I love ads of this period. They all Sound like they were dictated by a mustached man in a courdory jacket, standing with one foot on a table, elbow on knee. Come to think of it (which is the kind of phrase Mustache Man would like), I don’t think I have seen this many words in an ad in my adult life. Excluding pharmaceutical ads.
Warning: all people who used the VideoDisc System are either dead or will one day die. Coincidence?
This post would not be complete without mentioning that my most faithful reader illustrated the Airplane poster, a small corner of which is featured in this picture. He also happens to be the owner of a very fine mustache. I leave you with that thought. And also with a reminder that “the great catalog of RCA VideoDiscs contains more than 130 great movies, classics, concerts or shows.” .
For sale on Etsy: Notebook made from cards from library card catalogs. Question: Have these listings been digitized or do the books themselves no longer exist?
ONE Random Library Card Catalog Notepad by chicalookate on Etsy
The Tape Glove
“This interactive sound installation explores the idea of re-appropriating analogue tape for use as an instrument. A tangible user interface, taking the form of a glove is worn by the participant as they are invited to interact with an analogue tape surface. This piece intends to explore the somewhat obsolete medium of tape through a playful and sonically interesting
experience. The glove itself has two tape-heads embedded into the index and middle finger, which allows for user interaction
with the “tape surface”. Hundreds of vertically aligned strips of magnetic tape make up the surface, which is comprised
of audio material taken from a variety of cassette tapes. As the glove comes in contact with the tape, a sound is generated and can then be manipulated via the participants hand movement. Each movement can effect both the pitch and the tone of the resultant sound, allowing the user to essentially play the tape as an instrument.”
Analogue Tape Glove v1 (by Signal to Noise via cassettetapes.net)
Retroist Access Monday (RAM) – Apple II
- The first Apple II computers went on sale on June 5, 1977.
- The Apple II has MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor running at 1 MHz, 4 kB of RAM, an audio cassette interface for loading programs and storing data, and the Integer BASIC programming language built into the ROMs.
- The video controller displayed 24 lines by 40 columns of monochrome, upper-case-only text on the screen, with NTSC composite video output suitable for display on a TV monitor, or on a regular TV set by way of a separate RF modulator.
- The original retail price of the computer was US$1298 (with 4 kB of RAM) and US$2638 (with the maximum 48 kB of RAM).
- To reflect the computer’s color graphics capability, the Apple logo on the casing was represented using rainbow stripes, which remained a part of Apple’s corporate logo until early 1998.
![thedailywhat:
Buy This: Dadahack’s TAP3 is half audio cassette, half MP3 player, and half bad at math.
Add songs via USB. Plug in your headphones to use as a portable media player. Stick the TAP3 into a standard tape deck to use as an ordinary cassette.
Click here to watch the TAP3 in action.
[thedesignblog.]](http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l1ld5jWCzj1qzpwi0o1_500.jpg)
Buy This: Dadahack’s TAP3 is half audio cassette, half MP3 player, and half bad at math.
Add songs via USB. Plug in your headphones to use as a portable media player. Stick the TAP3 into a standard tape deck to use as an ordinary cassette.
Click here to watch the TAP3 in action.
Yesterday’s “What was the use” contest has a winner! @RogerHoward. Mr. Howard, email me your mailing address and I’ll send you a copy of Obsolete.
He guessed correctly: It is a bathroom scale. And it’s for sale! Check out Etsy’s Fishbone Deco shop.
Other noteworthy guesses posited that it was an early model T Roomba which could, in a pinch, scrape dead skin from your feet or double as a desk bell. That, or a mid-20th century vibrator.
I’m starting a periodic contest: Called “What was the use?” Free copy of OBSOLETE to the first person who reblogs or retweets this with the correct guess of what this object was for! (In Twitter, include the link http://bit.ly/obsco1). I’ll also consider answers that simply amuse me. Hey, it’s my site.
People are so darn emotional about the iPhones today. Way back when, those kinds of feelings were reserved for typewriters.
This little gem of a personal essay that ran in The New York Times in 1915.
Finally!
Thanks to David Raileanu for passing this along.
Boys and girls: back before cells, phones had receivers attached by cords. Some receivers had red afros. (via deleteyourself)
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MEET THE AUTHOR
Anna Grossman is writing this bio in the third person. She is a New York-based freelance writer specializing in lifestyle and entertainment features. She is 5'7" and has been described as "nice." Su esposo, Jesus, enseñandola Espanol. Email her if you feel like it: GrossmanAJ@Gmail.com
MEET THE ILLUSTRATOR
James Gulliver Hancock is an internationally acclaimed artist who crosses as many mediums as he does borders. James is constantly on the move, having been involved in artist projects and residencies in Indonesia, Austria, France, the U.K. and America. He is currently located in Los Angeles and works on projects in Europe, America and Australia. His work is as varied as his travels, encompassing editorial illustration for magazines, commissions for music group artwork and animations, work with disabled children on logo designs, creating gigantic set illustrations for performances and TV.
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CONTACT: ObsoleteTheBook@ Gmail.com. Because books love to check email.
FOR PRESS OR SPEAKING INQUIRIES: email Jessica Alter
