News
The iPod Era Is Officially Over After 20 Years
Apple has officially discontinued the iPod line and stopped the production of the last available model, the iPod touch, which was released in 2019.
The first iPod was released in 2001, offering a large storage capacity thanks to its hard-disk drive. It didn’t take a long time for the portable audio player to become a cultural phenomenon, appearing in countless movies, including Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver.
Despite its massive success, it has been clear for a long time that the iPod era is nearing its end. Modern smartphones are more than capable of playing not just music but also videos, and their ability to connect both to cellular and Wi-Fi networks meets the needs of the streaming generation.
Well, the end of the iPod era is now here because Apple has officially discontinued the iPod line and stopped the production of the last available model, the iPod touch, which was released in 2019.
But just because the last iPod will stop being available when supplies run out doesn’t mean that the music-listening experience associated with it will be gone too.
“Today, the spirit of iPod lives on,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We’ve integrated an incredible music experience across all of our products, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to HomePod mini, and across Mac, iPad, and Apple TV.”
Of course, avid music listeners have much more to choose from than just Apple-branded devices.
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Chinese electronics company FiiO, for example, produces a range of high-end portable media players whose superior audio quality can please even the most demanding audiophiles. The FiiO M11 Plus runs on Android and can stream music from Spotify over Wi-Fi.
There’s also Sony with its modern Walkmans, compact but capable portable media players that weigh next to nothing but last a long time on a single charge.
It’s also worth mentioning that the second-hand market with iPods is still thriving and will likely continue to do so for some time.
News
NASA Forms New Partnership With Saudi Space Agency
The pair will collaborate on the Center for Space Futures, advancing space tech by bringing together public and private stakeholders.
Saudi Arabia’s space industry is on the brink of substantial expansion after generating $400 million in revenue in 2022, according to a report by the Saudi Communications, Space and Technology Commission.
Now, in a new venture with NASA, plans for a “Center for Space Futures” are set to further drive the Kingdom’s aspirations of becoming a leading player in space exploration and technology.
Capturing moments from the joint delegation visit with leaders from the Saudi and American Space Agencies @NASA to @PSU_RUH, along with scenes showcasing the audience's engagement. pic.twitter.com/oB1cFTiRNl
— وكالة الفضاء السعودية (@saudispace) May 14, 2024
The partnership between NASA and Saudi Arabia goes beyond economic advantages. The pair have already cooperated on preliminary work for the Artemis II lunar mission, which is slated for a September 2025 launch and aims to land astronauts near the moon’s South Pole.
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During a visit to the capital, Riyadh, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson emphasized in a TV interview the broader objectives of the collaboration, which encompass “returning to the moon and then [to] Mars” while utilizing space exploration to glean important insights into climate change. The NASA spokesman also reiterated the space agency’s dedication to collaborating with Saudi Arabia on other future ventures.
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