The twentieth century saw how technology could change the way people do things. Avid magazine readers are slowly trading the glossy pages of their reading materials for colorful websites. People who used to flock to movie houses now buy dozens of DVDs and several buckets of popcorn for a more intimate movie experience in their home theaters.

Just when you think the changes stop there, you will be even more astounded at how people listen to music nowadays. The sales of audio CDs are consistently plunging every year as people find it more convenient to simply download their music for free. Logically, there are very few reasons why an individual should buy a CD and none of those reasons are practical.

The only drawback of listening to mp3’s is the stiff pricing of portable mp3 players. Oh boy, these devices are expensive. Even the shabbiest models are worth more than most people are willing to spend. So is it really possible to buy such an item without worrying about its price tag? Do not worry. It is very much possible as long as you bring a dash of resourcefulness and your computer savvy along.

Portable mp3 players are composed of intricate programs that act as fast online databases for songs. This function is similar to music playing software such as iTunes and Windows Media Player. Most mp3 playing programs are pretty fast and can support well over a thousand songs.

Making these programs takes months of extensive development and of course, you don’t need to go through that whole deal to build a makeshift mp3 player. All you need is your laptop computer and a sizable external hard drive if you plan to listen to a ton of songs for the entire day.

Start things off by downloading free mp3 playing software over the internet. There are hundreds of these programs given the current popularity of the iPod and iTunes. Just search for it using a reputable search engine and you will be treated to a lot of websites offering free software. Before grabbing the software, you can visit a few online forums to get an idea on how it performs. You will know what to download at that point.

Once you download mp3 playing software, you can instantly play your mp3s. Newer laptop computer models are known for their humongous storage capacities, but saving space for new programs and other applications is highly advisable. A single mp3 is a relatively large file and a few hundred mp3s might take up too much space in your laptop.

You can transfer all your mp3s to an external hard drive then hook it up to your laptop. Plug-in a pair of good earphones and you’re ready to go places with an mp3 player substitute that is more powerful than most of the mp3 players in circulation.

Of course, bringing along a laptop can be quite taxing, but then again, your direct advantage is the free Wi-Fi offered by coffee shops and other commercial establishments. You can download new songs at the push of a few buttons if ever you get tired of your collection. You can even download the videos of each song to enhance your listening experience. Besides, most laptops nowadays are small and light, perfect for travel just like portable mp3 players.

To tell you the truth, there are prototypes of makeshift portable mp3 players made by technologically-savvy individuals, but none of these are really durable enough to withstand the toils of daily travel. They are just like laminated motherboards with an LCD screen stuck in front. Surely, they will not survive if they were inserted in the pockets of jeans or in a handbag.

So what’s the use? Until someone has actually figured out how to create a makeshift iPod, better stick it out with your laptop.