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I'm sad. You want to know why? I'm sad because everytime I try to embrace technology, I get screwed. I loved cassette tapes and bought a lot of them when I was younger. I didn't think that there was much wrong with them. They sounded fine to me back then.

Then something called the Compact Disc came out. While I was happily flipping over my cassettes to the b-sides, someone out there was happily removing their cassettes from their store shelves. It all happened so fast.

It took me a long time to grasp the idea of the CD as a way to listen to music. It's funny that I had a Playstation 1, but was barely figuring out what a Music CD was.



So, eventually I caved in and got a portable CD player. All my cassettes were a lost cause, and that made me sad. All my money went to waste, and I was left with only fond memories of the tunes that had entered my ears as an impressionable youth.

I have amassed many CD's in the years since the cassettes were put to rest. I would have more in my collection, had I not gotten caught up in this idea of "Trading In" what wasn't up to par. I like the physical CD and case it is in. I like being able to pull one off of the shelf like it is a book, and look at the cover, read the liner notes and listen to it.

But now it seems that could be taken away from me yet again. I keep hearing that Digital Downloading, be it illegal or the Itunes way, is killing off the physical Compact Disc. That is why I am now sad.

I was slow to catch on to Digital downloading as well, because I assumed no matter how you did it you were stealing (Thanks Napster and Kazaa for ruining poor peoples lives). Eventually, I got iTunes and embraced the technology. I liked to burn the songs to discs, because I did not yet have an mp3 player.

Eventually I did buy an... drum roll please...

iPod.



I began transferring my physical cd's to mp3 format and listening on my iPod while working. When I drove around in my car, I preferred the Compact Disc as a listening preference.

Which brings me to now. I have an inner struggle every time I go to buy a CD (Don't laugh). The struggle is in two parts:

Part 1: Should I support the local independent music store in my town or should I give my money to the major corporation department store when I buy my CD?

Part 2 (The hardest one to decide upon): Should I drive the distance to the nearest store that may or may not have the CD I want in stock... or... should I simply go on iTunes and buy it right away?

Let's look more into Part 2 of my essay. Do I want to have the actual manufactured Compact Disc of my favorite band in my hands? Or should I just download and burn the CD to a disc, and lose the album insert altogether? That is basically what it comes down to. You know very well that you cannot burn a CD and make it look anywhere near as good as if you had bought it off the store shelf.

If Digital Downloading kills off the CD, what's next? Could Blu-Ray movies already be on their way out of the market? Could they be replaced by downloadable movies too?

It's all so painful to think about, and maybe I am a little materialistic, but it just pains me to be in a constant tug of war with the conglomerate of electronics companies and retail outlets just to keep my favorite things intact.



Make me feel better, just give me some guidance, and think about this for a minute or two. I think in the end, the major corporations will always have final say when it comes to what's next to replace ____. But I'm hoping somehow we can change that someday. Cause it's just not fair anymore!

*Stomps off and has a tantrum*