I still have a walkman in my eurorack (the Loopman from Error Intruments).
this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2025
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this looks awesome!
Honestly there were some food points back then. A lot of people simply are not able to wear headphones responsibly. It's only gotten worse with noise cancelling technology. The ability to ignore the outside world is great when you're in a safe space to do so, but people doing it out in public or while driving are absolutely mad.
The quotes about "breaking societal connections" or whatever are funny to me though. Because that was happening at the time, but it had far more to do with the erosion of 3rd places and the rise of car-centric infrastructure than it did headphones.
tons of people in multi-use trails are just completely obvious to everyone trying to pass them. and then of course, when you do pass them, they panic and scream and throw a tantrum about how you almost hit them.
When I run and come on people who clearly have no idea I'm there, I yell "HEY," when I'm like 15 feet back or so. That's all I feel obligated to do. If you wander around the world completely unaware that it ain't a private server, you deserve a little scare.
"breaking societal connections", yeah. I don't remember where I saw an old photo of a train car full of people, all immersed in their... newspapers.
you can speak to a reader, you can call for their attention.
with bluetooth earphones and smartphones, it's like you're in two different realities. Because other people stop existing in that bubble, because they become part of the background, bubbled people stop caring about them.
Honestly on the bus or train it's kinda nice to just be in a bubble. Obviously you still need to be aware to some degree but I remember my college bus trips being a nice isolated time most days.
Because other people stop existing in that bubble, because they become part of the background, bubbled people stop caring about them.
See also !fuckcars@lemmy.world
i'm on it
"Will personal headphones lead to a world of silence?" We could have wished.
Also, the OG Walkman still looks brilliant. I wish they'd bring the headphone design back.
Same as it always was with new technology. On a side note, I wish these were still made like they were. New portable cassette players all have the same terrible tape heads and the models from the glory days are really starting to fall to disrepair as time passes. I just had to cannibalize one of my Walkmans to fix the other, only to have the same issue resurface nearly immediately.
I was looking to get one, but a lot seem to be mono only. Otherwise Retekess TR606 looked interesting, even if just mostly as a toy.
How's the Fiio player? Also crappy heads?
Thats one I haven't forked over for yet. It appears very chunky and I like my cassette players slim for pocket storage so I did not consider it.
Fiio player? If you’re referring to the Echo Mini, it’s just a digital player. It’s just aesthetically a tape player.
Edit: I stand corrected
No, the CP13: https://fiio-shop.de/EN/FiiO-CP13/HL02296.SkyBlueSilver
Unless they clearly say so, assume the same crappy Chinese magnetic head/motor combo single integrated module as in every other cassette player these days. I wouldn't buy it.
They do indeed specify some sort of high voltage precision motor and a copper flywheel. And they claim a custom movement design.
And since it is an enthusiast device from a company with a good reputation, you can easily find teardowns online.
Anyway, you can read reviews online, there are plenty of them, and make your own mind.
Oh neat! Didn’t know this was a thing. Not something I need, but glad to know it exists.
I’d be surprised if it was anything other than the cheap mechanisms everything else gets. There’s very few companies manufacturing them and Techmoan is always on top of modern cassette systems and hasn’t brought it up. I could always be wrong, though.
It's probably true for the head, but at least coming from Fiio there's a good chance the rest of the system (motor, flywheel, etc) is top notch at least.
Fascinating article. I never that there was this sort of opposition to the walkman.
Great read, I had a walkman all the way into the late 90's, before I traded it in for a cd version.
Living in a city, I can kind of get it. The number of people who simply walk in front of my bike because they're absorbed in their phone has made my commute stressful. I ended up installing a car horn on my bike which I'm sure makes their commute more stressful.
Perhaps the Walkman was the first time technology isolated people from the world around them.
Or I dunno, books.
The car horn on your bike is hilarious. Tangentially, a fun thing to try is using a bike bell on an escalator while standing behind people. We're so conditioned to being dinged and moving aside that people do it before they even think about what's going on.
Watched a guy using an air horn on his bike riding around a European city using it on people walking in the bike lanes. So many people had no idea they were in a dedicated bike lane. Either blocking it or walking in it or crossing over it right in front of him.
Had a young man almost walk straight into my car at the supermarket. He was listening to whatever on headphones and drifting sideways across the lot. We came to a stop and waited to see if he'd hit us. His mom was watching and not saying a word! :)
Like always, outrage over useful tech is driven by stubborn conservatives hellbent on making everyone else suffer because "society".
Hmm, I’ve never seen someone directly link conservatism to the entire concept of society.
I didn’t know considering societal conditions was conservative. But I guess conservative leaders in the US did implement a lot of environmental protections. 🤔
Where does the line actually fall, do you think? I assume I’m over extending a bit here. Making assumptions about what you mean.
Well, you are taking the excuse given at face value. Do you also think laws for back doors in encryption systems are to protect the children?
Back doors are never safe. Never a good idea. They are always eventually a security hole.
And you think conservatives are genuinely trying to pass these other laws for the good of society and not for control?
Can you write up the logic chain that made you assume I think any particular law is good for society, let alone the one you focused on?
All I was commenting on was the idea that conservatives are the ones crying “we live in a society” and not progressives. I’ve always considered progressive ideas to be more in touch with “we live in a society!” Than conservatives who want to punish and suppress marginalized groups who are, in fact, part of society.
What the hell man?
“Fuck you I got mine” is not considering others and ignores that we live in a society. And that’s what these conservative leaders are all about.
Corporations having no responsibility for the environment and the communities they are part of is a conservative ideal. It does not support society.
I noted the environmental laws because they were exceptions, and look a bit surprising in retrospect. When one learns Nixon passed major environmental laws, they are often surprised.
Oh wait, are you here to say those environmental laws, things like the clean air act are just tools of control over the common man. Clean air and water is oppression?
Progressives say, "We live in a society, so let's not harm each other." Conservatives say, "Do what I want, not what you want, or society will crumble." Take a look at all the morality laws, and try to find even two where the ultimate result isn't punishment for daring to live in a manner they don't agree with. And the overwhelming majority of those morality laws are passed by conservatives. Even libertarians complain if someone has the audacity to tax them for the roads they use, especially the ones they use indirectly.
Even when the laws are for good reasons, control is applied. Do you not see how unnecessary regulatory burden can be used as a tool for gatekeeping? As for environmental laws, it's a bit audacious to talk about Nixon given what Trump has done in the last couple months. Who in their right mind (who isn't profiting from the sale of coal) wants to keep coal plants that operate at a loss around, whether you believe in climate change or not?
Ok buddy. This conversation is broken. You keep asserting that I think regulation is always good. Like I’m on the side of Trump and Nixon and back doors and banning vpns or whatever the fuck else. You invented that.
No, I keep pointing out how you're cherry-picking how conservatives are good.
I was being facetious. That's the excuse these idiots use for every single "new" thing.
Ok, see that makes a lot more sense than whatever the other guy who replied to me is going on about and accusing me of.
Thanks for the reply.