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  • Sony's Walkman monkey "Choromatsu" passes away at 29

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    01.16.2007

    While devices such as the GameBoy and original Atari are more like slivers of history than gadgets of days past, Sony's Walkman has also become transcendent through time, and one of the fellows who helped put it on the map has sadly passed away. Choromatsu, the "meditating monkey" who starred in a Sony spot that eventually won best commercial in the late 1980s, died this past Sunday after living for 29 years. The monkey was famous for his various performances around Japan, and happily retired in 1990 to live out the latter half of his life with his 41 year old "human partner in performances," Goro Murasaki. While Sony's recent marketing attempts have been somewhat intriguing and less subtle than the firm would've hoped, this critter could probably convince anyone that owning a Walkman is a soul-soothing experience, so if you missed his performance back in 1987/88, be sure to click on through for the ad in its entirety.[Via TokyoMango]

  • Possible fix for the iPod 'click of death'

    by 
    David Chartier
    David Chartier
    06.02.2006

    JC at Mac Geekery has come across a potential solution to the iPod hard drive's 'click of death' that many owners will likely experience at some point or another (After all it's a hard drive and you walk/run/snowboard around with it all day. It has to throw in the towel some day).After hurling a dead 4G iPod off a 3rd story balcony to test an iPod case, JC discovered that his iPod was suddenly working again - but only for an hour at a time or so. This odd turn of events prompted him to investigate by opening up his iPod, in which case he discovered that his click of death (not necessarily everyone's) was a result of nothing more than an unseated hard drive cable. After putting everything back in its place, JC's 4G iPod is back on top and jamming again.Check out JC's post for more details, but just in case you're in a similar boat, remember: I'm pretty sure opening your iPod is like tossing your warranty out the window and then running it over repeatedly with an SUV, so attempt this stuff at your own risk. If your warranty has already r-u-n-n-o-f-t, however, then you don't have much to lose.[thanks William!]