A device to load vinyl LPs into a PC

Here's the rub - there's no way to tell what you just recorded. The voice memos are identified by date and time only. Also, the relatively uncompressed wave files the iPod creates are about 10 times larger than similar MP3 music files.

The good news: When you sync the iPod with iTunes on your computer, it will automatically upload new voice memos to the PC. Once they've arrived, you can convert them to MP3s and enter the album, artist and track menus manually.

Bottom line: Converting vinyl LPs still takes lots of time, concentration and tweaking - but the Ion LPDock produces decent-quality digital files with minimal hassle. Just remember that they probably won't sound as good as you thought they sounded 30 years ago.

And yes, the iPod feature is cute, but not particularly useful by itself. You can save money and get the same recording quality with a less expensive USB model. Visit www.ion-audio.com.

Final note: Thanks to our good friend Janis, whose vinyl saved me from disaster.

When I got ready to test the LPDock, the boxes of LPs I had dragged around for decades had disappeared. My wife denied throwing them out and said I must have done it in 2005 when we moved. How could I have done something that drastic and not remembered it?

"You're old," she said.

mike.himowitz@baltsun.com