I remember when having a Walkman was "the shit". Of course, at that age, I would have never, ever said, "the shit". It was always better to depend on the radio stations, though. Playing cassette tapes really ate up batteries quickly.
Walkman, at 30, a mystery to teen
Alejandro Martinez-Cabrera
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
What better way to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Sony's iconic Walkman than to ask a teenager for some feedback on the device?
I like to imagine that the experience was similar to an archaeologist rediscovering how a recently excavated artifact was employed thousands of years ago. But I'm well aware that it must have been different for 13-year-old Scott Campbell, who co-edits his own news Web site. For one, teenage impatience must have stood in the place where I fantasize scientific curiosity should have been.
"My dad had told me it was the iPod of its day," Campbell wrote. "He had told me it was big, but I hadn't realized he meant that big. It was the size of a small book."
Sure enough, people on the street noticed the antique clinging from his belt with amusement and friends on his school bus were quick to come up with some witty remark.
Campbell went on to criticize the portable cassette player's size, appearance, functionality and the "hissy backtrack and odd warbly noises."
Even when he discovered the cassette had more music on the other side (it took him three days), Campbell was still disappointed it could only hold a small fraction of what an iPod can.
"Did my dad ... really ever think this was a credible piece of technology?"
Ouch.
A daily dose of postings from The Chronicle's technology blog (sfgate.com/blogs/tech)
This article appeared on page C - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle
