Posted by goldenface
Redundant Gadgets
They arrive in a blaze of glory and publicity but sputter out like a damp fireworks - some gadgets just don't make the impact that everyone expected.
It's not about quality: the Betamax is widely considered as far superior to VHS, but the cheaper product won out.
It's not about marketing: the MiniDisk and Sega Saturn were certainly given exposure but never quite hit the heights.
It's not even about innovation - as the C5, Squarial and Segway illustrate.
It's just the way things go.
So we are taking a fond look back at some of the products that have become redundant before they really enjoyed the lives they should have.
Redundant gadgets - we salute you…
The Sinclair C5
Sony Mini-disc
Laserdisc
Squarial
Atari Jaguar
Polavision
Colourfax
Segway
Digital Compact Cassette
Sega Saturn
Nokia nGage
Betamax
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[ This Message was edited by: goldenface on 2007-10-05 13:02 ]
Posted by Lo-couk
Seriously? What is the point of a segway in the context it's shown here?
2 cop's chasing a shoplifter on these things with a top speed of less than 10mph! I bet they are the laughing stock when it comes to a 12 inch wall...
Posted by goldenface
I always wanted to have a go at the segway and I knew quite a few peoplel with Mini-disc too.
Someone was crossing the road on a Segway a while back and young hooligan stuck his foot in front of one of her wheels and the poor woman fell off it right in the middle of the road. I shouldn't have laughed but I did.
[ This Message was edited by: goldenface on 2007-10-05 13:22 ]
Posted by batesie
excuse me Goldenface!!! may i remind you that the MiniDisc is still alive and kicking.
the picture in your link is one of the first made by sony, but now we have the Hi-MD and Sony actually still sell this model below which uses the sexy 1Gb discs....
that stores 1.5 hours of music in an audiofile PCM 1411kbit/s, none of this ipod 128Kbps rubbish!
also dont forget the gapless playback on MD!
the reason it never took off was that sonicstage had many problems. also the size limitations of discs compared to Solidstate was obvious.
anyway its still an alternative to DAT and high quality recording in a very portable size....
Heres a pic of my Sony MZ-N10 which is made from Magnesium Alloy
Posted by Cycovision
And of course DAT is still used by many companies for backing up critical data on a nightly basis.
DAT cassettes are much more reliable than hard drives for back-up purposes and can be re-used more times than a rewritable optical disk.
Posted by batesie
hang on, and the Colourfax! several companies ive worked for still have them, and as long as both ends have got one, they can be used today!
Hard disk drives are going to join the list. in 10 years we will no longer be buying them!!!!
Posted by leeboy13
sugar lumps.... im on the brink of buying a mini disk again
seriously!!!
Posted by fatreg
On 2007-10-05 16:54:49, leeboy13 wrote:
sugar lumps.... im on the brink of buying a mini disk again
seriously!!!
do it, do it!
the new ones are immense!
Posted by goldenface
@batesie
I agree with you completely, it is the audiophiles choice. 1411kb/sec? :eek
That must sound fabuloso, and there is so many great MD designs too, however I don't think the Minidisc should be included in that list.
Posted by fatreg
how good does that look?
also..
didn't say this, but coupled with a sony microphone makes it spot on for bootlegging concerts
Posted by Aware
Have never seen a digital recording car stereo either(unfortunately)...except of course, this:
Almost 7 years old, too(more than fair use)! One of my favourite gadgets ever, this!
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[ This Message was edited by: Aware on 2007-10-05 16:50 ]
Posted by goldenface
On 2007-10-05 17:23:34, fatreg wrote:
how good does that look?
also..
didn't say this, but coupled with a sony microphone makes it spot on for bootlegging concerts
That is indeed one fine looking piece of kit.