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Compact Disc Turns 30

by Darren Murph on March 9, 2009 at 09:28 AM


We're not quite sure how much related celebrating went on this past weekend, but the iconic Compact Disc managed to hit the big three-oh. The IEEE was credited with presenting its prestigious IEEE Milestone Award to Royal Philips Electronics for its contribution to the development of the CD, and as the story goes, the award coincides with the 30th anniversary of the "historic demonstration of the first CD prototype codenamed 'Pinkeltje' on March 8th, 1979." While many would argue that the CD is on its way out in favor of smaller, highly portable MP3 files, the disc has definitely left a lasting mark on the industry. To date, over 3.5 billion audio CD players have been sold alongside 240 billion discs. Oh, and not to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but what are the chances that we won't be throwing an "over the hill" party for this here format?

[Thanks, Sylva]

Tags: audio, birthday, CD, compact disc, CompactDisc, IEEE, milestone, music, philips, Pinkeltje, sound

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