I found jPod to be lifeless and depressing. Hmm, I live in Vancouver and work in the game industry. So, I didn't find it lifeless. And working for a big stud

I found jPod to be lifeless and depressing. Hmm, I live in Vancouver and work in the game industry. So, I didn't find it lifeless. And working for a big studio is kind of depressing. So, that's a feature not a bug. I agree that jPod wasn't as good as Microserfs. And as for Coupland writing himself into the story... it's a device with a long history. I think Coupland uses it as a device to answer his critics. For example, in the Gum Thief, the last chapter is written from the point of view of a university professor critiquing a novel written by one of the characters in the book.