Exitlog | Leaving Impressions

Is it better to be alone in the universe or not? asks the BBC in its subversive, new plug for the Radio 4 dramatisation of Iain M Banks’ The State of the Art. If the new ad is anything to go by (imagine the grizzled old face of a man who has his eyes blacked out at the narrative turn of the question) then life out there can be worrying, if not sinister.

It is something of a long-running, considered question in science fiction. The resolution of which tends to have a war and peace theme. In films, often with Hollywood employing action over quality acting, life in the stars unites a divided planet. Strangling each other for domination, for oil or even faith, loses its appeal in threat of other-worldly invaders. Somehow our individual disputes become irrelevant when humanity is no longer master of the universe. Thankfully there have been other thoughts on the subject.

The State of the Art follows a spaceship from the Culture visiting the Earth in 1977. There it finds our planet populated by an “incontestably neurotic and clinically insane species”. Look out for the dramatisation on 5 Mar 2009, rather exactly at 14:15. As part of BBC Radio 4′s Science Fiction Season it is certainly worth a listen.

No need for fanboys… the touch is alright

Two months ago, and annoyingly before the newest release, I upgraded my ageing 20GB iPod 3G. The short Nano was a possibility and a lot of consideration went to the Classic for its massive storage. Against more reasoned judgement I opted for the 8GB iPod touch. The Apple Store Trafford Centre, Manchester, had quite few out on display, and, like many, I couldn’t get enough.

The transition from iPod 3G to iPod touch was almost easy. My old iPod had buttons so I wasn’t a scroll wheel die-hard. What really took time to get use to was rationing my music – 20GB does not divide easily to 8GB. When I finally got to grips with smart playlists my listening habits completely changed. Now I listen to a lot more tracks than I did; those lost, buried or overlooked songs are now more available using Genius, shuffle and random playlist placement.

What wasn’t so easy, and look a lot of time were movies. There is a big investment in ripping DVDs to mp4, luckily Handbrake is very helpful. Music might be the main staple of an iPod, but having a few video podcasts, movies and the odd bit of TV make a train journey much more pleasant.

The biggest transition came not from trading one iPod for another, but in the (declining) use of my MacBook. With WiFi access my touch time is spent checking my email, the latest points haul of my fantasy football team and applications from the App Store*. My MacBook is now relegated to meetings (away from the office) or writing documents.

Leaving impressions: the iPod touch is certainly worth attention. The interface and your interaction with it feels right, considered and useful. I don’t care about the virtual keyboard. Typing on the touch is as important as texting on a phone – occasionally useful, but not paramount to use. It might not be a phone (there are better phones on the market – those meant to be phone and nothing else) but it is a great media player, a lean email and web access device and not bad with games.