Remember the walkman?

[Mahone]

BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | Giving up my iPod for a Walkman

I'm 23, I'm just old enough to remember having one of these while I was in school. It was probably the best liked technology at the time, being able to listen to the radio during lessons (on the radio enabled walkmans) was considered luxury. But I really didn't remember how big they were!

Oh and, who is willing to admit they still have one?

[WillowTheWhisp]

I remember them. They were revolutionary. I had a shiny black one, slightly smaller than the one in the pictuire. I think it may still be around in a cupboard somewhere and yes it did drag your jeans down on the side where you clipped it to the waistband.

[Honor]

I totally had one - a tape player/radio that was clear green plastic and then when my brother left of his mission, I inherited his discman. I sat in the observatory car the entire train ride from California to SLC listening to Erasure and La Bouche (interesting combo...) with it.

[KeithLBrown]

Who still has a walkman you ask? Well, I thought everyone still did. You mean there is something newer out there? Where have I been? I have really fallen behind on these new gidgets and gadgets that are coming out today. Hey, I still have a rotary telephone and LP records. Oh, did I mention my 8-track collection? Mercy, mercy, I guess I should catch up with the times. By the way, when did cassette tapes come out? And what are these things called CDs. Not to mention, can someone tell me what an ipod is? :-)

[Mahone]

Hey, I still have a rotary telephone

These are cool! I came across one once while sorting out a large loft in a building my grandmother owned. Surprisingly satisfying to dial with lol.

[pam]

Keith we really need to have a little talk.

[Mahone]

Keith we really need to have a little talk.

My mother is worse. I've been struggling for years to try and get her familiar with current technology... or even technology of 10 years ago would be a start. Her siblings are the same as well. We still have a VCR player in our house because we still have a lot of VCRs lying around, it's not uncommon for either myself or my brother to be asked to turn it on for them because they don't know how to operate it. The same applies for CD players. I can generally explain how they need to use one CD player, they are fairly adept at following sequential instructions. However, if the CD player gets replaced due to breakage, we are back at stage one and I have to spent weeks trying to explain it in a way they will remember over again. My mother and her siblings are not that old either, ranging from around 38 - 50.

[Guest Godless]

It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape.

Kids these days.....

[pam]

My mother and her siblings are not that old either, ranging from around 38 - 50.

So does becoming 51 make you old? Man I would hate to think how that ranks BenRaines.

[Guest]

These are cool! I came across one once while sorting out a large loft in a building my grandmother owned. Surprisingly satisfying to dial with lol.

Oh this reminds me of that one very funny movie! I can't remember what movie that was (or if it is even LDS appropriate...) but there was this guy whose girlfriend was a model and he had to go back home to the country so he took his girlfriend with him. The girlfriend got left behind at the hotel room so she tried to call on the phone but it was a rotary dial phone and she kept on trying to "push" the holes!!! It was hilarious!

[Guest]

Okay, so yes, I still have the walkman... because I still have tapes... because my car still has a tape player!

BUT... I'm not so behind the times because both walkman and car tape player has the "SEEK" feature where you can rewind or forward to the beginning of the song... instead of guesstimating when to stop rewinding...

P.S. I also still have the VCR because all the Thomas The Tank Engine videos are on VHF tapes and it is too expensive to replace them with DVDs. But, I still feel "modern" because my brother has the Betamax!

[Canuck Mormon]

It's amazing how fast the technology has and still is changing. In 37 years I've gone from 8-tracks and LP's to cassettes & Videotapes, to CD's & DVD's, to an iPod that will play both.

I remember making mix tapes, then mix CD's. Now I just create a play-list.

Next piece of technology that I get is an iPhone, but that's a couple of years away.

[Mahone]

P.S. I also still have the VCR because all the Thomas The Tank Engine videos are on VHF tapes and it is too expensive to replace them with DVDs. But, I still feel "modern" because my brother has the Betamax!

Geez . To this day I've never seen one of those. A lot of people apparently preferred betamax in the old VHS vs betamax war, but I've never come across someone who owned one before lol.

[Mahone]

So does becoming 51 make you old? Man I would hate to think how that ranks BenRaines.

Lol, what I mean is they don't fare well compared to a lot of other people in their age group. My aunt still gets me to add names to her address book on her mobile phone and gets confused when the "call" button and "cancel" button are not colour coded green and red. This partiular aunt has never turned a computer on in her life and quite likely will never do so as her chosen career path doesn't require using a computer.

I'm informed that with age it becomes increasingly difficult to learn new tricks, though I suspect in the case of my family it's a case of not being bothered to sit down and learn and hoping it will all go away lol.

