It seems to go without saying that compactness and neatness are what really make digital music worth pursuing, but if you want to have one more doo-dad to leave on the floor for your dog to choke on, the industry can go that way too. Reuters reports that English piano-pop group Keane will release the UK version of its new single, "Nothing In My Way," along with videos and screensavers, on a 512-megabyte memory stick, which Reuters refers to as a "groundbreaking gizmo," even though it's really just the floppy disc of its time.
Sarah Pearson, at Keane's PR company Wasted Youth, said the memory stick would be a collectors' item.
"It is like a fashion item, in a way," she added.
Yeah, put it over the fireplace and wait for it to self-destruct for copyright reaons or something. Once you grab the files, will the stick be good for anything? Will consumers be allowed to put other stuff on it and actually use it to move files around? At 3.99 British pounds (about $7.50), probably not. So just buy it, if you must, on iTunes, because who the hell needs a Keane screensaver?