I use Agent. It's an older version because my machine is old. It
handles UUEncode. I tried upgrading but the newer version ran too
slowly. I think the newer versions handle yDec.

My yDec compiler is a simple DOS-based thing. It runs quickly on this
machine. I join multipart files with Agent and copy them to the
compiler directory. It takes two minutes, at most, to decode several
files. No hassle at all.

I appreciate the offer, but I'm set. I only download occasionally,
when I want specific songs. I have plenty of music.

Not at all. IMO, it's common sense. These little speakers amaze me,
only 40 watts, but they fill the room with sound. It's my second
system of its brand (Altec Lansing).

The previous one lasted over five
years. This one's nearly four years old and going strong. If it quits,
I'll get another. One of these days, I'll go to Radio Shack for a
splitter cable to connect it to the DVD player. It's cheaper to go to
the store than pay shipping on the website. Home-theater system? No,
thanks. What I have will do the same job.

I have a belt-clip CD player. It's only used for audiobooks. I have a
hard time concentrating on long versions of printed matter, even with
prescription bifocals. Audiobooks work, with a headset to avoid
distractions. I like to lay in bed while "reading" or take it to the
park.

have no intention of replacing it. I use it to listen to NPR. If
there's a show I want to hear that my local station doesn't run, I
listen via NPR's online audio stream or download a podcast.

I wanted an MP3 player for years, but they were way beyond my means. I
found an affordable one, self-contained headset, on eBay. Only 512K,
but it suits my purposes. Some folks in my support group listened to
it and said the quality was surprisingly good. The eBay vendor sold
all the units he had and I haven't seen them on the site since. :(
There's no cord to get in the way unless it's charging or being
reloaded via USB. It's perfect for working out, the bus, household
chores or turning up the volume at night. (My subwoofer sometimes
disturbs sleeping neighbors.) Had it for six months. If I get the year
warranty's worth out of it, the useful value will exceed the price. By
then, a decent 1 or 2 GB might within my means, since prices are
finally dropping. I don't trust refurbs.

Good music quality was expensive until the late nineties. When I think
about my 1979 stereo, I shake my head. Almost anything under $1K
sounded like total crap. I consider music a necessity. Most people in
my building are the same and we're all broke. Some don't have TV's,
but they have music. Mostly on computers. :)

->The reason I
->ask is, I asked BTT in Scotland if he had a CD player, contemplating

->him something, and he made fun of me, saying yeah, we even have

->and everything over here!, like the big smartass that he is. Yes, I

->there are CD players in Caledonia, but would it be all that unusual for
->someone to just use their computer and dispense with a conventional CD
->player? I never use my CD players any more.

[middle-finger salute to the guy in Scotland]

I rarely see people carrying CD players. They have MP3 players, or if
they're of modest means, radio headsets. I assume those with computers
play music on them at home. The modest types probably have boomboxes
or use their headsets.

Like you, I rarely listen to music CD's anymore. If I do, it's on the
computer. When a PC component blows up and I have to save to replace
it, my portable player plugs into the sound system, which has its own
power. Like you said, why use anything else?

->>>>>>>>> [huh? yDec? what the hell is that?]
->>>>>>>>> [text-based encoding. better quality and faster downloading.]
->
->Sorry to cut in here, but Baby Jesus has asked me to remind you that the
->notion of "better quality" does not apply to lossless encoding formats.

I think they're better quality than UUEncoded files. So there.