|
BattleMaster posted:How did that 8 year old girl know what it was, and by its proper name too Yeah, and now I feel weird. I didn't know what a Walkman was until about high school, and have never owned one. I'm 23.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 15:44 |
|
|
# ? Apr 18, 2024 13:05 |
|
stealie72 posted:"Daddy, how come Dakota and Raine have ipods and I have this stupid old boring walkman thing?" I was mostly talking about the before school era. "Gotta run some errands but if you're good at the grocery store we'll go thrifting!" (We would go thrifting regardless.)
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 16:10 |
|
stealie72 posted:At least you can put the latest lovely pop band's hits on that. If only you could make your own tapes with a mix of songs you wanted...
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 16:13 |
|
Speaking of Walkmans, I just found one of these in a old box not to long ago.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 16:19 |
|
Fors Yard posted:If only you could make your own tapes with a mix of songs you wanted... How many of us, posting in a thread about obscure technology and actually interested in this stuff, honestly have the ability to do that right now? A cassette deck, blank (or record-over-able) tapes, and the ability to play an mp3 into the recording side of said setup.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 16:27 |
|
I guarantee you can go to Big Lots or something and get a kid a 4 gb mp3 player for like half what my old tape and radio walkman cost. Also I LOVED going through my parents' records and picking out ones to play pretty much based on what was on the album cover. One standout result: Time Passages by Al Stewart
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 16:44 |
|
stealie72 posted:How many of us, posting in a thread about obscure technology and actually interested in this stuff, honestly have the ability to do that right now? A cassette deck, blank (or record-over-able) tapes, and the ability to play an mp3 into the recording side of said setup. Probably a lot of people. None of what you just outlined is rare or complicated.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 17:00 |
|
ElwoodCuse posted:Also I LOVED going through my parents' records and picking out ones to play pretty much based on what was on the album cover. One standout result: Time Passages by Al Stewart I love Herb Alpert, and playing Whipped Cream and Other Delights when company is over always gets some interesting looks.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 17:03 |
|
stealie72 posted:How many of us, posting in a thread about obscure technology and actually interested in this stuff, honestly have the ability to do that right now? A cassette deck, blank (or record-over-able) tapes, and the ability to play an mp3 into the recording side of said setup. Don't know what it's like in the US but speaking as someone in his late twenties in the UK our stereo (and all my friends stereos) have tape decks and have line ins. The tape decks are never used, mind you. We're all using ten year old gear but if it ain't broke...
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 17:14 |
|
DNova posted:Probably a lot of people. None of what you just outlined is rare or complicated. I know it's not complicated. It's also super easy to type up a letter on a typewriter. My point was asking who the hell has a cassette deck anymore? :-) As nerdy as I am about old technology, I am super glad about the death of physical media for entertainment.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 17:15 |
|
Hah, you guys and your modern CRT televisions. I do NOT enjoy moving this thing, hence the carpet square it more or less lives on.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 17:42 |
|
A lot of people (myself included) put their old stereos in the garage to listen to when doing work out there. Usually they still have a tape deck. Its the same concept as making a beer fridge when you buy a new fridge for the kitchen.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 17:44 |
|
Cat Hatter posted:A lot of people (myself included) put their old stereos in the garage to listen to when doing work out there. Usually they still have a tape deck. Its the same concept as making a beer fridge when you buy a new fridge for the kitchen. My parents used to have one of those old frigidares with the handle that's also a latch for the beer fridge, thing must have been 40 years old and still ran like a champ Until a power surge killed it.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 18:17 |
|
They have one of those kids videos about rotary phones and it's almost as much fun to watch. At one point they ask the kids how to make a call and one says something like "I don't know I wasn't born in the forties." Going to go home and plug my '54 AE 80 in. I love rotary phones. Dick Trauma has a new favorite as of 19:05 on Apr 18, 2014 |
# ? Apr 18, 2014 19:03 |
|
Rotary phones are the best, dialing a number is super satisfying. Shame they don't work with digital menus and whatnot.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 19:10 |
Shame you end up never again talking to anyone with a bunch of 9s in their number because gently caress YOU.
|
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 19:18 |
|
Disgusting Coward posted:Shame you end up never again talking to anyone with a bunch of 9s in their number because gently caress YOU.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 19:20 |
|
stealie72 posted:Hey, the entire area code system is based on just how goddamn long that 0 takes to dial. Ssssssuck it, Alaska!
