ကျနော့်တူ နဲ့ iPod
These days, I find myself looking forward to spending time with my nephew. I meet him once a week, specifically on Saturdays. I teach him English, a subject that he shows a keen interest. It will be a matter of time before I end up teaching him Mathematics as well. He is an average student at school, but I am happy as long as he manages to pass his subjects. I do not force him to study hard because I believe that real-life education is far more valuable than what is being taught in schools, especially in Burmese schools.
A week ago, he surprised me with a peculiar request. I do not know how but he learnt the existence of the iPod Classic. Given the fact that he was born in the late 2010s and Apple had discontinued iPods in 2014, I was surprised by his fascination with such an outdated music player.
Of course, he expressed his uncontrollable desire to have one because he found them cool.
I told him that iPod is such outdated device now, that it has no Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, besides is heavy and that he will need wired earphones to use it. However, all of this fell on deaf ears, and he he assured me that he still wants an iPod, and there is something about them that he really likes—the-back-to-2000s vibe.
His determination reminds me of my own iPod classic, a 6th-generation model I bought while living in the UK. I even DIY upgraded it with a flash drive when the original hard disk gave up two years later, but the battery was nearly dead, and I had not used it in years. I do not even recall now where I stored it but I promised him that I would look for it.
I searched for it at home that night, but it was nowhere to be found. Out of desperation, I iMessaged my friend who lives in Singapore to check the used market, but sadly, the options are limited, expensive, and shipping to Burma is unbearably costly. Moreover, considering the current economic crisis getting it from Singapore is out of the question. So, I dismissed this idea and found an alternative solution.
Two days ago, while on the web, I learnt this Retro software that mimicked iPod features, but sadly, it has been long since, a year to be exact, that had been removed from the Apple Store due to the copyright issue. Eventually, my surfing paid off because I found a web version that looked promising. The only downside is that it requires an active internet connection and a Spotify subscription. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try.
Today, after our English lesson, I set it up on his phone and showed him how to use it. He was, of course, not entirely satisfied with my easy solution, but I told him to play with it over the week and let me know his thoughts when meet next Saturday.
I genuinely want to fulfill his desire for the real thing. His birthday is coming up in October, and I find myself increasingly captivated by the idea of getting him an actual iPod. This has me watching reviving old iPod classic devices on YouTube and searching the web for affordable options now. Needless to say, this also reminds me of the simpler pleasures of my iPod days. The nostalgia is infectious, and I realise now that I, too, want to experience the magic of the iPod once again.