Snake oil

[Feanor]

Back to ancient technoloby - what was so special about Zip Discs? - I've got a Zip Drive and a few Zip Disks stored away, but can't remember why.

They had a significantly higher capacity than floppy disks.

But at a cost: they were prone to become WOM (Write-Only Memory).

[Beardy]

Back to ancient technoloby - what was so special about Zip Discs? - I've got a Zip Drive and a few Zip Disks stored away, but can't remember why.

They had a significantly higher capacity than floppy disks.

But at a cost: they were prone to become WOM (Write-Only Memory).

Is it possible to confirm WOM? Asking for a friend. 

[Kim]

Back to ancient technoloby - what was so special about Zip Discs? - I've got a Zip Drive and a few Zip Disks stored away, but can't remember why.

They had a significantly higher capacity than floppy disks.

But at a cost: they were prone to become WOM (Write-Only Memory).

Is it possible to confirm WOM? Asking for a friend. 

My write-only memory story involves an EPROM (of the UV-erasable variety, with the little window onto the die) doing a surprisingly prolonged impression of a light bulb.

[Jurek]

I haz a mini-disc player which I bought about 2 months before the first iPod hit the shops. 
I also haz a Sony 3-head cassette deck, which has Dolby S. (And B & C)

[quixoticgeek]

With my first ever pay packet, aged 16, sometime towards the end of the last millennium, I bought myself a portable mini disk player. I used it to listen to music on my cycle commute to work. I think I still have it in a box... somewhere...

J

[Cudzoziemiec]

Does anyone ever remember a 16 rpm record? All the record players of my childhood had 78, 45, 33 1/3 and 16 settings.

My parents had that record player! They also had some 78s from my mum's childhood but I'm not sure I remember any 16s.

[Cudzoziemiec]

With my first ever pay packet, aged 16, sometime towards the end of the last millennium, I bought myself a portable mini disk player. I used it to listen to music on my cycle commute to work. I think I still have it in a box... somewhere...

J

That's a whole new thread! What did you do with your first pay packet?

[Jurek]

With my first ever pay packet, aged 16, sometime towards the end of the last millennium, I bought myself a portable mini disk player. I used it to listen to music on my cycle commute to work. I think I still have it in a box... somewhere...

J

I've just dug mine out, strapped a single AA to it and Bingo! It works! Buddah Bar II on my 'phones 

I'm having lunch with friends shortly. I'll take it with me to show their 17yo daughter. It'll freak her out.
I'm also taking the tape deck with me, as they have a load of cassette tapes, which they want to check for serviceability, and they've killed their own tape deck.
Their VW Passat estate has a tape deck in it. Which gives you an idea that their car was built when they still made them properly.

[SteveC]

Does anyone ever remember a 16 rpm record? All the record players of my childhood had 78, 45, 33 1/3 and 16 settings.

My parents had that record player! They also had some 78s from my mum's childhood but I'm not sure I remember any 16s.

We had quite a few 78s. I remember breaking a copy of White Christmas.

[graculus]

Does anyone ever remember a 16 rpm record? All the record players of my childhood had 78, 45, 33 1/3 and 16 settings.

My parents had that record player! They also had some 78s from my mum's childhood but I'm not sure I remember any 16s.

We had quite a few 78s. I remember breaking a copy of White Christmas.

No jury would convict

[Gattopardo]

With my first ever pay packet, aged 16, sometime towards the end of the last millennium, I bought myself a portable mini disk player. I used it to listen to music on my cycle commute to work. I think I still have it in a box... somewhere...

J

From that comment I can gauge how old you are.....younger than me

[frankly frankie]

Whatever those skookum Gram decks were that the Beeb put into nice wooden cabinets with rotary fader start - EMT, I think

You mean the one with the parallel tracking arm(s) and the tracking weight measurable in lbs ?  They were 78rpm only, I think they might have been before your time.

Otari MTR99 24 track

We had a Studer A800 8-track before that Otari came along and elbowed it out.  Much nicer machine.

[MikeFromLFE]

With my first ever pay packet, aged 16, sometime towards the end of the last millennium, I bought myself a portable mini disk player. I used it to listen to music on my cycle commute to work. I think I still have it in a box... somewhere...

