BEATLES CATALOG ON A USB KEY

What do you get a guy who's probably seen every gadget imaginable? If he's a music fiend like Dan Ackerman, try a USB device packed with tracks by the Fab Four.

This USB key brimming with Beatles songs made CNET editor Dan Ackerman very happy.

Every day this week, a different CNET writer or editor will recall a tech or geek-centric present that left a mark. Read past stories by Eric Mack, Jeff Sparkman, and Jay Greene, and look for another installment tomorrow at midnight PT.

Maybe it's because I'm surrounded by this stuff every day, but traditional technology gifts tend to leave me cold. Even the memories of unwrapping game consoles or that first yellow Sports model Sony Walkman don't stand out in a best-gift-ever sort of way.

Instead, I turn to a more recent holiday gift, one that combines technology and art, importantly using the former in service of the latter.

In 2009, right on the heels of a pair of remastered CD box sets, the entire Beatles catalog was officially released for the first time in a digital format, but not as one might expect from iTunes or another digital download store. Instead, this was in the form of a limited-edition 16GB USB key in the shape of an apple (the Beatles finally did come to iTunes in 2010).

The 16GB USB key, tucked under the metal stem of the green-apple base, contained the 14 official Beatles releases in both 320Kbps MP3 format and, more importantly, 44.1KHz/24-bit FLAC format. FLAC is a lossless audio codec, so at least in theory, it's the best possible commercially available reproduction of the source material.

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