WSJ – Streaming, schmeaming! As Apple phases out its last iPod, these die-hards cling to their old-school music players because…well, they have their reasons! [or free via Yahoo] – “…On Tuesday, Apple announced it was officially over the iPod. After more than 20 years of click wheels, play buttons and enough color options to fill a Sherwin-Williams store, the company said the current iPod Touch, first introduced nearly three years ago, is only “available while supplies last.”At this point you likely have one of two reactions:

• “They still make iPods? I remember my first one. The one with the wheel. I took a 50-page book of CDs and fit them all in there.”
• Why, why, why? I love my iPod. It’s so much better than the iPhone, Spotify and all that dumb streaming stuff. UGH!

I have heard a lot of the latter over the past few months. Every Friday in my Tech Things newsletter, I feature a “Throwback Thing,” an old tech product submitted by readers. The most common submission? iPods! And it isn’t just that people have them sitting in their personal tech museums. They still use these old music players in their cars, in their living rooms and on their runs. This lingering devotion makes sense. The iPod and the iTunes music store may have given way to all the smartphones and streaming services so many of us are now stuck on, but that doesn’t mean the newer arrivals are better. In fact, my new friends have me convinced there’s a lot to love about a dedicated music player. So it’s with their sentiments that we send off this beloved and world-changing product…[I listen to my 13 year old iPod every day – it works just fine and the 5,000 songs are from CDs that I own. Those day are actually not over for many of us.]