Is it an iPod or portable storage in sheep's clothing?

By John Webster, Data Mobility Group

April 25, 2005 12:00 PM ET

Storage Networking World -
Dear Diary:
Three things happened today that have me wondering if there is some huge awakening in store for the storage industry.
Item 1: I went to the dentist this morning to do the every-six-month tooth scraping and polishing routine. I noticed today for the first time that my dentist is very advanced with his use of technology. He now uses digital X-ray imaging that dumps the black-and-whites of my pearly whites onto a laptop that's right beside the dentist chair. He zooms in, zooms out, washes them in weird psychedelic colors and brings them back to black and white.
He also has all my dental records, insurance info -- probably even my payment record and credit card info -- right there, too. So we got to talking, or more accurately stated, I got to listening. I found out that Dr. Data even has software that can link his electronic office calendar with my electronic office calendar. On top of it all, he installed and supports all of this himself.
But wait, there's more. He backs up all the office data twice. The first backup goes to USB drives there in the office. No big deal, but here's where it gets interesting. The second backup goes to his Apple iPod. That's right, his iPod. He says he can then plug it into his home network and consult with both patients and other medical professionals from home. He says his iPod has room for every digital thing in his office with space left over for 5,000 songs.

Item 2: Also today, Apple announced its quarterly financial results (See story). Apple sold 5.3 million iPods -- 558% more than in the same period one year ago. That's a run rate of (are you ready for this, Dear Diary?) 58,889 per day. Apple may well sell over 20 million iPods this year alone. At an average of, say, 30GB per iPod, how many yottabytes are walking around out there in shirt pockets?

Item 3: When I got home tonight, I turned on the evening news. There was Sen. Arlen Specter grilling some very somber-looking executives from LexisNexis, ChoicePoint and Acxiom about the apparent theft of personal data, including data that could expose any one of us to identity theft and unrecoverable financial loss (See story). "My conclusion is we need federal legislation," said Specter. Hmmm. Where and when have we heard this before?
So Dear Diary, as I sit here before you, I'm adding up today's events. Here's what I'm thinking. First, don't

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