iPods more "in" than beer
iPods are more "in" than beer across American college campuses, according to the Student Monitor.
Seventy-three percent of the 1,200 students surveyed by the college market researcher rated iPods as an "in" item or activity. Drinking beer and Facebook.com, the social networking site, shared a close second place, each rated as "in" by 71 percent of college students. "Drinking other alcohol" was considered "in" among 67 percent.
Other determined "in" items among college students this year are text messaging (66 percent), downloading music (66 percent), and coffee (60 percent). MySpace.com rated 58 percent.
Dispelling the technology gender myth, more women than men rated blogging, digital cameras, text messaging, downloading music, downloading ring tones, sharing photos online, notebook computers and iPods as being "in."
Males did lead overall in gaming. PlayStation 2 was the most "in" gaming device among men at 38 percent, and Xbox 360 at 29 percent.
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. E-mail her at candacelombardi@gmail.com. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET. 
