As you may have surmised from my earlier posts, I was a little miffed about the fact that I bought a 60GB iPod only to have the iPod video come out a month later. I'll be the first to admit that I'm generally unsympathetic to those who complain about a revised product coming out the day after they drop coin on a new gadget.

However, in this case, I intentionally waited until the nano was announced to make sure it wasn't the video iPod. Figuring there was no chance there would be another iPod announcement for a while, I took the plunge. Then Steve took the stage.

Next came all the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, and hemorrhoids. (At least I think all those were because of the grief.)

And I wasn't the only one unhappy about the new iPods. ABC affiliate stations were worried about iTunes competition, Hollywood was hesitant to license their video content, TV advertisers were nervous that no one would see their ads any more, and actors' unions were afraid they wouldn't get their royalties. (I can only assume that they also are concerned about actors.)

But I'm OK with it now. Here's why:

1. I have an older Mac. It has USB 1.1 and FireWire, but no USB 2.0. The new iPod uses only USB 2.0. (New USB card = $70, unless I decide "molasses" is my preferred speed.)
   
2. I would have to figure out a way to get my TiVo content into the iPod for it to be of any use to me. The only way I can do that is via DVD-RW, which my old drive won't read. (New SuperDrive = $60.)
   
3. Then I have to have a way to convert the files to the format the iPod can read. (QuickTime Pro = $30.)
   
4. Plus, if I want to replace my old Dock, there goes another $40.
   

And all this so I can wait at least 3 hours of processing time for every 1 hour of video I import.

So video is not worth it. I still would have liked to have the wider screen, longer battery life, and the lighter and more compact case, but none of that is worth the hemorrhoids.

So I'm not getting a video iPod, at least for a year or two, when I'll have a new computer with all those extras built in.

And that's okay. Because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.