J

That's a whole new thread! What did you do with your first pay packet?

A battery powered slide viewer
I think I might still have it.
Don't know how much it cost, but I know my first month's pay was £63

[Jurek]

With my first ever pay packet, aged 16, sometime towards the end of the last millennium, I bought myself a portable mini disk player. I used it to listen to music on my cycle commute to work. I think I still have it in a box... somewhere...

J

I've just dug mine out, strapped a single AA to it and Bingo! It works! Buddah Bar II on my 'phones 

I'm having lunch with friends shortly. I'll take it with me to show their 17yo daughter. It'll freak her out.
I'm also taking the tape deck with me, as they have a load of cassette tapes, which they want to check for serviceability, and they've killed their own tape deck.
Their VW Passat estate has a tape deck in it. Which gives you an idea that their car was built when they still made them properly.

17yo daughter was astonished at the sound quality of the minidisc.

[Kim]

17yo daughter was astonished at the sound quality of the minidisc.

Probably a better bitrate than most of the rubbish the Young People listen to.  If they aren't too confused by the source material not having been through a vocoder.  </old fart>

[Jurek]

17yo daughter was astonished at the sound quality of the minidisc.

Probably a better bitrate than most of the rubbish the Young People listen to.  If they aren't too confused by the source material not having been through a vocoder.  </old fart>

My understanding is that a lot/most popular music is recorded these days with the intention of it being replayed on shite quality kit, and is therefore adjusted accordingly. Lovely.

[pcolbeck]

17yo daughter was astonished at the sound quality of the minidisc.

Probably a better bitrate than most of the rubbish the Young People listen to.  If they aren't too confused by the source material not having been through a vocoder.  </old fart>

My understanding is that a lot/most popular music is recorded these days with the intention of it being replayed on shite quality kit, and is therefore adjusted accordingly. Lovely.

Has been that way since the 60s. A lot of singles were mixed so they sounded good on small transistor radios and in the USA particularly on car radios.

[PeteB99]

Does anyone ever remember a 16 rpm record? All the record players of my childhood had 78, 45, 33 1/3 and 16 settings.

16 RPM was used for spoken word recordings where sound quality wasn't too critical. My Grand dad had a huge* box of records that had contained a complete performance of Hamlet.

* Huge to a 5 yo anyway

[ian]

I remember my granddad had a giant sideboard size 'radiogram' which was awesome and I wasn't allowed to touch, but that featured a turntable which offered everything between 16 and 78 rpm. He also had a big pile of records. I don't recall the machine ever being switched on other than by me, breaking the rules, but they were pretty deaf. It was in the 'parlour' which, to my knowledge, my grandparents never ever used either, and I also wasn't supposed to mess around in. I think they were keeping it pristine in case the Queen came around to inspect their cabinet of Royalty commemorativeablia. To my knowledge, she never did.

[redshift]

Whatever those skookum Gram decks were that the Beeb put into nice wooden cabinets with rotary fader start - EMT, I think

You mean the one with the parallel tracking arm(s) and the tracking weight measurable in lbs ?  They were 78rpm only, I think they might have been before your time.

No, I found it in the end: EMT 948.  The one with the backlit stylus up/down button.  The ones at Oxford Rd were in grey steel and plastic chassis, but Evesham had some in the older wooden cabs.

Otari MTR99 24 track

We had a Studer A800 8-track before that Otari came along and elbowed it out.  Much nicer machine.

As with many things, the old tools are much better made than the new ones.

[davelodwig]

I remember my granddad had a giant sideboard size 'radiogram' which was awesome and I wasn't allowed to touch, but that featured a turntable which offered everything between 16 and 78 rpm. He also had a big pile of records. I don't recall the machine ever being switched on other than by me, breaking the rules, but they were pretty deaf. It was in the 'parlour' which, to my knowledge, my grandparents never ever used either, and I also wasn't supposed to mess around in. I think they were keeping it pristine in case the Queen came around to inspect their cabinet of Royalty commemorativeablia. To my knowledge, she never did.

We have Mary's grandads radiogram, I removed the broken electronics and replaced it with some more modern insides. It's basically a fancy smart speaker now but looks lovely with the walnut floor in the living room.