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General discussion

Another iPod related traffic fatality

Feb 16, 2006 2:34AM PST

Tom mentioned in the 2/15 podcast about an Australian woman who died in a bicyclist v MVA accident in London, and her use of an iPod was implicated in the death. Here is another one:
http://tinyurl.com/9m2r3

Evidentally, this student at McMaster University was walking home at night and was hit by a truck that was spreading sand and plowing snow. She died at the hospital. An iPod was found at the scene, it is unclear if she was using it at the time.

As V (correctly) pointed out wearing any kind of headphones when biking is dangerous (and illegal in some areas, is is illegal everywhere when driving). Even when running (which I do) it is a little dangerous (as the story points out). You can get lost in your world, and no not have adequate situational awareness.

One warning to women especially. Women who run/walk, especially on jogging trails, are easy prey to attackers. Running alone is bad enough. Running alone with a personal music player (or radio, or whatever) is almost insanity. These creeps can get right up behind their victims, and they don't even notice.

Discussion is locked

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iPod's getting a load of bad press
Feb 16, 2006 2:39AM PST

Just remember that these accidents are not the fault of the iPod. It could have just as easily been a Sony WalkMan or suchlike.

(Don't you just live the walkman brand?)

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May not have even been an Apple product....
Feb 16, 2006 10:33AM PST

I think that in both of those cases it may not have been a real iPod. Given the 70+ market share of Apple, people use the term "iPod" when they mean "portable digital music player." People use it the same way they use "Kleenex" and "Thermos", the trademark is the generic for the brand.

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Companies Don't Like it
Feb 16, 2006 12:50PM PST

Companies like Apple actually DON'T like to have their brand become a generic name like Kleenex. It's great publicity up to a point but then the brand identity becomes diluted when anybody just walks into a store and says "show me your ipods" and somebody brings out a Sony or iRiver and doesn't even blink that it's not an Apple iPod.

I believe a couple of years ago, Google tried to fight having their name defined by some dictionary as "to search online for information" or something along those lines.

It's brand dilution. Companies don't like that. There's a perfect balance they hope for between recognition and dilution.

-Kevin S.

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there is trademark issues with generic names!
Feb 16, 2006 4:03PM PST

think zerozing
or googling

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Brand Dilution..
Feb 16, 2006 5:51PM PST

Its very important that you mentioned that. Whether the companies approve of it or not, it still is happening. I think that people are so obsessed with brand name things that it doesnt matter whether they have the correct product. I mean you could talk about MP3 players which are only taking off now where I stay. But if you look at the bigger picture, people will become complacent with Mp3 and not look forward to anything better (technical suicide). So in that way all companies will not really be pushed into a situation for something bigger and better and packed into a tiny liitle device like the cellphone companies are attempting now..

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Coolspeak is important here
Feb 17, 2006 12:57AM PST

We are always talking about "MP3 players", when we really mean "portable digitial music players", but that is too much of a mouthful. WMA player is OK, but still not as cool as "MP3 player". "AAC player" is synonomous with iPod, so people just use that.

Me, personally, well, I want to get (and insist everybody call it) an OGG Vorbis player. That sounds so cool. And Ogg Vorbis (still) sounds like some kind of alien overlord. Somebody like the baddie in Galaxy Quest. If there is every a Galaxy Quest 2, the heavy should be the Ogg Vorbis.

"All shall submit to the ovwhelming mastry of the Ogg Vorbis" *Evil laughter*


Sorry, I'm rambling.

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My Solution
Feb 17, 2006 1:00AM PST

Me... I just buy iPods so I don't have to worry about it Happy

Actually, I make a point to go out of my way to say DVR instead of TiVo when I'm talking about my piece of crap from Comcast.

-Kevin S.