Farewell, My Friend

I met my friend, the Toshiba Gigabeat F40 Digital Audio Player somewhere in the middle of 2006. Until today we were nearly inseparable. We worked together, went on walks together, took trips to foreign lands, and even often kept each other company in the bathroom.

When we first met, it wasn't completely love at first sight. Sure, there were things I quite admired about my new Gigabeat. For one thing, my Gigabeat could run all day long with its rechargeable battery; and it was huge and willing to hold a large amount of my music, but not much else, and only in a proprietary format that required converting everything as it was loaded.

Then I found Rockbox, an alternate open source firmware, and gave my Gigabeat a facelift. Suddenly my Gigabeat became my best friend. I quit listening to awful car radio, and began relistening to my music. Suddenly my long walk from my car at the back of the giant parking lot to my desk was no longer a burden. I always had something new to listen to at my desk rather than repeating the same CD over and over again all day long. Car trips, plane trips, and most other travelling became much more pleasant.

Then I discovered podcasts. My Gigabeat was suddenly introducig me to new friends who could keep me company on my many treks.

For three and a half years my Gigabeat was my main and constant companion. Other things tried to join in like my Nintendo DS or my often absent cell phone or my wife, but they usually came second to my music player.

However, after constant use and some abuse nearly every single day over those three and a half years, time began to take its toll. First to go was the remote control peripheral, then the battery decided it didn't want to last as long. Finally, the input to actually make the player select music went out. Although several attempts at surgery and an extra donor input pad prolonged its life for a short while, the time has now come to let go of my Gigabeat.

Yes, I've replaced you with a fancy new iPhone 3GS (fancy as of November 17, 2009), but despite its breadth of features and cool apps, it won't replace those wonderful three and a half years we spent together. You introduced me to dozens and dozens of great new artists and albums. When I hear those songs I'll remember where I was when I was listening to them together with you.

Farewell, my friend the Gigabeat. You have been put to rest, but you will not be forgotten.