January 17, 2005

The iPods of the Ancients

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Today, the iPod -- the portable MP3 player that can store thousands of downloaded songs -- is our modern musical phylactery. Like those little boxes containing scripture, which Orthodox Jewish men wear on the left arm and forehead during prayers, the iPod has become a nearly sacred symbol of status in certain communities. Introduced only three years ago by Apple computer, the iPod is marketed as the technology of the disconnected individual, rocking out to his headphones, lost in his own world. In certain cities, however, the distinctive white iPod headphones have become so common that one disgusted blogger called them oppressive. "White headphone wearers on the streets of Manhattan nod at each other in solidarity, like members of a tribe or a secret society."
-- From the fascinating Age of Egocasting by Christine Rosen @ The New Atlantis. Posted by Vanderleun at January 17, 2005 12:10 AM
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