Yesterday, I tried to buy a new portable CD player, and found out no one sells them anymore.

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My former CD player broke about a month ago. Yesterday I decided I'm finally gonna buy a new one. I don't download music, I like listening to albums one at a time, and I don't even have a computer of my own, so I have no use for an MP3 player. But after visiting four electronic stores I found out MP3 players are all they sell these days. Portable CD players are obsolete. I guess I am too, for still wanting to buy one.

(A quick round of calls to friends, and I managed to find one who's recently bought a MP3 player and wanted to sell me her old Discman. So the problem was solved.)

I already knew I'm kinda old-fashioned when it comes to technological thingamajigs, but yesterday prove it in the most concrete way possible.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:35 (nineteen years ago)

it's always weird to realize the pace of change when that happens. i was in a camera store buying gear the other day and i realized that they don't sell any film-based cameras any more! at all! even at specialty shops!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:39 (nineteen years ago)

I don't think either of these things are true!

― Alba (Alba), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:40 (nineteen years ago)

Portable CD players are ~~obsolete.~~ a drag to take with you

OTM. Good riddance.

But Alba's right: you CAN find'em.

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:41 (nineteen years ago)

http://learcenter.org/RTS05/photos/images/DangerMouse.jpg

― and what (ooo), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:41 (nineteen years ago)

Proof you can still buy'em, Tuomas.

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:41 (nineteen years ago)

I still see them for sale in the U.S. I suppose as long as they're still making CDs, someone will still manufacture portable CD players.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:42 (nineteen years ago)

Too many people still have them on the morning train for them to be totally unavailable.

But really, why?

― there to preserve disorder (kenan), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:43 (nineteen years ago)

You can get an mp3 player the size of a pack of gum that will hold 15 standard CDs worth of music.

― there to preserve disorder (kenan), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:44 (nineteen years ago)

We've been having a hard time finding a needle for the turntable.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:45 (nineteen years ago)

But you need a home-base computer for that, and T already said he doesn't have one of his own. I can sympathize. (XP)

― Laurel (Laurel), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:45 (nineteen years ago)

www.needledoctor.com for those.

portable cd players: you can get these at any drug store in the US for about $15 now. I don't know how good they are but they're probably as good as the one I bought in 1990 for $150.

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:47 (nineteen years ago)

xpost Oh. Yeah, if you don't have a computer... that should be what you buy first. :)

― there to preserve disorder (kenan), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:47 (nineteen years ago)

A friend of mine told me his family bought a relative an iPod as a gift, he had to point out that said relative didn't have a computer to load music on.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:56 (nineteen years ago)

ha! Some fuckin' gift.

― there to preserve disorder (kenan), Saturday, 6 January 2007 16:58 (nineteen years ago)

Thank you, Kyle!

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:01 (nineteen years ago)

I really feel like I want to help the people without computers of their own. It really should be a priority. You may not think so now, but once you have your own machine, it eclipses every other electronic thing in your home. They're not THAT pricey, either. I have an eMachine that I got refurbed off of Amazon, so it was cheap on top of cheap. About $400. Then I bought a nice monitor off of Craigslist for $50. And over time I've spent more money on it for memory upgrades and disk space. The board is solid; everything else can be upgraded. I understand the impulse to hold out for a nice Apple, but if you don't have a computer AT ALL, well... a PC will do fine. Buy a used laptop. Anything. I WORRY ABOUT YOU PEOPLE.

― there to preserve disorder (kenan), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:04 (nineteen years ago)

Too many people still have them on the morning train for them to be totally unavailable.

mine is years old!

i don't have an ipod or any sort of mp3 player. i don't have a digital camera or a dvd player (i didn't have a film-based camera or video player either because i didn't know how to work them). in fact i've never played a dvd! i don't have a computer with itunes or windows media or even word, my pc is from 1999 and is barely able to switch on. i should get around to getting a new one but i don't understand any of the words in the sales blurbs (since when was it assumed that suddenly EVERYONE knew what memory and rams and hard drives and megagigabytes were?!) and fear getting the wrong thing, or getting ripped off or whatever.

i don't think any of this is all that unusual.

