For starters, customers are being re-introduced to the old fashioned turntable. Believe it or not, there was a turntable that looked as though it had come straight out of the 70s just propped up on a counter as if it were the latest craze. This Crosley portable turntable does in fact play LPs and is thankfully USB ready. Yes, it’s PC and MAC compatible, but the most shocking tid bit about this device is the price.
If someone is really intending to go out of their way to own one of these ridiculous contraptions then the price is $160.00. This is not only absurd, but strange considering that the newest iPod nanos are going for $149.00. It may not seem like much of a difference, price wise, but when you’re taking into consideration what’s new versus what’s been done then the difference is absolutely outrageous. Their website description for this item states that one could get started as a DJ using this turntable. Do we really need a turntable to be a DJ when so many DJs use iPods instead?
Moving around the counter something else stood out, only this object was far more atrocious than the turntable. A boombox! Really?!? Really? Are you kidding me? Where’s Ashton? Maybe this was another one of his lame shows. Wasn’t our intention to consistently move forward into the future by creating new gadgets with advanced technology? The boombox has a spring-loaded door for your iPod, no not for a cassette, which serves the same purpose as an iPod stereo dock. Only the stereo docks would probably cost about $99 now, whereas this stereo would cost you $220. That’s about how much someone would have to pay me to help compensate for the embarrassment that lugging this thing around will cause. The boombox is 14.5’’ high and 25.5’’in width. It’s pretty enormous compared to all the small objects we have all become accustomed to. So to be quite honest, that amount of money may not be nearly enough to cover the humiliation. Why not bring out the parachute pants to match? At this rate it’s probably not that far along. Better yet, when are the 8-tracks coming back in?
Oh it gets better, only this next item may seem more reasonable in other aspects, which will be covered in just a moment. Lo and behold, it’s the good ol’ typewriter. When these first came out and before the magic of tape correction came into existence, one error would send you straight back to type out another page and more than likely that mistake would be fixed only to find another error elsewhere. Writing this column alone there have been a minimum of 40 mistakes and counting. Luckily this was done on a PC where fixing a mistake is as easy as highlighting an incorrect set of words and re-typing the corrections. Even Microsoft Word will automatically switch letters around on a word that has been misspelled. As inconvenient as the typewriter may seem, authors have been known to still use them. This may be for security reasons. No one can hack into a typewriter. This reason alone is pretty understandable. The price is $140 and is reasonable compared to the previous items mentioned.Maybe it’s difficult for some to let go of the past’s treasures, but with nifty gadgets being created why not venture out and explore a little.
3 comments:
I would totally rock that boombox. And a big piece of cardboard. No joke.
And records are actually making a bit of a resurgence among audiophiles because of iPods and the loss of audio quality that comes from most MP3s.
As the proud owner of some 4,000-5,000 vinyl albums, there is no way to play them without a turntable. I spent a lot more than $160 on my last Clearaudio turntable -- and got nothing close to the top of their line.
I keep telling myself one of these days I'll digitize all my albums and listen on my iPod. I love the nostalgia of my albums, but I rarely play them. It is so much easier to push play on my iPod.
The writer's point of view here is quite clear - that she thinks these retro pieces are something less than useless.
But like a movie review, if the reviewer really thinks the movie is awful they have two choices:
Don't review it, or review to warn people not to go.
In this case the writer offers a lot of hyperbole 'ridiculous contraptions, absolutely outrageous...' that are unsupported.
The writer should have show what these devices do, or don't do and let the reader make more of an assessment.
There are a number of clever lines, of course:
"A boombox! Really?!? Really? Are you kidding me? Where’s Ashton?"
They are the saving grace (that's a cliche) of the column.
The writer slipped at the end of the column, however.
By saying:
"Maybe it’s difficult for some to let go of the past’s treasures, but with nifty gadgets being created why not venture out and explore a little..."
I was unsure where the columnist stood on turntables vs IPods, etc...
A better ending might have suggested people look to the future.
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