View this article at: http://www.macnn.com/articles/04/03/08/apples.ipod.partners/ Monday, Mar 08, 2004 1:35pm A look at the companies beh... Electronic Design Chain last summer published an in-depth look at the iPod and the companies with which Apple has partnered to design and manufacture the MP3 player, including Sony, Wolfson, Toshiba, Texas Instruments and Linear Technology: "It turns out that much of the underlying iPod design was performed by outside companies. The Cupertino folk haven't given up on their heritage of design excellence—they're just bowing to some inevitable directions in consumer electronics by borrowing from established experts linked together for what may be the first design chain for the iPod." Meanwhile, BBC News reports that Digital players in general and the iPod in particular are having a dramatic effect on the way people behave.