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8-track tapes

Did we listen to just as much music before the iPod?

Before the iPod and iTunes supposedly changed everything, we listened to records, CDs, tapes, and radio in our cars, on the street and in mass transit. Music was nearly as portable as it is now, but iPods and other MP3 players radically increased the quantity of music you could take with you. Looking back to the dawn of the iPod/MP3 era, sound-quality improvements weren't part of the agenda, just the quantity of music that was transportable. Apple's early ads touted the advantages of having "1,000 songs in your pocket," which struck me as an … Read more

MP3 system is a towering inferno

With everything getting smaller and smaller these days, it's refreshing to see a company buck the trend and make a big statement.

Intempo Digital's Stereo Tower does just that, in grand style. Despite its sleek modern design, this MP3 stereo is actually a throwback to the days of enormous music systems, with speakers the size of the Sears Tower. Tech Digest even describes it in '70s-era terms, as a "surround-sound Hi-Fi system."

If we didn't know better--and hadn't seen iPod stuck in the middle of it--we might expect quadraphonic speakers to go with this … Read more