Businessweek MDN review gives the iPod shuffle 4 out of 5 stars while Fortune MDN says the shuffle "make the world go away." David Kirkpatrick says that the iPod shuffle that was given to him offers an antidote to the continuous barage from his Blackberry, it lowers his blood pressure and soothes his frazzled nerves with music the envelops him like a cocoon.

With his 20GB iPod in his hand, Kartirk Subramanian of Chicago felt as he was transported to Rome, as he listened to the news of the death of Pope John Paul II. For that fleeting moment, he felt he was among the the throng in the Vatican hearing the sad news this with the help of the iPod. MDN has said the iPod has helped bring the world to people thru podcasts.

As he paused the podcast from Catholic Insider he looked around and noted the twentysomething guys waiting for a bus with the telltale white headphone cords coming out of their clothing. The ubiquituous iPod has indeed permeated everyone around Kartik Subramanian. He remarks:

You see them everywhere--walking down the street, doing their daily chores at the supermarket, running down the lakefront, biking, on the Red Line in the morning and the evening, waiting for their drink at the coffee shop--iPodders--each in their own acoustic world.

Like what David Kirkpatrick has said, the iPod does allow people to cocoon themselves against the distractions of daily life with their favorite music or podcasts.