[Seanette]

I still have a portable cassette player around, since I do still own some cassettes. We also keep a VCR in play, between taping shows for later viewing and the stuff we still have on VHS.

We've been talking about getting DVR, but my husband doesn't want Tivo, because he doesn't want a subscription service and thinks there are privacy problems with Tivo (sigh).

[Heavenguard]

I read that article a few days ago (or maybe a day ago?) :)

We used to have a few walkmans (in fact, still have them), but they died from wear and tear. I've been thinking of just getting one off eBay, since I really love old technology. There's something really special about analog stuff, compared to digital. We have a typewriter, though electric, an old dot matrix printer. VCRs don't feel that old to me, really, since you can still purchase VCR DVD combos. I think I also want to get something that plays vinyl. I love floppy discs and floppy drives.

[ploomf]

Geez I feel like such a dinosaur and I'm only 23. :(I still have my old walkman but that’s nothing. I have my grandparents old record player and I still listen to my mothers old records sometimes. I still have a landline, I just got my first cell phone a month ago, a cheap pre paid phone to keep in my car in case of emergencies. The stupid thing confuzeld the heck out of me at first, I was so proud when I finally learned how make a stupid call . I'm sure I gave my more technologically advanced brother a few pains as he tried to show me how to use the phone. I still have my VCR too, I don’t have a DVD player, I just steal my brothers PS3 and watch DVDs on that. He is convinced that I am beyond hope and should have been born 50 years ago.

[Dravin]

It's amazing how fast the technology has and still is changing. In 37 years I've gone from 8-tracks and LP's to cassettes & Videotapes, to CD's & DVD's, to an iPod that will play both.

While it wouldn't have done a movie the concept of the iPod is older than you might think. See: Briton Invented iPod, DRM and On-Line Music in 1979 | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

[skippy740]

I had a "newer" walkman, but it was still big. (But I could use this one when it was wet out.)

Google Image Result for http://onceuponawin.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/win-pictures-walkman-sport.jpg

[talisyn]

I remember feeling totally left out and poor cause I didn't have a walkman way back when

I have a tape player in my car. I don't have to worry about anyone stealing it and I can get great Depeche Mode, Men Without Hats, Sex Pistols, and lots of classical music tapes at the DI for $0.50

[Wingnut]

I have a walkman, a discman, and an iPod.

[Dravin]

I have a walkman, a discman, and an iPod.

And they say the multigenerational household is dead. :)

[Seanette]

I have a walkman, a discman, and an iPod.

Are you me?

[Iggy]

A number of years ago, my niece, nephews and I were nosing around in my sisters garage.

We came across her stereo. The one that is a piece of furniture. I found a plastic box of needles and 4 big boxes of records. I plugged the machine in, inserted a new needle and called the kids around me to pick through the albums.

Nephew #2 was about 9 at the time. His eyes got huge when I pulled out the record. He said: WOW Would You Look At The Size Of That CD?? Just how big is the player anyway?

I put the record on and let it play. Those kids and I had the best time listening to that Ole Timey Music. Nephew #3 who was 5 wanted to take that Old CD player into the house and play with it.

The music that my sister liked to listen to was Classical - you know - Bach, Beethoven, etc. She also like true Country Western. Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Chet Atkins, etc.

I threw open the overhead garage door, and the five of us danced all over the car port to that Old Time CD music. The next door neighbors came over and joined us too.

[Guest]

A number of years ago, my niece, nephews and I were nosing around in my sisters garage.

We came across her stereo. The one that is a piece of furniture. I found a plastic box of needles and 4 big boxes of records. I plugged the machine in, inserted a new needle and called the kids around me to pick through the albums.

Nephew #2 was about 9 at the time. His eyes got huge when I pulled out the record. He said: WOW Would You Look At The Size Of That CD?? Just how big is the player anyway?

I put the record on and let it play. Those kids and I had the best time listening to that Ole Timey Music. Nephew #3 who was 5 wanted to take that Old CD player into the house and play with it.

The music that my sister liked to listen to was Classical - you know - Bach, Beethoven, etc. She also like true Country Western. Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Chet Atkins, etc.

I threw open the overhead garage door, and the five of us danced all over the car port to that Old Time CD music. The next door neighbors came over and joined us too.

Omigoodness! I am middle-aged now, but when I was a little kid, my parents did the same thing with my grandfather's phonograph! It was the one with the big trumpet looking thing sticking out of the turntable that you have to manually wind so it will turn and play! We had a blast!