The new iPods are great, their introduction came just in time and the changes announced were all improvements, especially for those who wanted less of a god thing. Fark.com announced the tiny new iPod Shuffle with their usual insight and humor; “New mini iPod Shuffle shown today, subsequently lost”

The new metal-encased iPod Nano now holds more and doesn’t snap in half when you sit on it. The claim of play time per charge is “…up to 24 hours.” even with a few grains of salt this makes it easier to get miles away from your charger before the shutdown beep snaps you back to reality.

I’m waiting for just one more enhancement; a set of  eadphones that won’t cleat itself to anything you walk past, ripping the pods from your ears as they wrap around your legs like a thin while bolo. I don’t know how many sets of phones I’ve had to retire because they formed an intimate relationship with a chair, tree limb or gear shift lever. I call this the ‘Cleat Principle’ and hope that someone does research on how to make more reliable restraints and tie-downs based on the behavior of headphone cables.