of "white polycarbonate and stainless steel". It is a digital music player with a whole library of tunes. The iPod first arrived in October of 2001. It gained the fans of Macs their attention, but not the people who owns a PC. The iPod changed the way of life and by the end of 2005, Apple Computer sold more than 42 million iPods with prices ranging at $99 to $599. People want to thier hands on the new gaget. However, the cost of the iPod was originally $399 and the nano was half the price. Steve Jobs showcased the iPod in October in one of his casual shows. The iPod can hold a thousand songs, all of them in your pocket, Jobs exclaimed. It takes around six minutes to download songs on iTunes but only a few seconds to sync them in your iPod. One cool feature on the iPod was shuffling. You would never know what song is next.
Chapter 2: Identity
The songs that one choses on their iPod represents their identity. In the media, reporters have the question, what is on your iPod. Mayor Bloomberg of New York City uses his iPod to listen to Spanish lessons. Even then-President George W. Bush even has an iPod, a forty gigabyte. So, the new question is what is on the Presidential iPod. He definitely had Aretha Franklin on it. The author goes on by stating that iTunes can let one expose their entire music library to anyone on their local network.
Chapter 3: Origin (Pt. 1)
From the title of the chapter, this part will tell how the iPod existed. The author tells the reader that before the iPod, there was the Personal Jukebox. The downside is that they used memory chips that can't store even one song. Later on, the programmers found a way to a hundred of our CD's in your pocket. The Personal Jukebox is orientated sideways, horizontally. It has slow downloading and other shortcomings.  Apple needed an good MP3 app, so SoundJam was created.

Quote:

"Playlist is character" (Levy 23)

Reaction:
Even though it is only three words, it is important. The songs that you put on your iPod, tells your character and that is one of the ways that people can judge your character. I can relate to what the quote is saying but it is not entirely true. People that you know may have songs on their iPod that may not reflect their character. In short, I think it is an opinion, so it cannot be proven that it is a fact.