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iPod-Jacked

Rick and Roll writes "In a story on Wired, entitled Feel Free to Jack Into My iPod, an iPod owner shares experiences he has had with other iPod owners, namely the plugging of his headphones into a stranger's jack. It began when a woman in her 30's walked up to him while he was on a walk, unplugged her headphone jack from her iPod, and motioned for him to plug his in. They then listened to each other's music for about 30 seconds. He has then shared with about a dozen iPod listeners, with most of the strangers reciprocating. According to the article, the practice has also cropped up in other communities. Listeners acquire tastes for different kinds of music, just like on internet/LAN file sharing networks. An interesting read."

23 of 661 comments (clear)

  1. Commercial? by PurdueGraphicsMan · · Score: 5, Insightful
    "She walked right up to me and got within my comfort field," Crandall stammered. "I was taken aback. She pulled out the earbuds on her iPod and indicated the jack with her eyes."

    Warily unplugging his own earbuds, Crandall gingerly plugged them into the woman's iPod, and was greeted by a rush of techno.

    "We listened for about 30 seconds," Crandall said. "No words were exchanged. We nodded and walked off."

    Why do I get the feeling that this would make a great Apple commercial? I could see them playing this out and it still fitting into the clean and slick Apple marketing image.

    --


    The guitars sound good, now give me about 10db more on the cow bell.
    1. Re:Commercial? by wawannem · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, but at the end of the commercial, the RIAA task force shows up with all their Uzis and M-16s to put a stop to this raucous abuse of copyrighted material.

    2. Re:Commercial? by Box+Checker · · Score: 5, Funny

      actually, that sounds like the begining of a letter to penthouse forums... here's the ending... "she rode my man-pod until i spewed apple juice, and she never once took out her ear buds."

    3. Re:Commercial? by PurdueGraphicsMan · · Score: 5, Funny
      This is about perfect. However, Apple wouldn't be that suggestive with thier advertising, they're too classy for that. Here's my take, it would have to be a follow-up for the first commercial with the guy walking down the street (from the article):

      Cut to a darkened nightclub... fat, slobby iPod guy is approached by sultry woman in her mid-twenties. The guy's eyes widen and grow large as he realizes that she's going to speak to him. All of a sudden the girl leans into his neck to listen to what's playing on his earbuds. The man takes his iPod out of his pocket and holds it in front of him to offer to let her plug her earbuds in. However, the girl motions that she doesn't have an iPod. The man walks away from the woman disgusted.

      --


      The guitars sound good, now give me about 10db more on the cow bell.
    4. Re:Commercial? by Cranx · · Score: 5, Insightful

      How do you know this WASN'T an Apple commercial?

    5. Re:Commercial? by FLEB · · Score: 5, Funny

      Open the CD-Rom bay door, HAL...
      OPEN the CD-Rom bay DOOR, HAL...
      Dammit, why don't they just have a button!

      --
      Information wants to be free.
      Entertainment wants to be paid.
      You just want to be cheap.
  2. so cool by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


    That's quite cool.

    "What are you listening to?" may end up being the 2000's version of "What's your sign?". It's a nice, safe, social sharing event without the drawbacks and risks of disease or mental impairment.

    NB: I'm not saying that having an iPod will get /.'ers laid, that's just crazy-talk.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. Re:so cool by naoiseo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      so, what does this have to do with the ipod? we've had walkmen for 20 years or so, but now it's socially acceptable to walk up to someone and listen to their music?

      why, because they're rich enough to own an ipod so they're trustable?

      mmmm smells publicity stuntlishus.

    2. Re:so cool by Walt+Dismal · · Score: 5, Funny

      I load my iPod with the entire collected works of Britney Spears. Then I walk up to strangers and motion to them to plug in. After they collapse, writhing in agony on the sidewalk, I steal their wallets.

  3. bluetooth by ryanw · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What would be nice is if it was bluetooth enabled, you could just have your iPod on constant broadcast mode, let people walking by snoop in on your listening... That way it wouldn't interrupt your listening.

    1. Re:bluetooth by Dixie_Flatline · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The point is that they DO interrupt. It's a human contact and connection thing. We're all very seperated now, and bluetooth broadcasting would just KEEP us seperated. This is a way to connect (excuse the minor pun) with other people. You may never get to know them, other than the music that they listen to, but even that's a big deal. I'd never date a woman who listened to country music exclusively, for instance.

      This is technology bringing people together, which is pretty uncommon. Most of it just serves to keep us as far apart as possible.

  4. Dear Penthouse, by Mononoke · · Score: 5, Funny
    I never thought your letters were real, until something happened to me that I just had to share...

