Filed under: Features, Misc. GadgetsEach week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment.
Before MP3 players, CD burning and even the Mini-Disc, there was the analog mix tape. Patient proto-playlist creators would wait as a needle hovered over vinyl, descending into a groove that would cue the synchronized pressing of 'Record" and "Play" buttons. The truly determined would wait eagerly by a cassette-recording boombox, hoping to catch a telltale chord or DJ introduction to songs now offered on "FM gold" compilations. Terrestrial radio recording has faded in the po
