Fun consumer electronics history: Why did Beta lose to VHS?
My family’s first VCR was a Beta machine. It took my dad years to get over choosing wrong. But Sony’s Beta seemed to be the way to go. I mean it debuted in
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Gadgets
Apple unveils its AR/VR headset–but it seems to be a lot more than we thought
“Spatial computing?” It’s Apple’s new thing with the Vision Pro, the company’s entry into the world of augmented reality/virtual reality. But it also looks pretty cool when it comes to gaming, watching TV
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Fun: How synths were introduced to the public in the olden days
Back when electronic music was brand new, synthesizer demos started popping up on TV, including kids’ shows. Sure, there were tech program demonstrations like this from 1970… This is from 1981 and features
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Meta tries to pre-empt Apple’s announcement of its new AR/VR headset with one of their own
If the rumours are true, Apple will have plenty of new hardware to announce at next week’s WWDC. Along with new Macs, new chips, and new software, we should finally see the AR/VR
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Luxury earbuds? They’re a thing. Imagine losing one of these.
EarMicro specializes in “fully customizable, luxury hi-fidelity listening instrument.” Translation: very expensive earbuds. I quote from a press release: “T10 Bespoke is more than just an audio device; it’s a symbol of individuality
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Instructive: The History of the drum machine
What began as a kludgey box back in the 1970s, the drum machine has become an essential piece of gear when it comes to making modern music. Reverb has this quick (15-minute) tutorial
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Love vinyl? Check out this video on how records reproduce music in stereo
I’m a big nerd when it comes to the technology behind music. This video (via Boing Boing) explains how dragging a needle through a groove pressed into a piece of plastic results in
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Want to make music but you’re not a musician? Try EZPZ.
If you wish you could make music but are stifled by lack of any musical ability, there’s a new app called EZPZ (yup, it’s “easy peasey” to use) created by Cari Lekebusch, a
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Did you ever own a BlackBerry device? There’s now a biopic
At one point, the BlackBerry was THE portable communication device and the pride of Canadian technology. Then the iPhone came along and… The story of the BlackBerry (and Research in Motion) is now
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A short film on how the iPod was created
Not only did the iPod mark the beginning of Apple’s transformation from an also-ran computer company to a two trillion dollar company, it also ushered in an entirely new way of listening to
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Might this weird music player make a comeback? (Probably not, but…)
Rewind to 2004. CD sales have begun to slide as the world moved to digital music files. Meanwhile, vinyl, the currency of the music industry since the late 40s, was in an apparent
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