Introduction

I remember when I got my first boombox, circa 1983. It was sea-foam green and had two tape decks and a radio. It came with batteries and was so small and portable that I could take it with me everywhere I went. Then there was my first Walkman, the size of a brick, with giant, spring-loaded headphones. And after that, my first portable CD player, which cost almost a month s wages back in 1990. Today, of course, portable music players are commonplace and mundane. Although five years ago having white iPod headphones on meant you were hip and stylish, now it just means you like to listen to tunes. But more and more, the iPod is becoming a medium to store not just music, as we will see.

At a conference, I had a conversation with a federal agent about a child pornography case that he had worked on. He and his colleagues had raided the suspect s home as usual, but noticed that the suspect was strangely unalarmed and even smirking as the agents copied all the data from his computers. He continuously proclaimed his innocence. The agent remembered a presentation I had given about iPods being used to store data and noticed that the suspect had an iPod on his desk. According to the warrant served on the suspect, the agents were permitted to seize all electronic equipment capable of storing data. The agent picked up the iPod, and suddenly the suspect s demeanor and attitude...