Hot iPods Underground

Note to Subway Riders: Watch Out for Those iPods

The iPod people seem to be everywhere these days, listening to Bach or 50 Cent,
but nowhere do they appear more visible and at peace than on the subways. The
train rocks on the tracks, the brakes screech, the motorman says something
unintelligible, but the iPod users are in their own zone, protected by a personal
soundtrack.

Criminals have noticed: New York City police officials said today that an increase
in subway crime this year is driven almost entirely by a dramatic rise in robberies
and thefts of cell phones and iPods, two totems of modern urban life.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority followed by announcing a series of
safety advertisements that may alter the habits of iPod users, perhaps leaving
them no choice but to experience the sounds of the subway along with everyone
else.

Just as officials warned riders to beware of chain snatchers and pickpockets
in the high-crime era of the 1980’s, so are they now suggesting that iPod users
keep themselves from standing out. "Earphones are a giveaway," one
of the new announcements states. "Protect your device."

What about all those subway ads for iPods? Have they produced an iPod theft zone where
you can’t use your iPod at all? And those stylish earphones as a dead
giveaway? Personally, we are convinced that the next great leap in portable
music technology and the first big step towards Cyborgs in Cyberspace will
be surgically implanted inside-the-ear-buds, which can be connected, wirelessly,
of course, to your phone, the internet, or your music player.  Coming
soon to a clinic near you….

from the New York Times