13 year old kid reviews a 30 year old Sony Walkman

 

 

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13 year old kid reviews a 30 year old Sony Walkman

via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow on 6/29/09

BBC Magazine gave 13-year-old Scott Campbell a gen-one Walkman in place of his MP3 player for a week, then gathered his impressions on the device:

It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape. That was not the only naive mistake that I made; I mistook the metal/normal switch on the Walkman for a genre-specific equaliser, but later I discovered that it was in fact used to switch between two different types of cassette.

Another notable feature that the iPod has and the Walkman doesn't is "shuffle", where the player selects random tracks to play. Its a function that, on the face of it, the Walkman lacks. But I managed to create an impromptu shuffle feature simply by holding down "rewind" and releasing it randomly - effective, if a little laboured.

I told my dad about my clever idea. His words of warning brought home the difference between the portable music players of today, which don't have moving parts, and the mechanical playback of old. In his words, "Walkmans eat tapes". So my clumsy clicking could have ended up ruining my favourite tape, leaving me music-less for the rest of the day

Giving up my iPod for a Walkman (Thanks, John!)

 

 

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CUSAT: 1.69 per cent pass engineering supplementary examination

Date:18/06/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/06/18/stories/2009061852330300.htm Back Kerala - Kochi 1.69 per cent pass engineering supplementary examination Staff Reporter KOCHI: Engineering colleges affiliated to the Cochin University of Science and Technology have put up its worst performance ever in the B. Tech supplementary examination 2009, with only 23 out of the 1,358 students passing the test. The pass percentage, according to official records, is a mere 1.69. Nine out of the 21 affiliated colleges set another record, with all the students from these institutions failing to clear the examination. The colleges include College of Engineering, Adoor; College of Engineering, Poonjar; College of Engineering, Kidangoor; College of Engineering, Karunagapally; College of Engineering, Trikaripur; TKM Institute of Technology, Kollam; Sarabhai Institute of Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram; College of Engineering, Cherthala; and M.G. College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram. Seven colleges had the record of having one student each passing the examination. The colleges include Model Engineering College, Thrikkakara; College of Engineering, Kallooppara; College of Engineering, Thalassery, Co-operative Institute of Technology, Vadakara; Toc H Institute of Science and Technology, Aarakunnam; College of Engineering, Attingal; and College of Engineering, Kottarakara. College of Engineering, Munnar, had the distinction of having two students clearing the examination. College of Engineering, Chengannur, was in the third position with three students passing. The colleges that figured top in the list include School of Engineering, Thrikkakara, and Cochin University College of Engineering, Pulinkunnu. Four students each from these colleges cleared the examination. Out of the total 1,358 students, only three students won distinction while 19 got first class marks. © Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu

Ranjith Ravindran

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