    --
    NetInfo connection failed for server 127.0.0.1/local
  5. REFUND! by PrintError · · Score: 5, Funny

    I want my money back!

    Whenever I run into another iPod owner, all they ever ask is "what size is it?" No one ever offers to swap a little toonage.

    And I bet these are the same people who say size doesn't matter.

    This zig brought to you by Cats.

    1. Re:REFUND! by PhotoGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Slightly off topic, but that reminds me of the time I was using my Toshiba Libretto on a plane, and the flight attendant comes by, points to my lap, and says in a voice that was far too loud, "Wow, that's the smallest one of those I've ever seen!"

      She turned quite red when she realized how that sounded.

      Ah, the joys of portable technology.

      --
      Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
  6. Re:This feels dirty by welthqa · · Score: 5, Funny

    First you're sharing music with fellow joggers in the park on a sunday morning. Next thing you find yourself in the public restroom sitting on the wrong side of a glory hole wondering what went wrong...

    --


    100% Pure Evil With The Look And Feel Of Wholesome Goodness
  7. Re:STD? by Mad+Man · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sound transmitted disease?

    Clap on, clap off.

  8. Write About People Pooping With Their iPods Next? by meehawl · · Score: 5, Funny

    Gosh and they never had headphone jacks with Walkmans, oh no.

    I'd be more impressed if the iPods had something like the Neuros and could broadcast stuff, and you tune into other people's local broadcasts. Doesn't Apple have Rendezvous autoconfig software tech, couldn't they turn every iPod into a convenient super-local radio broadcaster? That would be a tech story.

    This is just lame. Doing a search for the "Leander Kahney" it seems there is no iPod story too trivial for s/he to write and for Wired to publish.

    What's next? iPodders describe music they listen to as they poo? And we get to read about it? Ugh.

    --

    Da Blog
  9. STOP PIRACY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    This kind of rampant theft of music must stop. Artists and producers can't afford to have thieves and pirates steal their hard work.

    What if this "journalist" stole some music he was planning to buy, and didn't like it? He might never buy it! That's a lost sale.

    I immediately demand that Apple Computer permanantly bolt the headphone jack into the iPod, and the headphones should not be removable from the ear once inserted. Also, the volume should be capped so that others nearby can't "listen in" (or steal, in other words).

    We will sue one cute 12-year-old girl per week, until our demands are met. If our demands are not met after 60 days, we will begin issuing search warrants to 75-year-olds, to be carried out by federal marshals at 3am. If our demands aren't met after 120 days, then, well, I can't get into details, but the code-name for our plan is known as "OPERATION SELECTIVE SILENCE". It's pretty horrible.

    Sincerely,

    the new head of the RIAA

  10. Very 1st Walkman Ever Had Dual Headphone Ability by meehawl · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As an aside, the very first Walkman *ever* introduced by Sony had a dual headphone setup. It cam equipped with a "Hotline" switch that either listener could push that would mute both headphones, so they could say something. For couples jogging close together or something like that.

    The dual headphone feature remained for a couple of product iterations but was then dropped to save a few pennies on production when they realised virtually nobody ever used this music sharing feature.

    The thinking is that Sony were wary of introducing an exclusively personal electronic device and wanted to be able to market as having *some* social aspect.

    --

    Da Blog
  11. iPods DO get you laid by mithras · · Score: 5, Funny

    Actually, my iPod has gotten me laid. I met this girl on the bus, talked to her a bit, then when I opened my bag to get a pen and paper to write down her phone number, she spotted my iPod.

    "Oooh, iPod!" she said. Turned out that she was very much into music, and my having an iPod showed her that I shared that. Also that I had large amounts of disposable income, which didn't hurt.

    We spent at least a half-hour of our first date going through the music on my iPod. Dated for 6 months.

    I spot folks with iPods all the time. Largely male, though. But you can bet that I'm going to start "sharing" my music with any female iPod owners I see from now on.

  12. What....? by Android23 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why does this sound like another Wired attempt to make something hip?
    I mean, isn't this like flash mobs, satellite radio, and Cue Cats?
    I've never met anyone who'd want to "jack my Pod", and I think I'd probably slug anyone reaching for it.

    --
    -=Android=- Chew's Eye Shop http://www.chewseyeshop.com
  13. You could get a virus like that! by Thud457 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I mean, running around plugging your plug into some random person you met on the street's jack! I would hope Apple would provide protection for their users!

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  14. yep by microcars · · Score: 5, Funny
    I always thought Mac users were odd, and this proves it.

    yeah, we go outside,
    meet girls,....all kinds of "odd" stuff.

    --
    I like microcars