I remember the 4th of July, '94. I was walking down to the river to watch the fireworks show in Evansville, IN. There was a kid walking down the other side of the road with a jam-box on his shoulder blasting a Metallica song as loud as it would go. While I am a distant fan of Metallica, I didn't appreciate the annoying distortion of a cheap jam-box at full blast.
The 4th of July, last year. I saw ipods everywhere. I was not annoyed and the people using them certainly had a much broader selection of music. The sound quality must be better, while it's not really comparable to CD, it is closer than a cassette jam-box.
The ipod is merely a reflection of the evolution of technology and of man. Be civilized, keep the good stuff to yourself.
Tom in KY, part time Neanderthal.