Since I was a kid, I have fantasised about a device which has access to a very large music library and can play music endlessly.

In the 60's, it would have been a very large jukebox, capable of handling LP's.  All functions would have to be achieved electro-mechanically.  Selecting a specific track on an LP and being able to handle different record sizes and speeds automatically would have been a major challenge.  It would probably have occupied an entire room!  The cost, design and construction of such a machine would have been prohibitive.

In the 70's, the only realistic option was to compile music collections on reel-to-reel or cassette tape.  It became common practice to freely share music tapes with friends - long before the Internet.  With the rise of CD's, CD jukeboxes became a reality but they still had clumsy mechanics and were prohibitively expensive for normal users.

When the first home computers with sound cards capable of recording to hard disk became available, I began to get excited!  It took a while before they got big enough to handle large amounts of music.  Finally my dream has come true!  I can now play music all day, without ever having to physically handle the media.  I don't miss having to tip-toe around so as not to disturb the turntable or watching my guests like a hawk to make sure they don't scratch my records or leave their filthy fingerprints on them!

Now it is easy to create music playlists.  Add to that the possibility of automated playlist creation and sophisticated cross-fading between tracks and virtually any home computer can become the ultimate music player.  Add a graphics card capable of handling HD video, a CD/DVD/Blu-ray drive and a TV tuner card - you have a versatile smart TV and entertainment system.