Remember do not copy DVDs that you do not own! It is illegal to make a copy of a movie for use on your device if you do not own the original. The legality of DVD ripping will vary based on your country of residence. Accelerate Software does not in any way endorse violation of the valid rights of copyright holders, and strongly recommends that you consult your country's copyright and fair use laws before copying any video content. 

If this isn¡¯t a test for how the blogosphere can get things done, I¡¯m not sure what is. As a part of this test, if you happen to read this blog entry and you have a blog, please spread the word and let¡¯s see if the viral nature of the blogosphere can help this iPod find its owner.

Last week, I found a beautiful, sleek, black video iPod. It¡¯s one of the 30GB models that looks very much like the one pictured to the left. The owner of this iPod has been taking very good care of it by keeping it in a case. My guesses are that the owner lives in the New England area and flew on United Airlines on or about October 9th or 10th. The reason I haven¡¯t posted this notice until today is that I had to wait to get a hold of a charger to charge it up in hopes of finding some clue as to who the owner is. Sadly, the owner did not elect to have any contact information engraved on the back of the device. Also, I don¡¯t know much about iPods, but it seems as though there should be an easy way to load it with the owner¡¯s contact information and have it ¡°boot¡± to that screen. I searched high and low through the device and about the only clue I could find was the text ¡°De Monstrow.¡±

If any of this means something to you and you¡¯ve recently lost your iPod, contact me at david.berlind@cnet.com. The photos on this device clearly have some sentimental value. So, it would be great if we (the blogosphere) can help it find its way home. Of course, you¡¯ll need to prove to me that it¡¯s yours which shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.

Update: A reader suggested I try calling Apple¡¯s Customer Care at at 800-275-2273 and I did. The idea was that I might be able to reunite the iPod with its owner through the device¡¯s serial number. Perhaps Apple has a record of who the owner is in its warranty files. So I called and was eventually told that I¡¯d have to be passed to another department that would require me to wait on the phone for 30-45 minutes. They suggested trying again in the morning when the phone lines would be a little bit shorter. It¡¯s interesting to me how Apple actually makes it hard for me to be a good Samaritan in this case.

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