Six years ago, I took a short trip to go snowmobiling (no, not like that, or that) at Yellowstone National Park. I happened to hear a radio show with the then-newly-released-upon-the-world violinist Hilary Hahn. She played couple of pieces, which I liked, and the names of which I promptly forgot.
Twenty years ago, this would have entailed tracking down the DJ, asking them to remember to look up the show manifest when they got back to the studio, and send me the playlist. In fact, it did just that, when I carried around the memory of a couple of unnamed but stunning violin concertos for 3 years.
Now, it's a visit to the show's website, a search on Miss Hahn's name, and a swing by iTunes. In about 5 minutes I can track down and grab recordings of the music by various Eminent Performers, and then take them with me, if I so choose.
I pay less for them than I earn while listening to them.
Now, if I could just manage to get the household wifi to stay connected while encrypted, I could do all this on the patio.
