Why does Mac remain on the planet? Not because they're cooler or make a product really worth the always much higher price, they're around because there are people that hate PC/Windows and because there are artists that get them because they used to be better at art than a PC. The iPod? It became trendy, but I don't know anyone now that is opting for an iPod over the less expensive competition, Creative Labs and the like.

My roommate had gotten an iPod a few years ago. We tried uploading music through the PC. Of course, since it didn't have a seperate power cable and didn't seem to get power properly from the USB, the machine kept dying in the middle of trying to fill the hd. After a month or two, there was an OS error on the iPod and it became completely unrecovereable. I couldn't reformat the HD, I couldn't delete the songs already on there. What did happen was the index of the songs was erased so all the songs were unreachable. We ended up practically giving it away at a garage sale. She now has a Creative Labs MP3 player and thinks it is better than iPod ever was. And it was less expensive than a new iPod.

As far as "the greatest music innovation since recording", I have to disagree. Radio madee music far more accessable to the masses, a transistor radio let people bring it anywhere, the LP changed how musicians viewed music and how fans listened, headphones let people listen differently as well. Cassette tapes and CDs have let fans put music together in whatever order they wanted for decades. The walkman and car tape/cd players let people choose what they listened to "on the go" long before iPod. Music Videos changed people's perception of music, adding a visual dimension. Napster and other, cheaper, less proprietary music services let people try new bands cheaper. All iPod did was take an existing technology and make it "cool". While the MP3 player, of which iPod is one, may rank with radio, LPs, transistor radios, etc... iPod itself is ultimately no more important than any other brand.

And it popularized the annoying habit of putting "i" in front of things.

My basic question is: If you can buy songs one at a time and manipulate their order and mix them with songs by other artists, what exactly is an album anymore?

The same thing it was back when people were asking that question about cassette tapes. It can be a collection of songs, it can be an artisitic statement around a theme.

Even the complaints about unauthorized copying aren't new.

Back in the 80s, I had In God We Trust, Inc. by the Dead Kennedys. It was essentially an EP, so it only took one side of the cassette. The other side was labeled "Home taping is killing the record industry. We left this side blank so you can help."

It seems the current wailing by the record companies about "stealing" music is about as old as recording itself. Heck, they probably complained about people copying sheet music by hand before that.

anything that's small is conservative

Especially minds.

Records are meant to cover the whole history of a sport. However, the world changes as time goes on.

The eqipment used isn't the same as the equipment used in the 1800s or even in the 1930s. I have one of my gradfather's baseball gloves and no-one would wear such a thing today unless it was part of a Halloween costume. The baseball is different, bats are made differently shoes are made better, clothing is less constricting.

Medical advances have ensured player are in better condition. Nutrition makes sure they're healthier, stronger, faster. Exercise and physical training didn't even really exist until recently. Back in the early 20th century exercise might have consisted of running and some calesthenics. Today you have trainers and weight lifting and aerobic machines like treadmills. If someone gets hurt, they're much more likely to be able to play again, sooner and in better shape, than their predecessors.

Even beyond this, and all of the above in addition to this is why my mother scoffs at Ripkin's breaking Gherig's consecutive game streak, today players ride on comfortable, state of the arts busses or airplanes and the busses ride on modern superhighways. Gherig went to games on old, cramped, crappy busses, stayed in soso hotels and ate in whatever greasy spoon was around the corner from the park. You think that doesn't take a toll?

Instead of bemoaning steroid use, which is a tiny part of all the advantages modern athletes have over the record holders, professional sports should be trying to ensure that they're used safely. They need to make sure the players aren't hurt by this and accept it as part of the modern game.

As far as the validity of records goes, instead of yelling for asterisks next to everything, just point out and keep in mind that the players of yesteryear played under very different circumstances and lived their lives in different conditions. One of my sports heroes when I was growing up was Jim Thorpe. Bruce Jenner eventually eclipsed Thorpe's olympic record and he's entitled to it, but I always remember that Thorpe never trained and grew up under vastly different circumstances. He's still the one I admire.