Tue Nov 21, 2006 10:35 am

cant... stop... giggling...

Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:00 am

There are some things people say that are so over the top stupid it's hard to know how to respond. As was pointed out the military is using video games to train all their soldiers, from infantry to tank drivers to pilots. All of them use "simulators" to train so they can't be that bad. As far as the iPod, he seems to be more upset with maladroit computer geeks. Well, as a computer geek (I'll leave it to others as to whether maladroit applies) I object to the stereotype. If he has trouble talking to his tech support people, I believe the problem is on his end. More to the point, you are just as likely to see a professional, lawyer, engineer, accountant, using an iPod. Yes a lot of the kids have iPods, but they seem to be socializing just fine. As far as the jihadists (to use another one of the stupid stereotype label he is fond of) a lot of them and their kids do play video games.

Every once in a while O'Reilly feels the need to say something particularly asinine to get attention.

Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:24 am

His next book; The iPod Factor

Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:51 am

Bosco: Though all too common, I don't consider the issues you mention to be an iPod thing, it's a manners thing. Bad singing, oblivious headset wearers, etc., have been around since the first Walkman. Now if O'Reilly wanted to pontificate about the evils of iPods, he could have brought up hearing loss. That is a real issue that could be trouble down the road. Bad manners has always been with us unfortunately.

Tue Nov 21, 2006 12:28 pm

OK geoduck... If it's a manners thing, why is there an iPod involved in every example I cite? Coincidence? I think not. Another thing... Have you driven around town in the evenings lately? Last night I pulled up behind an SUV and there were two kids in the back seat, each watching cartoons on their 5G iPods. Obviously, no family conversation going on in there. No singing favorite songs. No talking about what they did at school or who has cooties. How are the kids going to fight the jihadists if they can't even have a family discussion about jihad on the way home from soccer practice? At the rate our society is deteriorating, I doubt it'll be long before you look over at the car next to you and see someone watching porn on an iPod.

Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:10 pm

Careful Bosco, while I appreciate your humour and irony, it is more subtle than some will understand. Irony and sarcasm are used all the time in the UK but my experience of the US -in it's broadest terms - is that few recognise irony and those that do have to think about it first.

I find it fascinating that Bill O'Reilly's comments could actually be part of a comedy script if done with the right emphasis. Comments like 'I really fear for the United States because, believe me, the jihadists?' are pure slapstick - are you sure he wasn't joking?

Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:12 am

Not having read all the comments yet..

Bosco's comment on "iPods at full blast" is a good one. But I wonder, how easy/hard is it to talk to these people *without* their iPods at full blast and in their ears? I've listened to the iPod at full volume (a Linda Eder song, so it doesn't exactly totally max out the full dynamic range), and I can hardly stand it. Perhaps I didn't go to enough rock concerts when I was younger and have too much of my hearing left..

As for bad singing, I have one answer: get voice lessons..

Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:03 pm

	Anonymous wrote:
	Aren't you the woman who makes the most assumptions out of anything or everything you see? What makes you think that the family did not already have a pleasant conversation before the kids starting watching their iPod videos? And how do you know they are not playing a trivia games on iPod with their parents? And when you wrote such a long butt-kicking paragraph, aren't your family being ignored?

No, I'm the dog. They ignore me, not the other way around. The bigger problem here is that she was carting the kids around in an SUV and not a Prius, right?

Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:25 pm

Maybe I'm the only one who actually heard the radio segment in which Mr. O'Reilly made these statements. (I sometimes listen to talk radio on the way home from work). Anyway, what he was speaking about was those who bury themselves in technology at the expense of the outside world. We probably all know someone who lives and breathes gaming, online and otherwise, and can play for a day or two at a time with no interaction with the real world. He was making a plea for people to get involved in the real world, to go out and enjoy experiences with real people in real places.

I disagree with Mr. O'Reilly on a great many things, but his monologue was heavily edited both here and at the gamepolitics site (whether because of brevity or to make a political point, I know not), and did not include what he said after he made the above comments. He went on to say he had nothing against the iPod, video games, technology in general, or those who use them for entertainment purposes while still retaining a normal life (i.e. interacting with others, experiencing new things and ideas outside the computer/technology). Those he was specifically addressing were those for whom "Machines are the primary focus in life." These were the "geeks" to whom he was referring. His plea was simply for people go get out and experience life, new people and ideas, get an education, and live up to their potential.

I understand there are many people who hate Mr. O'Reilly, and who also take umbrage at anything anyone says against Apple or the iPod. But at least take a breath, read what he was actually saying, and/or try to get all the facts before launching into attack mode/diatribes.

Peace