open letter to steve jobs

subject: dancing in my underpants

Dear Mr. Jobs,

Initially I thought this letter was going to be about how my iPod Shuffle ruined my birthday and possibly my life, as upon loading the software my iBook crashed. But actually that had nothing to do with why that happened. A reinstall of the OS and all was well again. And by the time the day was through I was in love with my iPod Shuffle. In the end it truly saved the day.

But backing up a second. It is true that at 12:01am CT on March 16, 2005, I was presented with my birthday present -- an iPod Shuffle. I truly was excited. And then by 12:10am CT I wanted to take it all back. In fact I told my fiance to take the iPod back as I sat there stunned looking at my poor iBook sitting there not logging into the system.

With nothing else to do I called it a night and hoped things would be better come morning. As I said, the Geniuses over at the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue (just down the street) let us reinstall the OS and to my amazement all my programs and files were there when it booted up!! Wow!!

Still there were moments there when I was on pins and needles. My iBook is an important part of my life. As a freelance designer and marketing consultant I rely on it day in and day out. It has never let me down.

My fiance took me to an early dinner and then headed off to study for his finals at the GSB at the University of Chicago. I met with a friend and when I returned home couldn't get to sleep. So for the first time all day I finally got to play with my iPod Shuffle. I took it out to the living room, put it around my neck and turned up the volume. In an instant I was transported to my own music filled world. Nothing could bother me. All my worries were gone.

I have a pretty great view of downtown Chicago. And with the lights out in my living room the view is truly stunning. And there in my slip and camisole I danced and sang and welcomed in my thirty-seventh year. I felt like a teenager again. It was great! I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun alone. All was well with the world. All thanks to a little gizmo not much larger than a pack of gum. Truly amazing!

So I just wanted to thank you and your staff for creating such an amazing little device. I really am not the type of person to go on gushing over a product, but I can't help it. I am sold. I love my iPod Shuffle and have told everyone who will listen that they need to get one too.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Apple continues to rock my socks off.

Kind regards,

--chris

| Mac user since 2003 | currently residing in Chicago | proudly calls home Emeryville, California (think you have heard of it) | absolutely smitten with my iPod Shuffle |