Same as it always was with new technology. On a side note, I wish these were still made like they were. New portable cassette players all have the same terrible tape heads and the models from the glory days are really starting to fall to disrepair as time passes. I just had to cannibalize one of my Walkmans to fix the other, only to have the same issue resurface nearly immediately.
The forgotten war on the Walkman
Submitted 5 weeks ago by Picasso@thelemmy.club to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.freethink.com/consumer-tech/sony-walkman-technophobia
Comments
Sanctus@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
How’s the Fiio player? Also crappy heads?
Sanctus@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Thats one I haven’t forked over for yet. It appears very chunky and I like my cassette players slim for pocket storage so I did not consider it.
otacon239@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Fiio player? If you’re referring to the Echo Mini, it’s just a digital player. It’s just aesthetically a tape player.
user224@lemmy.sdf.org 5 weeks ago
I was looking to get one, but a lot seem to be mono only. Otherwise Retekess TR606 looked interesting, even if just mostly as a toy.
frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 weeks ago
“Will personal headphones lead to a world of silence?” We could have wished.
Also, the OG Walkman still looks brilliant. I wish they’d bring the headphone design back.
ch00f@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Living in a city, I can kind of get it. The number of people who simply walk in front of my bike because they’re absorbed in their phone has made my commute stressful. I ended up installing a car horn on my bike which I’m sure makes their commute more stressful.
Perhaps the Walkman was the first time technology isolated people from the world around them.
Or I dunno, books.
shalafi@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Had a young man almost walk straight into my car at the supermarket. He was listening to whatever on headphones and drifting sideways across the lot. We came to a stop and waited to see if he’d hit us. His mom was watching and not saying a word! :)
lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 weeks ago
Like always, outrage over useful tech is driven by stubborn conservatives hellbent on making everyone else suffer.
paraphrand@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Hmm, I’ve never seen someone directly link conservatism to the entire concept of society.
I didn’t know considering societal consitions was conservative. But I guess conservative leaders did implement a lot of environmental protections. 🤔
Where does the line actually fall, do you think? I assume I’m over extending a bit here. Making assumptions about what you mean.
lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 weeks ago
I was being facetious. That’s the excuse these idiots use for every single “new” thing.
GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 5 weeks ago
Well, you are taking the excuse given at face value. Do you also think laws for back doors in encryption systems are to protect the children?
TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 weeks ago
kureta@lemmy.ml 5 weeks ago
this looks awesome!
Alphane_Moon@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Fascinating article. I never that there was this sort of opposition to the walkman.
Fredselfish@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Great read, I had a walkman all the way into the late 90’s, before I traded it in for a cd version.
rob_t_firefly@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
I wanted to stop using my Walkman when I got a Discman, but my main use for portable music was during long walks and commutes and the Discman worked like crap if I was moving around at all. The skippy little expensive bastard got put back on the shelf, and I kept using cassettes until the portable MP3 player era finally hit.
paultimate14@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Honestly there were some food points back then. A lot of people simply are not able to wear headphones responsibly. It’s only gotten worse with noise cancelling technology. The ability to ignore the outside world is great when you’re in a safe space to do so, but people doing it out in public or while driving are absolutely mad.
The quotes about “breaking societal connections” or whatever are funny to me though. Because that was happening at the time, but it had far more to do with the erosion of 3rd places and the rise of car-centric infrastructure than it did headphones.
SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org 5 weeks ago
"breaking societal connections", yeah. I don't remember where I saw an old photo of a train car full of people, all immersed in their... newspapers.
merde@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
you can speak to a reader, you can call for their attention.
with bluetooth earphones and smartphones, it’s like you’re in two different realities. Because other people stop existing in that bubble, because they become part of the background, bubbled people stop caring about them.
TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
tons of people in multi-use trails are just completely obvious to everyone trying to pass them. and then of course, when you do pass them, they panic and scream and throw a tantrum about how you almost hit them.
Dozzi92@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
When I run and come on people who clearly have no idea I’m there, I yell “HEY,” when I’m like 15 feet back or so. That’s all I feel obligated to do. If you wander around the world completely unaware that it ain’t a private server, you deserve a little scare.