I'm sure this has been asked before... What does "Empeg" mean anyhow?

First of all, it's pronounced as all one word with two syllables. Not e-m-peg, but em-peg.

It is a pun on the name of the file format. The MP3 format is actually the shortened form of the name "MPEG Layer 3 Audio".

MPEG stands for "motion picture experts group", and is usually pronounced "empeg" by everyone who says it out loud. The folks in Cambridge just got clever and decided to trademark the spelling of the common pronunciation. Pretty slick, if you ask me. And it allows other domino-effect puns like "emplode" (pun on empeg-load and "implode" at the same time).

They should label the AC adapter brick "empower". Anyone writing GPS navigation software could name it "empath" (and I want a cut of the royalties, whoever uses that one).

Okay, I'll stop now.

No wait, the remote could be called "emote".

Okay, now I'm done. Pun amongst yourselves...

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Tony Fabris