Apple built the iPod around a hard drive small enough to fit in a pocket

science & techWikipedia2001 · USA

Apple built the iPod around a hard drive small enough to fit in a pocket

the gist

When Apple began its MP3 player in 2001, existing players had a trade-off: flash-memory models held too few songs, while hard-drive models were too big and heavy. Apple bought the rights to a small Toshiba hard disk drive it had found in Japan and designed the rest of the device around it, including its screen and battery. Tony Fadell, a former Philips and General Magic engineer, led the team, which finished a prototype within eight months. The iPod was unveiled on October 23, 2001, with a 5 GB drive that Steve Jobs promised would put '1,000 songs in your pocket'.

how it works

Flash memory was cheap and small but could store only a few songs, while the hard drives of the time offered far more space in a bulky body. Apple's solution was to use a compact drive so that a large library fit in a pocket-sized device, with a wheel-based interface for quick navigation.

so what

The iPod turned a capacity problem into a design advantage, and paired the player with an online music store. That combination helped reshape how people bought and carried music.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