Thanks to some moronic Jamaican and Canadian drug smugglers, the 1979 moustache patrol cracked down hard on LPs that had the rare distinction of being certified “pot.”

Gizmodo ‘79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analogue age gave way to the digital, and most of our favourite toys were just being born.

ION LP 2 FLASH TURNTABLE WITH USB, FLASH NOW SHIPPING

USB Turntable with Advanced MP3 Features Available For Purchase

Cumberland, R.I. (Aug. 18, 2008) – ION (www.ionaudio.com), a leader in consumer audio and entertainment technology, announces that it is now shipping its

LP 2 FLASH turntable, which records vinyl records directly to USB thumb drives, SD cards and computers.

LP 2 FLASH is a fully functional turntable with line level output, allowing it to be easily integrated into any home stereo system. In addition to playing records, LP 2 FLASH converts vinyl to portable, flexible MP3 files. With LP 2 FLASH, users can convert their music for playback on a computer, use their computer to create audio CDs for play in their car or take their music anywhere on an iPod or other MP3 player.

LP 2 FLASH captures the user’s vinyl records directly onto an SD card, USB thumb drive or USB hard drive, with no computer required. Users simply connect their USB device to the port on LP 2 FLASH, or insert an SD card into LP 2 FLASH’s front-panel slot. LP 2 FLASH automatically turns records into an individual track per song, so users aren’t required to stand by to manually separate albums.

Removable media devices can then be connected to the user’s Mac or PC, and imported into iTunes automatically using the included EZ Vinyl Converter (PC) or EZ Audio Converter (Mac) software. Pops, crackles, and hiss on worn records can be minimized using the included Audacity editing software. Users can also connect LP 2 FLASH directly to their computer.

LP 2 FLASH has a front-panel input jack enabling users to convert other music sources such as cassette tapes, MiniDiscs and eight-tracks. The advanced turntable makes better-than-CD quality recordings at high-resolution sample rates up to 192kHz.

“LP 2 FLASH is the culmination of our efforts in turntable innovation,” said Gregg Stein, Director of Marketing, ION. “Not only is it a fantastic analogue turntable, it empowers anyone, regardless of technical level, to update their old music to today’s portable, flexible formats and enjoy it anywhere: on cell phone, iPod, MP3 player, computer or in the car.”

LP 2 FLASH is available in United Kingdom.

iPod and iTunes are trademarks of Apple, Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries.

[ION Audio via Slashgear]