The studio equipment and FM transmitter were manufactured by Mallard Concepts of the U.K. Tragically, the supplier, Martin Allard, passed away before he could travel to Kabul to install the equipment.

UNESCO: Communication and Information

While many of the world's most opulent villas lure guests with an array of cool toys (and we do mean cool -- how does recording studio equipment once used by John Lennon sound?), others deal in what may be the most coveted holiday-home currency: privacy.

CNN: Five of the world's most opulent villas

Renee Klosterman, acting multimedia services manager at Washington's DIS, said her state's commitment to video technology is proven by a special Interactive Technologies Division within DIS, a mature videoconferencing system and a satellite TV studio that has all the cameras, production equipment and personnel needed to produce broadcast-quality video.

CNN: Coming to a local Government site near you: Live video

Over the past eight years Steve has been contributing to the show from Beijing where he works for the British Council, popping back every now and then to caress the equipment in the BBC Radio Lancashire's Blackburn based studio he has known and loved for years.

BBC: Lancashire - On the Wire celebrates 25 years

The rise and fall of Napster, the dawn of digital, and the ubiquity of high-standard equipment that allows artists to produce without relying on an established (and expensive) recording studio or major label backing, have led to a revolution in the industry in just a few short decades.

FORBES: Lemaitre: The Business Of A Band Today