iPod Shuffle First Generation Anecdote

– [Mactracker URL](mactracker://34706F89-A4D3-4E29-AFAF-A15C764DD18A)
– [Everymac](https://everymac.com/systems/apple/ipod/specs/ipod_shuffle.html)
– [MacStories Discord](https://discord.com/channels/836622115435184162/837345643567251506/974757027249270825)
– [SimpleNote](http://simp.ly/publish/g5zTQ0)

![iPod Shuffle and Kale](https://i.snap.as/MlLcxhgv.png)

Order Number: `M9724LL/A` (512 MB)

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*Sorry I’m so late with this but I forgot I had something to contribute lol.*

My first and only dedicated mp3 player was [**a first-generation iPod Shuffle**](https://everymac.com/systems/apple/ipod/specs/ipod_shuffle.html) – which was not only the most elegant looking USB drive one could find at the time, but – imo – remains the single highest-value mainstream consumer tech product I’ve ever owned. It was a 512mb stick with playback controls and a 3.5mm audio jack at one end. From what I remember, you could just freely store any combination of non-media files and media files in the root separated by a single directory. I was in 5th grade (11 years old) at the time (2005,) and public schools were just beginning to suggest students invest in a flash drive for carrying/storing digital school assignments.

I say highest value because got dang was that thing handy. Idk if I can communicate it, really, but it unified so many functions into one very high quality (and extremely tough) device. (I accidentally put it through the wash at least 3 separate times and it never actually stopped working.) It even came with a lanyard attachment!

Idk if there’s something wrong with me or what but I’m especially sentimental about this thing because I remember wholeheartedly believing and anticipating tech to progress along these lines – design priorities that especially made sense to me. Clever, lean permutations/amalgamations of once single-function products….

I took that photo during a tech podcast years ago – I was doing this same anecdote lol. I find it to be the best idea Apple, Incorporated ever had and yet looking at the everymac page now, I see it was discontinued less than 9 months after it came out. 😥

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/ipod/specs/ipod_shuffle.html

-[**MacStories Discord Message URL**](https://discord.com/channels/836622115435184162/837345643567251506/974757027249270825)