Today, the name "MP3" celebrates its tenth anniversary. According to this, on this day back in 1995, the researchers at Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS decided to use ".mp3" as the file name extension for their new audio coding technology. Soon MP3 became the generally accepted acronym for the ISO standard IS 11172-3 "MPEG Audio Layer 3".
Those three characters totally revolutionized the way I listen to music. Back in December 2003 I bought an 80 GB hard drive and began converting my CD collection to MP3. My only regret is I didn't do it sooner. Having my entire collection digitized has resulted in me hearing more music from more albums than ever before. When I'm on the PC, I'm playing these files. When I'm lounging in the living room or dining room, I'm listening to these files on the stereo. When I'm walking or chillaxing on my own, there's my personal MP3 player. My MP3 collection is always close at hand, providing me with the notes that comprise the soundtrack of my life.
Happy Birthday MP3!
