Just got back from another out of town jaunt, and am trying to catch up on email. This one was sent to another list I am on, and I thought people here would appreciate it. See below. Jay --- August 01, 2005 "Remember 80-column punch cards? "Just think of the concept--the data is made up out of thin air! The card is just there to organize the holes" How many cards would it take to encode a 3-minute mp3? Answer: "Assuming a non-Hollerith encoding with eight bits per column, and an MP3 file encoded at 128kbps CBR, there would be 36,864 cards in that deck, and the card reader would need a throughput of 205 cards per second. It might be wise to include an 8-column sequence number, however, so that a misordered deck can be repaired by a card sorter; with 72 data columns per card, the total is precisely 40,960 cards (40K cards), requiring a 228 card/second throughput." The 21 boxes of cards needed would by 5 feet 9 inches tall. That such a huge leap in technology is well within living memory is astonishing.