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 19:22 |
|
Krispy Kareem posted:GE is a really lovely company. Back in 2007 they were financing their day-to-day expenses with corporate paper (short term loans) instead of keeping a reasonable amount of cash in the bank. Then the corporate paper market disappeared overnight due to the Lehmann Brothers collapse. Suddenly GE didn't even have enough money for it's own payroll. If not for the Fed agreeing to buy all of it's corporate paper they would have gone bankrupt. Okay as someone who actually works with this stuff I'm gonna stop you right there and say you're wrong. Almost every large business finances itself with paper because keeping mountains of cash around is pointless when you can get a basis point or two making a short loan. You set up a 24 hour (or week or other extremely short time frame) loan, use the interest to fund your operating expenses and roll the loan over again. In a financial free-fall when people were wondering whether or not people would open for business the next morning the rates on paper climbed to the point that companies weren't able to roll the loan over. You also had some people not paying back these short term loans because their assets all went to poo poo. This is a problem. Additionally, the Fed buying paper did nothing, it was really the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program the FDIC ran that insured commercial paper that saved the market. And the FDIC made a pretty penny on that deal for the taxpayer. All the data is on their website if you ever want to see how the financial system got saved and how much money the US government made doing it. edit: links: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/TLGP/index.html The FDIC posted:On October 14, 2008, as part of a coordinated response by the U.S. government to the disruption in the financial system and the collapse of credit markets, the FDIC implemented the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP). By calming market fears and encouraging lending, the TLGP helped bring stability to financial markets and the banking industry during the crisis period. The TLGP consisted of two components: (1) the Transaction Account Guarantee Program (TAGP), an FDIC guarantee in full of noninterest-bearing transaction accounts; and (2) the Debt Guarantee Program (DGP), an FDIC guarantee of certain newly issued senior unsecured debt. Only 6 default events and a total return of $9.3B to the FDIC's funds. Not a bad return for saving the economy. The was then used to help replenish the Deposit Insurance Fund, which is what the FDIC uses instead of tax money to resolve failed banks. axeil has a new favorite as of 19:38 on Apr 18, 2014 |
# ? Apr 18, 2014 19:26 |
|
Disgusting Coward posted:Shame you end up never again talking to anyone with a bunch of 9s in their number because gently caress YOU. And gently caress trying to win radio contests.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 22:19 |
|
MA-Horus posted:My parents used to have one of those old frigidares with the handle that's also a latch for the beer fridge, thing must have been 40 years old and still ran like a champ I got a flyer from the local power company offering $200 and free pickup to anyone who turn in a working "garage fridge." Style obsolete by inefficiency.
|
# ? Apr 18, 2014 22:31 |
|
Mister Kingdom posted:And gently caress trying to win radio contests. Are radio contests still a thing? I can't imagine anyone listening to a radio these days unless they're in a car, and it's not like you're going to be dialing a phone while driving.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 00:02 |
|
Ensign Expendable posted:Are radio contests still a thing? I can't imagine anyone listening to a radio these days unless they're in a car, and it's not like you're going to be dialing a phone while driving. You'd be surprised. Simply dialing would probably be 10x safer than what a lot of people do when driving these days.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 00:06 |
|
People still listen to radio in the car, if they work for a businesses that isn't big enough to have its own corporate radio station, and people doing housework or in the garage. Car listeners can safely call in with a hands-free device or if stuck in traffic (or they can just use their phone like most people do even though they shouldn't). Some people, like my dad, have the radio contest number saved in their phone so they can just tell their phone to dial the number while they get ready in the morning or whatever.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 00:12 |
|
Dick Trauma posted:Ssssssuck it, Alaska! Suck it Inland Empire (909)
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 00:13 |
|
DNova posted:Probably a lot of people. None of what you just outlined is rare or complicated. The only things I play music out of anymore are my computer, my phone, and my car. If I want to do housework, I already have wireless headphones that reach everywhere in the house. I have no way to play the tapes I still have or to make new ones if I wanted to. The last thing I had that could even play tapes was my old Saturn Vue and even then the tape deck was solely used for the audio-in converter thing. I would be getting my kids the cheapest MP3 player I could find and let them know if they break it then they're just hosed. It would be cheaper in the long run too when you factor in buying blank tapes, equipment to make new tapes, and all the batteries they'll burn listening to a walkman.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 02:58 |
|
EatMySpork posted:Speaking of Walkmans, I just found one of these in a old box not to long ago. I used to have exactly this. It was the greatest thing. I was born in 88 so I grew up mostly in the age of CDs, but I used to play some of my parents' tapes on it. I made a couple of incredibly horrible recordings to these kinds of tapes once. I wish I still had one, it would be a neat little lo-fi box.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 03:20 |
|
strangemusic posted:I used to have exactly this. It was the greatest thing. I was born in 88 so I grew up mostly in the age of CDs, but I used to play some of my parents' tapes on it. I made a couple of incredibly horrible recordings to these kinds of tapes once. I wish I still had one, it would be a neat little lo-fi box. I used a fairly modern version of the Walkman ($20 about 6-7 years ago) to transfer some tapes to my computer. Pretty decent sound considering.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 03:27 |
|
