Dept.: Geek Guide
Tech: Mobile Entertainment
Cost: $100 and up


You have every right to think your car stereo is hot. After all, the dealer said it was the “upgraded” system, with speakers all over the place and a name you actually know on their grills. There’s probably even a screen in the dash.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 5 years, you're aware that digital music has given its listeners unprecedented freedom to manage and move their music. It's also been running roughshod over the music industry (which still hasn't completely stopped blaming digital music for declining CD sales). However, their participation in some of the new digital music ventures gives us hope they're getting hip to the notion that their industry will survive not despite, but because of these advances. Here's a summary of how things looked five minutes ago.