![]() SoundJam, the company, was eventually bought by Apple in 2000 and whose codes would eventually result in – you guessed it right– iTunes 1.0. x) that same year and called it SoundJam MP. It would take three (3), ex-Apple software engineers, to port it for the Mac (worked well under Mac OS 7. Note that RioPort Audio Manager was a Windows-only interface when it was released. ![]() Released in 1999 for about US$270, the sleek 3.5″ x 2.75″ x 0.6″ gizmo (just slightly thicker than a deck of playing cards) came with 64MB of memory built-in, a SmartMedia card slot for expansion, a minimalistic design, RioPort Audio Manager software and, most importantly, a USB interface. The Diamond Rio 500 Digital Audio Player was one of the early MP3 players that tried vainly to simplify the intricate and sometimes confusing domain of digital music transfer and rights management until Apple’s iTunes hit the jackpot in 2001. This thing still works! The Diamond Rio 500 MP3 Player and its unusual USB cable The unit’s small, rectangular (1.5″ x 0.57″) screen glowed a warm blue hue, and the first track in the playlist appeared. ![]() Excitedly, I put a fresh Duracell AA battery into one of the units and slid the power switch on. They all came complete with odd-looking ( smaller than a standard 5-pin Mini B) USB cables and some old batteries. Among them were five (5) Rio 500 made by Diamond Multimedia in the late 1990s. Sorting out my tech stuff in the attic for spring cleaning, I was surprised to discover a cache of old MP3 players.
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