― lex pretend (lex pretend), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:14 (nineteen years ago)

since when was it assumed that suddenly EVERYONE knew what memory and rams and hard drives and megagigabytes were?!

did you have a computer class in school? even I did and I went to rubbish schools and learned this stuff on commodore 64s in 1985!

but maybe you are older than me which would account for that.

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:16 (nineteen years ago)

(since when was it assumed that suddenly EVERYONE knew what memory and rams and hard drives and megagigabytes were?!)

I'm not trying to be a dick (for once), but come on. You need to know this stuff.

― there to preserve disorder (kenan), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:17 (nineteen years ago)

That's why I have friends. You ask them to make your computer work, they ask you to mend the belt loops on their jeans.

― Laurel (Laurel), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:19 (nineteen years ago)

on the other hand I find it fairly common when I deal with people like the women my wife used to work with, who were older (in their 50's) who referred to the whole CPU of their pcs as the "hard drive" and talked about things going wrong "in their computer" which was about as specific as they could ever get when word would format something incorrectly, their internet connection would go down, or their contrast would be off on their monitor.

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:19 (nineteen years ago)

Older people are a lost cause when it come to computers, it's true. We just have to skip them and move on.

― there to preserve disorder (kenan), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:21 (nineteen years ago)

i think they taught IT as part of general studies in sixth form, which i did not do because i did an extra a-level.

I'm not trying to be a dick (for once), but come on. You need to know this stuff.

maybe so but how on earth did the entire rest of the world suddenly know it?

― lex pretend (lex pretend), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:21 (nineteen years ago)

kyle those old women sound like ME. what on earth is a cpu? i only found out recently that the computer isn't actually in the big screen thing, it's in the tower thing which goes on the floor.

― lex pretend (lex pretend), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:22 (nineteen years ago)

xpost They own computers.

― there to preserve disorder (kenan), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:23 (nineteen years ago)

what on earth is a cpu?

haha Watch Tron.

― there to preserve disorder (kenan), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:23 (nineteen years ago)

"That's why I have friends. You ask them to make your computer work, they ask you to mend the belt loops on their jeans."

Spot on, skills bartering is great.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:24 (nineteen years ago)

I think lots of people only learn this shit after they buy a machine, Lex. It's a cognitive thing: you've spent quite a lot of money on the thing, it behooves you to learn about it -- plus the level of excitement about your acquisition helps motivate you.

― Laurel (Laurel), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:25 (nineteen years ago)

otm

― there to preserve disorder (kenan), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:26 (nineteen years ago)

i've only ever had one computer! it doesn't do ANY of this stuff.

maybe when i buy a new laptop (this month!) i will learn these things, though i'm so terrified of spending a load of cash on something which i know nothing about and thus won't be able to tell whether it's good or not, that i am not sure if i will get round to it.

― lex pretend (lex pretend), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:27 (nineteen years ago)

Hell hereabouts you can still get tape walkmen (cheap.)

― Candy: tastes like chicken, if chicken was a candy. (Austin, Still), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:27 (nineteen years ago)

I hear computers come with manuals that give you a basic rundown

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:28 (nineteen years ago)

in fact i've never played a dvd!

but you've ripped one! after doing relatively well with that i became convinced you were exaggerating this technophobia just for roffles.

― reverto levidensis (blueski), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:30 (nineteen years ago)

oh like anyone ever understand manuals for anything!

steve i can work things which are easy and obvious to use! all i had to do was click the button, and i understood what all the settings meant. but this doens't translate into being confident enough to go and buy an ACTUAL COMPUTER!

― lex pretend (lex pretend), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:43 (nineteen years ago)

Use some Guardian money and buy one. Or have a friend buy one for you. In fact just give me your money. Uh, yeah.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:45 (nineteen years ago)

well i have enough money to buy one which is why i've pencilled it in for this month before i fritter the money away. but i have NO IDEA how to go about this. i don't even know what shop to go to, or to do it online, or anything.

― lex pretend (lex pretend), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:47 (nineteen years ago)

maybe so but how on earth did the entire rest of the world suddenly know it?

