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This album comes on 12 'dead' formats including MiniDisc
We've reached the point where even the less than perfect ideas of years past are being mined for nostalgia. No, I'm not talking about acid washed denim's resurgence (ugh, why?), but that of derided music mediums like the MiniDisc and 8-track. Next month, British musician and producer Trevor Jackson's experimenting with Format, an album spanning 12 different err... formats, each with one song per physical object. Meaning, the release is going to be spread across three sizes of vinyl (12, 10 and 7-inch), CD and mini CD, reel-to-reel, USB, cassette, VHS, MiniDisc, DAT and 8-track. It isn't exactly practical, but it represents another way that artists are expanding beyond a box-standard MP3 download to get their music out to fans. Format's not quite the most outlandish example we've seen, OK Go's DNA album still holds that title, but it's still pretty cool when you stop to think about it. How's that? Well, it chronicles the varying forms of physical media that music's graced over the years.
Sony says sayonara to MiniDisc, will sell its last players in March
We were told back in September that Sony was halting production on its disc-loading Walkman music players, but devices have now reached the end of the production line, with the last MiniDisc players set be shipped out this March. The optical player managed to claw out a 20-year life for itself, despite the menace of media-free music (and video) players like the iPod, which began to severely cut away at sales around 2000. This final date signifies that Sony has wrapped up production of its final MD component stereo, although according to Asahi, the likes of Onkyo will continue to make similar optical hardware. Well, at least frustration for Sony's proprietary media storage lives on in the PS Vita.
Sony MiniDisc Walkman to stop spinning in September (video)
Aside from with a handful of stateside early adopters (and a few million others in Japan) eager to embrace any new technology, Sony's rather extensive line of MiniDisc Walkmans never had a chance to dominate the portable audio market. But for one reason or another, the company kept up production of the optical player / recorder combos for nearly 20 years, after the first Sony MZ1 launched in Japan in September of '92. With a countless selection of more affordable solid-state alternatives available today, however, it's certainly not shocking to see good ole MD go the way of the laserdisc and the cassette. Now, only one question remains: How long until we see the compact disc suffer a similar fate?
Hong Kong gadget flea market: a blast from the past
If you've seen our Hong Kong feature from awhile back, then you would've already heard about my favorite gadget hangout Sham Shui Po. By chance, my post-flight stroll in said district yesterday coincided with Apliu Street's Chinese New Year flea market, which featured many vintage items like jade figurines, paintings, jewelry, video tapes, vinyl records, etc. Naturally, what really caught my attention were the old gadgets that were literally piled up along the street, and from just HK$30 (US$3.85), you could easily pick up an old classic such as a Sony Clié, an HP iPaq, a WonderSwan Color, an original GameBoy, a MiniDisc player, or even a proper old school laptop or camera. Hell, some guy even had a couple of Nintendo Micro VS Systems (Donkey Kong Hockey and Boxing)! The catch? Well, there was obviously no warranty for these old timers, plus the broken screens or the lack of compatible batteries for some meant that most were more suitable as collectibles. Regardless, we took a $6 gamble with a Sony Clié PEG-NR70 Palm PDA with docking station and boom! It works! Well, except for the battery that only lasts for an hour, but I'll figure something out. %Gallery-115754%
Movie Gadget Friday: Strange Days
Ariel Waldman contributes Movie Gadget Friday, where she highlights the lovable and lame gadgets from the world of cinema. On our last episode of Movie Gadget Friday, we rode around the robotics-dependent world of Runaway. Traversing from robots-gone-wrong to "wire-tripping"-technology-junkies, this week jacks-in to the cyberpunk streets of LA in Strange Days. While lacking in computer gadgetry, there is no shortage of leather pants, grunge metal, huge cell phones and random rioting in this 1995 film. Keeping true to the times, we can't get over how even the murderer commits crimes while managing to sport a fanny pack. SQUID Receptor Rig Short for Super-conducting Quantum Interference Device, the SQUID receptor rig consists of a two-part system: a lightweight, flexible mesh of electrodes and a recorder. The technology had originally been developed for the feds to replace body wires, but has since leaked onto the black market. The SQUID acts as a magnetic field measurement tool on a micro level. By placing the electrodes over your head and activating the recorder, your first-person audio-visual-sensory experience is recorded wirelessly, direct from the cerebral cortex onto a TDK 60-minute MiniDisc. The rig can also be hacked using a signal splitter and simstim attachment - allowing someone else to experience your experience in real-time. Optional accessories for the rig include a fanny pack for closely storing the recorder and various wigs for concealing your otherwise obvious surveillance of others. Unfortunately, there appears to be no way to directly upload these recordings to the net, leaving room for inefficient, in-person, illegal "playback" dealings of MiniDiscs similar to buying and selling drugs. From sex to committing crimes, clients to the self-proclaimed "switchboard of souls" dealers are able to jack-in to a variety of illicit activities without leaving their home. More after the break.
