I'm growing a bit wary of iTunes' podcast feature. I don't usually listen to podcasts since I prefer to simply have a bit of background noise when I work. Music is good for that; paying attention to a podcast isn't. The exception to my rule is the "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing" podcast. It's short so it doesn't take up a lot of time at work, plus I usually either learn something from it or reconfirm some grammar tidbit I already knew.
I've set up iTunes to automatically download each new Grammar Girl podcast for me, but I don't listen to them in a timely manner. Sometimes I have quite a few of them sitting there - even a few months' worth. This isn't a big deal for me. I don't mind seeing the little counter in iTunes reminding me that there are eight or nine Grammar Girl's waiting for me.
What really annoys me is once I get a backlog of them iTunes starts prompting me to either listen to them or unsubscribe from the podcast. Or the new episodes won't automatically download - they require me to click something else to "get" them. My iTunes preferences are set to check for new podcasts everyday, download the new ones, and save them all. There's no option for "hey, if I haven't listened to this in a few months start bothering me about it."
Why would iTunes care if I'm not current on my grammar tips? Why are they monitoring it? Guess what, Steve Jobs, I'll TELL you if I don't want to receive the podcast anymore - remember that your mother always said to never assume...it makes an "ass" out of "u" and "me." Maybe I enjoy hoarding Grammar Girl episodes in much the same way some people enjoy hoarding cats.
No comments:
Post a Comment