A bit of nostalgia meets modern technology here - what would it take to
play an 3 minute mp3 on an old school, card-reading computer?
[[http://www.ypsidixit.com/blog/archives/2005/08/remember_punch.html][This
site]] figures it out.

#+BEGIN_QUOTE
  Assuming a non-Hollerith encoding with eight bits per column, and an
  MP3 file encoded at 128kbps CBR, there would be 36,864 cards in that
  deck, and the card reader would need a throughput of 205 cards per
  second. It might be wise to include an 8-column sequence number,
  however, so that a misordered deck can be repaired by a card sorter;
  with 72 data columns per card, the total is precisely 40,960 cards
  (40K cards), requiring a 228 card/second throughput." The 21 boxes of
  cards needed would by 5 feet 9 inches tall. That such a huge leap in
  technology is well within living memory astonishes Y.
#+END_QUOTE

The increases we've made...astounding.