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Point: The iPod is changing how we live

IPod.

You pod.

They pod.

We pod.

I'm absolutely certain this is how schools will teach children to conjugate in the future. The 21st-century iPod is not merely a device that brings music to our ears — it's a verb that defines an action, an era, a way of life.

In the '70s we had "What's your sign?"

In the 2000s, it's "What's your song?"

Well, hi, glad you asked. At the moment, it's "Ghost Story" by Sting. Next on my Shuffle setting — if I were to have another child his/her name would be Shuffle — is "My Mirror" by a European find named Tina Dico. Batting cleanup is "Hold On, I'm Coming" by '60s R&Bers Sam and Dave.

But really, I'm just as interested in what's pouring through your earphones. You, the sneering teenager on the skateboard. You, my fellow sweating-out-the-flab, mid-40s treadmiller. You, my precious preteen daughter.

I don't want to read the kid's diary so much as I want to know what's she's loading into her Nano. That's the secret to her soul.

Anyway, this thing is how we communicate — with ourselves, with each other, with our society.

So, what's in your iPod? And, do you come here often?

Phill Casaus

Counterpoint: It's an overpriced piece of iJunk

Two words you'd never, ever expect from a guy who owes his online livelihood to a wildly popular digital music player: IPods suck.

There, I said it. I'm throwing that out there — not to start a fight, but to state a fact. The music player that has taken the world by storm is an overpriced, fragile digital gadget with horrible sound.

I know how an iPod works. I have rebuilt and repaired several of them. Yes, I rehabilitate iPods. Yes, I train humans. Yes, I am "The iPod Whisperer," but iPods are still too easily broken and often unreliable.

I guess the main reason I don't care for iPods is based on how popular they are. Just because the "in" crowd loves them doesn't make the players the best choice out there. IPods are poorly made, and the sound quality is abysmal. Why should anyone pay $249 for an iPod video that can be broken easily? If you break your iPod's screen, run it by the Apple Store at ABQ Uptown and see the response you get. Or, try getting help with an iPod after it's out of warranty. And let's not even bring up their touchy and hard-to-replace batteries. IPhone owners aren't excluded; they can be heard crying in the background, dreading the $79 "service fee" to get their battery replaced. Nice.

The alternatives, such as the Microsoft Zune and Creative Vision M, are just as capable as the iPod and have features such as a built-in FM radio and voice recorder.

If you don't mind following the crowd and getting a subpar digital music player, get an iPod. If you want quality and don't mind something that's not as popular but works great, shop around. You've got options.

Willie Jefferson Jr.