Ok, I'll admit it. I downloaded iTunes to see what it was all about.
This was before Christams before I got the iPod for Berta. I wanted to try it out to see if it would be a good choice for her. She said she wanted something easy to use, and I knew that the iRiver player that I got for her might be too cryptic.
So I played with iTunes for a little while and here are some thoughts: The interface is simple. Simple as in "simple minded". In spite of the hubub over Apple's design excellence, I found the interface quite a bit clunky on Windows. Why did they have to skin the interface to make it look like Mac OS? Weird.
Anyway, I wasn't completely let down by the software. It did what it was suppose to do, even if it made a mockery of the Windows UI. (I'm sure I have written before at length concerning the reasoning behind the Windows UI and why developers who write code for Windows should make their apps look like all other apps so I won't spend more than these lines ranting about it again.) I bought a few songs, burned them to CD, and set it aside, mostly because of the whole conversion from AAC issues.
On President's Day I noticed the iTunes Pepsi caps at the store. I figured to pick up a bottle and see if I won anything, which I could surely redeem through iTunes even if I didn't use it often.
What do you know? I found a winning cap on my first try!
Well, I thought about the deal, and it's not half bad. Drink Pepsi for the duration of the promotion (and surely switch back to Coke when it's over) and win as many iTunes as I can. One in three bottles is a winner, and it's only 25 cents more than an iTunes download for the drink. What could be easier? Apparently, there is something easier...
I found a web site the other day that shows you how to get a winning cap every time. I hadn't really thought to try this, probably because I've tried it with so many under-the-cap contests before and it didn't work. This is probably the same reason that Pepsi thought they were safe.
So I have been filtering my Pepsis through the 25-degree test to get only those bottles that have caps. Something triggers an ethics warning here, but is this really wrong?
As a consumer, I should have the right to inspect any goods that I am thinking of purchasing, to the extent that I don't damage or use those goods during the inspection. Squeezing bread, depending on how hard, might be acceptible. Smelling and tapping on fruits and vegetables is acceptible. Anything that I find wrong with the product would lead me to reject it - putting it back on the shelf.
Well, how is this different from looking for winning Pepsi caps? I wouldn't normally buy Pepsi. The Pepsi bottle is only worthwhile for me if it contains a winning iTunes code. I inspect the bottle for the code, and when found, it goes in my cart. If I see a "Please try again", I put that bad bottle back on the shelf unharmed and look for another.
I'm not drinking so much soda as to be wealthy in iTunes codes yet, but every bottle after my first and only losing cap has been a winner. If the contest continues through next month, I might check over at BJs, where they sell loose bottles in racks. I could swap out the bad bottles for good ones and buy a whole rack of iTunes. Oh, and soda.
I should also note that this site is interesting in that it purports to use iTunes codes from Pepsi bottles to support independent artists. Trust those Downhill Battle people as far as you can throw them, though - something smells funny over there.
