CD, RIP?

CD, RIP?: NYT has an interesting look at what may be the demise of the compact disc, at least as it pertains to music. According to the article, kids nowadays prefer to watch DVD movies and play video games–not to mention downloading their own music from various P2P file swapping venues. While I can envision a day in the very near future where CD and DVD technologies converge, I can’t see the music CD going away very soon. Why? The automobile. Surely, people aren’t going to be watching DVD movies while driving their cars? Aside from the obvious safety concerns, most commutes are still shorter than the 2-3 hours that a typical movie consumes. I don’t mind listening to a music album in stages; I really don’t want to watch movies that way. And few cars are equipped with hard drives on which to store MP3s. I suppose, at some point, the XM satellite concept will be cheap enough to really catch on, but most of us would rather choose the songs we listen to rather than just pick a genre we like and hope the song we want to hear comes up during the trip.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.