My father got an ipod for his birthday. This is the conversation that followed:
Dad: (examining ipod) It’s so small. How do I get my music on this thing?
Me: You have to put your CDs on your computer, then load them onto the ipod.
Dad: (frowning) All right, but what about my tapes?
Me: Tapes?
Dad: I have old songs I taped off the radio. How do I get them on my computer?
Me: Um…maybe you can buy the songs from the itunes store.
Dad: (looking confused) The ice cream store?
Me: The eye-tunes store.
Dad: I’ve never seen one of those. Is there one in the mall?
Me: No, it’s online. It’s an online store.
Dad: (looking really confused) But why would I buy them, anyway? I already have them.
Me: (rolls eyes) Yeah, on tape.
Dad: (grunts, eyes ipod skeptically) Damn useless thing. What good is it, if it doesn’t even play tapes?
There you have it. My father does successfully operate a computer, and so far hasn’t given his bank account number to any Nigerian “business associates,” so we figured he could handle an ipod. It’s a work-in-progress, like all things.