This Spring, an Apple Computer Inc. iPod commercial featured its trademark one-hue screen with human silhouettes dancing around with their white-corded portable MP3 player.
The advertisement teased an updated release of Apple's iTunes and went to the beat of a little known, but catchy, song - Caesar's "Jerk It Out."
Turns out, Apple was foreshadowing more than it thought with that song.
In October, Apple released the latest edition of its pop culture trademark: the video-capable iPod. The gadget's 2.5-inch color display allows users - or dare I say, trendsetters - to view videos and pictures in the palm of their hands.
That's not all they're apparently holding in those palms, though. Without realizing it, Apple has unleashed another craze for middle-class single men.
Behold: iPorn. Technologically illiterate users can download standard television shows and music videos from iTunes 6.0.
Advanced users, meanwhile, already mastered the art of converting just about any - and I mean "any" - standard video file to the iPod's video format.
That's right, pop on over to the Internet, download your favorite five-minute peep show, and 10 minutes later, you've got a handful of adult-only entertainment.
That lecture class just got more interesting.
There's assistance for downloaders in this process, too, a Reuters news report from London said Wednesday.
A subscription-only search engine called "Guba" combs Usenet news groups for custom-format "H.264" video files, which Reuters said are mostly "adult, pirated or both."
"We can kid ourselves, but in the end, it's probably porn that people want," Guba Chief Executive Thomas McIherney told Reuters.
And here I thought it was Prince videos that were popular.
Guba charges $14.95 per month for access to its services, and those seeking anything from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" to Disney's "Lost" will be fine as long as the files they seek are under 70 minutes and not MP3s - both of which the company has blocked, Reuters said.
Aside from the lacking legalities of downloading - let alone profiting from - this content, Guba may be heading toward a jackpot of success with the 13- to 25-year-old male demographic.
Apple has yet to make any public announcement regarding the use of its product for these, uh, pleasurable purposes, and that's probably better for all parties involved.
Apple may not support porn publicly, but it would not make sense for the company to hurt an industry that increases usage, Mike Goodman, senior analyst for the Yankee Group, told MacNewsWorld in October.
Parents, meanwhile, are now on alert following a swarm of newspaper and magazine articles notifying guardians of the potential for their young ones to view not-so-family-friendly videos on their new toys.
Some may argue the iPod allows for pornography to be viewed more discreetly, which is most likely true. However, 16-year-old boys - and even some girls - with access to a computer are going to find a way around amateur safeguards, no matter how tight mom and dad keep track of the iPod's content. As most twenty-something males can attest to, it's not that difficult.
The iPod is far from becoming simply a portable porn player, but before it starts taking the heat, it should be said that, as with the rest of the Internet, parents just need to be responsible of their kids' usage.
For those of age, however, just remember when you're in public and when you're not.
As for Apple's support, time will tell.
Who knows - iPorn could be the next Apple product we see teased on billboards, subways and televisions nationwide. Imagine those silhouettes.
Write to Dave at
heydave@bewilderedsociety.com
visit http://www.bewilderedsociety.com
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