Venusberg | That's not your heart, it's a piece of helicopter casing

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Thought. The fourth-generation iPod has a click wheel, which responds to minor events of pressure and motion to perform certain functions. Could one increase the sensitivity of the click wheel to the point where it ceased to be a click wheel and become an environmental gateway?

And why? The click wheel currently has, I think, nine basic functions, seven directional and two rotational - up (a level), back one, forward one, back and forward within current track, down (play and pause), in (select), and then clockwise and withershins. These are all created by either a single point of applied pressure or a combination of pressure and motion (back and forwards within track, clockwise, withershins). Each has a context-derived function, depending on what the iPod is doing at that point. At present, they are activated by a set level of direct or sheer force, that level being based on the amount of pressure that a geek of reasonable spindliness can be expected to apply. Amp that up to the point where an activating level of force can be generated by the impact of an unexpected breeze on (direct) or across (sheer) the face of the iPod. Tracks would then be mixed, volume levels increased or decreased and on occasion the thing turned off completely by air currents, and thus by extension by changes in temperature and air pressure. This decentralises and broadens enormously the impact of external factors on the wearer, who must decide whether to go with it or adapt to minor changes by taking protective action, thus eventually becoming as sensitive and as limber as Wolverine trained by ninjas. Yes, I know Wolverine was actually trained by ninjas. I'm trying not to think about it.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you the aeoPod. Keeping us slim and twisty, or resigned to having our enjoyment ruined by external factors. Either way, we win.

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