Michael Bull, a film and media professor at England's University of Sussex, has spent three years interviewing more than 1,000 iPod owners — only to reach the most obvious of conclusions. In the process, Bull dubbed himself Professor iPod and won a book deal. The book, Sound Moves: iPod Culture and Urban Experience, holds no revelations: People carry their digital content around with them, relying on it to get them through the day. iPod owners use the devices to create personalized, controlled environments insulated from the dislocation of their work lives and the cacophony of the city. Is it any shock Apple found his research worthless?

When asked by Wired whether Apple had shown any interest in his research, the aptly name Bull replied:

The head of Apple's research division contacted me and said he wanted our results, and I said, "I don't have any." He wanted the quantity of things, and I said, "Well, I could give a seminar or come talk," and he said, "Well, if there were no results, I can't make time for you."

Does Steve Jobs need a university professor to repeat to him the promises Jobs made to customers from the very introduction of the iPod in October 2001? Perhaps Bull should find a new market: All the gadget makers trying to compete with Apple, since they're the ones who seem to keep missing the obvious.