Hasta La Gadget!

If you grew up in the 80s, I guarantee you had a massive collection of cassette tapes. It wasn’t until the late 80s and early 90s that CDs really caught on and even then they were really expensive and many people continued to purchase cassette tapes.

I have not-so-fond memories of repeatedly fast-forwarding and rewinding trying to find the beginning of a specific song. I also spent more time than I care to remember using a pencil to rewind a cassette tape after my tape player spit out its black stringy guts. While I remember the first cassette tapes being products of my childhood, apparently they’re much older than that, with the first cassette tape being produced way back in 1963.

Philips celebrated the 50th birthday of the cassette tape this week. The company officially calls the cassette tape the “compact cassette” and says that it helped shape the music industry. Before the cassette tape there was no ability to record music or speeches on your own. Yes, there were reel-to-reel recorders, but they were generally reserved for professionals and high-end enthusiasts. The cassette tape also ushered in the era of the mix tape.

As much joy as it brought us, I don’t think anyone really misses the cassette tape. It’s infinitely more convenient to have thousands of your favorite songs in digital format stored on your iPod, which is itself smaller than a single cassette.

[via Philips]

Anyone who grew up with cassette tapes is going to love these LED mixtape lamps from Etsy seller Break The Record. They look amazing, even if they don’t play any music.

It’s not a totally original idea, but Break The Record offers all kinds of versions of these cassette tape lamps, in all kinds of colors, in sets of ten, a hundred… You name it. I love how they glow, shining through the cassettes, it looks so retro. They would definitely make a statement in your home. Probably in your man cave. They are great for parties too.

The lamps range from about $49(USD) to $240 each depending on the number of tapes and LEDs its made of. The small ones run on AA batteries, so that will cost you a few more bucks, but it also makes them portable.

They look great in almost any color. Though they are among the most expensive cassette box sets ever.

All good things must come to an end and I am sorry to report that Sony WILL discontinue early January 2013 once and for all the production of its latest Cassette Player/ Recorder! So if you are interested in getting one of this soon collectable Cassette Player/ Recorder TCM-410, TCM-400 and TCM-450 from Sony rush to your nearest Yodobashi Camera and grab one before it is too late!