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Steven Levy used the shuffle feature of the Apple iPod as a metaphor for the digital age. Newspapers used to be the medium for getting news in one physical bundle, but today people can “shuffle” between news sites. Similarly, thanks to the Internet, shoppers can shuffle between stores, no longer constrained by what is in a mall. Levy postulated that even Apple did not realize the transformative nature of this facet of the iPod when it was first introduced. Despite the naysayers who considered Apple to be out of its depth dealing with consumer electronics, and despite the inauspicious timing of the product announcement, just a few weeks after 9/11, the iPod has become extremely popular, particularly since Apple stopped the strategy of tying the device only to the Mac and opened it up to the Windows market.