They paid one smidge of attention to the world around them. Aren't you the one who reacts to names of really famous people with "wait, waht? Who is that?"

― do i have to draw you a diaphragm (Rock Hardy), Saturday, 6 January 2007 17:50 (nineteen years ago)

check this out:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-7602_7-1016082-1.html?tag=tnav

― Super Cub (Debito), Saturday, 6 January 2007 18:03 (nineteen years ago)

I've broken four of these things by dropping them. This is why we can't have nice things.

― Abbott (Abbott), Saturday, 6 January 2007 19:09 (nineteen years ago)

This is why we shouldn't drink so much.

― there to preserve disorder (kenan), Saturday, 6 January 2007 19:13 (nineteen years ago)

I'm so glad that joke is still in circulation, Abbots.

― Laurel (Laurel), Saturday, 6 January 2007 19:13 (nineteen years ago)

Us clumsies say it at least biweekly. It eases the pain.

― Abbott (Abbott), Saturday, 6 January 2007 19:31 (nineteen years ago)

i really could have used this thread a few weeks ago, Tuomas. you'd have had a nice, shiny, brand new discman in the mail instead of some coffee and an almanac. it probably would have cost me less too!

― mahalo 4 ur kokua (grady), Saturday, 6 January 2007 19:54 (nineteen years ago)

I gave my discman to charity... I feel like I'm ripping THEM off.

I want to know Lex's system specs! I'd not be remotely surprised if his crappy machine isn't even that useless, just configured poorly.

― Bodyrox feat. Luciano Pavarotti (fandango), Saturday, 6 January 2007 20:11 (nineteen years ago)

I can sorta relate with Lex... I know how to use different sorts of programs, because I have to use them at work and school, but when it comes to the specifics of the computer itself, I have little knowledge about that. I know there are things like hard drives and processors and so on, but that's about it. The last computer I owned was a Commodore 64, so how on earth could I know about the details of today's computers? Besides, I sort of detest the idea that everyone needs to have a computer of their own. As I said, I don't listen to MP3s, and I mainly use the computer to write emails, do schoolwork and check ILX. My school has a computer class that's open 24 hours a day, and it takes me a 7 minute ride on the tram to get there, so at least as long as I'm enrolled at the university I don't need to buy a computer. Maybe I'll get one once I'm graduated.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 7 January 2007 14:41 (nineteen years ago)

at least as far as the US is concerned you can still buy portable cd players almost anywhere

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Sunday, 7 January 2007 15:09 (nineteen years ago)

portable cd players: you can get these at any drug store in the US for about $15 now. I don't know how good they are but they're probably as good as the one I bought in 1990 for $150.

I assumed this too, but no -- cheapo drugstore players are essentially unusable, unless you plan on setting them on your table at home and not walking within three feet of them. I grabbed one as a stopgap a few years ago, figuring anti-skip technology had surely developed to the point where it'd be okay, but here's the thing: yr cheapo drugstore player doesn't have anti-skip technology in the first place.

You can still get decent ones at most electronics stores, but they've definitely stopped developing them, or marketing any high-end ones.

― nabisco (nabisco), Sunday, 7 January 2007 20:57 (nineteen years ago)

maybe so but how on earth did the entire rest of the world suddenly know it?

We didn't suddenly know it. We have learned it over the last 25 years of owning computers, or knowing people who owned computers.

but i have NO IDEA how to go about this. i don't even know what shop to go to, or to do it online, or anything.

Let me tell you a secret. Geeky people like Mister Monkey or similar love nothing more than people like you who say "I have this much money to spend on a computer. I want it to do these things for me. Please pick one out for me, come to my house, and set it up." They love buying and playing with computers. Find such a friend and get them to do the work for you.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Sunday, 7 January 2007 21:11 (nineteen years ago)

i was in a camera store buying gear the other day and i realized that they don't sell any film-based cameras any more! at all! even at specialty shops!

-- s1ocki

What in the hell are you talking about?!

― Andrew (enneff), Sunday, 7 January 2007 22:42 (nineteen years ago)

camera stores

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 7 January 2007 22:47 (nineteen years ago)

I have a veddy nice analog camera that I'm not using if'n you'd LIKE it. You'd have to develop the film that's in there and send it back to me. I think it's pictures of me holding an injured heron from 5 years ago. UH YEAH, just email me.

