Sony Walkman 30 years old

**koala** · 06-30-2009, 07:58 AM

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8117619.stm

Quote:

Giving up my iPod for a Walkman

When the Sony Walkman was launched, 30 years ago this week, it started a revolution in portable music. But how does it compare with its digital successors? The Magazine invited 13-year-old Scott Campbell to swap his iPod for a Walkman for a week.

My dad had told me it was the iPod of its day.

He had told me it was big, but I hadn't realised he meant THAT big. It was the size of a small book..........

Ah, the good old days of chewed up tapes and songs slowing down as the battery runs out

**WereBo** · 06-30-2009, 08:14 AM

Quote:

It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape. That was not the only naive mistake that I made; I mistook the metal/normal switch on the Walkman for a genre-specific equaliser, but later I discovered that it was in fact used to switch between two different types of cassette.

I've still got my Walkman somewhere, although a later model, it's approx 23-25 years old

dai · 06-30-2009, 11:03 AM

time flies

**l_b_rex** · 06-30-2009, 11:52 AM

30 years already? OMG! I feel so old and I am only 30!

I have a discman and feel out of place using even that let alone a walkman.

Zealex · 07-01-2009, 02:56 PM

Wow, a small book? How would that fit in my pocket...good thing I got an iPod touch

. In the next 30 years, picture the portable music players.
I think I have a walkman.....but it's not 30 years old(I'm pretty sure). It is smaller and has a radio with horrible reception. heh the walkman is older than me.

**WereBo** · 07-01-2009, 06:25 PM

Just think how much bigger it would be if it used only transistors

Or for a bigger laugh - Valves (tubes)

**RockmasteR** · 07-02-2009, 08:36 AM

yep still had my Yellow Sony Walkman somewhere in the attic
you bring up the old memories Koala

maybe I'll try it someday and see if it works
I have my N91 that competes with the I-Pod

**koala** · 07-02-2009, 09:51 AM

I've still got my Phillips walkman, but no tapes to play on it. It lasted me all the way through college and uni, never broke down and was louder than the Sony version. Best £30 I ever spent.

I was reading the comedian Richard Herring's blog a few days ago and saw this entry. Nostalgia for the Walkman is running high at the moment, but I don't think anyone these days would really want to swap an MP3 player for an old cassette player.

Quote:

.....But at this funky and fun hotel they give you free wifi (alas only my email worked on it, but I didn't really need to go online and I am sure they'd have sorted it out if I'd asked) and they also give you a special connector for you iPod, which you plug into a socket in the wall and which then plays your music through speakers in the ceiling. That is a great touch and it filled me with child-like glee. If you could tell the teenage me, who believed that a Sony Walkman was about as sophisticated as a music entertainment system could ever be, that he'd be able to have 100s of records on one device that was about a fifth of the size (and was also a phone, personal organiser, games system and internet browser- whatever that was) and then plug it into a wall and music would fill the room he would assume it was necromancy. Even the practically 42 year old me was pretty close to jumping to the same conclusion.

ebackhus · 07-03-2009, 04:50 PM

I bought my wife a Sansa Clip. She didn't want an iPod!

For portable music I have a massive library in my mind that I can blast at any volume and no DRM worries.

**Aus_Karlos** · 07-04-2009, 10:33 AM

I had a walkman back in the day. I remember i use to push down on the side to make the tape play slower.

Try that with an Ipod and it will most certainly snap in two.

06-30-2009, 11:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,122 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Sony Walkman 30 years old time flies __________________

06-30-2009, 11:52 AM	#4 (permalink)
l_b_rex The almighty Dr.Tran! Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1,077 OS: Vista Home Premium 32 bit	Re: Sony Walkman 30 years old 30 years already? OMG! I feel so old and I am only 30! I have a discman and feel out of place using even that let alone a walkman. __________________ If my avatar piques your interest, go to google and search Dr.Tran video and have a look.

07-01-2009, 02:56 PM	#5 (permalink)
Zealex Tech, Games Team Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: USA. Posts: 2,004 OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit SP2 My System	Re: Sony Walkman 30 years old Wow, a small book? How would that fit in my pocket...good thing I got an iPod touch . In the next 30 years, picture the portable music players. I think I have a walkman.....but it's not 30 years old(I'm pretty sure). It is smaller and has a radio with horrible reception. heh the walkman is older than me. __________________ Xfire Steam Nvidia Drivers ATI Drivers DirectX 9.0c Game-O-Meter System Information for Windows(SIW) Revo Uninstaller Last edited by Zealex; 07-01-2009 at 03:03 PM.

07-01-2009, 06:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
WereBo Resident Village Idiot Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: SE London, UK Posts: 13,988 OS: Win-7 My System	Re: Sony Walkman 30 years old Just think how much bigger it would be if it used only transistors Or for a bigger laugh - Valves (tubes) __________________ I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect to receive from missing them.

07-02-2009, 08:36 AM	#7 (permalink)
RockmasteR Moderator, Games Team Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Lebanon Posts: 2,937 OS: Vista Ultimate 32bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Sony Walkman 30 years old yep still had my Yellow Sony Walkman somewhere in the attic you bring up the old memories Koala maybe I'll try it someday and see if it works I have my N91 that competes with the I-Pod __________________ CPUz GPUz Nvidia Drivers ATI Drivers System Information for Windows (SIW) Revo Uninstaller RivaTuner ATITOOL Directx 9.0C !!Please don't PM me for Tech Support!!

07-03-2009, 04:50 PM	#9 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,128 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Re: Sony Walkman 30 years old I bought my wife a Sansa Clip. She didn't want an iPod! For portable music I have a massive library in my mind that I can blast at any volume and no DRM worries. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

07-04-2009, 10:33 AM	#10 (permalink)
Aus_Karlos Moderator, Games Team Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Western Australia Posts: 3,377 OS: Vista Ultimate x64, Windows XP 32-bit/64-bit, Ubuntu x64, Windows 7 x64 Beta My System Blog Entries: 2	Re: Sony Walkman 30 years old I had a walkman back in the day. I remember i use to push down on the side to make the tape play slower. Try that with an Ipod and it will most certainly snap in two. __________________ MemTest86 / Nvidia Drivers / ATI Drivers / DirectX 9.0c / Sys Requirements / Everest Folding@Home