Letter Rip

We love letters. Maybe it's because our grandmas always used to tape a quarter to our birthday cards when we were little, and we now have this Pavlovian thing going on. Regardless, we want to hear from you. Sing our praises, bust our chops, or just tell us what's on your mind. Send it to editor@americanwaymag.com.

OF IPODS AND UNDERWEAR

Once in a while, one reads an article that seems to be written specifically for them. Your July 1 issue really struck a chord with me. First of all, I agree with Kate Beckinsale that Marks & Spencer makes great underwear. I used to buy underwear from them when they had outlets in Canada, and the garments lasted forever.

Secondly, I just received an iPod for Father's Day and encountered the same ­frustration Jim Shahin described in his column. In fact, I put the item back in its box and persuaded my wife to return it (I would have been too embarrassed to do so). In the end, I decided to try once more to operate the iPod and finally got it to work, though I still don't know what the problem was in the first place. Perhaps all electronic devices­ should come with a robot to guide you through installation and operation.

Ezra Cohen, Chicago, Illinois

Dear Ezra: We're firmly of the belief that the simple act of putting an item back in its box and acting as if you're going to return it is enough to get a stubborn gadget going. You've proved us right, and we can now abandon all of the costly research we were conducting toward proving our theory.

l l l l l

TECHNOLOGY TO A "T"

I enjoyed the article "The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth" in the July 1 issue. The author gave too much credit, though, to the directions that accompany technology. The prospective user is not necessarily too unintelligent to follow the directions properly. In reality, the directions are usually poorly written.