Yes, cassettes may a bit outdated now, and really, nonexistent. Many online music stores, like Amazon are moving to what iTunes has been doing for years...selling the mp3 version of the album. Cassettes aren't even an option any more. And cds are a last resort. But, ignoring the fact that cds will soon be outdated too, cassettes still rocked when they were, well, not an endangered species.

I really liked how they started putting a button in cars and boomboxes to fast forward to the next "track" on the tape. Essentially it just skipped to the next silent part so a few seconds later the next song would start. It wasn't the fastest, but it got the job done. But, unlike cds, tapes could be tossed around, thrown anywhere, even without cases, and all without worrying about scratching it. Yes, they were much harder to copy without losing a lot of quality, but the "dubbing" feature many boomboxes had was pretty nice and quick. Also, even now, we still use adapters to tap into sound systems everywhere, thus creating a makeshift audio input jack--from what? A cassette. Apple manufactures their own adapter designed for iPods and iPhones that does this. It's kind of funny that it skips from ipod to cassette without any thought of cds because cds are unadaptable.

But, I certainly don't miss rewinding, static, or tangles in the ribbon... and I don't think I'm alone.