... Donahue had pioneered the walking-and-talking-with -the- mike technique that broke down the physical barriers between host and audience, but it was Oprah who dismantled the emotional barriers. ... in 1998, three years before the iPod, and others followed it. But their difcult interfaces and ddly natures meant they were for geeks only. The iPod, on the other hand, was easy to use, ... Atlantic. The boat, the Virgin Atlantic Challenger, sank, but the publicity did Branson no harm. The following year he broke the record in the Virgin Atlantic Challenger II. The rest of the 1980s were...