So yesterday, my iPod shows the dreaded sad icon when it started up. I tried resetting it by following the directions from Apple’s support site. Made sure the iPod was fully charged.

Nothing.

I try to create a service request for the iPod on the Apple site, but I run into two problems: first, its been over a year since I bought the iPod; second, I didn’t buy the extended care insurance thingie. The online form basically says I’m going to get ripped off if I want to send it in for service. But about 4 months ago, the iPod was having some random issues, and I sent it in. They replaced it with a different iPod. So, shouldn’t the one-year warranty clock restart since Apple sent me a different iPod? That sounds like a fair deal to me. Oh well.

As a last ditch effort, I decided to check out iLounge, which is a pretty popular iPod forum. And then I noticed this thread. Basically it says to slap the iPod. Yes, slap the iPod. Its possible that the hard drive moved or the connections are loose. Either way, slapping the iPod may move everything back into place. There is even a Wikipedia entry on it (even though its supposed to be deleted since its not “encyclopedic” material).
It just seems wrong. I’ve enjoyed my iPod for thousands of hours. I have discovered and enjoyed new music like Ladytron and Lily Allen. I’ve fallen asleep many nights listening to it. How could I slap it? I had nothing to lose really. All my music was backed up on the computer hard drive. Decided that it was worth a shot.

*SLAP*. Tried to restart. Sad icon. *SLAP*. Wohoo! It worked.

Ain’t technology grand?