Watching this Sony Walkman commercial from 1983 gives us a glimpse of the most popular and influential gadgets from the 80s. Forty years ago we lived in the analog age. Things we take for granted today just weren’t possible, though that didn’t stop some brilliant innovations that gave us beloved devices like the Walkman.
Before the Walkman, we did have portable music, but that involved transistor radios. It’s hard for young people now to appreciate just how important the radio was back then. That’s how you got most of your music, and certainly your portable music.
But of course you had little control over what you heard, beyond selecting your favorite radio station. The Walkman changed all that, as suddenly you could create your favorite mix tape (we call them playlists now) and listen wherever you wanted with your Walkman.
How was the Sony Walkman invented?
The Sony Walkman, the world’s first personal stereo, was born in 1979 thanks to the creativity of one man: Akio Morita. He was inspired by a simple idea—to make it easier for people to listen to music wherever they went.
Morita took existing technology and put it in a small, portable case about the size of a pocketbook. It included two headphone jacks so that you could share your jams with your friends! The original Walkman even had an option to record from the radio or cassette deck on cassettes that were specially designed for it. You can see in the commercial above that by 1983 the Walkman was shrunk to the size of a cassette case.
It wasn’t long before everyone wanted their own “personal soundtrack” and soon enough, thousands of people around the world were walking around with their own mini stereo systems. The Sony Walkman became an instant classic, and it forever changed the way we listen to music.
Few gadgets have been as successful and impactful as the first iPod, which revolutionized the way we listened to music. It also helped create the icon status of Steve Jobs. Here’s a fun look back at this amazing music player.
According to a report on The Verge, Facebook will leap into the wearables market next summer with a new smartwatch. The key feature seems to be two cameras, one on the front of the watch that faces the user, which can enable video calls. The other camera will reportedly be on the back, and can be used as a camera for photos and videos which naturally can easily be uploaded to Facebook and Instagram.
Will this work? Who knows? Facebook doesn’t have a good track record with gadgets or wearables. Few companies have success with wearables. But they do need to try something, so this isn’t surprising.
And no, the photo above isn’t the Facebook watch . . . though we’re guessing it won’t look this cool.
As we struggle to find ways to re-open the economy and get people back to work during this Coronavirus pandemic, we’re starting to see technology and health companies explore ways to make this transition easier and limit the spread of the virus.
Microsoft and UnitedHealth are now working together to offer companies free app to screen employees for Coronavirus. The app will set up various protocols for health screenings and testing for employees depending on their role. This customization by employee role should make the app much more effective than a “one size fits all” approach.
The availability and reliability of tests is still a big issue as we try to ramping up wide-scale workplace testing, but this app will help companies target their resources. The apps are also designed to entice customers to return to restaurants and stores by “ensuring wait staff and clerks are infection-free.” That seems overly optimistic. There is no complete assurance. But this could make customers feel more comfortable that a process is in place to minimize risk.
Podcasting is exploding in popularity as the convenience of being able to listen whenever you like has helped to drive usage by consumers. It’s so easy to listen on your phone while you’re working out or in your car on a long drive. Now it’s getting even easier to listen to podcasts as Apple and Spotify can now play podcasts on your Alexa-enabled devices like the Echo.
