TomHofstätter.com

I love making and listening to podcasts. I use iTunes primarily on a Macbook to download and organize audio and video-casts which I consume constantly as white noise while I am working or commuting.

I tend to listen to audio-casts when I am out and about, and watch video when I am sitting for long periods. (I have played with an iPod Touch, but I’ve never felt comfortable sitting on a bus watching video.) I like small.

Out of necessity, I hop back and forth on several computers all the time. I use several PC and Macs. Some wide open, some firewalled to the hilt. I run VMware as well, and virtualize Windows and Linux on my Macbook to use as necessary. I consider myself pretty neutral in the Mac vs. PC argument. Both have their uses. I just want my tools to work and get the job done.

When my beloved first generation iPod Shuffle finally stopped working (best form-factor ever!), the search was on to replace it. The obvious choice would be the new iPod Shuffle, but I was starting to long for a display and menus. The 4th Gen iPods sure are pretty, but feature wise I could not reconcile the price premium as compared to the many other capable players available.

Specifically, the 4G Sansa Clip is (to me) the best of all micro players:

• Very, very small
• Nice display
• Built in mic (neat plus)
• FM tuner (nice bonus)
• Drag and drop USB Mass Storage Device

I knew I was going to sacrifice some of the seamless ‘Apple Experience’ I was used to when syncing with iTunes, but I fell in love with the Sansa Clip. While there are several PC options for syncing libraries, just for fun I wanted to find a reliable method for syncing a non-iPod to iTunes on the Mac.

Sure enough there are many Mac applications and Applescript workarounds that attempt to simplify the task of migrating iTunes libraries and playlists to a removable device.  Two in particular were pretty cool: SyncTunes and iTuneMyWalkman. While functional, they are a bit cumbersome and strip away the elegance of iTunes.

I was beginning to think I made a big mistake not getting another iPod. It was only after relating my frustrations to a non-techie friend that I realized my error.

My problem was not that I couldn’t get the Clip and iTunes to play nicely together, but rather that I was not solving the right problem.

By being hard-headed and making sport out finding a band-aid solution to kluge together iTunes and my player, I had abandoned my particular Use Case:

• Find the perfect device (for me) and the simplest means to load it with audio podcasts no matter what computer I’m at.

For inspiration I looked here: Podcatchermatrix.org. Enter PodcastReady and MyPodder. I had heard of this application years ago while trying to make my Treo 650 useful. Back then it was called ‘Podcatcher on a Stick’.

MyPodder is a standalone application that runs ON the portable device, and through a very simple interface facilitates managing and downloading many forms of syndicated content straight to the device. No duplicate versions, no synching. There is also a launchable web client that makes searching for and discovering new content a breeze.

Best of all since this cross platform application is on my Sansa Clip player, I can update and manage my podcast subscriptions from just about any internet connected computer. (I have not fully tested the Mac and Linux implementation, but they are part of the same ‘folder’ of apps.)

I still use iTunes on the Macbook for subscribing to video podcasts, because that’s where I watch them -  on the nice big screen.

Now, my portable media is just that: Portable.

Joni Mitchell said it best: “Don’t it always seem to go/ That you don’t know what you’ve got/ Till it’s gone…”.

It’s true that hindsight is 20/20, and that our appreciation for things grows over time, but with age and experience I am learning to spot a good thing when it’s right in front of me.

Sometimes though, it still takes a good kick in the ass to make me sit up and take notice.

At a time when I would probably not have otherwise considered a change in career I am suddenly compelled to focus on uncertainty, next steps, and the stress of navigating from the way it is, to the way it’s going to be.

To make a long story short, my current employment situation is in flux. My department is undergoing a much needed overhaul, which in the fullness of time I must admit offers the promise of more productivity and efficiency. In the meantime though, it has shocked me out my routine and has initiated a great deal of soul searching.

Being a realist I accept that at anytime my ‘job security’ is 50/50. At any point I can choose to walk away. Conversely, I’m not so arrogant as to think that no one else could be found to do my job. It’s a cold equation.

What has come as a surprise however is that despite recent distractions, I still love going to work. Everyday I tackle challenging problems which are stimulating, rewarding, and fun. I have access to the tools I need to be creative and productive in a boisterous, supportive environment. Best of all, I get to do it with a group of people I am proud to call my friends.

I think I make casual friends easily, and I’m sure most work environments spawn healthy camaraderie. However our alliance seems different than any professional relationship I’ve experienced before.

While different in many ways, together we are greater than the sum of our parts. We spar with each other in good times, and rally around each other in the bad.  We are a team of Straight-Men (and Ladies), none of us willing to surrender the punch line. We wage combat with relentless verbal jousting and mordant comedy. Always with admiration, never with derision or contempt.

We do our work with a glib nonchalance that is often mistaken by observers as carelessness. To each other though we expose the breadth of our passion, and our commitment to getting it right. Outwardly bashful, afraid of appearing to care too much – we recognize ourselves in each other.

And there’s the rub.

While I scramble to manage the obvious practical considerations of career path, income, and security I am also aware that I am not at all prepared for the possible end of this collective friendship,  – or rather – kinship.

I’m confident that we will always remain in contact, but we will never be as connected as we are now.

On one hand I feel better that I have taken this time to collect my thoughts, Yet, I know it will not cushion the blow when it comes.

Maybe it’s true that we will not really understand what we have until it’s lost. Perhaps we understand it too well. Maybe, that is the luxury of loss.