With time continuously creeping along toward a digital renaissance, it is sometimes hard to imagine the luxuries we could be introduced to in the near future. The present could be invariably different if our past peers used of some of our technological wonders. Ye Gads! Think what TV Land would be like.

Lucy with demos recorded on compact discs for Desi to slip his pals in the music biz; Zack Morris with a cellular phone that took pictures, fit in his pocket and didn't require a radio antenna to operate; Fonzi would have to pound everything he touched just to get the continually more complex gadgets to work. Wham! "Ayyye," with thumbs raised high.

Ah, those poor baby boomers with only jukeboxes and music on Frisbees. It wasn't until the late nineties that students started wandering the campuses of America like entranced traffic hazards with near-invisible digital music players tucked into their pockets.

Now not only cell phones are causing a decline in social activity on the way to class; but the newest trend lead by Apple and the iPod is mass amounts of digital music packed into the smallest of plastic casings. Say goodbye Discman, your days of stomping on the grave of the Walkman are over.

If you're tired of distracting yourself with the same old tunes, Apple has even released an iPod that plays video as well as audio. Now you can watch those old favorite reruns anywhere (jukeboxes and huge cell phones included).

The newest generation of iPod boasts either 30 or 60 gigabytes of storage space in a package that's just over half an inch thick, as advertised on the Apple Web site. With a capacity to hold up to 15,000 songs, 25,000 photos or 150 hours of video, it is a small price to pay (for some) starting at $299.

If that's a bit too rich for your blood, then you can stick to music and hold up to 1,000 songs on an iPod Nano for $199 or hold up to 240 tunes in an iPod Shuffle (weighing about as much as your house key) for $99.

Apple isn't the only portable music player prizefighter to throw its hat into the ring for lightweight champion. Creative has also introduced a line of portable media players that are just as acclaimed by critics as the iPod.

Creative's new Zen Vision:M media player, at a cost of $329 with half the storage space, does almost as much as the iPod; and the black version is even more scratch resistant than the iPod, according to Cnet.com reviews. The Archos AV420 Pocket Video Recorder even ventures into replacing the camcorder, but only holds up to 20 gigs of memory space and doesn't archive your music.

If the S.S. Minnow sailed today, Gilligan may have even had a handcrafted coconut MP3 player designed by the professor. Why even leave the island?

Some Eastern students offered their opinions as to what ten of the most random songs they would take while stuck with on a deserted island. It's not a list of the greatest songs of all time or songs that made the most money, but it does represent at least some songs you should be able to listen to more than once without your records melting in the sun.

Reach Ted at
teddy_cox29_eku.edu

60 songs for stranded students:

Mark Parrot
Senior, History Education
Harlan, Ky.

"Take my Hand "
by Shawn McDonald
"Take this Life"
by Shawn McDonald
"Life Song"
by Casting Crowns
"From Sunrise to Sunset"
by Paul Wright
"I am Free"
by News Boys
"Adoration"
by News Boys
"Funny Valentine"
by Frank Sinatra

"Your Eyes"
by Brent White

"Goodbye for Now"
by P.O.D.
"We are One Tonight"
by Switchfoot

Andrew Hall
Senior, Business
Lexington, Ky.

"In the Evening"
by Led Zeppelin
"Tangerine"
by Led Zeppelin
"Life by the Drop"
by Stevie Ray Vaughn
"A Day in the Life"
by The Beatles
"Something in the Way She Moves"
by The Beatles
"Little Wing"
by Jimi Hendrix
"Wish You Were Here"
by Pink Floyd
"Fade to Black"
by Metallica
"Thriller"
by Michael Jackson
"No Quarter"
by Led Zeppelin

Fred Brigmon
Senior, English
Wallins, Ky.

"Piano Man"
by Billy Joel
"Folsom Prison Blues"
by Johnny Cash
"I Was the One Worth Leaving"
by Postal Service
"Texas Flood"
by Stevie Ray Vaughn
"Suns Gonna Rise"
by Citizen Cope
"Stairway to Heaven"
by Led Zeppelin
"Feel Good Inc."
by Gorillaz
"Don't Look Back in Anger"
by Oasis
"Comfortably Numb"
by Pink Floyd
"My Heart was a Lonely Hunter"
by Brayson Capps & Teresa Anderson

Meridith Mann
Eastern Adventures Programs Intern, Recreation Park
Adminisration
Louisville, Ky.

"Transatlanticism"
by Death for Cutie
"Blacking Out the Friction"
by Death to Cutie
"The District Sleeps Alone"
by Postal Service
"One Big Holiday"
by My Morning Jacket
"High and Dry"
by Radiohead
"Morning Bell/Amnesiac"
by Radiohead
"I'm on Fire"
by Bruce Springsteen
"Hide and Seek"
by Imogean Heap
"London Still"
by The Waifs
"All I Wanna Do"
by Sheryl Crow

Xavier Chappele
Freshman, Undeclared
Merrit, Fla.

"I Think They Like Me "
by French Eyes Boy
"The Grill"
by Nelly
"Life Song"
by Lil Wayne
"Fireman"
by Lil Wayne
"Can We"
by Silk
"I Promise"
by Jagged Edge
"Never Lie"
by IMX
"Trapped in the Closet"
by R. Kelly
"Flossin'"
by Mike Jones
"Big Pimpin'"
by Jay-Z

James Bush
Freshman, Undeclared
Erlanger, Ky.

"Marguaritaville "
by Jimmy Buffet
"Eye of the Tiger"
by Survivor
"Here I Go Again"
by WhiteSnake
"Just Me"
by The Darkness
"Tune Out"
by The Format
"Nothing Without You"
by Bebo Norman
"Best Friend"
by Toy Box
"Tarzan and Jane"
by Toy Box
"Take it Easy"
by The Eagles
"Lifesong"
by Casting Crowns