Sony retires the cassette Walkman after 30 years

[Drew68]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/10/25/sony.retires.walkman.mashable/index.html?hpt=C2

They were still making them? Who knew?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/10/25/sony.retires.walkman.mashable/t1larg.sony.walkman.flickr.jpg

[Road Pop]

Loved those "back" in the day!

[greggorypeccary]

[url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/10/25/sony.retires.walkman.mashable/index.html?hpt=C2]RIP cassette Walkman[url]

They were still making them? Who knew?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/10/25/sony.retires.walkman.mashable/t1larg.sony.walkman.flickr.jpg

Really? They were still making those? I'd bet most of my students have no idea what a cassette was.

Man, my old cassette deck has been in the attic for...I have no idea how long. Wonder if it's still up there.

[Drew68]

Loved those "back" in the day!

Same here. I'm just shocked to learn that they were still being produced.

[Dr. Tweedbucket]

All my Maxell Metal and CRO2 tapes from the 80s still work perfectly :red

Most of my recorded CDs flake out within about a year :mad:

[fuzz_factor]

I wish I still had all my old cassettes, especially mixed tapes I made and local bands that no longer exist. My girlfriend still has all of her tapes.

[captain_bob]

I'm just shocked to learn that they were still being produced.


Same here.

[Drew68]

All my Maxell Metal and CRO2 tapes from the 80s still work perfectly :red

Most of my recorded CDs flake out within about a year :mad:

I remember when CDs first hit the scene in the 80s. They told us they were indestructible! How quickly that turned out to not be the case.

[gunslinger]

I have three and they all still work. I bought the first one in 1984. Music sounds great in them. Especially on Maxell II tapes.

[Zero]

I just saw a report on the BBC that they were not going to stop making them completely for some regions (I think in N. America?) because the demand "wasn't at zero".

Yeah man, Maxell Metals were MY tape back then. I still have one shrink-wrapped. Saving it for something special. Those tapes are solid and sound awesome. I still use cassettes a lot.

[GAD]

The Walkman changed *everything*!

[shane88]

a what? jeez who knew they were still makin em

[59Vampire]

thats a shame the cassette was a great medium

[scottlr]

I still have a bunch of tapes. I keep thinking I should digitize them, but that is a daunting task, unless I want to not worry about individual tracks. I also have about 40-50 4track on cassette that I want to transfer to GarageBand as 4-track, which is even more of a PIA.

[Guitar55]

I still have a bunch of tapes. I keep thinking I should digitize them, but that is a daunting task, unless I want to not worry about individual tracks. I also have about 40-50 4track on cassette that I want to transfer to GarageBand as 4-track, which is even more of a PIA.

It's not that bad. There are lots of editing programs that let you browse through a large WAV file, mark the track locations, and burn to CD. I've done it many times.

[Amp360]

I know a guy that makes tape echos out of those Marantz portable decks. Hopefully that don't discontinue those!

[enocaster]

There has been a cassette resurgence in the indie world:
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A75022
http://resonancity.com/?p=1178
http://www.mediageek.net/2007/02/next-big-retro-thing-the-cassette-revival/

[traviswalk]

I rocked the $hit out of my Walkman back in the day. Had the sweet yellow one with that could go in water...loved my mix tapes.

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/retropod_hip.jpg

[Killcrop]

My wife bugged me to get rid of a couple hundred cassettes from the 80s. She has a nephew that "plays" guitar. So we go over there for some holiday gasser and I bring this box of tapes. He says to me, can't I just download these songs? I snatched that Iron Maiden double live cassette out of his hand and said you can't have that one. Those cassettes where cherished when I was his age. Download my ass. He probably threw them out. Little punk. He sucked at guitar too.

[Jahn]

somebody bought my old not working walkman for a hundred off ebay a while back. collectors go mad over that stuff.

[redgold]

I was the first kid at school with one... sometimes when I'm driving I still think back to riding my bike listening to Darkness on the Edge of Town on it when I was a kid.

[Rockinrob86]

this was my cassette player. My dad gave it to me in probably 1994 and I used it regularly until probably 2000 when I got a portable CD player. These are worth $100 now?

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:LJkFs59wkaUm_M:http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd120/hipsterrunoff/photographs/hro/6320edf9.jpg&t=1


I remember the dual headphone outs and letting people share on elementary and middle school field trips!

[Jahn]

Whoa, found one that sold for $500:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-Walkman-WM-D6C-Cassette-Deck-Crystal-Sync-Record-/190458081496?pt=Cassette_Players&hash=item2c582fb0d8

But yeah the more conventional ones still sell for around $100:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-WALKMAN-CASSETTE-PLAYER-WM-FX890-SPEED-CONTROL-/220658959031?pt=Cassette_Players&hash=item33604c82b7

[BluesForDan]

really, people are buying these used?!? I had my old one the other day, hefting it in my hand, strongly considering tossing it into the waste basket. Only sentiment kept me from doing so. I'm not even sure if it worked anymore.

I still have cassettes. I have a tascam 424 tape deck. Until I get a silent computer, I won't be doing any recording with a mic unless I'm going to tape. Granted, the majority of my recording lately has been direct because of the convenience factor and not the sound quality.

[seafoamer]

I still have my old yellow one, & still rock it.
Tape compression makes me happy!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b176/remaofaes/80sstilllife.jpg

[dc_jcm800]

First the floppy disk, now this.
I guess I'll have to pony up for a new portable cd player.

The yellow Sports Walkman rocked!

[Dr. Tweedbucket]

somebody bought my old not working walkman for a hundred off ebay a while back. collectors go mad over that stuff.
I had a really nice made in Japan one that took 4 AA batteries back in the 80s. I put over 500,000 miles on that baby and then somehow it ate my favorite mix tape so I got mad and smashed it! :cry:

[Drew68]

really, people are buying these used?!?

It looks like on Amazon you can still buy at least four different models of Sony cassette Walkmans brand-new.

[nakato]

I remember the dual headphone outs and letting people share on elementary and middle school field trips!

I loved the dual headphones. I think I still have mine stashed in the attic somewhere. :love:

[anoobis]

this was my cassette player. My dad gave it to me in probably 1994 and I used it regularly until probably 2000 when I got a portable CD player. These are worth $100 now?

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:LJkFs59wkaUm_M:http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd120/hipsterrunoff/photographs/hro/6320edf9.jpg&t=1


I remember the dual headphone outs and letting people share on elementary and middle school field trips!
I still remember the first time I fired it up back in '82 in junior high. I had Scorpions Loving You Sunday Morning in and blasted it. It was a defining moment in my life. I had the WM-2 version

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/07/wm-2.jpg

[drive-south]

I still have a Tascam Porta One 4-track cassette recorder, as well as my old Nakamichi cassette deck I bought back in 1982. They both still work fine. I think I have a Walkman kicking around somewhere, too.

Those things were built to last, something we can't say about most modern gizmos.

drive-south