Clarion MAX9700DT all-in-one does in-car NAV, 1Seg, and MiniDisc
Oh how we wish it were all just a horrific dream, but somehow, the engineers behind Clarion's flashy new MAX9700DT in-car navigation unit still felt it necessary to include support for a format that just refuses to die. Granted, the system is loaded to the hilt with features and supported formats, but we have a hard time believing that even the Japanese really still find MiniDisc and ATRAC all that attractive. Nevertheless, the unit also boasts a seven-inch touchscreen display, built-in 1Seg TV tuner, DVD player, a 40GB hard drive, iPod compatibility, 50-watt x 4 amplifier, AM / FM radio, and support for a whole host of audio formats including WMA and MP3. Getting around shouldn't be too difficult given the expansive screen and "3D maps," and just in case that 40GB of internal storage isn't quite enough, you can cram an SD card or Memory Stick into it for a bit more space. As nice as all this sounds, few from crowds other than the elite will be pondering a purchase, as ¥341,250 ($2,868) isn't exactly bargain basement (or even "good deal") territory.[Via NaviGadget]
Pioneer goes format crazy with new HiFi set
If you can't find something to play on Pioneer's new X-MF7DV HiFi set, you should seriously consider updating your media collection a little bit. Not only can the device do the usual CD, FM and AM playback, but the player can handle MiniDiscs, DVDs, DivX videos, MP3/WMA/AAC, JPEG, USB storage, and we're afraid to ask what else. The device has digital and analog video outs -- we're not quite sure of what kind -- and Pioneer does mention progressive scan DVD playback. We're also in the dark regarding audio outputs, though there are, of course, included speakers. Pioneer is bundling a remote to control the mayhem, but the make no mention of price or availability. We're guessing Japan-only anyways.[Via Akihabara]
Pioneer updates Carrozzeria in-car entertainment systems
If you're looking to play almost every audio/video format known to man in your car, even MiniDiscs, then Pioneer has just introduced a whopper of an in-dash system that may be perfect for you (well, if you live in Japan, that is). The AVIC-VH009MD in-car multimedia system, which takes over the high end of Pioneer's Carrozzeria lineup, features a 5.1 channel amp, dedicated TV tuner, GPS receiver with birds-eye view, and a head unit that contains a 7-inch screen and plays back DVDs, CDs, MDs, and MP3/WMA files as well as DivX-encoded videos. Also new to the Carrozzeria line is the AVH-P90DVA, which also has a TV tuner and 7-inch screen, but *only* supports DVDs, CDs, VCDs, and the aforementioned codecs plus AAC, but not MiniDiscs or navigation. The all-in-one system will go for a cool $3,200, while the AVH-P90DVA costs $2,300, although if you want to listen to tracks from your cellphone, you'll have to forgo a lot of these niceties and stick with the Bluetooth-equipped AVIC-S1 that we brought you the other day.Read- AVIC-VH009MDRead- AVH-P90DVA
