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Do you remember the iPod Nano with touch capabilities? The sixth generation iPod Nano caused quite a stir — thanks to its touch interface and beautiful screen. And it also set Apple on the path to the Apple Watch. I have always been a bit of an iPod fanboy and bought pretty much every single model.

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I found the iPod Nano (6th Generation) yesterday along with an old cable to resuscitate the device, though I had to find a USB-C-to-USB adapter. And when it was charged up, I was left scratching my head, wondering how to side-load music onto the iPod? To my horror, I didn’t remember how to do it. In fact, I had to search on the Internet to get some music on the device. 

To be honest, the biggest challenge was the Music app, which is something I don’t use, either on my MacOS or my iOS devices. I find the Apple Music interface daunting. It is one of the most un-Apple products from Cupertino. Once I got the superfast broadband from WebPass, I switched to streaming music via Spotify. I would create playlists, but never really have any music locally. Over the years the physical files and downloaded music became a faint memory.

In a different life, I used to listen to vinyl, then cassette tapes, followed by compact discs and then MP3/FLAC/AAC download files. Along came Spotify and things changed forever.
51+6gforGlLI still have an Olive Music Media Server, which I have not turned on for two years. There is also a Naim pre-amp and amplifier which hasn’t seen a CD in over a year. My Faber Audio speakers are silent. I just listen to music only on my Sonos or on my growing collection of headphones. Streaming and subscription has become a behavior that has totally changed how I listen to music. I guess, you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Though I wonder if I will live long enough to see the next evolution of the music experience. I am curious to know how kids of today will listen to music in the future. Will it be on the Alexa-like speakers or will it be next generation of headphones? Or will it be a music experience that is less sonic and more visual and immersive — a blend of Snapchat, Musically, YouTube and some streaming service.

July 13, 2017. San Francisco

Letter from Om

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Om Malik

Om Malik is a San Francisco based writer, photographer and investor. More....

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Letter from Om

A (nearly) bi-weekly dispatch about tech & future.

You will get my reporting, analysis, conversations, and curation of the essential information you need to make sense of the present future.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

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