Apple has discontinued the iPod after a remarkable 20 year run and a music industry transformed.  It was the rise of illegal file-sharing on NAPSTER; Kazaa, and other peer-to-peer services that cemented the MP3 as the new format of choice. The iPod was $399., and only worked with Macs. But it also had an impressively roomy 5GB 1.8-inch hard drive. That meant that instead of 10 or 20 songs, it could put 1,000 songs in your pocket, as the original ad went - no other MP3 player at the time came close. With the iPod, you still had to rip all your CD's to your computer using Apple's iTunes Software. But it meant you could listen to any of your favorite songs on a whim. Later introducing Windows compatability (a huge step). The company also began lowering the price and offering new versions that were smaller, had color screens that could play video, or had increasingly capacious hard drives.   The other big piece of the puzzle was Apple's 2003 introduction of the iTunes Music Store, which changed the music industry overnight. It meant you could buy a 99 cent single instead of an intire album, many of which normally cost $15 to $18, and only had one or two good songs. The decision-and the behind-the-scenes scramble and persistent work to get all the extremely reluctant major labels on board was key to launching the iPod into the stratosphere. Customers finally had an easy way to buy music legally and on their terms. Much more than ever the iMac, the iPod reversed Apple's decline and sent the company's fortunes skyrocketing. In 2004, BMW launched the first in-vehicle iPod integration, an innovation that other automakers quickly copied. The two maim culprits that did in the iPod were wireless and streaming audio.  I miss my Sony Walkman!