Monday, November 28, 2005
The music goes 'round and 'round and it comes out here
All this talk about podcasts, mp3 players and the death of CDs makes us all have to look at history. I have compiled a timeline. Future posts will discuss more on the subject.
The Evolution of music players
1877 – Thomas Edison invents the phonograph while experimenting with strange uses for a needle.
1880 – Nikolai Tesla invents radio, motivated by a dream to have the first talk show, which he aims to call “Talking With Tesla.”
1887 – Emile Berliner patents gramophone, using flat zinc discs he has had in his garage for a decade.
1906 – The first radio program of voice and music is broadcast. Reginald Fessenden broadcasts the program using a continuous wave of electromagnetic energy from Brant Rock on Massachusetts's Cape Cod. Fessenden is arrested for not changing his last name to something catchy.
1929 – Frequency Modulation (FM) radio is introduced. Broadcasters immediately discover that using a loud voice on FM causes cancer.
1934 – Joseph Begun builds the first tape recorder for broadcasting but cannot find a Radio Shack to get replacement parts.
1948 – Columbia Records introduces the long-playing (LP) record, which spins at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute (RPM).
1949 – RCA introduces 45 RPM records, which spin at 45 revolutions per minute, thinking that manufacturing records is a race based on speedy revolutions.
1950 – Four South American countries have speedy revolutions, with governments turning over in three hours. The countries celebrate by playing 45 RPMs on stolen U.S.-manufactured phonographs.
1965 – Eight-track magnetic tape is introduced. Unfortunately it is introduced to five men in the garment industry who don’t know what to do with it.
1969 – The Internet is created and four to five people use it regularly. They exchange information and knowledge and think about new ways to transport pornography.
1979 – The Sony Walkman, a cassette player, is introduced and will eventually sell 150 million units, even though Kenny Rogers material is available on cassette.
1983 – Sony and Phillips introduce compact disc (CD) technology. They feel, at first, it is smaller and lighter than records and can double as table coasters.
1986 – Sony develops MiniDisc technology, six years prior to its commercial launch in 1992. Sony feels the MiniDisc is smaller and lighter than CDs and can double as table coasters.
1989 – The Fraunhofer Institute in Germany patents the MP3 format. Sony feels it is useless because you cannot hold an MP3 file in your hands and it cannot double for anything.
1992 – Phillips introduces the Digital Compact Cassette (DCC). Sony and Phillips hope to monopolize sound products and put all table coaster manufacturers out of business.
1998 – The first MP3 players are introduced by Saehan. In Korea, their MPMan player goes on sale and is so well-received it is credited with creating the expression on the face of Kim Jong-il.
The Evolution of music players
1877 – Thomas Edison invents the phonograph while experimenting with strange uses for a needle.
1880 – Nikolai Tesla invents radio, motivated by a dream to have the first talk show, which he aims to call “Talking With Tesla.”
1887 – Emile Berliner patents gramophone, using flat zinc discs he has had in his garage for a decade.
1906 – The first radio program of voice and music is broadcast. Reginald Fessenden broadcasts the program using a continuous wave of electromagnetic energy from Brant Rock on Massachusetts's Cape Cod. Fessenden is arrested for not changing his last name to something catchy.
1929 – Frequency Modulation (FM) radio is introduced. Broadcasters immediately discover that using a loud voice on FM causes cancer.
1934 – Joseph Begun builds the first tape recorder for broadcasting but cannot find a Radio Shack to get replacement parts.
1948 – Columbia Records introduces the long-playing (LP) record, which spins at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute (RPM).
1949 – RCA introduces 45 RPM records, which spin at 45 revolutions per minute, thinking that manufacturing records is a race based on speedy revolutions.
1950 – Four South American countries have speedy revolutions, with governments turning over in three hours. The countries celebrate by playing 45 RPMs on stolen U.S.-manufactured phonographs.
1965 – Eight-track magnetic tape is introduced. Unfortunately it is introduced to five men in the garment industry who don’t know what to do with it.
1969 – The Internet is created and four to five people use it regularly. They exchange information and knowledge and think about new ways to transport pornography.
1979 – The Sony Walkman, a cassette player, is introduced and will eventually sell 150 million units, even though Kenny Rogers material is available on cassette.
1983 – Sony and Phillips introduce compact disc (CD) technology. They feel, at first, it is smaller and lighter than records and can double as table coasters.
1986 – Sony develops MiniDisc technology, six years prior to its commercial launch in 1992. Sony feels the MiniDisc is smaller and lighter than CDs and can double as table coasters.
1989 – The Fraunhofer Institute in Germany patents the MP3 format. Sony feels it is useless because you cannot hold an MP3 file in your hands and it cannot double for anything.
1992 – Phillips introduces the Digital Compact Cassette (DCC). Sony and Phillips hope to monopolize sound products and put all table coaster manufacturers out of business.
1998 – The first MP3 players are introduced by Saehan. In Korea, their MPMan player goes on sale and is so well-received it is credited with creating the expression on the face of Kim Jong-il.
