Yeah They Still Work, Part 1: Minidisc
I'm starting a new series on some of my old gadgets that still work and are used as primary devices, standby replacements, or just once in a while reminiscing.
BackgroundSony Minidisc players. Does anyone even remember them? They were quite popular in Japan but failed to make an impact in the US. The convenience of the hardware was outweighed by total misunderstanding of software and user experience.
I was introduced to the minidisc in college, before CD burners were commonplace. Even if you access to one, CD players had their typical problems of scratching and skipping. Overall, CDs lacked the durability of cassette tapes.
HardwareThe Minidsic solved this by offering a medium that was as durable as a cassette tape but offered the enough space for a few albums. In addition, the overall minidic player was smaller than a cassette tape, and this significantly smaller than a Walkman or CD player. I quickly made minidisc for my favorite artists, and loved being able to carry around 4-5 albums on a single minidisc.
Another great hardware feature was the remote that connected to the headphone wire. All the controls were available on my hand while the device was in my pocket. It even had some features that the current Apple headphones don't have - shuffle and repeat. Using the remote, you could also access the FM radio and listen to whatever trash is spewing on the waves.
Battery life is decent - can almost get a full day off one AA battery. No plug in charging here - just bring some batteries (regular or rechargeable) and you're good to go!
SoftwareUnfortunately, Sony completely screwed up the software. First of all, all songs needed to be converted to the proprietary audio format ATRAC for the device. This took forever, and could only be done on Sony's horrible software that constantly crashed. Because of this, I didn't freely edit my minidiscs as I originally planned. Once I made a compilation, it didn't change.
How Is it Now?The minidisc player has become a viable option during my iPod / iPhone time when I've broken or lost my apple device. When I use it, I never feel like I'm using an ancient device - it still feels good and gives decent sound quality.
Happy New Year!
2011 is down for the count!
In early 2011 I started this blog and talked about how I wanted to see a shuttle launch - and I made it to one! Definitely one of the highlights of my life.
I'm looking forward to the new year and what I can accomplish. Positive thoughts!
Technology vs Music
NPR recently allowed anyone to stream a full copy of the Roots “Udun” album a week or so before release. Being a huge a Roots fan, I plugged in my ear buds and listened intently over the work computer and felt underwhelmed. I listened to the stream again over the iPod and it didn’t change my opinion. It wasn’t a bad album, but definitely seemed too avant grade and lacked the overall feeling that I’d expect from a Roots album. While I appreciated what they were trying to do, the tracks felt stale.
When the album officially launched on Dec 6th, I played it while driving to work. Driving with the music surrounding me at an extremely loud level enabled me to appreciate what the Roots accomplished on this record. This a concert. A concerto of the desperado. This is a live show with a concept dictating not only the song sequencing, but the up and down emotions of each song. And it’s something that you can’t feel when you’re listening over a computer and on a portable device. You need to FEEL it.
The next time that you get a new album (am I the only one that still does?), make sure that you listen to it in an environment that immerses you in the moment. Yes, this usually means ditching your iOS and android devices – don’t be ashamed! As much as your overpriced Beats by Dre headphones with the sound turned up to 11 may achieve the same effect of a car stereo, you just may wander into the street into the path of a crazy Black man in a Honda Civic.
Space Networking: My Experience with NASA
Greetings from outer space, nerds! Wait, how can I call you nerds if I'm a bigger alien nerd that found his way to Earth? Hmm ...
I wrote an article for MediaTapper about my experiences with NASA's social networking community, as well as my experience viewing the final shuttle launch of the space program. Here's a sample:
NASA continues its excellent leveraging of social networking platforms by recently launching a Google+ page. NASA’s Twitter account has proven very popular to space geeks such as myself and others. We are connected on various social networks such as Google+, Facebook and Twitter, and the information flows freely. There are people that clearly know more than me, but not once have I felt talked down to. It’s truly an example of how technology can help to bring like-minded people together.
To read more, please click here.