― Abbott (Abbott), Sunday, 7 January 2007 22:56 (nineteen years ago)

I've never even used a computer.

― badg (badg), Monday, 8 January 2007 03:45 (nineteen years ago)

lol

― Hoosteen (Hoosteen), Monday, 8 January 2007 03:59 (nineteen years ago)

Hell hereabouts you can still get tape walkmen (cheap.)

-- Candy: tastes like chicken, if chicken was a candy. (austin.swinbur...), January 7th, 2007 4:27 AM. (later)

Yeah, but try finding some quality tape for recording purposes.

― S- (sgh), Monday, 8 January 2007 05:09 (nineteen years ago)

are you fucking kidding me?

i do realize there was some point between 2002 and 2005 when my 35mm solid-body camera was hopelessly obsolete.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 8 January 2007 05:10 (nineteen years ago)

i guess when people became able to print out high-quality images from digital cameras is when.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 8 January 2007 05:13 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, but try finding some quality tape for recording purposes.

http://www.waxidermy.com/bbs/images/smiles/taketoebay.gif

http://electronics.listings.ebay.com/Blank-Tapes-CDs_Blank-Tapes_W0QQcatrefZC4QQfromZR10QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsacatZ14962QQsaprchiZQQsaprcloZQQsocmdZListingItemList

― electric sound of jim [and why not] (electricsound), Monday, 8 January 2007 05:18 (nineteen years ago)

35mm still isn't obsolete!

― milo z (mlp), Monday, 8 January 2007 05:19 (nineteen years ago)

camera stores

-- s1ocki

Specialist camera stores that don't sell film cameras? How can you be a camera specialist and not sell 35mm film cameras? I just find the whole concept bizarre.

― Andrew (enneff), Monday, 8 January 2007 05:22 (nineteen years ago)

If your local camera store doesn't sell film cameras, you have to find a new camera store.

― there to preserve disorder (kenan), Monday, 8 January 2007 05:47 (nineteen years ago)

experienced the thread premise too, a couple of months back. apart from one or two sony models, they're all the cheap 'drugstore' pieces of shit that nabisco describes. you certainly don't see the high-end ones anymore - remember that crazy slot-loading sony from about six years back? I ended up not getting one in any case.

― slackety yax (H2-H4), Monday, 8 January 2007 05:56 (nineteen years ago)

i bought a midpriced one from JB not three months ago and it was broken within a day, and all i did was play a disc. thankfully my sony from the late 90s is still fully functional

― electric sound of jim [and why not] (electricsound), Monday, 8 January 2007 05:57 (nineteen years ago)

the camera store i went to didn't!

and it's a great store!

and i got everything i wanted for way cheap there!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 8 January 2007 06:00 (nineteen years ago)

not film cameras, it didn't. maybe you didn't want them though

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 8 January 2007 06:27 (nineteen years ago)

no, i wanted a flash and a lens. and some batteries.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 8 January 2007 06:29 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, 35mm is still slightly better than even high-end D-SLR, I think. Medium- and large-format film is a long way ahead of digital in resolution terms.

But the convenience and endless flexibility of digital (dicking about with WB, RGB, contrast, etc in Photoshop vs keeping your fingers crossed Snappy Snaps do a decent job with your negatives) coupled with lack of processing costs means a lot of freelance photographers are making the switch. I think the very, very finest stuff (where budgets are not so tight) is still done on film.

The major manufacturers are still making new 35mm/medium-/large-format film cameras but probably in greatly reduced ranges; any decent camera shop should still sell film SLRs, if not film point-and-shoots.

(Sort of analogous to analogue/digital audio - but not quite and, also, let's not go there).

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Monday, 8 January 2007 12:22 (nineteen years ago)

A propos of little, The 160 megapixel camera

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 8 January 2007 12:42 (nineteen years ago)

conversely, a single pixel camera: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061002154230.htm

― My Koogy Weighs A Ton (koogs), Monday, 8 January 2007 12:44 (nineteen years ago)

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