A Public Service Announcement

BACK. UP. YOUR iPod.

Today.

Don't get caught like me. My wife purchased an iPod for me for Christmas back in 2006, complete with a service plan that provided for a free battery change and repairs within the first three years. It quickly became my most indispensable item, virtually never leaving home to go anywhere without it and quite literally using it every single day. Between downloading my CD's and my own iTunes purchases, I had over 5,000 songs on there. (And yes, many of them were Bruce Springsteen, leave me alone).

I was very cavalier about the whole "backing up" thing. First, I figured I had the CD's already that I put on there, so I didn't need to back that up. And I was just too lazy or stupid to back up the purchases. Seemed like a lot of hassle. And what could happen?

Well, my home and work computers both crapped out, mosing most of my data. But, no worries, I still had it on the iPod.

So, two things. First off, if you haven't backed your stuff up, do it today. Because it's a pretty crappy feeling to hold in your hands an empty iPod that you spent three years filling up.

Second, don't trust the folks at Best Buy, where my wife purchased said iPod and "protection" plan. First off, they told her to get the plan, because that would ensure that when you brought it in for battery replacement, it'd just take a few days because they'd do it right there, instead of sending it out and it taking considerably longer. I should have known there was trouble as a couple of days stretched beyond two weeks. Plus, they DO in fact outsource the repairs, and are not willing to stand behind them. We bought THEIR "protection" plan, but when it went south, the Best Buy reaction was "sorry, but it's a third party that services them, we don't have anything to do with it."

Well, actually, their reaction was all of that WITHOUT the "sorry" part. Not even an apology. Basically, you didn't back up, oh well, sucks to be you. They positioned it as a "good news/bad news" thing. "Good news is we/they replaced the battery and the motherboard too. So you basically have a brand new iPod!! Oh yeah, bad news is the data on there is gone, but that's not our problem. Can we help you with anything else today?"

So, I'll quit whining now.

But please, back up your iPods today. And don't take them to Best Buy, especially the one in Bradley/Kankakee, IL.

Have a nice day.