Spot and the WizPod

[Daylily]

Being the incredble klutz that I am, I cracked the screen on my lovely new iPod Touch.
If Dair or Darryl cracked thier manuel screen, could they repair it?
I seem to remember that in SYWTBAW, Kit upset a tree because he disturbed its leaves, and Nita irritated Kit when she sat on a rock.
If trees and rocks have the right in the wizarding world [is that from Harry Potter?] to not be disturbed, would glass have that same right? Could Dair or Darryl repair the glass against its will?
Even if Dair could talk it around to agree to being repaired, how would the glass be repaired?
Can Spot and the WizPod even break? Do they have some sort of wizzardy spell that protects them? if this is so, where can I get one?

[willowtree]

That is a very good question. I think they could do it, though maybe not it's will....... who knows?

[Kathy Li]

I think it would seriously depend on which was "cheaper": the time and money to replace the screen, or the energy expended to use wizardry to fix it. Personally, I think if it was Dairine, she'd wanna play with the hardware and see the guts of the iPodTouch more than she'd want to mess with it magically.

[SpacePen]

is the manual break-able

Is the manual even damage-able? I mean in the physical sense, not in the sense of "your manual's timekeeping may not work properly in practice universes" type. You certainly don't see Nita or Kit breaking the spines on their manuals or having to repair ripped pages or drying them out if something accidentally spills on them. The manual as a book seems to only use the physical form as a convenience.

Listening to the Sea, one would assume, along with listening to the manual as it's practiced in Ireland, does not require physical hearing (and one wonders how *those* kinds of manuals can send the equivalent of text messages or keep time or "acquire" a spell that a wizard has just created as Nita's seems to do.). In any case there doesn't seem to be any physical apparatus to get damaged there. (I wonder if the undersea wizards and the Irish wizards are closer to "speaking" to the peridexis than those who normally get the manual in a physical format?)

Spot is of course not entirely "just" a manual anymore so perhaps it can be damaged as any sentient being can. But one still assumes that his ROM and RAM expand and contract as necessary the same way the books get thicker and thinner depending on the situation the wizard is in. I don't think the mobiles would necessarily have this "unlimited expansion" capability. One assumes the motherboard keeps the "unabridged" manual and each mobile might have access to a chapter or an extended section as necessary.... Their whole world is a manual. But I can't believe that their world is entirely free from the possibility of physical damage.

But back to the WizPod. It claims to not only be a manual but also keep music like a regular iPod. I suppose Spot could do this but certainly Nita's and Kit's books don't. Which brings up the question: Can your manual do "extra" things depending on what form it's in? If it can, do those extra functions gain the virtues of the manual (unlimited expansion of memory, durability, ability to physically update format - such as when spot changes to "looking like" the newest macs) - and is one of these virtues a sort of indestructibility? Or is it merely a long-lasting hardiness that protects against normal wear and tear?

[alla]

Being the incredble klutz that I am, I cracked the screen on my lovely new iPod Touch.

Ohh, that sucks. I've just had to send my Touch off to be fixed/replaced; the LCD has been scorched by something (but it happened about 5 months ago. I've just been slack about getting it fixed). Is it a bad crack? Can you get it fixed?

I agree with Kathy regarding the descision would be based on which method was less energy-intensive. Although, would the WizPod show up any strange applications that might void the iPod's warranty; you're not meant to mess with the firmware... (I think there's a discussion somewhere on here regarding changing the images to more wizardly ones on iPods when we first found out about the WizPod, but I can't seem to find it)

SpacePen raises a good point regarding the book manuals not breaking. Spot seems to me to be more than just a manual; I would say that he would be capable of fixing himself if his screen was cracked - either that or he would get an advance upgrade.

Darryl's WizPod wouldn't have the same sentience as Spot does. If the screen did crack, it wouldn't be able to fix itself. That being said, why wouldn't the glass/screen want to be fixed? One smooth sheet of glass or plastic is much more organised than something that has been cracked. It may want to be fixed.

I am constantly paranoid about cracking the screen on both my iPod Touch and my mobile phone. With mobile phones, I have found that those hard clear plastic cases that cover the screen work wonders; anything that would crack the screen just cracks the case (which is much cheaper and easier to replace than the whole phone. For the Touch, however, this is a little bit more challenging, as you need to be able to touch the screen. I use a Griffin Reflect case, and its done a really good job. The little bit of extra height around the screen helps protect it (not to mention it protects that beautiful mirrored back from becoming scratched...). If you're really klutzy, then a proper case with a cover for the screen might not be a bad idea. Something like the flip cases, or the sleeves:

• Sena Flip Case http://store.apple.com/us/product/TU...mco=MzgzNjgwNQ
• Belkin Folio Case http://store.apple.com/us/product/TU186?mco=MTI0NjA
• Sena UltraSlim Pouch http://store.apple.com/us/product/TR...3&s=topSellers (currently unavailable, but an example of another type of case)

[Dragon Writer]

I'm on an iPod touch right this second. My laptop's been broken all week, but I've got a case with a cover, and raised ages to protect it.

I suppose they get different manuals to match their personality, and basic needs. Maybe Dairine would do horridly as a wizard if she had to flip through a book to find everything.
And I think that if they cab make a magcal iPod manual, they can make it so that the glass will be hard enough to not break. I doubt the book ever gets soggy from water, or has pages ripped out, forthat matter. It's all the same magic, just tailored to different needs.

[Daylily]

[Dragon Writer]

think it has little to do with her magic, and more to do her with her personality and advancements. They seem to be creating new types of manuels in general, and Dairine got one of said new types that fit her.
They may have sped things up a bit so that she could do what she had too, but I think she would have gotten Spot either way.

[SpacePen]

spot

I don't think Dairine's manual would have become "Spot" if she hadn't connected both it and herself to the motherboard. Now Dairine is more than "just" human and Spot is more than "just" manual. BTW, I think the species on Motherboard-world are called "Mobiles".

I wonder if Spot is part peridexis? If not, I wouldn't be surprised to find that he, like Nita, was in contact with it during WaW in a more "personal" way than others were.

[Daylily]

I think it would seriously depend on which was "cheaper": the time and money to replace the screen, or the energy expended to use wizardry to fix it. Personally, I think if it was Dairine, she'd wanna play with the hardware and see the guts of the iPodTouch more than she'd want to mess with it magically.