Exercise 4 - Christian

Love

I love my new Ipod Nano. I have lost too many generations of ipod over the years to count... 3 of which had been loaners from friends. 

The affordances of the ipod are well laid out and easy to use. The traditional scroll/touch wheel of previous generations is again used to best effect. The hold button on top is now much smaller and easier to maneuver. The on/off function is also more apparent and readily used.

The constraint of the nano is its size which is almost too small for effective use and its relatively short battery life in comparison to previous generations. As far as user reviews report it has a lower lifetime battery efficiency than other models.

As with other generations of the ipod, the mapping of the nano is well planned and easy to use. The scroll wheel is almost habit now in its ease of use.

Audible feedback is as loud as ever with the ipod and requires being turned off, definitely. The visible feedback is still apparent with the light function which turns on when the nano is being manipulated. Also in the case of visible feedback is the album scroll function much like the iPhone and iPod touch. You can scroll through pictures of the albums with the touch wheel. Not as fun as the touch screen but oh well.

Hate

I hate my cell phone. Hate it beyond all words. Its an old LG model that im not even willing to look up further out of pure disdain for the product. Why do I keep it you ask? Because I have become frighteningly habituated to the use of a subhuman technology. Yes by sub I imply substandard, not subterranean.

The affordances of mine crappy phone seem apparent at first. It has these amazing little texting keys. Then you realize that alphabetical layouts are not conducive to fast texting... at... all. Next as you 'navigate' the 'functions' you will begin to cry. No you wont, but you will realize how convoluted it is. It has a camera. You push on the side. It goes off in your pocket on the subway... and takes pictures of the inside of your jeans. And flashes. Your. Pants. Will. Flash.

The constraint of my awful LG phone is the LG phone itself. Everything is a constraint. From its embarassing appearance, to awful texting features, to horrible 'software' layout, and last but not least the stellar camera accessed by a huge button on the side of the phone. Oh wait. A similarly large button on the other side turns on Driving Mode. Driving Mode features the lovely voice of the subway stop voice. Who yells "Please Say a Command". Awful.

I believed I have summed up the mapping supremacy of my phone. There is none. Its terrible. Everything seems ill placed and akward. Nothing appears ergonomic nor is the phone even comfortable to hold.

The audible and visual feedbacks are best summarized as annoying, if not detrimental entirely. Overly loud or much too quiet, sounds for every function that need to be turned off again if ever the phone is off and turned back on. Terrible music/alarm/ring tones accompany the purchase of this technological feat of mankind.