They don't make 'em to last any more. Well, in truth, capitalism never intended any product to last forever; making things that never need replacing is after all a lousy business strategy. While that may be understandable, one of the more insidious tricks of capitalism is to get consumers to indulge in self-imposed obsolescence. Products that still get the job done are shunned simply because something shinier is in the shop window. One of the great examples of this mass shopping psychosis is the murder of records by the CD. While the shiny discs unquestionably have the edge on the black Frisbees in terms of durability, the old LP record is still a viable music producer. It's just not digital. Unfortunately, keeping your records turning is a task beyond almost all of us, the nimble fingers of DJs being a notable exception. Traditionally, this has meant tossing out years of record collecting and rebuilding your music library from scratch. TEAC offers an alternative with its admittedly rather stodgy-looking GF-650. Basically this is a CD burner that allows you to copy your records straight onto the upstart digital discs. It comes out this month with a price tag of ¥83,790. The songs must go on.

Teaching old tape new tricks: If vinyl is the poor cousin to CDs, then cassette tapes must be the doting grandparent consigned to a retirement home. South Korean outfit BTO is helping the venerable tape cross the information superhighway with its new PlusDeckEX. This latest permutation of the PlusDeck series again allows you to copy music back and forth between your PC and tape. But this one is an external USB version and includes another analog dinosaur, the AM/FM radio tuner. Details, in several languages, are available at www.plusdeck.co.kr/

Twisted fun: Yankodesign is giving the concept of having power at your fingertips a neat twist. The iRing is a ring that serves as a remote control for your iPod. It looks like an Apple accessory with its blue apple sign sitting in the middle of a white or black ring, each with gray edges. But with its Bluetooth ability it provides you with such basic controls as play, pause and volume up and down, all with a twist of the ring or push of a button. The battery lasts for two days at a time. More information is available at www.yankodesign.com/index.php/2007/09/04/iring-controls-your-ipod.