Finding specific songs and creating custom playlists is simple. Key to this future is a broad set of digital music devices that replace the tape decks, CD players and boom boxes you use today. Walkman-type MP3 players are already popular, and some car stereos are available.
Portable players have limited storage because of the use of costly flash memory.
To solve that problem in the home, music will be stored in a central server on a hard disk. It can also receive Internet radio broadcasts. S3, with its popular Diamond Rio MP3 line, is leading the way in deploying this architecture. Its Rio Receiver, a client device, is available today. This device currently requires a PC as a music server, but S3 plans to market a standalone server this year.