How do I compare thee to a summer's day, with the smell of week-old road kill laying on the side of a highway? This morning, as I attempted to get my necessary gadgets in sync for another busy day, I noticed something strange about my iPod Photo; it won't turn on! When I dock it with my Mac, it won't launch iTunes. Plugging it into a wall outlet for charging has no effect. The bloody thing simply will not turn on. I even tried the ultimate quick-fix solution; swearing at it. Still nothing.

And this from a device that is less than three months old! I haven't a clue as to the cause or solution to the problem. It was working fine last night, showing no signs of sudden infant death syndrome. Now comes the grim prospect of returning my pristine iPod to Apple, and being sent a scratched up refurbished unit. If that happens, the next iPod will go on eBay and will be the last such product from Apple I will ever own.

Needless to say, I am not a happy iPodder right now. Goodbye iPod, hello Zen Micro?