Government bans the iPod
 

Government bans the iPod but only in the Ministry of Defence. According to Reuters, the pocket sized MP3 player is one of a number of gadgets that the military has decided to ban from its buildings. The fear is that the latest digital devices, especially those with USB connectors (so not just the iPod!), can be used to siphon data from its computers. Other devices which have been given the boot include digital cameras and USB memory cards.

The policy has been put in place as a result of the MoD switching to the USB friendly Microsoft XP operating system. RAF Wing Commander Peter D'Ardenne told Reuters: "If you plug (these devices) into the computer you can bypass passwords and get right onto the system. That's why we had to plug the gap."

I've heard of people using iPod's to steal software from demo computers at stores too. They are basically a portable hard drive that connects via FireWire for high data transfer speeds. They actually used an iPod to finish The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers movie when they weren't able to run a broadband connection line all the way to Peter Jackson's studio in London. They got it as close as they could, then loaded the film onto the iPod and carried it to the studio. One day when they did that the guy carrying it was almost mugged. :o