My iPod Shuffle is the future. I never knew how nice it would be to take music with me wherever I go. On the BART, at the museum, in the lab, the gym, anywhere. I got it last week (with the student discount!) and ripped a couple of my favorite CDs the very next day. It fits into your shirt pocket and can hold around 240 songs (16 CDs), but the best part is so subtle, it isn't even mentioned in the documentation: it's a well-designed, simple, intuitive little machine.

Despite this, there are a few poo-poo'ing the iPod Shuffle in favor of other, more feature-rich MP3 players. I'm convinced that these people must have time to fiddle with the gadget for three hours every day after school. They don't understand that for many people, choosing to give up control is the ultimate form of control.

I didn't even have to read the manual to understand how it works. That's my favorite feature, and it's a lot to ask from an electronic device that can also act as a USB drive. With each successive product release, Apple is proving that it's one of the few brands that really understands how people relate to technology.

We're just starting to see the future, folks. In a year, all of these things will have satellite radio built-in, standard.