Those of you waxing lyrical about cassette tapes being the perfect thing for kids are sorely forgetting the fine art of winding one back together after a bored kid's pulled it all out. You can pretty much buy a knock off brand for $20 off ebay and be somewhat rest assured when your kid drops it in the sink or tries to microwave it. It's kind of amusing reading back through the Walkman's history and design as it had perfected getting the player down to being roughly the size of a cassette, only for CD players to boom in with their chunky designs. And this feature which surprisingly hung around for a few years until the model became cheap.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 03:54 |
|
WebDog posted:It's kind of amusing reading back through the Walkman's history and design as it had perfected getting the player down to being roughly the size of a cassette, only for CD players to boom in with their chunky designs. You aren't kidding about chunky. My first CD player was a Sony D-5, their first-gen portable. It ran on four "C" cells and instead of putting the battery pack inside the player, you put the player inside the battery pack.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 04:19 |
|
Ensign Expendable posted:Rotary phones are the best, dialing a number is super satisfying. Shame they don't work with digital menus and whatnot. You can buy an inexpensive gizmo which is installed inside your rotary phone and converts it to touch tone for use with digital menus. It even adds speed dial and last number redial! I love that someone went to the effort to design and manufacture such a thing. It's quite smart - it adds no buttons, you send it commands through the existing rotary dial by holding numbers against the finger stop until it bleeps.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 04:21 |
|
The first Sony Discman was actually an attempt to miniaturize their fully fledged CD player. But if you wanted to take the D-50 for a walk you had to bring along one of the few rechargeable battery packs. This was well before they had any sort of track buffering so you were limited to a slow careful walk or sitting everywhere. Keep in mind with that design idea, you eventually had things like the D-350 with it's ability to directly punch in track numbers and cram in as much electronic wizardry as possible. There even was the D-Z555 model which shoved in an impressive amount of DSP and oversampling effects into one unit. It pretty much was a very very expensive showcase of what could be possible. Aware of size Sony eventually came up with the D88. Which also played the new Mini-CDs. By the end of the Discman's peak in 2003, stuff like the D-EJ885 pretty much had perfected all the quirks with CD playback, such as skip with two forms of buffering and a battery life of 110 hours. Not to mention being one of the most attractive ever, with it's controls and displays being relegated to a cable remote. It was the last of the Luxury brands that Sony offered for portable music. But for all it's paring down of weight it suffered with flat audio output.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 05:11 |
|
I have to use a fax machine at least every other day at work. I literally just mash buttons until something happens. Why do people still use these gigantic paperweights? WebDog posted:Aware of size Sony eventually came up with the D88. Which also played the new Mini-CDs. How does this even work? Does the CD actually stick out of it like that and spin exposed during playback like a plastic buzzsaw? Captain Trips has a new favorite as of 05:21 on Apr 19, 2014 |
# ? Apr 19, 2014 05:19 |
|
Captain Trips posted:I have to use a fax machine at least every other day at work. I literally just mash buttons until something happens. Ugh fax machines I do phone support for a major tire manufacturer's retail stores so we inevitably end up fielding "our fax machine from 1994/bargain basement level all-in-one printer with fax capability isn't working" calls. Upper management has already decreed that they aren't supporting fax machines anymore, but the stores inevitably have a sob story about why they can't use the e-fax service provided by corporate - typically "we do business with whatever government agency and need a standalone fax machine."
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 05:25 |
|
Captain Trips posted:How does this even work? Does the CD actually stick out of it like that and spin exposed during playback like a plastic buzzsaw? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG2SARYVYn4 Yup. Utterly impractical if you wanted to take it anywhere unless you had a mini-cd which would fit inside the housing.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 05:25 |
|
I used to have some kind of Sony portable CD player with that weird "W" logo on it they started using around the early 2000s. Listened to the hell out of Weird Al and the Digimon movie soundtrack on it.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 05:32 |
|
For folks who want their kids to have cassette players, they also make an MP3 Audio Cassette so they can have the best of both worlds. I guess the notion was it worked along the same lines as the cassette adapters for your car, but it was essentially an MP3 player built in so you didn't actually hook anything into it. http://www.amazon.com/Music-Player-...cassette+player
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 06:20 |
|
I had the best cassette player, received as a gift in the 5th grade Secret Santa exchanged: This was at a time when portable CD players existed but neither I nor anyone I knew had one, so cassette players were cheap and not totally useless. I used this while mowing the lawn, then got something like this for $5 at the county fair and switched to glorious FM radio: It was a bitch to tune; it had a little flippy door like that, but didn't have a tuner knob. Instead, you tuned by pressing tiny little buttons under the cover. The battery lasted forever, though, it was so small and light you could easily forget about it, and I could listen to Science Friday while I mowed the lawn.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 08:35 |
|
MA-Horus posted:My parents used to have one of those old frigidares with the handle that's also a latch for the beer fridge, thing must have been 40 years old and still ran like a champ My grandmother has an ancient Kelvinator fridge on her back porch. I have no idea of its age, as the one inside the house has been there my whole life. The interior is a sea green, so I'm guessing 1950s-60s. This is the sticker on the back of it:
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 08:40 |
|
|
# ? Apr 18, 2024 13:05 |
|
That old Kelvinator appears to be from at least 1961 - going by an ad in the Kansas City Times. I know of someone who's ancient outdoor beer fridge is something slightly older and is lined with blue asbestos. Perfectly safe unless you do something like break it apart. Blue asbestos is far far finer than the regular stuff and the company who likely supplied this fridge (Hardie) was settled to the nines over the lack of worker safety as they would just get coated in the stuff.
|
# ? Apr 19, 2014 08:53 |