MP3s, compact discs, and even cassette tapes made our music portable, but before they arrived, vinyl records were pretty much the medium of choice. And with a little help from Sharp, people were still able to enjoy those giant (relatively speaking) twelve-inch discs wherever they went with this impressive old-school vinyl bombox. More »
The Library of Congress has unveiled its National Recording Preservation plan, which involves preserving the US’s “recorded sound heritage” for generations to come. The plan is mandated by Congress, and is composed of 32 recommendations encompassing both the public and private sectors. Issues concerning inadequate storage space and other problems will all be addressed.
Other issues that concern recording preservation is copyright issues and the ever-changing nature of technology. Because of the combination of issues, says the Library of Congress, many important recordings from America’s past are already lost or destroyed. Experts say 50-percent of cylinder recordings, which represent some of the first recordings ever made, are ruined.
The preservation plan aims to solve this problem and prevent the destruction and loss of other recordings. Recommendations include the creation of a publicly available directory of sound recording collections, establishing a national policy for audio collections, and developing a licensing agreement that makes recordings available via streaming and archives.
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington offered this statement. “The publication of this plan is a timely and historic achievement … Collecting, preserving and providing access to recorded sound requires a comprehensive national strategy. This plan is the result of a long and challenging effort, taking into account the concerns and interests of many public and private stakeholders. It is America’s first significant step toward effective national collaboration to save our recorded-sound heritage for future generations.”
[via Library of Congress]
Library of Congress unveils plan to preserve recordings is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
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This is not something that happens every week: an inkjet printer enters to Guinness World Records as it can consistently reach a print speed of 70 pages per minute (ppm), which makes it the world fastest desktop printer apparently (just slightly faster than Memjet). HP is capable of reaching those speed because they use a technology called Page-wide, which reduced the amount of motion that need to happen during the printing process. With Page-wide, HP can print a page in a single pass, while regular Inkjet printers have to perform a classic back and forth motion for each printed line. You can visualize it as being an Inkjet printer as wide as the page itself, so there is no need for motion. Page-wide was introduced in October 2012, and the HP Office Pro X Printer is the first product to use it. If you want to learn more about the HP Page-Wide Technology, read this white paper.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Dell UltraSharp U3014 30-inch Monitor Released, Adobe Lowers Prices In Australia After Government Probe,
Bizarre human being and Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes has the honor of creating the next installment in Jack White’s record label’s, Third Man Records, fantastic Blue Series. The coolest part, though, is that some of the 7-inch, three-song singles are going to be printed on old medical x-rays. More »
Vinyl may be the format of choice for discerning audio connoisseurs, but those harboring love for both digital and analog options may have their interest piqued by Ion’s latest lineup of turntables. The iLP Lightning takes a traditional turntable, replete with RCA outputs, and adds a 30-pin dock connector that’s compatible with Cupertino’s Lightning to 30-pin adapter. Leveraging a free app, the table converts a record’s audio to MP3 files, separates it into tracks and saves it to docked iOS devices. If you’d rather not have songs sent to your iDevice of choice, the rig also includes a USB cable for routing tunes to a Mac or PC with a gratis desktop app. Ion is also serving up the Pure LP, which removes the 30-pin dock from the equation. As for availability, the iOS-compatible tables are expected this summer for $99.99 in white, red, blue, black and a woodgrain finish. Analog diehards can have some fun too with the Live LP table, which packs stereo speakers, standard RCA outputs, a natural wood finish and nothing in the way of digital conversion. Click on to the break for photos and the full press release.
Gallery: Ion digital conversion turntables
Gallery: iLP Lightning hands-on
Continue reading Ion reveals digital conversion turntables for iOS, PC and Mac, we go hands-on
Filed under: Misc, Peripherals, Portable Audio/Video
Source: Ion (1, PDF), (2, PDF), (3, PDF)
The Kenner Close n Play was a modest gadget from the outside: you put in a vinyl record, closed the lid, and it would play. It looked like a lunchbox. It was simple. But above all, it was for kids. More »
A few months ago we saw how a smart guy figured out how to make small 3D printed records that could be played on a toy turntable. Instructables employee Amanda Ghassaei has trumped that hack: she figured out how to 3D printed records that can be played on any turntable, just like an ordinary vinyl record.
Whereas the audio on the 3D printed toy records had to be input note by note on a custom software, Amanda was able to write a program that automated the process in a very precise manner: “It works by importing raw audio data, performing some calculations to generate the geometry of a record, and eventually exporting this geometry straight to the STL file format (used by all 3D printers).” Sadly, even the high-end Object Connex 500 printers at the Instructables office were unable to encode the geometry at a resolution high enough to create a high quality record. But the fact that even this is now possible is still nothing less than mind-blowing.
Wow. 3D printing hardware’s only going to improve in time, so I’m sure Amanda can eventually recreate professional grade records should she pursue it. Once again we’re seeing people using current technology to go back to a more physical and tactile interaction with gadgets. 3D printing is the bee’s 3D printed knees. Check out the links below for more details on Amanda’s project.
[via Instructables & Amanda Ghassaei via I Heart Chaos]
Being a DJ at radio station can be an embarrassment of riches. And really, who’s going to listen to you complain about having too much music to listen to? Santa Monica’s terrifically wonderful public radio station KCRW is looking to take a little bit of the pain of finding new music for its DJs, with the launch of MALCOLM, a site that lets artists submit their music for consideration — a nice attempt at continued outreach in a medium so dominated by charts and major label interference. Bands can create profiles with images, bios and social media links, alongside up to three tracks. MALCOLM serves as a bit of a social network for the station’s DJs, letting them share tracks and interact with profiles, alerting artists via email when someone has commented on or rated their listing. More information on the service, which borrows its name from KCRW’s old internal record filing system, can be found in the press release after the break. Interested bands can submit songs in the source link below.
Continue reading KCRW launches MALCOLM music service to help indie bands in need
Filed under: Internet, Software
KCRW launches MALCOLM music service to help indie bands in need originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sometime in 1889, Emile Berliner recorded the first album in the history of the world. Then, that record by the father of the gramophone was destroyed. Today, Patrick Feaster, a sound historian at Indiana University, recreated the album using just a printed photograph of the album. His technique defies belief. More »
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